We Only Think We Can be of Christ and of the World
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). One should always be mindful of where we place our priorities. Are we of Christ, or are we of the world? Do we serve God, or do we submit to this temporal world which shall one day come to an end?
Do you think you can divide your loyalties in this life, serving your spouse or boss during the week, while serving God only on weekends, or perhaps even just major holy days? Do you think of God only when in church or with religious people? When working at your job, do you think of God, or are you disconnected from your spiritual life because you’ve compartmentalized it? Jesus says this is impossible, because “No one can serve two masters”.
The Apostle Paul taught in I Timothy 3:15, the Church is the pillar and ground of Truth, and it is to this Church that the Apostles entrusted the Faith, once and for all delivered to the saint as its guardian and protector (Jude v. 3). Thus, the Church’s services, Liturgies, prayers and sacraments are all essential if we are to be authentic as people of faith.
“In accordance with the Apostolic faith delivered to us by tradition from the Fathers, I have delivered the tradition, without inventing anything extraneous to it. What I have learned, that I inscribed, comfortably with the Holy Scriptures (Saint Athanasios the Great).”
It is through this Tradition that we bind ourselves to Christ, serving only Him. All else must be secondary. When the Lord says “You cannot serve God and mammon,” He is referring to things of a materialistic nature (mammon is the Aramaic word for “god of wealth”). He asks us all to declare whom we serve, God or mammon? And the way to determine who or what you love the most is to see where your loyalties lie. When you are faced with choices between God, and anything else, what will be your choice?
Do you choose to attend church on Sunday or do you choose to sleep in? Do you prioritize your life around your relationship with God, or do sporting events, vacations, family outings, entertainment, or friends take center stage? Does prayer, reading the bible, serving others, financially supporting the church and its mission, and giving alms serve as your central theme, or do you choose personal gain and pleasure as central to your life?
Are you more concerned about money, your popularity, or the home you own, or do these things take a back seat to Jesus Christ? If God be your master, you will be able to honestly say that none of these worldly things are anywhere near as important to you as your relationship with Christ.
Christ said, “Be not therefore like them: for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask him (Matthew 6:8).” If we serve only God as our master, all else that we need will be provided.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Photo: This is my favorite viewpoint on the Oregon Coast. Heceta Head Lighthouse is located on the 1,000-foot-high Heceta Head. Built in 1893, this 56-foot tower sits 205 feet above sea level. Its light — now an automated beacon — is seen 21 miles from land and is the strongest light on the Oregon Coast.
A few yards away from the Heceta Head Lighthouse is the former home of the assistant light keeper. The building now serves as a bed and breakfast, and is just 12 miles north of Florence. It’s also touted as one of the most haunted houses in the United States.
Sunday December 12, 2021 / November 29, 2021
25th Sunday after Pentecost. Tone eight.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Fish Allowed
Martyr Paramon and 370 Martyrs in Bithynia (250).
Martyr Philumenus of Ancyra, and with him Martyrs Valerian and Phaedrus (274).
Venerable Acacius of Mt. Latros, who is mentioned in The Ladder (6th c.).
New Hieromartyr Sergius priest (1941).
Venerable Nectarius the Obedient of the Kiev Caves (12th c.).
St. Saturninus, martyr and bishop of Toulouse ( 257) (Gaul).
Hieromartyr Abibus, bishop of Nekressi in Georgia (6th c.) (Georgia).
St. Mardarije of Libertyville (1935) (Serbia).
Venerable Pitirim of Egypt (4th c.), disciple of Venerable Anthony the Great.
Hieromartyr Dionysius, bishop of Corinth (182).
St. Tiridates, king of Armenia (4th c.).
St. Nicholas, archbishop of Thessalonica (Greek).
Hieromartyr John of Persia (Greek).
St. Urban of Macedonia, bishop (Greek).
St. Pancosmius, monk (Greek).
St. Radboud, bishop of Utrecht (917) (Neth.).
St. Brendan of Birr (571) (Celtic and British).
The Scripture Readings
Mark 16:9-20
Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord
9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
Jesus Appears to Two Disciples
12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
The Great Commission
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Christ Ascends to God’s Right Hand
19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Ephesians 4:1-6
Walk in Unity
4 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Luke 13:10-17
A Spirit of Infirmity
10 Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. 12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” 13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
14 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”
15 The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16 So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” 17 And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.