Orthodoxy Cries Out to be Lived, Experienced, and Practiced!
Orthodoxy by its very nature is a demanding religion, one that requires its faithful to fully embrace a lifestyle that is in opposition to the world about us. The many periods of fasting and the practice of standing for our services are just two things that set Orthodoxy apart in our world. In an age when so many embrace religions that require little or no standard of belief, Orthodoxy is a faith that holds to ancient dogmas and ways of worship that are virtually unchanged in two thousand years.
Our multicultural societies have radically changed the face of many countries throughout the western world, with immigration introducing many foreign religions into societies that were previously monolithic in religious tradition. Many countries in Western Europe and North America are now seeing the spread of Orthodoxy as never before, along with the introduction of Islam. This, together with the spread of secularism and atheism, has changed the religious map of many countries.
These changes have made the practice of our faith more difficult since western societies no longer culturally support the open practice of Christianity. No longer do we see the expression of Christianity in the public forum, with the exception of Orthodox countries, prominently being a part of the societal fabric. Many people are even experiencing pressure to keep their faith a private affair, so as not to offend others by being “too religious”. With pluralism dominant in the workplace and social settings, any display of our faith can be frowned upon.
This may work for some, but for a serious Orthodox Christian this is problematic. How do we live Orthodoxy as our faith demands if we live it in a vacuum, shuttling it off as a private fare practice only on Sundays? If we are truly to “put on Christ” and be transformed by the healing resources that are available by living a committed Orthodox faith, we can not allow ourselves to live “Orthodoxy Lite”.
Orthodoxy cries out to be lived, experienced, and practiced! If we call ourselves Orthodox while rarely attending services, ignoring the fasting regulations, hiding our one icon in a bedroom, never making the sign of the cross in public, praying a blessing over our meal only when alone or with family, we are not practicing Orthodox Christians.
We must be bold in our faith. As a monk who wears my monastic garb everywhere, I can tell you it has a powerful impact on people. Even when sitting among friends who are not religious, I always bless my food. If I see a police car, fire truck or aid car pass by in downtown Seattle, I raise my hand in blessing, for I want my God to keep them safe, and I want whomever is in need of their help to receive it. I wear a cross around my neck not only because I am a priest, but because I am a Believer.
I am not afraid to be public about my faith in Jesus Christ, for my faith demands it of me. Christ told His disciples that if they denied Him before men, so too would He deny them before His Father in heaven. Orthodox Christianity cries out to be lived publicly. Our very salvation demands it!
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Thursday November 30, 2023 / November 17, 2023
26th Week after Pentecost. Tone eight.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Fish Allowed
St. Gregory the Wonderworker of Neo-Caesarea (266).
Venerable Nikon, abbot of Radonezh, disciple of St. Sergius (1426).
Sts. Acisclus and Victoria of Cordoba (4th c.).
Venerable Lazarus the iconographer of Constantinople (857).
Martyr Gobron (Michael) and 133 soldiers of Georgia (914) (Georgia).
St. Sebastian (Dabovich) of Jackson (1940) (Serbia).
Venerable Longinus of Egypt (4th c.).
St. Maximus (Maximian), patriarch of Constantinople (434).
Venerable Gennadius, abbot of Vatopedi, Mt. Athos (14th c.).
St. Gregory, bishop of Tours, and with him Venerable Aredius, abbot of Limoges and Venerable Vulfolaic, stylite of Trier (Gaul).
Venerable Hilda, abbess of Whitby (680) (British).
Martyrs Zachariah the Cobbler and his wife, Mary (3rd c.) (Greek).
Hieromartyr Basil, bishop of Hamah (282).
Martyrs Gregory, Victor, and Geminus of Heracleon in Thrace (304).
150 philosophers converted by St. Catherine, and who suffered in Alexandria (305).
St. John the Cobbler of Olumba, Cairo, and Sinai (7th c.).
The Scripture Readings
1 Timothy 3:1-13
Qualifications of Overseers
3 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Qualifications of Deacons
8 Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. 10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. 11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Luke 16:1-9
The Parable of the Unjust Steward
16 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.