Divine-Human Oneness
Sobornost is a word that means spiritual harmony based on freedom and unity in love. It is a necessary component in our membership within the Body of Christ, for if we are not bound together in love, our freedom becomes our enemy, separating us from others, and, ultimately from Christ Himself. This concept was so important to the early Christians as to have been the basis for the agape meal, when Christians would share their food with one another, following the celebration of the Eucharistic banquet.
That the pre-communion fast would be broken, following the Divine Liturgy, with a communal meal (the love feast), clearly demonstrates the importance of community within the life of the Church. The sobornost is the divine-human oneness we experience as members of the One Body, the Church, and is the moment when we who are many, become one. It is the image of the unity of the Holy Trinity, finding it’s expression among the believers.
We can not truly be one in Christ if we do not seek out oneness with our fellow Christians. Nor can we be one with Christ if we routinely reject sobornost for those “heights of spirituality” that make us so conscious of self, while separating ourselves from our neighbor.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Next Saturday: The Planting of a Monastery (chapter 18) The Miracle
Monday November 19, 2012
25th Week after Pentecost. Tone seven.
St. Paul the Confessor, archbishop of Constantinople (350).
Venerable Barlaam, abbot of Khoutyn (Novgorod) (1192).
New Hieromartyrs Nicitas bishop of Orekhovo-Zuev, Anatoly, Arsenius, Nicholas, Nicholas, Constantine priests, Hieromartyrs Barlaam, Gabriel, Gabriel, Woman Hieromartyrs Nina and Seraphima (1937).
New Martyr Gregory the Cross-bearer (1936).
New Hieromartyr Basil priest (1938).
St. Elias Fondaminskii of Paris (1942).
Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Sarov: Anatole, Basil, Hierotheus, Isaac, and Rufinus.
Repose of St. Herman, archbishop of Kazan (1567).
Venerable Luke, steward of the Kiev Caves (13th c.).
Venerable Barlaam of Keret Lake (16th c.).
Virgin-martyrs Tecusa, Alexandra, Claudia, Matrona, Polactia, Euphrosyne, and Athanasia of Ancyra (303).
Venerable Luke, monk, of Sicily (820).
Venerable Winnocus, abbot (716) (Neth.).
St. Leonard of Noblac (559) (Gaul).
Venerable Illtyd, abbot of Llanilltyd Fawr, disciple of St. Germanus of Auxerre (England) (6th c.) (Celtic & British).
St. Cowey of Portaferry, abbot of Moville (8th c.) (Celtic & British).
St. Demetrianus, bishop of Cytheria in Cyprus (915).
You can read the life of the saint in green, by click on the name.
For those who would like to be kept informed about the persecution that is taking place against Christians throughout the Middle East, I recommend you subscribe to: http://www.jihadwatch.org/
THANK YOU, to all of you who have been able to contribute towards the support of the monastery. These difficult times of economic hardship have impacted the monastery, and those of you who have been able to donate, have been our lifeline. May God bless you for your generosity, and kindness.With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
2 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Greeting
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s Final Judgment and Glory
3We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
Luke 12:13-15
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Luke 12:22-31
Do Not Worry
22Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
29“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.