God’s invitation to be His child
We have been praying most of our lives, but do we ever think about what that means? Have we ever thought how incredible it is that our Creator God has invited us to speak with Him at any time? That the Lord of the Universe has given us the right to speak with Him, to ask for help, to seek His mercy?
There is no greater honor given to humanity than the gift of being able to approach our God in prayer, any hour of the day or night, in every circumstance. In every season we can speak to Him. We can call upon God in our joy or in our anger, and from the depths of despair, we can speak to Him.
It is beyond our human understanding that we have been assured that our God is always listening to us, yet it is true. Our Creator even condescended to join His Divinity with our humanity, becoming incarnate in the flesh, that we might see His face. In Christ, He has revealed Himself to us, and invited us to commune with Him forever.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Photo: Archpriest Alex Kotar, Dean of Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Seattle, brought the miraculous Kursk-Root Icon to the monastery on Thursday. What a glorious moment in the life of this brotherhood. This was the fourth visit of the icon, one of the most important in the Russian Church, to the monastery. Our Father Paul served an Akathast to the Mother of God, with the monastic choir doing the responses.
Friday July 8, 2016 / June 25, 2016
3rd Week after Pentecost. Tone one.
Apostles’ (Peter & Paul) Fast. Food with Oil
Virgin-martyr Febronia of Nisibis (304).
Venerable Nikon the Confessor of Optina (1931).
New Hieromartyrs Nicholas and Basil priests (1918).
New Hieromartyr Basil priest (1940).
Prince Peter (1228) and Princess Febronia (tonsured David and Euphrosyne), wonderworkers of Murom.
Venerables Leonis, Libye, and Eutropia of Syria.
Venerable Symeon of Sinai (5th c.).
Venerables Dionysius and Dometius (1380) of the Monastery of the Forerunner (Dionysiou), Mt. Athos (Greek).
New Martyr Procopius of Varna and Mt. Athqs, who suffered at Smyrna (1810) (Greek).
New Martyr George of Attalia (1823) (Greek).
Martyr Gallicianus the Patrician in Egypt (362).
St. Adelbert, archdeacon (740) (Neth.).
St. Theoleptus, metropolitan of Philadelphia (1322).
St. Moluac of Lismore (592) (Celtic & British).
Scripture Readings
Romans 9:6-19
Israel’s Rejection and God’s Purpose
6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these arenot the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”
10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
Israel’s Rejection and God’s Justice
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?”
Matthew 10:32-36
Confess Christ Before Men
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Christ Brings Division
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will bethose of his own household.’
FROM YESTERDAY NOT SURE IF IT SENT!
I am a recent convert to orthodoxy from six decades surrounded held and loved within non-orthodox Christianity.
I have always attempted and aspire to be like Jesus our great example and High Priest who calls us to follow him to be his disciples and a shining light in the world. As practising Holy Spirit followers our testimony to the world will be the example we and the impression we make. I believe that through faith and in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father son and Holy Spirit ,and that being born again into the Holy Body of Christ on earth we are set apart not by our ‘garb’ or the length of our hair or by the big cross around our necks or our costume but by the clear quiet and love filled example of being Jesus to our neighbour. Jesus looked to all appearances like any ordinary guy as far as I’m aware and he is our Great High Priest yesterday today and forever.
I’m a great admirer of you Father and follow your blog daily and it has been a true blessing but you touched on this subject of little while ago and it did cause me to hesitate then as it does today and therefore with great respect I make my point.
If I am wrong I would like to know theologically why I am a visual person and make my living as an artist. I love all the beauty and visible signs of Orthodox Christianity and positively respect and hold without question the established traditional and historicity of the hierarchical priesthood in our daily Christian witness. It is not the priestly Garb that defines must of us for we are all called to be witnesses to the fallen world.
[and do this, understanding the present time. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over the day is almost here so let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us behave decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness not in sexual immorality and debauchery not in dissension and jealousy, rather clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh]
The danger might be from reading this morning that the only visible and effective witnesses in the world are Orthodox Priests with long hair and long beards. I have none of these but I do pray daily that the Christ I have put on will be visible as a believe He is! I could go on but I think I’ve made my point please let me know if I am wrong. in Christ.
The quote in brackets[] Romans 13: 11 – 14 new international version
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