The essential element of Christianity is community
Christianity is a communal faith, one that requires it’s followers to be actively involved with others. The Church’s worship is communal, and salvation itself is a corporate act, one that necessitates interaction with others. One is not “saved” in a vacuum, but as part of the corporal life of the Church. Your salvation must be as much a concern to me, as is my own salvation. My relationship with Christ is not about me, but about us. Our sins are not just against God, but against the Body of Christ, the Church. Our love of God can not be salvific if we do not love others, for just as the Lord said, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20)”.
Given the communal nature of the Church, it is particularly alarming to see increasing numbers of people isolating themselves from others. Many have turned to the Internet as the primary source of interaction with others, finding “friendships” with people who will never be met in person. Social interaction in the central square, as seen in traditional villages where the cafe life and church are the primary source of fraternal interaction, is the antidote to a future of increased estrangement from each other.
Isolated from others, the communal nature that is an important element in what it means to be human, is lost. It is thus imperative that we guard against the temptation of spending too much time in front of the computer, and too little time with others. The sight of young people sitting in coffee houses, together, yet apart, is troubling. Mobile phones, text messaging, ipods, communication through email, and countless hours on facebook, leads to the furtherance of an isolation that is murdering the soul. As humans, we are meant to be together, for it is in our lives together that we grow in mind and spirit. It is in community that we learn to love God. For friendships to be limited to on-line chat rooms is a tragedy of major proportions, one that will ultimately be the ruin of society.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Saturday June 22, 2019 / June 9, 2019
Adoposis of Pentecost. Tone seven.
Fast-free Week. Fast-free
St. Cyril, archbishop of Alexandria (444).
Venerable Cyril, abbot of White Lake (Byelozersk) (1427).
St. Alexius Mechev, priest of Moscow (1923).
Uncovering of the relics of Venerable Raphael, the Confessor (2005).
Venerable Alexander, abbot of Kushta (Vologda) (1439).
Five nuns beheaded in Persia: Martyrs Thecla, Mariamne, Martha, Mary, and Enmatha (346).
Righteous Cyril of Velsk or Vazhe (Vologda) (15th c.).
St. Columba of Iona (597) (Celtic & British).
St. Baithene of Tiree (600) (Celtic & British).
Hieromartyr Alexander, bishop of Prusa (Greek).
Venarable Cyril, monk (Greek).
Three Virgin-martyrs of Chios (Greek).
St. John of Shavtel-Gaenati, Georgia (13th c.) (Georgia).
The Scripture Readings
Romans 1:7-12
7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Desire to Visit Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
Matthew 5:42-48
42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
Love Your Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Dear Father, I’ve felt isolated from community in the Orthodox church. It is a full day drive to attend mass and when I am there, I feel alone. In my small town, there are three tiny churches: a Baptist church, a Catholic church, and an Episcopal church (actually, the latter two share the same building, having mass at different hours). Being Orthodox can mean isolation, so I’ve been attending the Episcopal church for community, but don’t partake in communion. My Father said that was acceptable. I am grateful to receive your homily every morning and it has been a blessing in my life. Thank you Father.
Michael. I am sitting reading this post late at night as my child is sick with fever and felt moved to respond to your post. I’m so sorry that you feel alone even when you make it to your church and a God loving community it certainly harder and harder and more and more precious to find these days. We live about an hour from the Orthodox Church that I was born and raised in and I feel like even that is such a great distance with the many ways in which I want to celebrate and be present with my church community. I know that I have been thinking seriously of moving closer even though it would be a difficult work commute without another good option for my husband. It is hard to feel part of community when we aren’t truly part of it and living in it. I have been feeling more and more that it is vital to live in the intentional community of our Faith and Hope and pray that you find a faith community for yourself that brings you more into communion with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In Christ.