DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Friday,
December 15, 2006 Nativity Fast Hieromartyr Eleutherios,
Bishop of Illyria
Kellia: 2 Kings (2
Samuel) 12:26-31 Epistle: 2 Timothy 1:1-2, 8-18 Gospel: St. Mark 9:33-41
Living
Continuity: 2 Timothy 1:1-2, 8-18,
especially vss. 13, 14: “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard
from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy
Spirit Who dwells in us.” Bishop Kallistos Ware echoes St. Paul’s counsel to “hold
fast the pattern of sound words” (vs. 13) when he speaks of Orthodoxy’s living
continuity with the Lord Jesus, the Apostles, and the Holy Fathers: “Orthodox are
always talking about Tradition...the faith and practice which Jesus Christ
imparted to the Apostles, and which since the Apostles’ time has been handed
down from generation to generation in the Church.” Like the Apostles, Bishop Kallistos links Holy Tradition to
the activity of the Spirit of God: “In order to live within Tradition, it is
not enough simply to give intellectual assent to a system of doctrine; for
Tradition...is a life, a personal encounter with Christ in the Holy
Spirit....it is the life of the Holy Spirit in the Church.”
Orthodoxy successfully holds fast to “the
pattern of sound words” of the Apostles by the operation of Holy Spirit Who
dwells within the Church. This
continuity often astonishes those on the outside; yet St. Paul would not be
surprised at this, as today’s reading shows. The Apostle expected constancy of doctrine and practice in
the Church; for, as he said, “...I
know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have
committed to Him until that Day” (vs. 12). Take note of his confidence in God as the source of
steadfastness and continuity.
St. Paul urged his apprentice Timothy to “hold
fast” the pattern, and further, he directs Timothy to maintain “that good
thing...by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us.” Because the Apostle knew the Lord by direct encounter of the
Holy Spirit, he was able to issue such an order.
In the Apostle’s generation, Christians faced
brutal attempts to crush the Church and to remove the Gospel from history. Do not forget that this letter was
penned during a time of mounting efforts to end the living continuity of the
Faith. Shortly, the Apostle would
be martyred at Rome, beheaded for his Faith. Yet St. Paul never doubted that God would advance the Gospel
“until that Day” (vs. 12). Notice
that he strove to impart this certainty to his under-study, Timothy. We too are blessed, for, as an
intercessor, St. Paul is praying for us even now - that we remain confident
before the opposition facing us in the world of modern secularism.
Listen to our Apostle: “do not be ashamed of
the testimony of our Lord, nor of me” (vs. 8). Rather, he commands us to “...share with me in the sufferings” (vs. 8). We are to embrace a repudiation of
shame and sufferings “for the gospel” “according to the power of God” (vs. 8)
like St. Paul’s. How? In the same manner as the Lord Jesus,
Who suffered as a man, being upheld by the power of God even on the Cross. He “trampled down death by death”
vested in the power of God, and in what impossible circumstance in this world,
may we not accomplish the same?!
Listen to the Apostle’s next counsel: ours is
a holy calling, “not according to our works, but according to [God’s] purpose
and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (vs.
9). Be confident! St. Paul points out that we are engaged
in the eternal purpose of God that is breaking into history and shaping the
lives of many. Further, God’s
purpose is not subject to the change and the vicissitudes of events, people, or
movements.
Finally, let us heed this from St. Paul: while
many “have turned away” from the Apostles and their message, like “all those in
Asia, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes” (vs. 15), still God has zealous
servants who are not ashamed of chains or the gospel, but in all conditions
seek out faithful teachers true to the Apostles (vss. 16,17), because Apostolic
teaching is life!
O, Holy
Apostles, intercede with the Merciful God that He grant salvation to our souls!
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