DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Monday,
Dec. 18, 2006
Nativity Fast Martyrs
Sebastian, Zoe & Companions at Rome
Kellia:
Exodus 6:16, 18-20, 23-7:6 Epistle: 2 Timothy 2:20-26 Gospel:
St. Mark 9:42-10:1
Servants of Honor
I ~ Do Good Works: 2 Timothy 2:20-26,
especially vs. 21: “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself...he will be a vessel
for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good
work.” As we approach the Eve of the Nativity, we should remember
that the Apostle Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy, which we will be reading, is
instruction to entry-level servants from a superior servant. The Apostolic writer and his readers alike
were one-and-all servants of a single Master - the very Lord we also serve. Therefore, let us approach these readings as lower-level
servants, which we are, that we may receive training from one of the Master’s
great servants, that we also may become servants of honor. For surely we labor “in a great house”
and have the blessed prospect of becoming “vessels for honor” ourselves (vs.
20).
First, St. Paul teaches us to cleanse
ourselves (vs. 21), for until we determine to be purified we will be barely
useful to the Master for any good works.
Cleansing is the primary effort we must make in order to be “prepared
for every good work” (vs. 21). It
is the basic regimen for all entry-level servants. And how is it done?
Observe: the Apostle directs us toward negative and positive labors
which must be carried out simultaneously, fleeing from “youthful lusts” and
pursuing “righteousness, faith, love, peace...out of a pure heart” (vs. 22).
To understand rightly what it means to “flee
from youthful lusts,” consider the key word “lust.” The Fathers of our Orthodox Tradition learned from St. Paul
and their own struggles to understand lust (or “epithymia”) as strong desire
arising from the soul. Gregory of
Sinai wisely points out that God “...did not make it [the soul] have rage and
animal lust; He endowed the soul only with the appetitive power and with the
courage to be lovingly attracted.”
Only with sin did lust and anger develop within us. Common, modern usage of the word “lust”
tends to narrow the word to sexual sin.
But St. John of Damascus properly widens the portrait to include
“gluttony, greed, drunkenness, unchastity, adultery, uncleanness,
licentiousness, love of material things, and desire for glory, gold, wealth,
and the pleasures of the flesh.” We
can lust for any of these!
Fleeing from lusts means, therefore, to avoid
all these sins which the Damascene lists.
Few of us are free from every trace of such desires and sins; but where
to begin? In prayer and fasting,
we are led by the Holy Spirit to discover which of these are most troublesome
for us. Then, it is with these that we must begin the task of fleeing. “Fleeing” is a most appropriate term,
for it suggests running at the first sight or hint that a sinful desire has
awakened in us.
The Apostle includes two other activities
along with fleeing which make up “cleansing:” avoiding “foolish and ignorant
disputes” so as not to quarrel (vss. 23,24), and seeking from God the gift of
“repentance” (vs. 25). He places
great emphasis on this latter - the all important gift, for through change of heart
alone may one “know the truth, and...come to [his] senses and escape the snare
of the devil” (vss. 25,26).
As pointed out above, the Apostle couples
cleansing and the negative ridding of sin with the positive pursuit of virtues
(vs. 22). The two activities must
be carried on together, which is why he interweaves them as he teaches. St. Thalassios says, “Strive to love
every man equally, and you will simultaneously expel all the passions.” Pursuing virtues, the Apostle suggests,
is an active, purposeful acquisition of righteousness, faith, love, and
peace. These are good works to be
done. St. Paul mentions further
positive activities that must be included in the overall pursuit of
righteousness. As a teacher, one
must be gentle to all, understanding, and patient (vs. 24), correcting in
humility (vs. 25). Doing all such
good works will make an honorable servant.
O
Christ, keep us ever as warriors invincible, and make us victors even unto the
end.
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