Homily on Giving Thanks to God For All Things (St. Basil the Great)

 

 Homily on Thanksgiving and Mourning

By St. Basil the Great

 

You have heard the words of the Apostle, in which he addresses the Thessalonians, prescribing rules of conduct for every kind of person. His teaching, to be sure, was directed towards particular audiences; but the benefit to be derived therefrom is relevant to every generation of mankind. "Rejoice evermore," he says; "Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks" (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). Now, we shall explain a little later on, as far as we are able, what it means to rejoice, what benefit we receive from it, and how it is possible to achieve unceasing prayer and give thanks to God in all things.
 
However, it is necessary to anticipate the objections that we encounter from our adversaries, who criticize the Apostles injunctions as unattainable. For what is the virtue, they say, in passing ones life in gladness of soul, in joy and good cheer night and day? And how is it possible to achieve this, when we are beset by countless unexpected evils, which create unavoidable dejection in the soul, on account of which it is no more feasible for us to rejoice and be of good cheer than for one who is being roasted on a gridiron not to feel agony or for one who is being goaded not to suffer pain?
 

All Christians Are Called To Pray Without Ceasing

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart" (Luke 18:1).

Does the Lord's command about ceaseless prayer that men ought always to pray (Luke 18:1), apply only to monks or to all Christians in general?

If it applied only to monks, the Apostle Paul would not have written to the Christians in Thessalonica to "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17). The Apostle repeats the Lord's command, word for word, and issues it to all Christians without distinction, whether monks or laymen.

St. Gregory Palamas lived a life of asceticism for some time as a young hieromonk in a monastery in Beroea. The elder Job, a well-known ascetic whom everyone respected, lived in that monastery. It happened that, in Elder Job's presence, St. Gregory quoted the Apostle's words, asserting that ceaseless prayer is the obligation of every Christian and not just for monks. However, Elder Job replied that ceaseless prayer is the obligation of the monk only, and not for every Christian. Gregory, as the younger of the two, yielded and withdrew in silence. When Job returned to his cell and stood at prayer, an angel in great heavenly glory appeared to him and said: "O Elder, do not doubt the truthfulness of Gregory's words; he spoke correctly and you should think likewise and pass it on to others." Thus, both the Apostle and the angel confirmed the commandment that all Christians must pray to God without ceasing.

Not only without ceasing in church, but also without ceasing in every place and at all times, and especially in your heart. For if God does not for a moment tire of giving us good things, how can we tire of thanking Him for these good things? When He thinks of us without ceasing, why do we not think of Him without ceasing?


"… that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye [may be] rooted and grounded in love" (Ephesians 3:17).

With faith, Christ comes into the heart, and with Christ comes love. Thus man is rooted and grounded in love. First then, there is faith; then with faith comes Christ's presence in the heart; then with Christ's presence, the presence of love; and with love, all ineffable goodness.

In a few words, the Apostle delineates the whole ladder of perfection. The beginning is faith and the end is love; and faith and love are joined in a living, undivided unity by the Living Lord Jesus Christ's presence in the heart. By strengthening faith, we further abolish the distance between ourselves and the Lord Jesus Christ. The stronger one's faith, the closer one is to Christ.

Ultimately, one's heart is filled with Christ and cannot be separated from Christ, just as one's lung cannot be separated from the air. Then a man may, with tears of joy, communicate with Christ by the prayer of the heart - "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner" - and the heart is imperceptibly filled with light and ardent love.

In this way, love is united with faith and hope; and when they are united, the boundaries between them are lost, so that man cannot even think of determining of how far faith goes, and where hope and love begin.

When the living Christ dwells in a man, then he no longer perceives faith, hope or love in himself, nor does he name them. Instead, he sees only Christ and names only Him. This is just like a fruit-grower in autumn who considers the ripe fruit on the tree, and speaks no more of blossoms and leaves but of fruit, ripe fruit.

O Lord Jesus Christ, supreme height of all our endeavors and the destination of all our travels, draw near to us and save us. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

The Apostle Paul and Thessaloniki

By Panagiotis Melikides, Theologian

On October 26th our Church celebrates the memory of Saint Demetrios, who, along with Saint George, are among the most beloved saints. Saint Demetrios, as we all know, is the patron saint of the city of Thessaloniki. If Philippi was the first European city to accept the message of the Gospel from the Apostle Paul, the Church of Thessaloniki was the first to accept the two first epistles from the Apostle to the Nations and are also the oldest New Testament texts. Thus in today's message we will very briefly look at how this city was Christianized by the Apostle Paul.

We will first note two basic things regarding the tactics the Apostle followed in his missionary work and which he implemented in the case of Thessaloniki. First of all, the Apostle chose cities renowned for their important geographical location and for their commercial traffic, which means they were not only numerous, but because of their importance they were visited by several foreigners for various reasons (traders, professionals, etc.). In this way the Gospel message could be diverted from the city-hub to other areas. His second tactic was to first preach in the Jewish synagogues. We should not forget that Israel was God's chosen people so that through them mankind could prepare for the coming of the Messiah. Moreover, the Old Testament that was read and interpreted in the synagogues was a "pedagogue to Christ", by which, theoretically speaking, the local Israelites of the diaspora would easier accept the message of the Gospel.

It would be useful, I think, to see briefly what were the synagogues. First, synagogues appear after the destruction of the first Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem (586 BC), but as a place of worship they began to grow after the destruction of the second Temple by the Romans in 70 AD. In the synagogue was read, as already noted, the Scriptures (the Old Testament) and it was interpreted. Also, in addition to reading and interpretation there was also prayer. The head of the synagogue is the rabbi, who is not a priest but a teacher (which is the meaning of the word "rabbi").

To better understand the actions of the Apostle Paul we should keep in mind that Macedonia and, therefore, Thessaloniki, were completely conquered by the Romans in 146 BC. It had the privileges of a free city and the right to self-government led by the so-called "civic militia", the existence of which is known through the book Acts of the Apostles. The civic militia as higher magistrates were elected by the people, and were in administration and accountable to the Roman praetor who had been based in this city. The demographic composition of the city was composed mainly by Greeks, Romans and Jews. It would be superfluous to mention the importance of Thessaloniki, as an important and major urban center of the time.

So when the Apostle Paul arrived in Thessaloniki after Philippi, he first preached, according to his tactic, in the synagogue of the city. Acts refers to him preaching on three consecutive Sabbaths, explaining to the Jews that Jesus had to be crucified and rise from the dead, and that this Jesus is the Messiah (Acts 17:2-3). The results were dismal. Only a few Jews believed in the preaching of Paul, while the majority of those that did respond were pagans. Among these first Christians were: Aristarchus, Gaius and Secundus. Tradition (although this is not generally accepted) considers Aristarchus to be the first bishop of Thessaloniki.

The great success of the work of the Apostle Paul enraged the Jews, who went to the home of Jason who was hosting the Apostle. They did not find the Apostle Paul there, but they arrested Jason and some believers who were at his house at the time, and they were led to the civic militia. The accusations made, according to Acts 17:7, were the following: "They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." After paying bail Jason was eventually released. After all these things Paul escaped by night for the city of Beroia.

It is a fact that the Apostle loved the Christians of Thessaloniki very much. Thus, in 51 AD, while in Corinth for missionary purposes, he sent his first epistle to the Thessalonians. This epistle is the first text of the New Testament written, and it responds to issues faced by the Christian community, but the issues raised by the divinely-inspired words of the Apostle to the Nations are definitely timeless and relevant to all people everywhere no matter what times they live in.

Source: Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi, "Απόστολος Παύλος καί Θεσσαλονίκη", October 2008. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.