Transcription
God bless you. Thanks a lot for tuning in to this Q&A. This is our effort to try to make some small responses to the many questions that we receive at our website. I want you to know that uh my tech team, they're always driving me, always driving me. And I'm doing this after serving orthosen liturgy without coffee. So you have to take some of these comments. You might need to take them with a little grain of salt. You might need to moderate them here or there because of uh my sacrifice to be able to do this recording without my morning coffee.
This first question uh is from Andrea. Hello father, I recently have been to my local Orthodox church coming from a Protestant church. I used to be a witch and I was a devote of Satan. I have struggled intensely with demonic oppression and still struggle to this day to the point where I sometimes feel like I'm being constantly watched. The closer I grow to my faith and learn and devote myself to God, the more bad things are happening in my life.
Well, that's very understandable. Uh when you have a history as you do, dear uh in which you danced with the devils literally and participated in the kingdom of darkness. uh you're going to have of course intense opposition from the dark forces as you seek to honor God as you seek to become God's woman. I would say to you, let your devotion to Christ and your faith in Christ be your peace. The devils can do nothing to Christ. Christ is the tyrannizer and triumpher over all things evil. So draw near to him. Of course, you're going to have opposition. I'll tell you that uh one of the things that I teach the catechumans uh when a person draws near to the church and enrolls in the school of the church called the catechism I teach them to expect demonic opposition. That demonic opposition is actually a compliment. It's because you're heading on the narrow road that leads to eternal life. You're yoking yourself to the master, the Lord Christ. And this is exactly what the demons can't stand. But don't worry, your champion, our savior will come to your aid. He will protect you. Call on his name. Take refuge in the sign of the cross which burns the devils. And fight, ask him for the strength to fight for love, to fight for faith, and he'll be with you.
This next qu question is uh about becoming uh a catechuman while a couple is living together. Hi father, my backstory. My boyfriend and I have been together for six years. We have been living together for the past three years. Previously neither of us had any relationship with God at all. I was very much into new age practices and he comes from no religious background. About a year and a half ago, he led me back to my faith and he suggested we go to an Orthodox church. We started attending liturgy and in March uh in March and have completely fallen in love. I can understand that we will become catechumans in September. Yippee. However, the closer I draw to God, the more I feel convicted about how we are living. What should we do?
It's a great question. And in fact, you are uh not alone in your circumstances. Many people who are living in the secular society have no guidance whatsoever about how to form relationships and about marriage and the sanctity of marriage. You learn this as you draw near to the church. What my counsel is to those who are in your circumstances uh who want to begin catechism. I ask that they deal with the question of their relationship before I enroll them as catechumans. And what I mean by this is to make a choice. To make a choice either to wed or to separate. One or the other. What you can't do is continue to live in sin, to live in fornication while you're in catechism, of course, that is a complete impossibility because the whole purpose of catechism is to conform your life to the commandments of the Lord. Catechism is the quest for purification. Therefore, this is natural and perfectly uh understandable that you'd be raising this question. In fact, this is just a part of preparing yourself to be a ketchum. It's pre-catechism. Uh and it's an important question. So, pray, speak together, decide if you are going to make a life together. If so, go down to the courts and wed obtain a civil marriage and approach the church then as a married couple. If you aren't sure or you are not disposed to that, then separate and let your separation and the establishment of a reasonable uh upright relationship as a single person uh that'll be also good preparation for your catechism.
This next question uh is about repentance. I have a question about what real repentance is. Many have told me that repentance is only real if you never sin again. Which brings me some fear as I fall into sin like lust a lot despite repenting each time and asking for forgiveness.
This is a wonderful question and in answering this question we should avoid two extremes in understanding repentance. The first is that repentance means perfect repentance. That's not true. You can truly and authentically repent without repenting perfectly. Repentance has a beginning and repentance is something that we should grow in. Our repentance should become deeper and deeper. The more we love God, the more we'll repent. The more that we understand the commandments, the more that we will repent as we seek God. So don't make the mistake of equating real repentance with perfect repentance. Perfection comes at the resurrection from the dead. At the same time, don't make the opposite mistake and think that real repentance doesn't necessarily have to show itself in deeds. It does. We're taught by the Holy Scriptures, by the Lord, bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance. Bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance. This is the scriptural word. Therefore, you must insist that your repentance is more than a feeling, more than a disposition and more than just a prayer. That it actually orients itself towards deeds. It has to prove itself in deeds. Not perfect deeds, but authentic deeds. Just think of the thief on the cross. He's an excellent example of true repentance. Here he was a convicted murderer receiving the death penalty as he deserved and he came to faith in Christ. He put his faith in Jesus who was next to him on the cross. And Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Many people think, well, is that all you have to do? No, that's not all he did. Remember, he actually bore the fruits. Even though he had a short time as a Christian, a very short time, what did he do? He humbled himself. He also rebuked his partner in crime who was not being humble and not showing faith towards Christ. And he said, "Wh are you talking like that? This man is innocent." So he confessed Christ and then he humbled himself. He said, "And we are getting the just dessert for our crimes." So this is a good example of how generous God is to those who repent. Repent authentically. Insist on deeds of repentance. And don't trip yourself up by thinking that you're not really repenting if it's not perfect. Real repentance is not perfect repentance in this life.
This next question comes from a Coptic Christian and it's a question about the singular issue that separates uh the Coptic Church from the Eastern Orthodox Church and that is the fourth ecumenical council and the importance of confessing that our Lord Jesus Christ who is a singular person exists in two natures without intermingling confusion or division. The question is this. I am a Coptic Orthodox Christian and I wanted to ask about the historical origin of the one nature versus the two natures debate about our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me direct you my dear brother to a series on the Petristic Nectar app entitled the ecumenical councils. You'll find there uh lectures on all the ecumenical councils and I would particularly encourage you to listen to the lecture on the fourth ecumenical council. that council in AD 451 uh that took place in Calcidon uh is a very very important council that addresses exactly your question in great detail. Uh in summary, let me say simply this of why it's so important to believe that the one Lord Jesus Christ, the singular person of the God man exists in and not just from two natures. He is both divine and human and maintains both a perfect divine nature and a perfect human nature. The reason that this is so important and why it's uh insufficient to affirm that he has one divine human nature is that by assuming humanity in time in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Lord Jesus Christ built a bridge, a salvific bridge between the human race and divinity, between God and man. He became what he was not a human being without ceasing to be what he was the co-eternal son of God. God the God uh the son of God himself. That movement uh while maintaining his integrity his the n the integrity of his divine nature and the integrity of his human nature forms a bridge between us and God. If Jesus does not have a full perfect human nature, then he has no bond to us. If he became a third thing, neither just a divine nature nor just a human nature. If he became a third thing, a divine human nature, which is what the heretics at the time of the fourth ecumenical council were teaching, that we could not distinguish the divine and the human natures. If if that is true, then he no longer can function as a consubstantial uh in uh a consistent bridge between God and man because he no longer has consubstantiality with his father because his father doesn't have a mixed divine human nature and he's no longer consubstantial with us because human beings don't have a mixed human divine nature. But because in his singular person his two natures are united. He remains consubstantial with his father having a perfect divine nature like his father does and he remains consubstantial with the human race having a perfect human nature joined in his single person. In this way Jesus is the singular savior of the human race. The one who joins God and man together in himself. Please study the fourth ecumenical council dear brother.
Oh this is a wonderful question. I'm very happy to answer this one. This is a question about how it's possible to live as a principled Christian instead of uh on the principle of emotionalism. I was glad to receive this question because so much of our culture is based on emotionalism and not on principle. And this temptation for any human being to be a emotional unprincipled person. This has always been a temptation for sinners. But in this digital age, this age of digital provocation with texting and comments, uh I would say the temptation to be an emotional basket case as a human being have just skyrocketed. So how do you do this? The question particularly is what is the best way to depart from the modern-day addiction to emotionalism?
Well, let me just say this that the Christian life is a matter of conviction. You want to live by conviction and principle, not by emotion. If you love when you feel the emotion of love, your love means very little. If you have feelings of hate and you yield to them because your addiction to emotionalism leads you to go against your principles, you also are, forgive me, a pathetic weakling. Those who are dominated by emotionalism will never succeed in being dedicated to anything. In fact, love is defined by St. Paul in the scriptures by action verbs. The most famous text in all of the New Testament on love is 1 Corinthians 13 where Paul writes, "Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not self-seeking. It does not seek its own." And he gives you a beautiful list all in action verbs. He doesn't describe love as feelings. Says nothing about it whatsoever. Love is deeds. Love is action. As a matter of fact, the most valuable love, the love that is truly Christian, is agape love. This is love that is unconditional. And the highest of the agape love is the agape, true Christian love of enemies. And there cannot be on principle emotive support for loving an enemy. Jesus references this in his teachings about love. He says everyone loves those who love them love them. Even the pagans do that. There's no value in that. If you love people because they're always nice to you or they're your friends and they say they do nice things for you all the time. What's the true value of that love? He said the true value, the true proof that you're mine is that you have my kind of love, which is the love of enemies. The Lord came and sought our salvation. He came down from heaven, bent the heavens, and bowed down and embraced the human race and the earth to save us. Even when we were his enemies, it wasn't based on emotion. To love an enemy, you have to defy emotion. No one feels good when they're insulted or attacked or someone's trying to martyr you. But the example that we have in the church is that that is when you have the opportunity for true Christian love, the love of principle. And of course, we can even make bring it closer to home in your personal rel when someone insults you. When someone neglects you, when someone is mean to you, this is your opportunity. This is your chance to demonstrate your true Christian faith, to love all people, and to trust God in the arrangement, the providential arrangement of your life that he sends trouble to you. He sends people to cut you off on the freeway. He sends people to say offensive things to you in the market. This is all from God to give you an opportunity to demonstrate true Christian love, which is not based on emotion, but is based on principle, and it's shown in the love of enemies and opponents. God strengthen you for that.
This next question is about swearing and about the power of words. Hi Father, I'm from Australia. In our culture, it's ingrained and normal, even expected to curse and swear. I guess for most people, it's just the normal part of our English language. And it's very difficult to try not to go along with it. I don't know how to stop it or fight it. What does the church teach us to do?
Well, the church has a very clear word for you. And it sounds like if you choose to do this, if you choose to Christianize your mouth, if you choose to sanctify your lips, uh, that you will make a huge impact on your culture because your culture sounds like it's a wash in vulgarity. St. Paul says this to the Ephesians. He says, "Let no unh wholesome word proceed from your mouth." So that's where we'll start. You have to set a guard about your lips just like we say in the Psalms of Vespers. I often have uh make the cross over my lips. I learned that from my spiritual father to make sure that I take the power of words seriously and I shackle my words to the cross of Christ. I shackle it to the love of God such that what I say the Lord will be pleased with. Because he says we will render account for every word that we have spoken. Every careless word will render account for on the day of judgment. He also says as an example to us that he himself did not speak a single word that his father didn't give to him. This is our example. It's the it's our commandment that came from Christ and it's the example that we have in his own life. Paul says, "Let no unh wholesome words." So if you can't say something beautiful, if you can't say something positive, don't speak. Practice silence. But the verse continues, "Let no unh wholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear you. This is the better approach. Not only cutting off evil words, but speak words. Develop a vocabulary of grace giving. develop uh uh your words such that they alter people's lives that you say words of encouragement, words of instruction, words of love, words of sympathy because God will join his spirit to those words and he will actually do what St. Paul says, give grace to people. You'll be a gracegiver. You'll change people's lives by your words. Go for it.
I wish I didn't receive this kind of question as often as I do. The question is basically, what do I do uh when I visit an Orthodox church and no one talks to me? I am apologizing. I am apologizing uh for my brothers and sisters because sometimes uh we are clueless. Sometimes we are clueless. This is the context. My wife and I have been inquiring into Orthodoxy for a year, and we've tried two different churches, and neither felt welcoming. People don't talk to us. We even stayed after for coffee hour and have tried to talk to people, but were largely ignored and met with weird looks. It's because we're outsiders and we aren't Greek. What should we do?
Well, having apologized uh for that and forgive me, I I also am a convert and I experienced what shall I say exactly that. I'd be very careful even though it's very hurtful and I I'm sympathetic for the feelings that you would have of being ignored. I would be very careful not to project that onto others. Instead, try to forgive it. tried to cover it over uh with a blanket of love and go to another church. One of the most basic uh principles you should be looking for in an Orthodox church is a church that welcomes visitors, a church that's interested in more than their own little ethnic club. It is true that sometimes uh our churches especially in in where we live now in the new world uh where we have immigrant communities sometimes people can confuse uh why they're going to church and put their ethnic interests or their family associations above the gospel and therefore foreigners people who don't share the ethnic majority of a particular parish can feel like outsiders. that's less and less the case in our nation. And I pray that it will disappear completely uh from our nation and that we'll get all inspired to welcome all visitors as people sent by God to us to love and to share the treasures of our faith with. That's what I'm hoping for the future. Keep going until you can settle in a comfortable place.
Well, dear ones, I hope that has been edifying for you. Thanks a lot for listening and we ask your prayers. Hey everyone, I hope you've downloaded the Petristic Nectar app on your phone. It is a treasure trove of soul nourishing content and I hope you'll consider becoming a regular donor to Petristic Nectar.