Reflections by Fr. David July 2019
"Since we are Fishers of Men"
The Church is to be an agent of change in the world that is itself changing toward secularity and scientific study as the major elemental ideas from which we as persons continue to develop the potential embedded in our humanity.
Now that "we are fishers of men" made wise by the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost; our bending our heads, our body, and kneeling before God on our knees in asking for that Grace.....Questions may arise for each of us personally and as members of St John Prodromos Church Right?
WE have laid claim to our incomparable purpose to be more than what we individually can actively imagine. Although we have vision.
We have opportunity to be vital and bring that vitality to another level .We can be the peace where the "good Life" is expressed. We can be more loving, or more beautiful because we enter into the singing, the words, the gestures carried within the Divine Liturgy. It is the work, that as sons and daughters of God we become "the holy people. The holy nation"
St John the Forerunner( prodromos) is becoming the sanctuary where the noise and the disregard of our humanity can be given the antidote, the hope. the healing. And virtues, rather than celebrity, a false identity.
How Do We accomplish This?
The Forerunner descended into Hades and brought the message and mercy of Christs' presence in his world. He heard the the voice of the Father proclaim to those who could hear "this is My beloved Son;....hear Him"The message he offered to those overwlelmned by the challenges of that hedoistic age; Somewhat, as we are in this post-modern and pluralistic culture of this age. It is here where Christian(Orthodox) identity is under threat .We are literally lured by the luxury and leisure we have worked to create and have; to satisfy our needs and wants. At times we are exploited because of our naiveté' Or we exploit others unknowingly by our own consumption of goods and our consumption of services that are necessary to our imagined sense of well-being. We want stuff!
We are to remember as Christians our belief that the "things in heaven so should they be on earth", Put another way, "Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven"
WE are to bring what we say and what we believe into our immediate world as a statement of our faith in the Holy Trinity of God as did St John announce in the Hades of his Age. May we remember and be joyful in the fact that we have put on Christ and in that Transformative moment believe in fervent faith that change can and does Save Us! We must Be and have greater knowledge of Him.
