A Bible Study on the Book of Romans based upon the homilies of St John Chrysostom in Tarpon Springs, Florida. This session originally LIVE STREAMED on Tuesday, February 18, 2020.
https://www.LiveANewLifeInChrist.org/romans
On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, the Second Sunday of the Triodion, we hear the most important message from the Church. No matter what we do, God loves us, but that does not mean that He wants us to remain in our sin. Even though we waste the gifts that God has given us, God will always welcome us Home when we return in repentance, but we musts first leave the sinful life behind. There is also a warning for those of us who are in Church. When we witness others who have returned to Church after a life away in a distant country, a life of sin, God invites us to join Him in celebrating their return. God offers us the greatest celebration when we return. The father didn’t just have a small dinner for the Prodigal Son when he returned, but he offered the most prized celebration to honor the son’s return. When we return to God, leaving the sinful life behind, God offers us the greatest celebration, Holy Communion and a life united to Him in heaven.
A Bible Study on the Book of Romans based upon the homilies of St John Chrysostom in Tarpon Springs, Florida. This session originally LIVE STREAMED on Tuesday, February 11, 2020.
https://www.LiveANewLifeInChrist.org/romans
If we think that God is somehow obligated to bless us, or to give us gifts, then we will likely not be grateful to Him. In truth we are not worthy of anything good from God. We do not deserve any blessings from him. If we are willing to accept this truth, then maybe we will be more thankful when God indeed chooses to bless us. How do we thank God? We come to the Church and we give Him gifts of thanks through our stewardship, olive oil for the lamps, prosforo for Holy Communion. Rather than demand that God does what we want, we can be grateful to God even when we do not deserve those blessings.
The first public words of Christ after His Baptism and temptation by the devil were words of inspiration. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4.17) Christ has invited us to change the way we look at life. He has invited us to look at those around us with the Light of Christ, rather than the darkness of the world. In a world filled with darkness, we have seen The Light of God, which will guide our path. It can be very easy to be distracted by the darkness, but we have the power to chase the devil away with the commandment, “Get behind me Satan!” and he is required by God to obey our prayer, because we have the power of the Light of God. God has given us the opportunity to live rather than die, to seek Him rather than run away because The Light has come and destroyed the darkness.
Throughout the Old Testament, we hear stories of God coming ‘just in time’ before it was too late to rescue His people. He was waiting for just the right time to enter into creation and finally defeat death, once and for all. Immediately when the world heard of His glorious birth, the world through King Herod, rejected God and sought to kill Him. If Christ had died then at birth, He still would have defeated death, but nobody would have believed it. It was necessary that He die publicly so when He rose from the dead, everyone would believe Him. God’s Timing is everything.
When the Gospel recalls the ancestors of Christ on the Sunday before Christmas, we are not only hearing of the ancestors of Christ, but our ancestors as well. When we hear the list of names found in beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, we are reminded of how God has fulfilled His promise to save us. In reminding us of this history, we are comforted hearing that even the righteous ancestors of God didn’t always get everything ‘right’ in their decisions. Despite all the mistakes of our ancestor, God still came and saved us, and despite our sins and mistakes, He will never abandon us, and save us.
In the Parable of the Great Banquet found in Luke 14.16-24, Christ describes how entrance into heaven will take place. For many of those who have been invited, heaven will be refused using a variety of excuses. Instead of the banquet being empty, the master Who is God, commands His servants to go and find everyone else in town to fill His House saying, “For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.” (Luke 14.24) Those who will enjoy the banquet didn’t do anything other than accept the invitation from God. Those who were locked outside did nothing more than make a bunch of excuses. We have all been invited into Heaven by God. It would be a shame if we refuse the invitation.
Once on a Sabbath Day, Christ reached out and healed a woman from eighteen years of suffering as He said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” (Luke 13.12) The Jewish leaders were furious that Christ would dare “work” on the Sabbath, a day while work was not allowed by God. As we continue preparing ourselves to receive Christ for Christmas, it is time for us to have compassion and mercy for others as more important than following the exact rules of the Church.
Faith is a free gift from God that we must choose to accept. From the moment we awake until the moment we go to bed, we are faced with constant opportunities to choose faith and live with Christ. Do we choose to pray and give thanks to God for a new day the moment we awake, or do we rush to be ready for work? Do we choose to thank God for our food and pray? Do we choose to prepare to be in Church on Sunday morning, or do we wait to see if we will wake up on time? The crowd of temptations are constantly trying to hush our soul as it cries out for Christ. Don’t let the crowd quiet you and allow your soul to call out to God. It is your choice.
