Discovering the Image of God in You
The Divine Rescue Mission to restore what we abandoned is just days away!
A Special Message from Fr. Barnabas: Only a few more days left to participate in the End of the Year Campaign and we are so close to our goal! We are a little over $1000 away from our goal. While you're thinking about it, go to FaithEncouraged.org, click the Donate button, and make this gift today, or click the picture below! Thanks. Oh, and don't forget to email me how Faith Encouraged helped you in 2023! Frbarnabas@FaithEncouraged.org
"She looks just like you," I confess; I love hearing this from folks when they see a picture of my little girls. Of course, when they see a picture of my wife, they say that the girls look like her! So, which is it? Well, it's both. After all, the girls are our children so it makes perfect sense that they favor us both!
It's hard to hide a family resemblance, especially if you're from a small town. Everybody knew I was a Powell! I had that family look.
But the Faith declares that all of us are made in God's Image! That means you've never really met a stranger because all humans share this fundamental trait! We all have the same Creator. Sadly, this truth is marred by our fallen state. But the image of God cannot be destroyed in any of us, no matter how deeply we fall into the soul-deforming sickness of rebellion against God. It may be hard to see in some people, but God's image is indestructible. And that image is what gives each person infinite worth and value!
Look at our lesson today in Hebrews 7:1-6:
Brethren, Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him; and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever. See how great he is! Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of the spoils. And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brethren, though these also are descended from Abraham. But this man who has not their genealogy received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
It turns out our Hebrews homily makes an amazing statement about an Old Testament figure that has been the source of speculation and interpretation for centuries. Who is this "Melchizedek, king of Salem?"
Here's what we know from the scriptures: He is a priest of the Most High God. He is recognized as such by our Father Abraham, and Abraham pays him a tithe after God granted Abraham to win a battle. His name means "righteousness," and his kingly title means "king of peace." Salem is the Semitic word for "peace." So Jerusalem literally means "city of peace."
Melchizedek's genealogy is a mystery to the point the writer says "he is without father or mother" and "has neither beginning of days nor end of life." In fact, this mysterious king resembles the Son of God! What a mystery man!
Our preacher here in Hebrews uses this mysterious figure to tell his Jewish audience that God has been giving them centuries of clues about the coming of Jesus. Admit it, when you read the description of Melchizedek, you thought of Jesus.
And all of this our preacher is using to tell these Jewish Christians, who are considering leaving the Church and going back to Judaism, that they are abandoning the truth told to them for centuries!
Of course, that can happen when you forget who your family is when you start losing your family resemblance. But how did this happen? With all God did through the centuries to prepare Israel to receive the Messiah, how did they make such a tragic mistake? The answer is the same for all of us when we give up doing the hard work of keeping connected to wisdom and truth. We keep our connection and our family resemblance when we stay close to the One we desire to be like!
The whole purpose of all that we do in our Faith is to wake us up to this vital connection in our lives, our everyday lives. If we treat the faith as nothing more than a cultural decoration, a hobby, or anything less than the center of our lives, we run the risk of staying asleep to this Message of transformation where we lose our resemblance to our Creator. No wonder the most chilling words a human will ever hear from the lips of Jesus is "Depart from Me. I never knew you." The formation of this family resemblance becomes the central goal of our lives.
This is at the heart of the message of the Feast of the Nativity. Why does Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, empty Himself and become a baby in a manger? Why does He choose one of us from whom to take His flesh? As we enter the Fpoirefeast of the Nativity, we are confronted by a loving God determined to restore the beauty of His Image in every person through His coming into the world to destroy that which disfigures our souls. He comes as One of Us so that He can remake the marred Image in us so that, at the great judgment Seat of Christ, He will see the "family resemblance" in us and reveal that we are already in communion with Him. To those who foolishly squander their time here ignoring His loving invitation, they will hear the horrible words "I never knew you." But to those wise enough to grasp the true meaning of Christmas, the Holy Spirit is already at work in you to restore the Image scarred by sin and death.
Today, do you know how to uncover the resemblance to your Creator within you? It's there. You were made in the image of God to be made into His Likeness by your closeness to Him in His Son. The lifestyle of a normal Orthodox Christian is exactly the remedy to the lethargy of forgetfulness, selfishness, and self-destructive disconnectedness. It's at the very heart of learning how to live a Normal Orthodox Life!
P.S. Be ready, Bethlehem. Eden has opened unto all. Ephratha, prepare yourself, for now, behold, the Tree of Life has blossomed forth in the cave from the Holy Virgin. Her womb has proved a true spiritual Paradise, wherein the divine and saving Tree is found, and as we eat thereof, we shall all live, and shall not die as did Adam. For Christ is born now to raise the image that had fallen aforetime.
Our End of the Year Giving Campaign is fast approaching the end. We will be accepting donations for this Campaign until December 31st. Your gift of $5, $10, or $50 or more will help us reach our goal of $5,000. We are over halfway there, and there is still time for you to participate. I pray you will. Just go to www.FaithEncouraged.org and click the Donate button. Do it now while you're thinking about it. Thank you!
