Everyone is Welcome!
Everyone? Yes, EVERYONE!
Christ is risen!
The New York Times published an article about the US Surgeon General's statement concerning the very real societal epidemic of loneliness in our country (See “We Have Become a Lonely Nation,” NYT, 30 April 2023).
In the article, the Surgeon General rightly sees loneliness as a health problem leading to all kinds of difficulties. Loneliness is, indeed, both a spiritual and physical problem in our culture.
But why? Why does the human person need community and companionship?
Because that’s how we were made, God made us in His image, and He knows Himself as “Persons in Communion.”
You’ve heard me say this over and over again.
What is truly encouraging is seeing even our sadly secular society discover this wisdom because of the negative effects of loneliness on people's physical health! So, the remedy is to first identify what creates loneliness and what traits foster loneliness.
There are many answers to these questions. But there is no doubt that the evil one wants to foster division among us perpetually until we reduce the “acceptable” people down to our lonely selves!
Look at our lesson today in Acts 10:44-48; 11:1-10:
In those days, while Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can any one forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” But Peter began and explained to them in order: “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, something descending, like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came down to me. Looking at it closely I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven.”
St. Peter is explaining to the folks back in Jerusalem who are upset with him about preaching to the first Gentile convert, the Roman centurion Cornelius. The Jewish leaders of the new Christian Church are upset that Peter, a Jew, has associated with Gentiles.
Can it be that God intends to make Gentiles followers of Jesus?
Could it be true that Christ is meant for everyone, not just a “special” race of people?
Can we really embrace folks who are different from us and call them “brothers?”
We’ll see.
Not four years before this event with Cornelius, St. Peter and the 120 disciples gathered in obedience to the Lord’s command in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost.
They received the promised Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost! When the Holy Spirit was given to them, the disciples of Jesus were filled with confidence and even the ability to speak to all the people gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost in their native languages so everyone would understand the Good News of new life in Christ!
Even this event of Pentecost (The Feast we are heading towards now) telegraphed God’s intentions to make the Christian Faith available to anybody and everybody. This has such present-day applications when some would restrict Orthodoxy to this or that particular cultural experience.
The truth is, Orthodoxy should belong to everybody, or eventually it won’t belong to anybody.
And now, the Holy Spirit was doing the same thing with these Gentiles!
What further proof did St. Peter need that God is no respecter of persons but accepts everyone and anyone who longs to know Him! God reveals what He never made a secret in the first place – He intends everyone, regardless of race or background, to be together in His Church! God, through His Living Word – Jesus, wants to make us one family, not destroying our distinctive personalities, but helping us integrate all these remarkable differences into a beautiful picture of our common human race!
St. Theodoros, the Sanctified, was a companion monk of St. Pachomios, whom we remembered yesterday. St. Theodoros became the “right-hand man” to St. Pachomios as he built nine monasteries in Egypt during the 4th century. Because of Theodoros’ piety, humility, and obedience, St. Pachomios trusted the younger Theodoros with leadership in the monasteries. This made some older brothers angry because Theodoros was younger than them. But the saint continued his humble service even when he was mistreated because he knew the Truth of the matter. When St. Theodoros fell asleep in the Lord in 368 AD, it was said that his brother monks grieved and wept so loudly that their tears could be heard across the Nile. St. Theodoros was never tempted off the straight path of humility and piety by the false philosophies of pride and arrogance.
Today, can you help all the folks around you who are spiritually hungry for the fullness of the faith, ready to receive it, and embrace it? What are the barriers in your heart, your head, and even your community to be the conduit of God’s Good News to “whosoever will” so that everyone has a chance to know a real Normal Orthodox Life?
P.S. You proved to be a citizen of the desert, an angel in the flesh, and a wonderworker, O Theodore, our God-bearing Father. By fasting, vigil, and prayer you obtained heavenly gifts, and you heal the sick and the souls of them that have recourse to you with faith. Glory to Him that has given you strength. Glory to Him that has crowned you. Glory to Him that works healings for all through you.
Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouraged
Have you heard our new Bible Study podcast?
Click the link and take a listen - https://frbarnabaspowell.substack.com/podcast
Every monthly subscriber gets this Bible Study weekly as a benefit of their subscription!