The word of the day is “glory.” The Cross. A symbol of the world’s hatred, yet the sign of God’s infinite love; an image of defeat, yet an emblem of victory.  A sight of shame, yet a vision of glory. Today the Orthodox Church observes one of several feast days that celebrates the cross.  This is the “Feast of the Procession of the Cross.” It dates to the practice of carrying the cross through the streets of Constantinople in early August. August, you see, was a time when the people were especially vulnerable to sickness, like our “flu season.” The cross is our salvation and so it was carried throughout the city with prayers for the safety and healing of…
The word of the day is “sanctify.” In our reading of 1 Thessalonians 5:14-23, St. Paul closes his first letter to the Thessalonians with a prayer. The apostle writes, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vs. 23). There is no greater blessing to ask for than to be sanctified. Paul’s prayer is that God Himself would bestow that grace and “consecrate” the faithful to Himself (Strong’s# 37, 3). Sharing in the Holiness of God Peter writes, “Be holy, for I [the Lord] am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).  This instruction is a quotation from Leviticus, “For I am the LORD your God.…
The word of the day is “sanctify.” Today’s reading may be different because the OCA calendar has duplicates for this week. To avoid duplication, we will study 1 Thessalonians 5:14-23. In this passage, Paul closes his first letter to his flock in Thessalonica with a prayer. The apostle writes, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vs. 23). There is no greater blessing to ask for than to be sanctified. Paul’s prayer is that God Himself would bestow that grace of holiness and “consecrate” the faithful to Himself (Strong’s# 37, 3). Sharing in the Holiness of God Peter…
The word of the day is “sanctify.” In our reading of 1 Thessalonians 5:14-23, St. Paul closes his first letter to the Thessalonians with a prayer. The apostle writes, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vs. 23). There is no greater blessing to ask for than to be sanctified. Paul’s prayer is that God Himself would bestow that grace and “consecrate” the faithful to Himself (Strong’s# 37, 3). Sharing in the Holiness of God Peter writes, “Be holy, for I [the Lord] am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). This instruction is a quotation from Leviticus, “For I am the…