On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 34: The Orthodox Life
“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation…” (Luke 2: 29-30 RSV)
The Orthodox Church, like all Christian communities, is composed of human beings who struggle to regain the image in which God created them. We continue to fall short of the ideal God has set for us. It is, however, a pillar of Orthodoxy that we continue to struggle by maintaining faithfulness to the Tradition. In that Tradition, we center ourselves in prayer and worship.
Living in the Church through the Church’s daily cycle of services along with the annual cycle of feasts, one encounters the entire Tradition. Our worship unfolds the mystery of the life of Christ. Hearing it, living it, week after week, year after year, it becomes embedded in us. Further, the discipline of the Church, the fasting and the prayers, also linked to the liturgical calendar, helps us both to follow the rhythm of the life of the Church, and to work back to that image in which God created us.
The center of that rhythm is the Divine Liturgy. It is only through the Liturgy that we receive the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist, the Holy Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ. This is bodily and spiritual nourishment that continually changes us. It moves us along the path toward full restoration of our souls and bodies. If we allow ourselves to live within this Holy Tradition, then we shall also live the same way outside of Church, becoming the light unto the nations that Christ intended us to be. However, we must constantly be aware of our own shortcomings. We fall and get up again, fall and get up.
Yet, in the modern world, there are many who are part of the Orthodox Church in name only. There are many worldly distractions and temptations, and many fall short of the mark. We fall easily into the distractions of houses and entertainment, electronic devices and exotic vacations. And then not only is our prayer duty compromised, we also neglect the needs of others, needs that in some cases are extreme, and in others are simple and close, but ignored.
God has committed to us only one life to live here on earth. The single purpose of that life is to prepare us for an eternal life that follows. That preparation is done in the community that is the Church. Should we find ourselves so distracted by the allure of this world that we either ignore or compromise our commitment to the Body of Christ, the Church, that eternal life with God is put in jeopardy.
This weekly series of brief thoughts on stewardship and Orthodox life is brought to you by your Diocesan Stewardship Commission.
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- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 71: Be Still And Know That I Am God
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 70: Acceptable Offering? (Part 3)
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 69: Acceptable Offering? (Part 2)
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 68: Acceptable Offering? (Part I)
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 67: God's Gift - Our Gift
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 66: Motivation
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 65: Life Lived in Vain
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 64: What is God's?
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 63: Wearing The Right Clothes
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 62: No Other Gods
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 61: Giving Your All: Part 3
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 60: Giving Your All: Part 2
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 59: Giving Your All: Part 1
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 58: Giving Freely
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 57: God-given Talent
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 56: "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29 RSV)
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 55: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36 RSV)
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 54: Widow and Orphan
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 53: Stewards and the Poor III
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 52: Stewards and the Poor II
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 51: Stewards and the Poor I
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 50: Mammon
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 49: Yours of Your Own
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 48: Do Not Be Afraid
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 47: Squandering God's Gifts
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 46: Decisions
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 45: What Must I Do?
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 44: It’s Your Choice, Part 2
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 43: It’s Your Choice, Part I
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 42: He Became One of Us
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 41: “As Were the Days of Noah…”
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 40: Money – An Entrusted Talent
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 39: The Common Life in The Spirit
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 38: Prove It
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 37: RSVP Please
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 36: Talents II
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 35: Talents I
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 34: The Orthodox Life
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 33: Stewardship Formation
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 32: Jacob's Vow
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 31: For Value Received
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 30: Time and Talent IV
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 29: Time and Talent III
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 28: Time and Talent II
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 27: Time and Talent I
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 26: The First Day – The First Fruits
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 25: Robbery and Blessings
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 24: Proportional Giving
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 23: The Old Tithe – The New Stewardship
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 22: An Infant. Some Shepherds. The Magi.
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 21: The Stewardship of Prayer and Fasting
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 20: The Loyalty Test III
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 20: The Loyalty Test II
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 20: The Loyalty Test I
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 19: “God so loved the world, He gave…” (John 3:16 RSV)
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 18: Timothy to the Rescue
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 17: Standing in the Way
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 16: Whose Will They Be?
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 15: The Least of These
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 14: Baptism and Turning One’s Back on the Church
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 13: Sacrificial Giving
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 12: Receiving To Give.
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 11: Land of Opportunity
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 10: A Simple Plan – Part 3
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 9: A Simple Plan – Part 2
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 8: A Simple Plan – Part I
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 7: On Selfishness
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 6: “You are Not Your Own”
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 5: St. Paul on Selfishness
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 4: Our Bountiful Benefactor
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 3: Stewardship Blessings
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 2: Co-Workers With God
- On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 1: Introduction
34. The Orthodox Life
“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation…” (Luke 2: 29-30 RSV)
The Orthodox Church, like all Christian communities, is composed of human beings who struggle to regain the image in which God created them. We continue to fall short of the ideal God has set for us. It is, however, a pillar of Orthodoxy that we continue to struggle by maintaining faithfulness to the Tradition. In that Tradition, we center ourselves in prayer and worship.
Living in the Church through the Church’s daily cycle of services along with the annual cycle of feasts, one encounters the entire Tradition. Our worship unfolds the mystery of the life of Christ. Hearing it, living it, week after week, year after year, it becomes embedded in us. Further, the discipline of the Church, the fasting and the prayers, also linked to the liturgical calendar, helps us both to follow the rhythm of the life of the Church, and to work back to that image in which God created us.
The center of that rhythm is the Divine Liturgy. It is only through the Liturgy that we receive the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist, the Holy Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ. This is bodily and spiritual nourishment that continually changes us. It moves us along the path toward full restoration of our souls and bodies. If we allow ourselves to live within this Holy Tradition, then we shall also live the same way outside of Church, becoming the light unto the nations that Christ intended us to be. However, we must constantly be aware of our own shortcomings. We fall and get up again, fall and get up.
Yet, in the modern world, there are many who are part of the Orthodox Church in name only. There are many worldly distractions and temptations, and many fall short of the mark. We fall easily into the distractions of houses and entertainment, electronic devices and exotic vacations. And then not only is our prayer duty compromised, we also neglect the needs of others, needs that in some cases are extreme, and in others are simple and close, but ignored.
God has committed to us only one life to live here on earth. The single purpose of that life is to prepare us for an eternal life that follows. That preparation is done in the community that is the Church. Should we find ourselves so distracted by the allure of this world that we either ignore or compromise our commitment to the Body of Christ, the Church, that eternal life with God is put in jeopardy.