Thoughts on the Scriptures

Have you learned to see God and represent Him to yourself--as the omnipresent Wisdom, as the living, acting Word, as the vivifying Holy Spirit? The Holy Scripture is the domain of Wisdom, Word and Spirit, of God in the Trinity: in it He clearly manifests Himself: "The Words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life," [5] said the Lord. The writings of the Holy Fathers are again the expression of the Mind, Word and Spirit of the Holy Trinity, in which the spirit of the higher class (spiritually speaking) of mankind has largely participated; the writings of ordinary worldly men are the expression of the fallen spirit of men, with all their sinful attachments, habits and passions. In the Holy Scriptures we see God face to face, and ourselves as we are. Man, know thy self through them, and walk always as in the presence of God.

In the temple, in its arrangements and parts, in the icons, in the Divine service, with the reading of the Holy Scriptures, the singing, the rites, the entire Old Testament, New Testament, and Church history, the whole Divine ordering of the salvation of mankind is emblematically traced, as upon a chart, in figures and in general outlines. Grand is the spectacle of the Divine service of our Orthodox Church for those who understand it, who penetrate into its essence, its spirit, its signification, its sense!

The Church, through the temple and Divine service, acts upon the entire man, educates him wholly; acts upon his sight, hearing, smelling, feeling, taste, imagination, mind, and will, by the splendour of the icons and of the whole temple, by the ringing of bells, by the singing of the choir, by the fragrance of the incense, the kissing of the Gospel, of the cross and the holy icons, by the prosphoras, the singing, and sweet sound of the readings of the Scriptures.

The thoughts of a man have the most powerful influence upon the state and inclinations of his heart and actions; therefore, in order that the heart may be pure, good, tranquil, and that the inclinations of the will may be also good and pious, it is necessary to cleanse our thoughts by means of prayer, by reading the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers, as well as by meditations on the perishableness, transitoriness, and complete disappearance of earthly delights.

St John of Kronstadt

Scripture Sufficient to Guide Us to Salvation?

When this question was posed to Elder Cleopa of Romania he said the following:

No, it is not sufficient to guide man to salvation, inasmuch as , firstly, it wasn't given to man from the beginning and , secondly, when it was given it wasn't the only authentic text, with regard to salvation of human souls, because before there was Holy Tradition. Many years before Moses began writing the first books of the Old Testament, there was a sacred piety in the community of people of Israel. Similarly, the books of the New Testament began to be written ten years after the formal foundation of he Church which took place on the day of Pentecost. The Church chose and sealed as inspired by God the books of the two Testaments over one hundred years later.

It wasn't until the fifth century that we had the book called the New Testament as we now know it. In 419 AD there was a council of 217 Bishops who gathered in Carthage and who established a canon which determined the books to be included. The Book of Revelation remained in dispute for many years later and thus was not included in the lectionary of the eastern Church for reading in Church services.

Holy scripture is still the most important document in the Church. What we call Holy Tradition shows us how to interpret what it says. No one individual has the right or ability to interpret Scripture. This is reserved for the Church collectively. Think about how Christ gave out the information that is included in the Scripture. He gave it to His disciples, not to he masses, for them to teach. And so it is still to this day. Those who have been properly trained and received the gift of ordination have the ability to proclaim the teachings with the proper interpretations.

Elder Cleopa expresses it this way:

Our Apostle Paul says: " How shall they preach, except they be sent?" Accordingly, the bishops are the lawful successors to the Apostles and those went for the preaching to the people. Paul entrusts the heavy burden of the instruction of the people to Timothy and not to the faithful. He speaks of this elsewhere: "Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?" Again he says to Timothy that the clergy must be "apt to teach" others. He does not, however, say the same thing for the faithful. He makes a distinction between shepherd and sheep, between teacher and those taught. Still, the teachers cannot each whatever they would like, but that which the Church teaches universally. They teach in the name of the church and of Christ. Not everyone has the intellectual ability and the requisite divine grace necessary to expound Holy Scripture correctly. The Apostle Peter also says this in his second epistle... "There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own distraction, as they do the other scriptures."

We are bombarded in these times with many who call themselves Christians who believe that anyone can interpret scripture and who blatantly ignore the interpretations handed down by the Church and abhor the term Holy Tradition. They have made such distortions to the point of even rejecting the Sacraments, especially the sacrament of Holy Communion. The Holy Tradition of the Church is vast and rich allowing us to know the meaning of Scripture as it was intended by the Apostles. It includes much more than the Books of the Testaments. It also includes they teachings that have been incorporated in visual form in our icons and in hymnology as well as the writings of the Church Fathers. We must be cautious of Bible study programs that take place outside of the Church. Many introduce distorted teachings that not only negate the sacramental life of the Church, but also the ascetic practices such as fasting. The water down the Orthodox way of life as taught by the Apostles necessary for our spiritual growth in Christ.

Elder Cleopa warns:

Holy Scripture is like a very deep well wherein is comprised the infinite wisdom of God. If someone thirsty dives into this well to drink all of its water, he will be drowned within. If, however, he will fetch the water with a bucket and from there will drink from a cup, then there is not fear of being engulfed.

He then reminds us of the Scripture passage about the eunuch of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was reading the prophet Isaiah when the Apostle Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading. And he replied,"How can I, except some man should guide me?"

God revealed His word not to just anyone. Elder Cleopa explains:

He revealed His wisdom to those who , with respect to good works, were perfect and had innocence of infants. That's why Paul counsels the Corinthians as follows: "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be ye men."

Reference: The Truth of our Faith, pp 45 - 51

http://orthodoxwayoflife.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture

On Reading Scripture

“When one undertakes to examine Scripture in an idle, intellectual way, he creates hatred and quarreling. Why? Because the intellect approach to Scripture does not help us to turn and reflect on our sins, but instead makes us focus on problems and concepts related to the study of Scripture, with the result that our logical and intellectual faculties are aroused to no real purpose. “Knowledge” by itself does not add anything. On the contrary, it encourages the cultivation of the individual and his private sense of things; it fosters the self-sufficiency of his personal opinions, which he then seeks to justify and impose on others. This kind of approach to Scripture immediately places you in conflict with others; it opposes your will and opinion to theirs, prompting you to disagree and argue with them, and to make enemies of your brothers. Filled as I am with my own opinions about things, I am not able to receive anything from God.

The correct way is to read Scripture with simplicity and to allow God to tell us what he wants to tell us. It’s one thing to read Scripture because you want to collect information, and another thing to read it because you want to acquire its true content, that is, the Holy Spirit. This kind of knowledge is the life of God (cf. Jn. 17:3), the entry and extension of God into our life; it is God’s descent and dwelling among us. We can judge whether or not our study of Scripture is authentic based on the number of tears we shed when we study. To be sure, I can also read Scripture without shedding tears, and without a strong sense of my sins, but with the hope that God’s grace, through the reading of Scripture, will break open my hardened heart. Read Scripture, then, but don’t forget about your sins and reduce Scripture to an object of intellectual inquiry, for at that point it ceases being the word of God and you start seeing it as something human. The criterion for your study should be this: the way you read the Bible should bring peace to your heart, communion with God, love of neighbors, and the consciousness of your own sinfulness: the recognition of how unworthy and ill-prepared you are to stand before God.”

Elder Aimilianos, On Abba Isaiah

On Learning Scripture

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

Study then, O men, the life according to God and no one shall conquer you at any time; and although you may be accounted the most insignificant of men, you shall be more powerful than all.

        St. John Chrysostom

Great is the profit of the divine Scriptures, and all-sufficient is the aid which comes from them … For the divine oracles are a treasury of all manner of medicines, so that whether it be needful to quench pride, to lull desire to sleep, to tread under foot the love of money, … from them one may find abundant resource.

        St. John Chrysostom

Great and Holy Friday

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Jn 3:14–21). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Great and Holy Thursday

When you see that you are quarreling, etc., you should realize that you are doing the devil’s will and that God is greatly distressed. The angels who see you say with sorrow, “What’s wrong with him that makes him fight? Doesn’t he take into consideration God’s commandment to love?” Whereas, when they see you sacrificing yourself for the love of Christ, they rejoice and glorify God, Who gives His grace so that man may conquer the devil.

        Elder Ephraim of the Holy Mountain

The state of love may be recognized in the giving of money, and still more in the giving of spiritual counsel and in looking after people in their physical needs.

        St. Maximos the Confessor

Love is essentially the banishment of every kind of contrary thought, for love thinketh no evil.

        St. John Climacus

We stand before the altar of love, before the very presence of Love Incarnate Himself, and we have no love for each other! Is it not strange? And worse, we do not even worry about it, do not even care about it. But love, especially love of neighbor will not come of itself—we must strive for it with earnest efforts.

        St. John of Kronstadt

Should we not above everything else love God, more than everything else desire Him and seek Him? I, a sinner, for more than forty years have been learning how to love God, and I cannot say that I love Him completely! How should we love God? If we love someone, we constantly remember him, strive to please him day and night. Our heart and mind are occupied by the object of our love. Do you love God in this way? Do you turn to Him often? Do you remember Him always? Do you always pray to Him and do His will, His holy commandments? For our good, for our happiness, let us at least make ourselves a vow: that from this day, from this hour, from this minute, we shall strive to love God above all and do His commandments!

        St. Herman of Alaska

The man who has found love eats and drinks Christ every day and hour and so is made immortal. ‘Whoever eats of this bread’, He says, ‘which I will give him, will never taste death.’ Blessed is he who consumes the bread of love, which is Jesus! He who eats of love eats Christ, the God over all, as John bears witness, saying, ‘God is love.’

        St. Isaac the Syrian

As a man who drinks wine and becomes inebriated on a day of mourning forgets all the pangs of his sorrow, so the man who in this world—which is a house of lamentation—is drunk with the love of God, forgets all his sorrows and afflictions and becomes insensible of all sinful passions through his inebriation.

        St. Isaac the Syrian

Great and Holy Wednesday

Lord is pure, remaining forever and ever.” Those who, because of fear, turn to faith and righteousness, remain forever. Fear does, in fact, motivate to abstaining from evil: but love, building up to free action, exhorts to the doing of good.

        St. Clement of Alexandria

The Lord will condemn to eternal fire those who create temptations. Sincerely love one another—not falsely and superficially, but with spiritual depth. Our Christ showed us so much love that His holy example should become a holy reason for us also to love one another similarly. If we do not show love through our deeds—not only in words—in vain do we labor in our struggle, for we are beating the air (1 Cor. 9:26) and are straying from the goal of our salvation. Let us not be deceived, thinking that we shall be saved while neglecting the basic virtue of love. If we are not characterized by the unadulterated love of Christ, in vain do we run, in which case all hope of salvation is lost.

        Elder Ephraim of the Holy Mountain

When grace works in the soul of one who is praying, the love of God floods the soul to such an extent that he is unable to handle his experience. Afterwards his love turns toward the world and mankind, which he loves so much that he asks to take upon himself all human suffering and grief so as to free those who suffer. And more generally, he identifies with every grief and affliction, even for irrational beasts, so that he weeps when he considers their suffering. These are the attributes of love which prayer energizes and inspires. For this reason those who are dedicated to prayer never cease interceding on behalf of the world.

        Elder Joseph the Hesychast of Mt. Athos (+1959)

The sign that thou lovest God is this, that thou lovest thy fellow; and if thou hatest thy fellow, thy hatred is towards God. For it is blasphemy if thou prayest before God while thou art wroth. For thy heart also convicts thee, that in vain thou multipliest words: thy conscience rightly judges that in thy prayer thou profitest nought.

        St. Ephraim the Syrian

From this day, from this hour, from this minute, let us strive to love God above all, and fulfill His holy will.

        St. Herman of Alaska