Orthodox readings for 21 December 2007

King James Version (en)

King James Version (en)

Hebrews, Chapter 11, verses 8, 11-16

⁷ The worthy fruits thereof in the fathers of old time

⁸By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
...

¹¹Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

¹²Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

¹⁴For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

¹⁵And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

¹⁶But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Read more:Hebrews, Chapter 11

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11

11:8 Gen 12:1, Gen 12:4-5

Luke, Chapter 21, verses 37-38

³⁴ He exhorteth them to be watchful

³⁷And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives.

³⁸And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.

Luke, Chapter 22, verses 1-8

¹ The Jews conspire against Christ, ³ Satan prepareth Judas to betray him, ⁷ The apostles prepare the Passover

¹Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

²And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.

³Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

⁴And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.

⁵And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.

⁶And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.

⁷Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.

⁸And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.

Read more:Luke, Chapter 22

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21

21:37 Now by day - In the day time, he was teaching in the temple - This shows how our Lord employed his time after coming toJerusalem: but it is not said, he was this day in the temple, and next morning the people came. It does not therefore by any means imply, that he came any more after this into the temple.

21:38 And all the people came early in the morning to hear him - How much happier were his disciples in these early lectures, than the slumbers of the morning could have made them on their beds!Let us not scruple to deny ourselves the indulgence of unnecessary sleep, that we may morning after morning place ourselves at his feet, receiving the instructions of his word, and seeking those of his Spirit.

22

22:1 Mat 26:1; Mar 14:1.

22:3 Then entered Satan - Who is never wanting to assist those whose heart is bent upon mischief.

22:4 Captains - Called captains of the temple, Luk 22:52.They were Jewish officers, who presided over the guards which kept watch every night in the temple.

22:7 Mat 26:17; Mar 14:12.

NOTES

During the Passover seder that became the Last Supper, Jesus showed His disciples more clearly than ever before what Christianity is. It was the Last Supper that became for Christians the event on which the life of the Church would subsequently be founded...

During the Passover seder that became the Last Supper, Jesus showed His disciples more clearly than ever before what Christianity is. It was the Last Supper that became for Christians the event on which the life of the Church would subsequently be founded, right up to Christ's return in glory. Every Christian breaking of bread, every Eucharist, becomes in essence a continuation of that same Last Supper which, while belonging to eternity, is at the same time refracted again and again in history, becoming what the Church usually calls a sacrament.

But what was the Last Supper? Outwardly it was an ordinary Passover seder, the traditional Jewish ritual festive meal held on the first day, or more precisely the first night, of the feast of Passover. In this respect Jesus invents nothing new. He does not intend to devise some special religious ritual for His disciples. And this is understandable: Jesus had no intention of founding a new religion. He speaks of something else, of His body and His blood. What does He mean?

In traditional Jewish usage, whether in Hebrew or Aramaic, body and blood mean the human person, human nature and human life. But life in all its fullness, both natural and spiritual. In the case of Christ this is very much indeed. One might say it is infinitely much, for He bears within Himself the life of the Kingdom in all its fullness. And Jewish ritual meals had always been a place of encounter, not only between God and the human person, but also among the people gathered at one table. God's presence united and sanctified them as one whole, one organism, one spiritual body. In Gospel times the entire Jewish people were perceived precisely in this way, as a single spiritual organism and not merely as an ethnic community. Ritual meals played an enormous part in their existence as one spiritual body: above all, of course, the Sabbath meals, but also those of other Jewish feasts, all founded on the breaking of bread as the moment when the participants in the meal met God and one another.

Jesus brings Himself into this communion. He brings the fullness of His life, and therefore the life of the Kingdom He has brought into the world. He brings it for all the ages to come, until the day when He returns as the triumphant King of His Kingdom fully revealed. Christianity is precisely participation in this life of Christ, sharing in the life of His Kingdom. Everything else is merely its setting, a historical framework which may take any form so long as it does not contradict the principal task. In an extreme case one can do without it altogether, provided that what began during the Last Supper is preserved. This, in fact, is what makes the Church the Church. Everything else will be added, if it is needed.

Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of the city and the Temple, sometimes called the Little Apocalypse, causes bewilderment among many. This bewilderment first arose in the second generation of Christians, some of whom lived to the year 70 and saw with their own eyes the devastation of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple of which the Saviour speaks. This was because...

Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of the city and the Temple, sometimes called the Little Apocalypse, causes bewilderment among many. This bewilderment first arose in the second generation of Christians, some of whom lived to the year 70 and saw with their own eyes the devastation of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple of which the Saviour speaks. This was because what Jesus had predicted happened, while He Himself still did not return. Another revelation, given to the apostle John, was needed before the meaning of the new era became clearer. Jesus Himself, meanwhile, seems not to have gone into detail when speaking about the end times and His return in glory. He mentions only the principal events: the end of the former age and the coming of the Kingdom in all its fullness.

The revelation received by John completed the picture: it portrays an entire age, the age of the advancing Kingdom, which the Saviour does not mention at all in His prophecy. This is understandable, however: He was telling the disciples about the coming events when history had not yet ended, when the Temple was still standing in its place. In Jesus' words, it is precisely the end of the Second Temple that becomes the end of times.

This might seem strange: almost two thousand years have passed since the year 70, yet history apparently continues. But from the standpoint of the processes that began with Christ's coming into the world, the former history really did end with the end of the Second Temple. All subsequent events belong to another age, one wholly defined by the moment of its completion and therefore by the Saviour's return and the manifestation of the Kingdom to the world in all its fullness. This is precisely why, immediately after describing the devastation of Jerusalem and the Temple, Jesus turns to the subject of His return and the triumph of the Kingdom. He says nothing about the transitional age itself. This is why those who remembered this conversation formed the impression that Jesus would return immediately, or almost immediately, after these events.

The revelation received by John after the year 70 put everything in its place: it became clear that an entire age was meant, the age of the advancing Kingdom in which we too have had to live. Yet it can already be regarded as the home stretch leading us to the goal. The main thing is to reach it.

The Last Supper takes place in a large upper room, already prepared to receive guests. This upper room is like a person who, after being freed from dark forces, should invite Christ in so that...

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