Orthodox readings for 16 October 2011

King James Version (en)

King James Version (en)

2 Corinthians, Chapter 9, verses 6-11

⁶ And he proceedeth in stirring them up to a bountiful alms, as being but a kind of sowing seed, ¹⁰ which shall return a great increase to them

⁶But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

⁷Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

⁹(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

¹⁰Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

¹¹Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

Read more:2 Corinthians, Chapter 9

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9

9:6 He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly; he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully - A general rule.God will proportion the reward to the work, and the temper whence it proceeds.

9:7 Of necessity - Because he cannot tell how to refuse.

9:8 How remarkable are these words! Each is loaded with matter and increases all the way it goes. All grace - Every kind of blessing. That ye may abound to every good work - God gives us everything, that we may do good therewith, and so receive more blessings. All things in this life, even rewards, are, to the faithful, seeds in order to a future harvest. Pro 22:9

9:9 He hath scattered abroad - (A generous word.) With a full hand, without any anxious thought which way each grain falls. His righteousness - His beneficence, with the blessed effects of it. Remaineth for ever - Unexhausted, God still renewing his store. Psa 112:9

9:10 And he who supplieth seed - Opportunity and ability to help others. And bread - All things needful for your own souls and bodies. Will continually supply you with that seed, yea, multiply it to you more and more. And increase the fruits of your righteousness - The happy effects of your love to God and man. Isa 55:10

9:11 Which worketh by us thanksgiving to God - Both from us who distribute, and them who receive, your bounty.

Luke, Chapter 6, verses 31-36

²⁷ how we must love our enemies

³¹And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

³²For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

³³And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

³⁴And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

³⁵But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

³⁶Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Read more:Luke, Chapter 6

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6:31 Mat 7:12.

6:32 It is greatly observable, our Lord has so little regard for one of the highest instances of natural virtue, namely, the returning love for love, that he does not account it even to deserve thanks. For even sinners, saith he, do the same: men who do not regard God at all. Therefore he may do this, who has not taken one step in Christianity.

NOTES

The idea of loving one's enemies can hardly be considered something entirely new and unknown to the pre-Christian world. The Torah already contains a requirement to refrain from harming an enemy who finds himself in difficulty. In this case, however, the Torah proceeds not from the need to love one's enemies as such, but from the fact that...

The idea of loving one's enemies can hardly be considered something entirely new and unknown to the pre-Christian world. The Torah already contains a requirement to refrain from harming an enemy who finds himself in difficulty. In this case, however, the Torah proceeds not from the need to love one's enemies as such, but from the fact that enmity between people cannot and must not become grounds for violating the Torah. In other words, if we want to adhere strictly to the Torah as the law given by God, we must follow its precepts even when dealing with enemies who wish us harm. Some philosophers of the pagan world held the same view: Socrates, for example, who saw the chief purpose of philosophy as learning to distinguish good from evil and to follow the good. He was convinced that, since we must never do evil to anyone, we must not do it to our enemies either: any evil a person does harms, first and foremost, the person who does it. Yet Jesus' words about loving one's enemies have a quite particular context, connected with His testimony to the Kingdom He brought into the world.

This is, of course, primarily about love as an attitude toward another person—an attitude that entails wishing one's enemy good rather than evil. In this sense, Jesus' words are in harmony both with the Torah and with those pagan philosophers who, like Socrates, understood that the evil done to an enemy inevitably affects, first and foremost, the person who has done it. But whereas in the untransfigured world such conduct was characteristic only of the truly righteous, for the inhabitants of the Kingdom, in the Savior's understanding, it must become the norm, the only possible way of spiritual life. This is not only because any other course spiritually destroys the person who departs from that norm, but also because it is unacceptable in the Kingdom as a realm of all-embracing love. Indeed, in the untransfigured world, the psychological environment, natural at its foundation, within which all relationships develop admits, in principle, both positive and negative elements in them, both constructive and destructive interactions.

The nature of the Kingdom is different: here it is love itself that constitutes the environment within which all relationships between its inhabitants develop. One might say that here love is not only an attitude, but nature itself, just as the elements constitute the nature of the untransfigured world. It is hardly surprising that in such an environment there can be no place for any negative relationships, even when enemies are involved. This is not because Christ's enemies can enter the Kingdom and become its inhabitants without repenting, but because hatred, even toward the enemies of Christ and His Kingdom, is incompatible with the very nature of that Kingdom.

Paul presents arguments traditional in Judaism, rooted in the equally traditional understanding of poverty—first and foremost as a spiritual condition rather than a material situation. At first glance, it may seem that he is speaking of exchanging material goods for...

Paul presents arguments traditional in Judaism, rooted in the equally traditional understanding of poverty—first and foremost as a spiritual condition rather than a material situation. At first glance, it may seem that he is speaking of exchanging material goods for certain spiritual ones, even for salvation. The Savior Himself sometimes said things that appeared similar at first glance, as when He proposed that the rich young man who came to Him should distribute his earthly wealth and receive another, heavenly treasure in return. But in reality it is not so simple. This is not a straightforward exchange of one kind of wealth for another; it is rather a refusal to acknowledge as one's own what belongs to one. Nor is the issue merely the relative nature of property rights as such—something that has no place when speaking of the Kingdom. It is about a person's attitude toward what they consider their own.

What do we put into the concept of “our own”? Do we use it for something that belongs to us by right, something deserved, earned, and lawfully acquired? Or are we speaking of something given to us for our use, perhaps even for life, but only for our use? With regard to property, we all understand perfectly well—if, of course, we take the trouble to think about it even briefly—that it has been given to us for our use, if only because we will not take it with us when we leave this world. With things such as knowledge, talents, or abilities, the situation is often less obvious, at least at first glance, because much or all of what has been listed seems to belong to us inseparably. With regard to knowledge, for example, many are convinced that they achieved everything themselves.

But a person who has become poor in the spiritual sense understands that this does not belong to them either—at least not until they have become their true self, and one can become one's true self only in God's presence, which certainly does not depend on the person at all. A person truly possesses only themselves; everything else is given to them only for a time and can never replace what matters most, what God alone can give. In such a situation, owning or possessing anything is no more than an illusion. When a person parts with this illusion, they cease to regard their riches—whatever those riches may consist of—as their own. They have been given to the person for use and can easily be passed on to others if that is better for everyone. Shared. Donated. In short, relinquished in one way or another: given away completely when material goods are concerned, or made the possession of others to the same degree as one's own when knowledge, talents, or abilities are concerned.

And every church community, insofar as it lives as people are meant to live in the Church with a capital C, must likewise be ready to share everything it has with those in need. Not because one “must” or because it is “required,” but because otherwise God's breath, the breath of the Kingdom, will not be able to breathe freely in that community—just as it cannot breathe freely in the heart of a person who is not ready to share. This is what Paul is reminding the recipients of his letter.

These words seem deliberately to contradict ordinary human ideas. Why are the poor and hungry, the weeping and rejected, suddenly blessed, while woe is pronounced upon the rich, the full, and those who laugh? One might think that...

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