Orthodox readings for 12 October 2019

King James Version (en)

1 Corinthians, Chapter 14, verses 20-25

¹² Both must be referred to edification, ²² as to their true and proper end

²⁰Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.

²¹In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.

²²Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

²³If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?

²⁴But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:

²⁵And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

Luke, Chapter 5, verses 17-26

¹⁶ prayeth in the wilderness, ¹⁸ healeth one sick of the palsy; calleth Matthew the publican, ¹⁹ eateth with sinners, as being the Physician of souls

¹⁷And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

¹⁸And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

¹⁹And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

²⁰And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

²¹And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

²²But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?

²³Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

²⁴But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

²⁵And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

²⁶And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

NOTES

Today's reading offers us two accounts linked by a single theme: religion and Revelation. The first describes Jesus healing a man whom...

Today's reading offers us two accounts linked by a single theme: religion and Revelation. The first describes Jesus healing a man whom Luke calls a “paralytic” (vv. 17-26). Jesus heals him by saying, “Thy sins are forgiven thee,” thereby displeasing the Pharisees present, who are absolutely certain that only God can forgive sins. In their view Jesus' words were therefore tantamount to blasphemy: by saying what He did, He placed Himself in God's position in their eyes (v. 21). In response Jesus reminded them of a generally accepted belief of the time: the Messiah, the “Son of Man,” has authority from God to forgive sins, for the messianic Kingdom comes into the world with the Messiah and the day of Judgment arrives. He immediately proved by His action that His words were not mere theory and that He truly had authority from God to forgive sins. The man He healed really did rise and walk, and Jesus had connected this healing precisely with the forgiveness of sins (vv. 22-25).

It is no wonder that everything that happened made such a strong impression on those around Him. They understood that before them stood no ordinary teacher, of whom there were many at the time, nor even a prophet, but perhaps the Messiah Himself, although He did not speak directly of His messiahship (v. 26). But such a Messiah did not fit the Pharisees' theological theories. They saw in Him only a man who did not heal by revealing the fullness of the Kingdom but cured the sick as others cured them, sometimes likewise resorting to the power of prayer or possessing a special gift of healing from God. A cure, even a supernatural or miraculous one, did not go beyond the boundaries of religion; those boundaries had no room for the Kingdom.

We see the same thing in the account of the events that took place in Levi's house (vv. 27-39). For a religious person, fellowship with a sinner is not merely unpleasant but dangerous: sin defiles, while religion presupposes the mandatory observance of the norms and rules of ritual purity. But Jesus had no intention of creating a new religion. He brought the Kingdom into the world in order to give everyone a chance at a new life in that Kingdom. So He asks an entirely natural question: who needs a physician, the healthy or the sick (vv. 31-32)?

The question is rhetorical, but within the framework of religion it has no solution. Even a religious person can essentially do nothing to help a sinner beyond calling him to repentance and conversion. Religion has no power to heal or renew a person by changing his sinful nature. The most it can give him is the possibility of temporary cleansing from the consequences of a particular sin, and even that is not always possible. A religious person really has nothing to do among sinners; he cannot help them in any way. But Jesus is not the founder of a new religion. He is the Messiah who brought the Kingdom into the world. He can heal and cleanse. And in His disciples He sees servants of the Kingdom who can help everyone who wants to enter it.

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FAQ

I have a question: in the 14th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, it is written about spiritual gifts. But I am interested in the question regarding the gift of speaking in tongues. I myself am a Pentecostal and I have a Baptist friend; we often speak on this topic. I simply cannot explain it to him. If you can, please advise me on how to explain it to him correctly?

The gift of “speaking in tongues,” “praying in tongues,” or simply “the gift of tongues,” in Greek “glossolalia,” is one of the many gifts of the Holy Spirit, which is given for edification in the faith and the growth of the Church. In different eras and in different parts of the Church, this gift manifests itself in various ways; at times it may become unnoticeable or noticeably transformed. This is natural, for the gifts of the Holy Spirit are always given with a specific purpose – “for edification.” Nevertheless, it can be affirmed that in one form or another, this gift always exists within the Church.

We know of at least three main varieties of this gift. First, it is the gift of speaking in a language unknown to the speaker. This is how the apostles spoke on the day of Pentecost. This is how, quite often, preachers and missionaries speak, and their word reaches the hearts of the listeners. It is essential that this form of glossolalia occurs if and only if a person is speaking about Jesus Christ, His Cross, and Resurrection. At present, this gift is rather rare.

Secondly, glossolalia may be expressed when a person, in prayer, praises God in a language that does not exist among the nations of the Earth. Usually, this is called “the tongues of angels.” Love for God, reverence before Him, and admiration for Him encompass at this moment not only the heart of a person, but also the mind, and the emotional sphere... And suddenly, the prayer pours out into words incomprehensible to the person himself. According to the testimony of ancient Christians, the Holy Spirit at the same time grants another person the gift of interpretation, so that “the Church might receive edifying.” This gift is also widespread enough at the present time to be a noticeable phenomenon in the Church. However, in our time, the gift of interpretation is found much less frequently. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the edification of the modern Church is carried out differently than in the ancient one. To understand this gift, it is important to keep in mind a number of points.

Speaking in the tongues of angels is given, as a rule (though not always), through the prayer of other Christians – those who have this gift. Furthermore, the speaker himself usually does not understand the meaning of his words. He perceives only a certain non-verbal meaning of the prayer in which he began to speak in such a language. In different parts of the Church there is a certain continuity, so that by how glossolalia manifests in a person's prayer, one can quite accurately understand in which Church he acquired this gift. The glossolalia of Pentecostals is not the same as that of Catholics, and the glossolalia of Lutherans differs from the glossolalia of the Orthodox. Often such glossolalia is similar to one of the languages unknown to man. According to our strictly personal impression, most often such glossolalia (across all confessions) resembles the ancient Hebrew and Aramaic languages. Perhaps the Holy Spirit engages some aspects of the person's personality unknown to us... It is fundamentally important that this form of glossolalia is given during prayer and for prayer, usually – for the glorification of God.

Thirdly, there is another form of glossolalia, closely related to the previous one. This should rather be called non-verbal prayer. The Apostle Paul says concerning this that the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. This prayer differs from the previous form in that distinct speech elements (words, phrases) are not always discernible in it, and in that such prayer is more often sung than spoken. Frequently, it is born as a continuation (and intensification) of our usual prayer and psalmody. In doing so, the Holy Spirit allows our heart to break out beyond the limits of human language, and to turn to God in some other, very personal, but non-verbal manner. Since profound antiquity, this glossolalia-prayer predominantly took place during worship. It was such a common thing that the ecclesiastical liturgical typicons of the second half of the first millennium even record moments in the divine service when this gift of the Holy Spirit usually manifests itself in the congregation. Some Orthodox typicons, including Russian ones, preserve such indications right up to the end of the 15th century. In general, since the end of the first millennium, this form of glossolalia has mostly transitioned, rather, into the realm of church-musical creativity.

Since the end of the 19th century, in different parts of the Church, the Holy Spirit has begun to bestow these gifts clearly again, although in different ways. This is probably due to the fact that different Churches have “dried up” to varying degrees in theological theorizing and lost the experience of a living connection with the Spirit. For edification in this, perhaps, the Lord is renewing these His gifts in us. It is important to note in conclusion that the only gift of the Holy Spirit that is inevitably necessary for the life of the Church, without which She does not exist – is the gift of love. The rest is given as needed…

I have one question that troubles me. It is a question regarding "other tongues". Who can receive "other tongues"? What are "other tongues"? What are they for? Are there two types of "other tongues"?

The gift of "speaking in tongues", "praying in tongues", or simply the "gift of tongues", in Greek "glossolalia" — is one of the many gifts of the Holy Spirit, which is given for edification in the faith and the growth of the Church. In different eras and in different parts of the Church, this gift manifests itself in various ways; at times it may become unnoticeable or noticeably transformed. This is natural, for the gifts of the Holy Spirit are always given with a specific purpose — "for the edification of the Church". Nevertheless, it can be said that in one form or another, this gift is always present in the Church.

We know of at least three main varieties of this gift.

First, there is the gift of speaking in a language unknown to the speaker. This is how the apostles spoke on the day of Pentecost. This is how, quite often, preachers and missionaries speak, and their word reaches the hearts of the listeners. It is essential that this form of glossolalia occurs if and only if a person is speaking about Jesus Christ, His Cross, and Resurrection. At present, this gift is quite rare.

Second, glossolalia may be expressed when a person in prayer praises God in a language that does not exist among the nations of the Earth. This is usually called "tongues of angels". Love for God, reverence before Him, and adoration of Him encompass at this moment not only the person's heart, but also their mind and emotional sphere... And suddenly the prayer is poured out in words incomprehensible to the person themselves. According to the testimony of early Christians, the Holy Spirit simultaneously grants another person the gift of interpretation, so that "the church may receive edification". This gift is currently widespread enough to be a noticeable phenomenon in the Church.

However, in our time, the gift of interpretation is much less common. Perhaps this is related to the fact that the edification of the modern Church is carried out differently than in the ancient one. To understand this gift, it is important to keep a few points in mind. Speaking in tongues of angels is given, as a rule (though not always), through the prayer of other Christians — those who possess this gift. Furthermore, the speaker usually does not understand the meaning of their own words. They are aware only of a certain non-verbal sense of the prayer in which they began speaking in such a language. In different parts of the Church there is a certain continuity, so that by the way glossolalia manifests in a person's prayer, one can quite accurately discern in which Church they received this gift. The glossolalia of Pentecostals is not the same as that of Catholics, and the glossolalia of Lutherans differs from that of the Orthodox. Often, such glossolalia sounds like a language unknown to humanity. Most commonly, this glossolalia (across all denominations) is compared to ancient Hebrew or Aramaic. Perhaps the Holy Spirit engages some aspects of the person's personality that are unknown to us... It is fundamentally important that this form of glossolalia is given during prayer and for prayer, usually — for the glorification of God.

Third, there is another form of glossolalia closely connected to the previous one. This should rather be called non-verbal prayer. The Apostle Paul speaks of this, saying that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. This prayer differs from the previous form in that distinct speech elements (words, phrases) are not always discernible in it, and in that such a prayer is sung rather than spoken. Often it is born as a continuation (and intensification) of our usual prayer and psalmody. In this, the Holy Spirit allows our heart to break out beyond the limits of human language and turn to God in some other, highly personal, yet non-verbal way.

Since ancient times, this prayer-glossolalia predominantly occurred during divine services. It was such an ordinary occurrence that church liturgical rubrics of the second half of the first millennium even designate moments in the service when this gift of the Holy Spirit typically manifests in the community. Some Orthodox typicons, including Russian ones, retained such instructions right up until the end of the 15th century. Generally speaking, however, since the end of the first millennium, this form of glossolalia has largely transitioned into the realm of church musical creativity.

Since the end of the 19th century, in various parts of the Church, the Holy Spirit has begun to explicitly bestow these gifts anew, albeit in different ways. This is likely due to the fact that different Churches have "dried up" to varying degrees in theological theorizing and have lost the experience of a living connection with the Spirit. It is perhaps for our edification in this regard that the Lord renews these gifts of His within us.

It is important to note in conclusion that the only gift of the Holy Spirit that is absolutely indispensable for the life of the Church, without which She cannot exist, is the gift of love. All else is given as the need arises...

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