Notes for  11 September 2019

We learn every day about accidents, attacks and the sufferings. We are frightened, we are indignant, we empathize. How terrible is the world and how terrible are the works of men - one of our main impressions in life. But, according to this word of the apostle Paul, not indignation is this relation to the world and to life, which God expects from us. Let us ask ourselves: Do we often pray, and especially – do we give thanks "for all the men... And for all that are in authority"?

The responsibility of the Christian, as the apostle Paul indicates it, should be spread on each person, on all those who make the decisions concerning the fate of men and nations. It is very easy to condemn those who do evil, very easy also habitually to abuse the leaders with pleasure, especially if they are really not perfect. But is anything created by our condemnation and indignation? Are we not on the side of the power of destruction?

The apostle calls us to be on the side of the only creative power in the world - the grace of God, insert into our heart the whole world and intercede in prayer for each man before God. Without condemning anybody, but by sharing the responsibility. It is necessary to have in mind that the apostle speaks about this at the time of Caesar, when "kings and all that in authority" were directly hostile to the faith of Christ. But the apostle calls nevertheless Christians even in this situation to the spiritual creation.

Jesus strikes at what is most precious. "Woe to you when all people speak well of you!" He says. And this is the greatest desire of many of us... We act with an eye to others. We can allow ourselves a small, or large, meanness - but only if no one sees it. Yet we are afraid to take a step against common opinion. Why? Because we want all people to speak well of us. This is what the Lord warns us against. In such a situation the main thing disappears: objective truth, honesty. If we are honest, by definition we cannot please everyone. But if we adapt a little here, there, everywhere... then we can indeed manage to have everyone speak well of us. And then - woe to us. Because then we are not in the Truth.

For the audience of Matthew the Evangelist, the Law of Moses is not merely a collection of incomprehensible rules and ordinances. Matthew quotes the Lord Jesus as saying that “until heaven and earth pass away, not one stroke of a letter will pass from the law” (Matt 5:18). What, then, is the nature of the conflict between Christ and the Pharisees? It seems that for the Pharisees the Law is a set of commandments which, by fulfilling them, a person can please God, draw closer to Him, and fulfill His will for humanity. This is the general approach of every religious consciousness for which the essence of the relationship between God and the human person lies in performing certain actions that God prescribes. A familiar approach, is it not? What, then, does Christ say about the Law? In His interpretation, love for one’s parents is placed above an offering to the Temple, and purity of heart is more important than clean hands. This is what the Law of Moses is directed toward. Thus, to live according to God’s Law, we must pay more attention to the heart and to our relationships with God and other people than to the observance of laws or rules.

When Jonah declared that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, the people aboard the ship were greatly afraid. They do not know what has happened or what reasons prompted Jonah to act this way, but the very fact that a person could be capable of such a thing fills them with horror. Even those who do not yet know God perceive the very desire to escape from Him as something monstrous.

But now we see that Jonah is ready to sacrifice himself, and in his readiness we can discern more than a desire to stop the storm and atone for his guilt by accepting punishment for the sin of resisting God. We can now see hope in God in Jonah's calmness; it is no longer the calmness of carelessness. Jonah has overcome fear and is ready to go wherever the Lord may send him.

As a result of these events, Jonah's companions, confronted with the reality of the consequences of opposing God, turned to the Lord and made vows to Him. The Lord is able not only to correct even the consequences of our sinfulness, but also to turn them to good.