The Keeper of the Vineyard.

The church was first entrusted to jews and was in their care for a long time. Then Christ came to gather the fruits and instead of being recognized as The Saviour, He was humiliated and killed by His own creation. Now, by Grace of God, we became the new Israel and the Church was entrusted to us. Looking at myself I hear the Master’s judgement: People looked at you and they disrespected My Name because of you. For you shamelessly called yourself my servant, while serving My enemy, knowing My commandments you followed your own will and didn’t have the fear of Me in your heart. Virtues were on your lips, but your heart was full of filth and hatred, your mind was crawling on earth and passions thrived in you. With your lips you called my name, but your heart was turned away from Me.

 

Orthodox nations and orthodox individuals.

I was wondering why certain people or sometimes even nations become orthodox christians and others do not? Of course, one sure answer is that such is the will of God.

Nevertheless, a thought came to my mind: there’s no reason whatsoever to be proud that we are orthodox christians, nor to consider ourselves any more worthy or more saved than “heretics” or non-believers. For I call myself a christian but am I really? Will not the situation with the talants that were given to me and I just buried them, apply to me as well? St Seraphim of Sarov was saying:“Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved” I do not even dare to ask myself whether at least one person was saved around me.

One of the possible reasons a nation was called and became orthodox is  that other nations seeing how good it is to be a Christ follower would become so envious that they will strive to become like that nation. Same applies to individuals.

All I can do is strive to acquire the Holy Spirit through all the means that Orthodox faith offers: fasting, prayer, almsgiving, loving enemies.

And so, may God help us!

Law of requital

The poignant sorrow with which you unintentionally pierce another’s heart shall return to your own heart according to the strict law of requital: ” With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”(Matth 7,2) If you do not desire sorrow for yourself, do not occasion it to others.

St John of Kronstadt. “My Life in Christ”

Orthopraxy

  There is an accessible way to gauge how christian the thoughts, the words and the deeds of a believer are. It is to put them in the light of the words and the deeds of our Lord Jesus Christ. Discrepancies are usually enormous and only steadfast faith in the love of the creator can help us refrain from saying like St Peter did “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

 Without orthopraxy, Orthodox Christianity is like a most delicious fruit that we think we know a lot about and we are praising and recommending it to everyone as the best fruit ever. Nevertheless, if we didn’t taste it ourselves, we’re in an awkward situation. “Come, taste and see” calls us our God. If we are striving to love God and our neighbor and there are several ripening figs that are collecting the sweet flavor of virtuous life then our Guardian Angel will not have to entreat our Father to let us live for another year nor will we hear the curse that will disconnect us from the source of Life: “May no fruit ever come from you again!”.

 And maybe when people will come to us, frustrated, anxious or irritated, telling us – there is a storm out there, wars, conflicts and you just sit here calmly, doing nothing – then we can reply: this world belongs to my Lord, who created it. Let us try and follow his commandments and there will be peace in the inner and in the outer world. That being said, Orthodoxy is not a religion of pacifism; it is a religion of the most courageous men on earth. It becomes clear when we read the lives of the kings and soldiers that laid their lives for their countrymen and defending their faith. It is not a religion of compromise; we understand it when we read the lives of thousands of confessors of faith and martyrs that didn’t compromise a single word – although all that they were being asked to do was to renounce their faith just in words.  Orthodoxy is not a religion of the past, we live in the days of the thousands of confessors and martyrs of 20^th and 21^st century. Orthodoxy is the religion of past, present and future and even the gates of hell are powerless to reduce it’s brilliance. 

But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Col 3:14

“We can all be good if, with all our hearts, we unite ourselves with the Source of life, God. He will give us strength to love both ourselves and our neighbour. Without God it is not possible to love oneself, even. Many people become depressed and hopeless and attempt to take their own lives, for without God we cannot even love ourselves, let alone our friends, family, and neighbours – or our enemies for that matter. All is possible with God, for He is our strength and our life. We must give our heart to someone, and if we give it to any person on this planet, this person can harm us. We all seek boundless and unchangeable love and infinite peace, but who can give it to us? Not even our parents, our brothers, or our sisters. Every one of them can abandon, despise, or harm us. Why? Because we are all limited by time and space and we all battle against the unclean powers, which are constantly defiling our thoughts.“

Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

The old/new Epidemic: Cardiac obesity

“Why do many people not understand discussions about spiritual things? It is due to a thickening of their heart. When their heart is full of attachments to earthly things, it grows coarse, as is said: He grew fat, he became thick and broad (Deut. 32:15). In this state it gravitates downward like a heavy weight, dragging and chaining the entire soul to the earth, along with the mind. Then, continually churning in its circle of low objects, it becomes low in its thought and cannot soar up on high, like a bird weighed down with food. Churning there, it does not see the heavenly, and its entire disposition is against it. Heaven is an alien country to these people. Such a person has nothing within the totality of his understanding and experience to which he could relate the heavenly, that he might be able to see it, if only through a glass, darkly (I Cor. 13:12). That is why he will not try to discuss it, nor does he wish to listen to others discussing it, and he will not pick up any books written about it. Is this not why you will often find any number of secular magazines in people’s homes, but not a single spiritual periodical or book – not even the Gospels?”

Rom. 16:17-24; Matt. 13:10-23

St Theophan the Recluse. Thoughts for each day of the year.

Viktor Tzoi. Lyrics.

Last of the Heroes

The night is short, the goal is far off;
How often you feel thirsty at night!
You go into the kitchen,
But the water here is bitter.
You can’t sleep here,
And you don’t want to live here.

Good morning, last of the heroes!
Good morning to you and your kind!
Good morning, last of the heroes,
Hello, last of the heroes!

You wanted to be alone, but the feeling soon passed;
You wanted to be alone, but could not be alone.
Your burden is light, but your arm is losing feeling,
And you greet the dawn playing ‘The Fool’.

Good morning, last of the heroes!
Good morning to you and your kind!
Good morning, last of the heroes,
Hello, last of the heroes!

In the morning you try to get out of there fast;
The telephone call seems to give the command: “Charge!”
You’re going to a place where you don’t want to go;
You’re going there, but there no-one’s waiting for you!

Good morning, last of the heroes!
Good morning to you and your kind!
Good morning, last of the heroes,
Hello, last of the heroes!

Close the door behind me, I’m leaving

They say they cannot take risks
because they have a house,
a house with light.
And I don’t know for sure who of us is right,
Rain awaits me outside,
A lunch awaits them in their house.

Close the door behind me.
I’m leaving.

And if your sweet light ever bores you,
you can find a place with us,
there’s enough rain for everyone.
Look at the clock, look at the portrait on the wall,
Listen — there, at the window,
you will hear our laughter.

Close the door behind me.
I’m leaving.

 

In our eyes

Wait, don’t leave!
We were expecting summer— winter’s come.
We went into our homes,
but snow came inside.
Every day we wait for tomorrow.
We hide our eyes behind curtains of eyelids.

A silent cry in our eyes: “Onwards!”
A silent cry in our eyes: “Stop!”
In our eyes the day is born,
and the fire dies.
In our eyes is a star-filled night,
In our eyes is a paradise lost,
In our eyes is a shut door.
What do you need? Decide!

We wanted to drink— there was no water.
We wanted light— there were no stars.
We went out under the rain
and drank rainwater from little pools.
We wanted songs— there were no words.
We wanted to sleep— there were no dreams.
As we bore the sorrow, an orchestra played its fanfare.

A silent cry in our eyes: “Onwards!”
A silent cry in our eyes: “Stop!”
In our eyes the day is born,
and the fire dies.
In our eyes is a star-filled night,
In our eyes is a paradise lost,
In our eyes is a shut door.
What do you need? Decide!

 

Take care of yourself

Today they say “Goodbye” to someone,
Tomorrow they will say “Farewell, forever”
And the wound in your heart bleeds profusely.
Tomorrow someone returns home,
Only to stand upon the ruins of their own city.
And someone will fall from the top of a crane…

So take care of yourself… Be careful…

Tomorrow morning, someone lying in bed
Will realize that there’s no cure for his sickness,
Someone leaving home will get into a car accident.
Tomorrow, somewhere in a hospital
The hand of a young surgeon will slip.
Someone walking in the woods will fall into a mine…

So take care of yourself… Be careful…

Tonight an airplane flies above us,
Tomorrow it will crash into the ocean
And all the passengers will die…
Tomorrow, somewhere, who knows where?
There will be war, an epidemic, a huge blizzard…
And black holes in the vastness of space…

So watch out for yourself, Be careful…

 

Star Called Sun

White snow and gray ice
Cover dry and cracked ground.
Like a patchwork blanket
There lies a city in the noose of the roads.

Over the city the clouds pass
Blocking the heavenly light.
Over the city yellow smoke floats;
The city’s two thousand years old
Lived in the light of the star
Called Sun…

And for two thousand years the war rages on,
War with no particular reasons.
War – business of the young,
Remedy against wrinkles

Freshly spilled blood is so very red
In an hour there is just ground
In two it’s covered by grass and flowers
In three it’s alive once again
Warmed by the rays of the star
Called Sun…

And we know that it has always been this way
That he is loved most by Destiny
Who lives by different laws
And who is fated to die young

He knows not words ‘yes’ and ‘no’
He remembers neither ranks, nor names
And is capable of reaching the stars
Without thinking it must be just a dream
And fall down, scorched by the star
Called Sun.

Taken from http://lyricstranslate.com/

Loving yourself is not loving yourself.

“Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold (Matt 24:12). Love is destroyed by transgressions; the more sins there are, the less love there is. Where all is sin, do not look for love. Therefore, he who seeks the spread of love and the diminishing of the lack of love ought to be concerned with decreasing sin and curtailing the love of sin. This is the true foundation for humanism! Having taken up this work, one must use all means to oppose sin. Outward sins are the fruit of inner sinfulness. Inner sinfulness is rooted in egoism and its offspring. Consequently, humanists need to make it a rule for themselves to suppress egoism by all means. Egoism is suppressed most forcefully by not allowing one’s own will. Do not allow yourself to have your own will, and soon you will overcome egoism. On the other hand, no matter what means you want to use against egoism, you will not be able to do anything if you give freedom to your will. Hence it follows that wherever people seek their own little will in all things, they are seeking an expansion of egoism and the drying up of love, and they are seeking greater evil. Yet such is the spirit of the current time – and evil is growing.”

St Theophan The Recluse. Thoughts for each day of the year.

 

Pestalozzi. On Religion.

“Pestalozzi was accused of holding materialistic views concerning death, and of not having true piety and devotion. The zeal with which these charges were urged was doubtless intensified by the fact that he never tried to conceal his aversion for a religion which consisted in words and dogmas, and was not accompanied by acts of love, fidelity, and sacrifice. In the following extract we have a reply to his detractors:

“Religion does not call men away from the duties of this earth, but it gives them strength to the last moment to take care of what  has been entrusted to them. Did not Christ, when on the cross, show his care for his earthly mother by recommending her to the care of his favourite disciple? I may be misunderstood, and perhaps do not express accurately my idea when I say, that man is not made for religion, but religion for man. Religion is an essence which takes possession of a man’s soul, and leads him away from his own carnal tendencies; it consists rather in powers than in words; it is a store-house full of good instruments, rather than a saloon filled with charming and fascinating images. That which presents itself to men as an idol with which to make a constant display, is not religion””

“Pestalozzi. His life, work and influence” by Hermann Krusi.

Pestalozzi. Fables

These were published in 1795 under the title “Figures to my Spelling Book”, a collection of fables

Where shall it end

“His great-grandfather trusted in his armor and sword; his grand-father, in his fist; his father, in his tongue; he trusts in his quill; in what will his son trust?”

Equality

“A dwarf said to a giant, ‘We have equal rights’. ‘Very true, my good fellow’, replied the giant, ‘and yet thou canst not walk in my shoes'”.

The privileges of the fishes

“The fishes of a pond complained that they, more than their neighbors in other ponds, were persecuted by the pikes; whereupon an old pike, who was the judge of the pond, pronounced this sentence: ‘The defendants, to make amends, shall in future permit every year two common fishes to become pikes'”