17 Sunday ~ St. Alban

Posted on by Fr. Peter
First Martyr of Britain in Verulamium (c. 209)

He was a soldier in the Roman army and, according to the venerable Bede, was brought to faith in Christ by a fugitive priest to whom he gave shelter. The saint exchanged clothes with the priest, allowing him to escape and ensuring his own martyrdom. Some writers, including St Bede, place his martyrdom during the reign of Diocletian (286-303)

Saint Alban’s tomb was venerated as early as 429 by St Germanus of Auxerre. The town of Verulamium is either his home town or the place of his martyrdom; near it a monastery was founded, around which grew the English town of St. Albans.

From here

English Liturgy

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Recently, The Roman Church approved a new translation of the Mass in English. It has taken years to get into publication and it will be another year or so I believe before it is in actual use in the local parish. One of the changes will be the phrase, “and also with you.” This will be changed to “and with your spirit.” I understand this is more in line with the original Latin.

So this brings up the question of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom that we use in the Orthodox Church. In North America, we do not have a single translation of this Liturgy. Some churches use the old English with the thees and thous and some use a more modern English. one of the things I hope comes from this new Episcopal Assembly is indeed a single English version of the Liturgy. But that is not the reason for this post.

Like many of you, I have been to and served many Liturgies in many different churches over the last 6 years of my priesthood. one of the things that irks me more than anything else is liturgical abuse! The most common abuse is cutting things out of the Liturgy itself. Now I am no liturgical theologian but my guess is the creator of the Liturgy wanted certain things done.

As an example, after the sermon, which belongs after the Gospel by the way, there is what is known as the Litany of Fervent Supplication and then three prayers of the faithful. I have been to many parishes where these are removed from the Liturgy all together. In fact, the version of the Liturgy one could purchase from the Holy Cross Press does not even include these litanies. I believe this to be wrong and would call this a liturgical abuse.

One of the come answers to the question of why these are removed is for time. We do not want to keep them too long so we remove certain things. Well let’s remove communion that would really speed things up! Liturgy is timeless and it should not matter how long it takes. It seems to me that if people cannot give up an hour and half, that is how long my average Liturgy is, once a week then we have bigger problems.

I have also been to come churches where the choir or the chanter drone on and one, maybe we need to look at the music to see if we really need to make 5 minutes to sing an amen! Yes I have timed it!

The Liturgy of the Orthodox Church is beautiful and should be said with reverence and dignity. All parts of this should be included, yes including the Catechumens that I know most priests skip. Liturgy is important and needs to be served correctly.

Herb Garden

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I have been planning now for several months to put in several raised beds for veggies and what not here. I have yet to do this although I am getting very close. Perhpas this weekend I will get them built.

However, I have started the herb garden on the stairs near the house. It is very small this year and perhaps it will grow larger as the years go on. Today I planted the following:

Basil
Dill
Chives
Parsley

Maybe I will plant more latter on. I also bought 6 pepper plants, Green Bell Pepper Plants and I have 6 tomato plants to put in as well.

Do This in Remebrance of Me

Posted on by Fr. Peter
This is the text of my sermon for the 3rd Sunday After Petecost. I had intended to record it but I forgot to press record. So here you go.

Last week we spoke about what church means from the point of view of the individual, you, me, all of us. What makes us Orthodox and how to we stay that way. If you remember I read from the Statutes about the definition of what it means to belong to the Orthodox Church.

1. Fulfill your financial obligation
2. adhere to and live your life in accordance of the faith of the OC
3. faithfully attend the Divine Services
4. partake regularly in the mysteries of the church to include confession and communion
5. be obedient in matters of faith
6. be an effective witness and example of the Orthodox faith and traditions to all people.

That’s how we practice our faith on the personal level but Orthodoxy is not a personal private faith, Orthodoxy is a faith that is lived in the open. We do not have private masses or private church functions, we are open and inviting.

Our worship is corporate, in other words we do it together. When we come to the Liturgy, any Liturgy, we are not there for ourselves we are here for each other. This is not a time for personal prayer it is a time when all of us, the church, prays together. We do not sit alone in the corner, or the back of the church as the case may be, and pray alone and for our own intentions, no we pray for all.

We pray for:
1. Peace for ourselves
2. salvation of our souls
3. peace in the world
4. for our church, and those who are here
5. for our bishops
6. the country
7. for our town
8. favorable weather, and abundance of God’s gifts for us
9. those who travel
10. deliverance from all danger

Except for the first prayer, none of the rest are just for us, we pray for everyone, literally everyone, Orthodox and non Orthodox.

The very word church means a gathering, and assembly. To the early Christians this meant a gathering to realize and to reveal the Church. We take that one step further we this is a Eucharistic gathering, a place where we break bread together as community. Not as individuals, but we do this communally. No one of us can celebrate the Eucharist alone, I cannot celebrate the Eucharist alone, and neither can you. We do it together, it is not my Liturgy but ours communally and in community. Notice the words union and unity in there.

In the opening lines of the Divine Liturgy we say, In Peace, Let us pray to the Lord. We need to be at peace with one another and ourselves before we can be an effective witness for Jesus Christ in the world.

Scripture tell us, if we bring our sacrifice to the altar, and we have something against our brother, go and reconcile yourself with your brother before you bring your sacrifice. We need to be at peace with each other because all of us, worshipping together in one voice and one mind, make the building the church.

The Eucharist should not be seen as an individual responsibility but as the sacrament of the assembly and therefore the Sacrament of the Church. All of us are con celebrants of the Eucharist, not me alone standing here saying the words, but all of us standing in the presence of God praying the words together, that is why you have the liturgy book so you can pray along with me the words of the Liturgy. We are not merely an audience but all of us are in fact the actors of the Divine Play taking place before us and we all have our part to play.

The very word, amen, that we say at the end of all of the prayers, seals the pray and you give your assent to the prayer with your amen. Your amen to the end of the priestly prayer binds us together in the act of worship. The prayers of the Liturgy, with the exception of the lone prayer the priest prays for himself, are prayed for all of us on behalf of the entire church gathered around the world. We are but a small part of a very large gathering.

All of there prayers have as their content, our praise, our repentance, our thanksgiving, our communion, “unite all of us to one another who became partakers… in the communion of the Holy Spirit” as the liturgy tell us.

We do not come as individuals to the Church, the miracle of the church assembly lies in that it is not the “sum” of the sinful and unworthy people who comprise it, but it is the very body of Christ. When we gather we no longer gather for ourselves but we all make up a part of the very body of Christ, it is a mystical experience. We sit in a temple not just another building. At the consecration of this church, the entire building was consecrated with the holy oil, not just the altar, but the walls and the floor, all of it, we sit in the presence of the Holy One, we are not just in some auditorium preparing to see a play, we sit in the very presence of the Living God, the creator of all, our Creator and sustainer of our very lives. We defain the Holy when we enter for other reasons other than to worship together!

We are the Church, we make it up, Christ abides in His members and the Church does not exist outside or above us, but we are in Christ and Christ is in us. Christianity consists not in the bestowing on each the possibility of “personal perfection” but first of all in the calling and commanding Christians to be the Church – “a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a chosen race (1 Peter 2:9) – to manifest and confess the presence of Christ and His kingdom to the World. The holiness of the church is not our holiness, but Christ’s, who loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify her… that she might be holy and without blemish (Eph 5:25-27).

The Eucharist then is not one of the 7 sacraments of the church, or one of the services of the church, but the very manifestation and fulfillment of the Church in all her power, sanctity and fullness. Only by taking part in it can we increase in holiness and fulfill all that we have been commanded to do. The Church, when gathered in the Eucharist, even when it is limited to two or three, is the image and realization of the body of Christ, and only those gathered will be able to partake because they manifest him by their very presence in the community.

Your presence in the community manifests Christ as we gather in his name and for worship of him. We fulfill his command to take and eat, take and drink and by this action we become partakers of the one body and blood of Christ and take him into our lives and bring him out into the world.

We are not the audience but the actors. It is time to do and not just be!

Orthodox-Catholic Consultation Examines Steps to Unity

Posted on by Fr. Peter
NEW YORK CITY – The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation continued work on a new agreed statement during its meeting at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, June 1-3. The meeting was co-chaired by Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh and Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans.

The title of the draft statement is “Steps Towards a United Church: A Sketch of an Orthodox-Catholic Vision for the Future.” The document briefly outlines the history of divergences between Catholics and Orthodox, especially with regard to the role of the Bishop of Rome in the Church. It also outlines all that the two churches share and notes that overcoming differences has become a matter of urgency. The text also reflects on what a reunited Catholic and Orthodox Church might look like, the ecclesial structures needed to facilitate such unity, and the questions that remain to be answered if such a reconciliation is to take place. Work on this text will continue at the next meeting.

Members also continued their study of primacies and conciliarity in the Church with emphasis on the theological significance of the Orthodox autocephalous churches. Dr. Robert Haddad, Sophia Smith Professor Emeritus of History at Smith College in Northampton, MA, presented a study entitled, “Constantinople Over Antioch, 1516-1724: Patriarchal Politics in the Ottoman Era.” Father John Erickson, former Dean and Professor of Canon Law and church history at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, presented a paper, “The Autocephalous Church.” A Catholic reaction to these two studies was provided by Father Joseph Komonchak, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

Participants also considered recent events in the lives of the two churches with particular emphasis on the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America that had taken place in New York, May 26-27. Given that the new Assembly of Bishops will replace the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), it is anticipated that the new Assembly will become the official Orthodox sponsor of the North American Consultation.

In addition to the co-chairs, the Consultation includes Orthodox representatives Father Thomas FitzGerald (Secretary), Dean, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA; Father Nicholas Apostola, Pastor, St. Nicholas Romanian Orthodox Church in Shrewsbury, MA; Father John Erickson, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Ph.D., Willard Prescott and Annie McClelland Smith Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; Father James Dutko, pastor of St. Michael’s Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church in Binghamton, NY; Paul Meyendorff, Ph.D., Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY; Father Alexander Golitzin, Professor of Theology at Marquette University, Milwaukee; Robert Haddad, Ph.D., Father Robert Stephanopoulos, Pastor Emeritus of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, New York; Father Theodore Pulcini, Associate Professor of Religion at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and Father Mark Arey, Director of Inter-Orthodox, Inter-Faith and Ecumenical Relations , Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, (staff).

Additional Catholic members are Jesuit Father Brian Daley (Secretary), Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana; Thomas Bird, Ph.D., associate professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY; Sylvain Destrempes, Ph.D., faculty of the Grand Seminaire in Montreal; Father Peter Galadza, Kule Family Professor of Liturgy at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, Ottawa; Chorbishop John D Faris, Pastor of St. Louis Gonzaga Maronite Church, Utica, New York; Father John Galvin, Professor of Systematic Theology, The Catholic University of America, Washington; Father Sidney Griffith, Professor in the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures, Catholic University; Father Joseph Komonchak, Monsignor Paul McPartlan, Carl J. Peter Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecumenism at Catholic University; Father David Petras, Spiritual Director and Professor of Liturgy at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Pittsburgh; Sister of Charity of Leavenworth Susan K. Wood, Professor and Chair of the Department of Theology at Marquette; Vito Nicastro, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Archdiocese of Boston; and Paulist Father Ronald Roberson, Associate Director of the USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, (staff).

Since its establishment in 1965, the North American Consultation has now issued 23 agreed statements on various topics. All these texts are now available on the SCOBA Website at http://www.scoba.us/resources/orthodox-catholic.html
and the USCCB Website at http://www.usccb.org/seia/orthodox_index.shtml

Mosque at Ground Zero

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Recently it was announced that a group of Muslims wishes to build a Mosque at Ground Zero. I think this is a a bad idea not simply because it is a Mosque but because I do not think we need a church of any kind there at all.

My question however is this, if the Orthodox Church, or Catholic Church or any other Christian Church asked to build a house of worship on the site would there be the same amount of outcry? I understand that Americans to not trust Muslims and we think they are all terrorists. I will also admit that Muslims also do not help themselves by not speaking out and decrying the terrorists when they do their thing. I will also remind you that there have been countless Christians who have done similar things in the past, one think of the guy who blew up the building in Oklahoma City.

I always like to see if we can get to the root of the problem, so I ask again, is it that we do not want to see a church there or we do not want to see a Mosque there? In America we have the freedom to worship as we see fit, to include not worshipping at all. I understand the symbolism of having a Mosque at that site of all sites, but why to we object? What is the reason for our objection? If it is because of hate, that is wrong and the Gospel of Jesus Christ requires us to love our neighbor.

I think I could buy the symbolism as a reason to not want the Mosque there, but I would rather we just say we do not want any sort of House of Worship on the site and be done with it.

What are your thoughts?

Follow Me

Posted on by Fr. Peter

The Reading is from Matthew 4:18-23
At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

We have now begun the Sundays after Pentecost, what I used to call ordinary time. We jump around a little in the Scriptures but this is a pretty good way to start out this time of year.

Jesus simply asked people to follow him. He did not offer riches or fancy music during the services of even a coffee hour after, he simply asked them to follow him. The Apostles left all, home, work, family, friends and set out to follow this guy that they knew nothing about. And in the end, all but one of these men gave their lives for the Church.

Recently I heard that 18% of unchurched people would attend church is someone just asked them to come to church. 18%, that is a pretty high number. We do not need to be great evangelists or even know much about the church we attend all we need to do is ask someone to come to church. Just walk up to someone and say follow me.

Why don’t we do this? Why don’t we ask people to come? We have been given a command in the Scripture to baptize the world, so why are we not out there doing that?

On Friday night I had the first of what I hope is a monthly gathering of Pub Theology. I have joined up with the minister from a near by church and we meet at the local watering hole for food, suds, and theology. We did not have a topic this time more of a get to know each other time. What we found out was there is far more that brings us together then separates us, we also found out that we are all in the same position, shrinking congregations. We decided that part of the reason for this is that by and large Christians are not an effective witness for ourselves.

I have said before that our best witness is the way we act outside of the church. How do you act when the last song has been sung and you walk out the doors of the church? Do you live the Gospel or do you just carry it?

Orthodoxy is not a religion, faith group, denomination, organization, etc., it is a lifestyle! Orthodoxy is supposed it influence everything we do. My question to all of us is, how does our faith influence us, or does it?

If we want to attract people to what we do we need to be attractive or people will not want to join. We Orthodox say we have the fullness of the faith, why then are people not flocking to us?

Sunday of All Saints of North America

Posted on by Fr. Peter
On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates all the saints, known and unknown, who have shone forth in its territory. Accordingly, the Orthodox Church in America remembers the saints of North America on this day.

Saints of all times, and in every country are seen as the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem fallen humanity. Their example encourages us to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us” and to “run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The saints of North America also teach us how we should live, and what we must expect to endure as Christians.

Although it is a relatively young church, the Orthodox Church in America has produced saints in nearly all of the six major categories of saints: Apostles (and Equals of the Apostles); Martyrs (and Confessors); Prophets; Hierarchs; Monastic Saints; and the Righteous. Prophets, of course, lived in Old Testament times and predicted the coming of Christ.

The first Divine Liturgy in what is now American territory (northern latitude 58 degrees, 14 minutes, western longitude 141 degrees) was celebrated on July 20, 1741, the Feast of the Prophet Elias, aboard the ship Peter under the command of Vitus Bering. Hieromonk Hilarion Trusov and the priest Ignatius Kozirevsky served together on that occasion. Several years later, the Russian merchant Gregory I. Shelikov visited Valaam monastery, suggesting to the abbot that it would be desirable to send missionaries to Russian America.

On September 24, 1794, after a journey of 7,327 miles (the longest missionary journey in Orthodox history) and 293 days, a group of monks from Valaam arrived on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The mission was headed by Archimandrite Joasaph, and included Hieromonks Juvenal, Macarius, and Athanasius, the Hierodeacons Nectarius and Stephen, and the monks Herman and Joasaph. St Herman of Alaska (December 13, August 9), the last surviving member of the mission, fell asleep in the Lord in 1837.

Throughout the Church’s history, the seeds of faith have always been watered by the blood of the martyrs. The Protomartyr Juvenal was killed near Lake Iliamna by natives in 1799, thus becoming the first Orthodox Christian to shed his blood for Christ in the New World. In 1816, St Peter the Aleut was put to death by Spanish missionaries in California when he refused to convert to Roman Catholicism.

Missionary efforts continued in the nineteenth century, with outreach to the native peoples of Alaska. Two of the most prominent laborers in Christ’s Vineyard were St Innocent Veniaminov (March 31 and October 6) and St Jacob Netsvetov (July 26), who translated Orthodox services and books into the native languages. Father Jacob Netsvetev died in Sitka in 1864 after a life of devoted service to the Church. Father John Veniaminov, after his wife’s death, received monastic tonsure with the name Innocent. He died in 1879 as the Metropolitan of Moscow.

As the nineteenth century was drawing to a close, an event of enormous significance for the North American Church took place. On March 25, 1891, Bishop Vladimir went to Minneapolis to receive St Alexis Toth (May 7) and 361 of his parishioners into the Orthodox Church. This was the beginning of the return of many Uniates to Orthodoxy.

St Tikhon (Belavin), the future Patriarch of Moscow (April 7, October 9), came to America as bishop of the diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska in September 1898. As the only Orthodox bishop on the continent, St Tikhon traveled extensively throughout North America in order to minister to his widely scattered and diverse flock. He realized that the local church here could not be a permanent extension of the Russian Church. Therefore, he focused his efforts on giving the American Church a diocesan and parish structure which would help it mature and grow.

St Tikhon returned to Russia in 1907, and was elected as Patriarch of Moscow ten years later. He died in 1925, and for many years his exact burial place remained unknown. St Tikhon’s grave was discovered on February 22, 1992 in the smaller cathedral of Our Lady of the Don in the Don Monastery when a fire made renovation of the church necessary.

St Raphael of Brooklyn (February 27) was the first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated in North America. Archimandrite Raphael Hawaweeny was consecrated by Bishop Tikhon and Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) at St Nicholas Cathedral in New York on March 13, 1904. As Bishop of Brooklyn, St Raphael was a trusted and capable assistant to St Tikhon in his archpastoral ministry. St Raphael reposed on February 27, 1915.

The first All American Council took place March 5-7, 1907 at Mayfield, PA, and the main topic was “How to expand the mission.” Guidelines and directions for missionary activity, and statutes for the administrative structure of parishes were also set forth.

In the twentieth century, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, countless men, women, and children received the crown of martyrdom rather than renounce Christ. Sts John Kochurov (October 31) and Alexander Hotovitzky (December 4 and August 7) both served the Church in North America before going back to Russia. St John became the first clergyman to be martyred in Russia on October 31, 1917 in St Petersburg. St Alexander Hotovitzky, who served in America until 1914, was killed in 1937.

In addition to the saints listed above, we also honor those saints who are known only to God, and have not been recognized officially by the Church. As we contemplate the lives of these saints, let us remember that we are also called by God to a life of holiness.

From OCA.org

3 June ~ St. Kevin of Glendalough

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Abbot of Glendalough

St. Kevin was birthed without labor pains to a noble Leinster familiy, as a sign that he was the fulfillment of the prophecy of St. Patrick of the one to come who would evangelize the region of Ireland just south of Dublin…

He was given the name at birth of Coemgen, which meant “beautiful shining birth.” He was taken to St. Cronan of Roscrea who baptized him with the name Kevin, which means “well born.” He was brought to the monastery at age seven to be educated by St. Petroc (June 4). After he came of age, he was ordained priest. He retreated to the solitude of a cave for seven years, until a farmer discovered him and called him out of solitude. He answered that call as from God and evangelized much of that region, many times going head to head with the pagan witches, miraculously defeating them. He established such a large monastic community that it is referred to as a monastic city.

His church still stands in Glendalough, Ireland. He was abbot of that community until his repose circa 618 at 129 years old.

Troparion (Tone 8)

Thou wast privileged to live in the age of Saints, O Father Kevin, being baptized by one Saint, taught by another and buried by a third. Pray to God that He will raise up Saints in our day to help, support and guide us into the way of salvation.

Do You Love Me?

Posted on by Fr. Peter

At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead, and he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.” (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, “Follow me.” (John 21:15-19)

In the Gospel passage quoted above, we hear Jesus ask Peter, “Do you love me?” This is not an odd question for Jesus to ask of anyone let alone His Apostle and friend Peter. This event comes after the Resurrection and after Peter’s denial of Christ before His Crucifixion. in many ways this is Jesus trying to rehabilitate Peter for his prior disbelief.

The interesting thing about this passage however is the word love. In English we have one word love and we use it for everything. I love my spouse, and I love toast. It is the same word and some would argue one of the most overused words in English today. However in this passage, in the original Greek, Jesus uses the word, agape, when he asks Peter, “Do you love me?”

Agape is the highest form of this word. This is the all encompassing love that God has for His creation, this is the unconditional, sacrifice all for me kind of love that Jesus is asking here. Peter responds, “Yes Lord, you know I love you. Again, if we read this in English we miss what is happening here. Peter does not use the agape form of love but the philo form of the word.

Philo is the love that one might have with their brother, this is a lesser form of the word that Jesus has used. Maybe Peter misunderstood what Jesus was asking, or he knew what Jesus was asking and he was not ready yet. The agape love is one that develops through a maturing in the grace of God. Remember this is the highest form of the word love, this agape.

Jesus asks Peter again, and Peter responds the same way.

The third time Jesus asks this question he has changed the form of the word from agape to philo. Scripture tells us that Peter was grieved because He asked him a third time. Jesus lowered the sense of the word to meet Peter where he was. Peter realized this fact and was grieved because he was not able to love Jesus with His whole heart, mind, and soul. Not yet anyway.

Jesus asks each one of us, “Do you love me?” and He is using the agape form of the word. Do we truly love Jesus above all else or do we love baseball or football or our job or car or something else more. How many of you reading this today went to church to thank Him for all that He has done for you? He is asking the question, and I believe He like the answer that Peter gave, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus is reaching out His hand to you, and asking you to take it and hold on. Jesus meets us where we are and helps us, through the church and her people, to grow in that love from philo to agape.

What is your answer to Him today?

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