Orthodoxy and Justification

Posted on by Fr. Peter
In Orthodoxy, we are Justified by grace through faith in good works. The prepositions are vitally important! ‘Imputed Righteousness’ means that the only holiness of which we are capable is that given to us by God himself. Although this emphasizes (biblically) the work of grace, it can be pushed too far. Unless we are careful, repentance and faith will count for little since nothing that we could do under this scheme would make one jot of difference to what God was (prepared) to do in us… with or without our consent.

In the Orthodox Church, holiness is always both our work and God’s work. Against this, imputed righteousness is a dangerous half-truth. Additionally, we need to recognize that the Scriptures presume the existence of faith… We will not be judged on our faith but on our works, done in faith. Take note of what we are “judged for” in Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

New Blog

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I have begun a new blog about Local Worcester Sports. The blog is the start of what looks like a new radio program that I will start sometime in the near future. The show will air on local station WESO 970am and will deal with local sports. We are currently in talks with the Athletics Department at Nichols College to cover their sports events to include Ice Hockey, Baseball, and Football. We are also in discussions with the folks at Southbridge High School to carry their Football program. More on this as time goes on. So for the time being check out the New Blog.

Worcester offers contract to Manny Ramirez

Posted on by Fr. Peter
This is the best sports story of the season. The Worcester Tornadoes Baseball Team has offered a contract to Marry Ramirez.

According to the website, the team has offered Manny a contract for $24,000 for the teams 94 game season. That comes down to about $3,000 per month. So a wee bit of a salary cut but it might be the only deal that Manny gets this season.

“I feel Manny would really enjoy playing in Worcester and hitting in our ballpark. Although I would be concerned about the cars traveling on I-290 during his at bats, it’s a risk worth taking,” said General Manager, Jorg Bassiacos. Director of Player Personnel Brad Michals added, “Manny certaintly has the stats to be amongst the leaders of the league next season. Although issues regarding health have surrounded him in the past, I think he will find that the shorter schedule will boost his performance to a new level and serve as the ultimate showcase for his natural skill.”

The contract was sent to Ramirez around 2:00 EST on Tuesday, January 27, 2009.

Stay tuned for more news!

House OKs $819B stimulus bill in win for Obama

Posted on by Fr. Peter
WASHINGTON – In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night with spending increases and tax cuts at the heart of the young administration’s plan to revive a badly ailing economy. The vote was 244-188, with Republicans unanimous in opposition despite Obama’s frequent pleas for bipartisan support.

“This recovery plan will save or create more than three million new jobs over the next few years,” the president said in a written statement released moments after the House voted. Still later, he welcomed congressional leaders of both parties to the White House for drinks as he continued to lobby for the legislation.

Earlier, Obama declared, “We don’t have a moment to spare” as congressional allies hastened to do his bidding in the face of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The Rest of the Story

Orthodox and Scripture

Posted on by Fr. Peter
In Orthodoxy, we hold Scripture to lie within tradition… We do not believe in Scripture and tradition as two separate or parallel sources. Tradition is simply the mind and heart of the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Scripture is the authentic core of that which is written down as the Canonical Norm of believing and living. However, Scripture on its own without tradition can lead people astray. Not on account of Scripture itself of course, but by their refusal to attend to the mind and heart of the Church.

In general Protestantism holds to the doctrine of sola scriptura (Scripture alone). The problem with this is, and the question always has to be asked, “The Bible according to whom?” All 38,000+ Protestant denominations claim Christ and the Bible to be correct – even in the face of clear contradictions with others who claim to be of the same denomination. How is the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17 achieved by this?

The Scriptures themselves contradict the Doctrine of sola scriptura.

1 Corinthians 11:2 – “I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.”
2 Thessalonians 2:15 – “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you have been taught whether by word, or our epistle.”
2 Thessalonians 3:6 – “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.”

It is interesting that in certain versions of the Bible like the NIV, Protestants have changed the actual meaning of the word from “tradition” to “teachings” in the above passages.

The question then arises, what traditions are we to hold too? The answer has always been: Apostolic Tradition… which Orthodoxy has clung too for 2000+ years.

Change the Culture

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Yesterday in my blog post about my trip to Washington, DC I discussed a post by my friend Huw. In his post Huw makes the case that we need not change the law what we need to change is the culture. How do we change the culture?

One thing that surprised me and at the same time pleased me about the March in DC was the large number of the youth that turned up. It is nice when we old fogeys march but the message that thousands of young people sends in staggering! We are raising a culture now that will not support abortion. I hope and pray that they will never have an abortion. That is how we change the culture.

We change the culture by preaching what the church teach no matter if it is in vogue or not. The church is not politically correct in fact we are the opposite. As Orthodox we say that we preach the true faith, well let’s start doing just that.

In the Gospel for today we read about Zaccheus going up the tree. We went up the tree so he could see Jesus and low and behold Jesus saw him. Our life in the church is the same. We cannot see Jesus is we stay in the same place doing the same thing. We need to climb a tree, go out on a limb and be seen. This is not an easy thing to do for many people. Most of us just want to be part of the crowd and not stand out. That’s fine and we need people like you as well not all of us are called to activism.

But there are trees that you can climb and help to make a difference. Climb the tree of prayer and climb this tree everyday. Zaccheus had a conversation with Jesus, he looked in Jesus eyes and Jesus looked in his. Talk to Jesus don’t just sit and recite all of the prayers that we think we are supposed to say, just have a conversation. And part of that conversation is listening.

Climb the tree of Scripture. Like prayer we need to be people of the book. We need to immerse ourselves in God’s Holy Word and understand and apply it to our lives. Scripture is an important part of our lives as Orthodox and we need to get into it more.

Climb the tree of learning. Get informed and make others informed. Read, read, and then read again. Write letters to the editor and begin, ever so slowly to educate people. We did not get here overnight and we will not get out of this pit overnight.

Remember Sanctity of Life means more than just opposing abortion it is the whole rang of things from the womb to the tomb from conception to natural death.

Here we are 25 days into the New Year. There is still time for resolutions. Let’s make a resolution that we will climb a tree this year and make a difference.

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