Redeeming the Time Vol. 02.07 Pentecost May 7/ 25 1998

Redeeming the Time

Pentecost

Vol. 02.07

(Ezek 36:26-27 - read on Pentecost Vespers)

Matushka Marina and children will be traveling from June 17 through July 6th. This includes the last two weekends in June and the first Weekend in July. If you sing in the choir, it would be very much appreciated if you planned to be present at the Vigil and Divine Liturgy on those days.

Fr Constantine is in Brazil, and will be returning this week. Reader John was forced to take a sudden trip to Britain. He will return next weekend. Reader Andrew has a series of three weekends he is required to travel because of business. Please pray for the safe return of our travelers.

During Lent we stopped our International Dinners. It's time to restart them! If you would like to host the next International Dinner, let us know! We have a great time gathering at a parishioner's house after Liturgy on Sunday for a pitch-in dinner of ethnic foods, music, stories, and fun from an Orthodox country. Pick a country and a date - we have already "visited" Russia, France and Ireland in this way. What's next?

QUESTION 1

What is the ministry of the Holy Spirit?

QUESTION 2

What are two symbols for the Holy Spirit? Explain why symbols are used to depict Him, and the reason for these particular symbols. How did the Holy Spirit manifest Himself on the day of Pentecost? Describe three ways.

QUESTION 3

What is the complete text of the most famous prayer to the Holy Spirit? In which services is it used? There are certain days when it is not used. When?

QUESTION 4

Describe the procession of the Holy Spirit, and the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the other Persons of the Godhead. Is it important to be exact? Describe a popular heresy concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit, and the two divinely inspired documents that directly refute this heresy. What are the implications for those who believe this heresy?

QUESTION 5

Describe the gift of tongues, and comment upon the claims of many who say they have this gift today

Describe the day of Pentecost. Do it from memory. If you do not remember much, this is a strong indication that you need to realign your priorities, and read more scripture, and go to more services. We have a lot of time to be dead, but not much to learn the things that pertain to our salvation.

QUESTION 7

What very important prayer did the Holy Prophet David make concerning the Holy Spirit, and what are its implications? Hint - All Orthodox Christians should be saying this prayer every day.

QUESTION 8

How is the Holy Spirit given? Can He be lost? How?

QUESTION 9

Why is the feast of Pentecost called 'Pentecost"? What Jewish feast was occurring at the same time? Explain some of the implications of the juxtaposition of the Jewish feast and the Giving of the Holy Spirit to the church.

QUESTION 10

Describe the services for Pentecost, and do not neglect to mention any special prayers that are said. This day is also unique in that the main scriptural text for the feast is not from the Gospels. Why not?

The Restoration to Paradise

Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to Paradise, our ascension to the Kingdom of heaven, our adoption as God's sons, our freedom to call God our Father, our becoming partakers of the grace of Christ- in a word, our inheritance of the fullness of blessings, both in this world and the world to come. Even while we wait for the full enjoyment of the good things in store for us, by the Holy Spirit we are able to rejoice through faith in the promise of the graces to come. If the promise itself is so glorious, what must its fulfillment be like? We are also able to distinguish between the grace that comes from the Spirit and mere baptism in water. John baptized in water for repentance, but our Lord Jesus Christ baptized in the Holy Spirit.

St. Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit

True Humility

The Holy Spirit gives true humility. Even the most intelligent person, if he has not the Holy Spirit, cannot know himself properly. Without God's help he cannot see the inner state of his soul. If he does good to others and acts honestly, he thinks that he is a righteous man and even perfect in comparison with others, and therefore he does not feel that he needs anything. O, how often people perish from a false assurance of their honesty and righteousness! They perish because they trust in their own goodness, and do not think about the spirit of Christianity at all or the help of the Holy Spirit, just when they are in extreme need of His help. And as the Holy Spirit is given only to those who ask and seek, and such people not only fail to ask and seek Him but do not even consider it necessary, therefore He is not given them and consequently they remain in error and perish.

St. Innocent of Alaska, Indication of the way into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

If you bear your sufferings with submission and surrender to the will of God and do not seek consolation anywhere or in anyone except the Lord, then in His mercy He will not abandon you and will not leave you without consolation. He will touch your heart with His grace and will communicate to you the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Amid your sufferings, and perhaps even at the very beginning of them, you will feel in your heart ineffable sweetness, a wonderful peace and joy which you never felt before; and at the same time you will feel within you the power and ability to pray to God with true prayer and to believe in Him with true faith. Then your heart will burn with pure love for God and your neighbor. All this is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

St. Innokenty of Irkutsk, Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of

Heaven.

The Source of the Spiritual Life

One must always remember that success in any aspect of the spiritual life is the fruit of the grace of God. Spiritual life comes entirely from His most Holy Spirit. We have our own spirit but it is void of power. It begins to gain strength only when the grace of God flows into it.

Bishop Theophan the Recluse

The Grace of God

The grace of God is the life of our souls. Our soul cannot be alive without the grace of God. For as our body lives by the soul, so our soul lives by the grace of God. Pray, then, always, and sigh unto God that He give you His grace, and that He preserve you in it. We need the grace of God every minute. For this reason, sigh often from the depths of your heart, `Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not the Holy Spirit from me.'

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Journey to Heaven.

Even When We are Impure

The Holy Spirit, in compassion for our weakness, comes to us even when we are still impure; and if only He finds our mind sincerely praying to Him, descends upon it and disperses all the swarm of thoughts and images which surrounds it, thus disposing it towards desire for spiritual prayer.

St. Nilus of Sinai, Early Fathers from the Philokalia.

The Holy Spirit Gives Mysterious Light

The deifying gift of the Spirit is a mysterious light, and transforms into light those who receive its richness. He does not only fill them with eternal light, but grants them a knowledge and a life appropriate to God. Thus, as Maximus teaches, Paul lived no longer a created life, but "the eternal life of Him Who indwelt him." Similarly, the prophets contemplated the future as if it were the present.

St. Gregory Palamas, The Triads

Allow the Spirit of God to Dwell Within You

Allow the Spirit of God to dwell within you; then in His love He will come and make a habitation with you; He will reside in you and live in you. If your heart is pure you will see Him and He will sow in you the good seed of reflection upon His actions and wonder at His majesty. This will happen if you take the trouble to weed out from your soul the undergrowth of desires, along with the thorns and tares of bad habits.

Evagrius of Pontus in The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life.

ANSWER 1

The ministry of the Holy Spirit was carefully described by Christ shortly before His death and resurrection, and after He rose from the dead, until His glorious Ascension. Some of His teaching was preserved in the Holy Scriptures, although not all, but all of His teaching has been faithfully preserved by the Church. The service of Pentecost and the Sunday Matins Hymns of Ascents especially explain the "economy" of the Holy Spirit, but this teaching is also contained in many other services and the writings of the Fathers.

The Holy Spirit reveals truth to a man, enlightens him, and purifies him with fire. The Holy Spirit, Who guides into all truth, reveals the mystical dogmas of Christ and the Holy Trinity. By the Holy Spirit, the prophets prophesied, the apostles taught, and the councils of the church defined the divine dogmas concerning the All Holy Trinity, and other things in the life in the church. By the Holy Spirit, the weak were made strong, and the faint-hearted brave, and, seeing the things of God, are made able to endure grievous martrydoms. By the Holy Spirit, ordinary bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ. By the Holy Spirit, a man has his sin revealed, and has the means to change. By the Holy Spirit, the simple are made wise. By the Holy Spirit, a man sees things that cannot even be uttered, the deep things of God, after the Spirit prepares him. By the Holy Spirit, a man prays in spirit and truth, according to his need and the will of God. By the Holy Spirit, the Christian life is lived.

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

"The Holy Spirit provideth all things; He gusheth forth prophecy; He perfecteth the priesthood; He hath taught wisdom to the illiterate. He hath shown forth the fishermen as theologians. He holdeth together the whole institution of the Church. Wherefore, O Comforter, one in essence and throne with the Father and the Son, glory be to Thee." (Pentecost Vespers, Lord I have cried, 3rd Sticheron)

The Sunday Matins service is indispensable for the proper understanding of the ministry and action of the Holy Spirit, especially the 3 (4 parts if in the eighth tone), part Hymns of Ascents which impress the soul profoundly with their deep theology sung to sweet melody. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of the Orthodox never or almost never hear these beautiful hymns, which occur in the middle of matins. Perhaps 4 things can occur in reference to Sunday Matins, and 3 of them are bad: In a shocking number of churches, matins is not even served, or is served in a severely truncated manner, either out of the spirit of ecumenism, ignorance, laziness or indifference to the divine law of God. Many do not attend vigil as a rule, or the morning Orthos, or they leave God's house early, or come late unnecessarily. In the best of circumstances, the holy services are served completely and piously, and the faithful Christian considers his time these services to be more important that any agenda, or schedule, or worldly priority.

ANSWER 2

At the Theophany of the Lord (His baptism) the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove. This symbol has been used iconographically from the earliest times. At Pentecost, He appeared as tongues of fire. He was also manifested by the mighty wind, and by the Apostles speaking in Tongues.

ANSWER 3

The Most common prayer to the Holy Spirit is "O Heavenly King":

This prayer is at the beginning of many services, as the start of the Trisagion prayers, which, although simple and oft repeated, contain a profundity of theology

The Trisagion prayers are as follows

• Heavenly King...
• Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice)
• Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
• Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name's sake.
• Lord have mercy. (Thrice)
• Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
• Our Father, Who art in the Heavens, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
• Priest: For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
• A layman "Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Amen".

These prayers are in

• Morning prayers
• Evening prayers
• Midnight Office
• Daily Matins
• The 3rd and 9th hour
• Daily Vespers
• Compline

This prayer also is often used before the beginning of any work, or before instruction, and is in several "trebnic" services.

The prayer is not said aloud in Divine Liturgy, but the Priest prays it silently (in a quiet, usually almost inaudible voice) just before Liturgy begins.

"O, Heavenly King" is omitted in all prayers and services from Pascha until the Vigil for Pentecost.

ANSWER 4

This dogma was later formalized in the Symbol of Faith in the Second Ecumenical Council, with the following article concerning the Holy Spirit: "And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the prophets."

Belief in this dogma is obligatory. Those who add "and from the Son" (the philiqoue) sin against the words of Christ Himself, and the divinely revealed dogmas of the church, and those who persist in this heresy are outside of the Church. There is no room for compromise concerning this dogma, especially since the councils themselves forbad any change to the symbol of faith. In our age, dogma is passe, and there is a rush for unity in organization, and mutual "acceptance" of one another's beliefs, whether they be the revealed beliefs of the Christian faith or not. Therefore, the dispute over the Philioque is thought to be a mere "misunderstanding" over terminology. But the Orthodox, who hear in their services this dogma expressed with startling clarity, and read the lives of Saints who endured exile for this dogma, believe it without wavering.

ANSWER 5

On the first Christian Pentecost, the Apostles spoke, and people understood their preaching in their own tongues. It is not entirely clear whether the gift was in the "speaking" or in the "hearing", but the result was that all men heard the gospel (good tidings) in their own tongue. The apostles did not speak in an ecstatic prayer language, as the modern day heretical Pentecostal sects, and other Protestants and Roman Catholics infected with this false teaching practice.

ANSWER 6

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were gathered in the upper room, praying. Suddenly, there was a sound, like a mighty wind, and the Holy Spirit descended on each of them in the form of tongues of fire. This fire was not the Holy Spirit, but a symbol of His presence. They Apostles were able to preach the Gospel and be understood by each man in his own tongue.

ANSWER 7

In Psalm 50, the Holy Prophet and King David, who had, as a man, fallen into grievous adultery and murder, prayed "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and with Thy governing Spirit establish me."

We must understand that we can lose the Holy Spirit by sinning and not repenting. The church services are full of advice in this regard.

ANSWER 8

Chrismation confers the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the newly baptized Christian.

It is the clear teaching of the church that the Holy Spirit can be lost because of unrepentant sin. Why else would the Prophet David, in his repentant psalm (50) which he prayed after he realized the full weight of his guilt for the murder of Urias, the husband of Bathsheba, with whom he had committed adultery, say: "Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me"?

"The Spirit does not take up His abode in someone's life through a physical approach; how could a corporeal being approach the Bodiless one? Instead, the Spirit comes to us when we withdraw ourselves from evil passions, which have crept into the soul through its friendship with the flesh, alienating us from a close relationship with God. Only when a man has been cleansed from the shame of his evil, and has returned to his natural beauty, and the original form of the Royal Image has been restored in him, is it possible for him to approach the Paraclete. Then, like the sun, He will show you in Himself the image of the invisible, and with purified eyes you will see in this blessed image the unspeakable beauty of its prototype."

St. Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit.

ANSWER 9

The giving of the Holy Spirit occurred fifty days after the resurrection. In Greek "Pentekoste" means "Fiftieth Day". This was also during the Jewish feast called "Pentecost", which celebrated the giving of the law. Only through the Holy Spirit may we actually fulfil the law. The Holy Spirit reveals the law to our hearts.

ANSWER 10

Pentecost is a "Great Feast" of the Lord, and supersedes the Sunday Octoechos, which is usually the primary commemoration on Sunday. On the eve of Pentecost (Saturday evening), a Vigil is served, consisting of Great Vespers, Litya, Matins, and the First Hour. All variable texts are from the Pentocostarian. Certain parts of the service normally sung on Sunday are omitted, such as "Having beheld the resurrection" (after the Gospel), and "Holy is the Lord our God" (the Expostilarion before the Praises), and The Evlogitaria of the Resurrection

On Sunday morning the Divine Liturgy is sung with special Festal Antiphons for Pentecost, and an entrance hymn at the Small Entrance. "As many have been baptized into Christ..." is sung instead of the "Holy God...".

The Vespers for the evening of the Monday of the Holy Spirit (served Sunday evening, or in some parishes, almost immediately after Divine Liturgy) includes three long prayers, called the kneeling prayers, which are said by the priest, while everyone kneels for the first time since Holy Wednesday, before Pascha.

QUESTION 1

When is the Sunday of All Saints? Speculate why. Where is the service found (which service book)?

QUESTION 2

What is a "Saint"? What does the word literally mean?

QUESTION 3

Why do Christians pray to the Saints? Describe their attitude and expectations in these prayers. Why is this prayer so misunderstood by non-Orthodox?

QUESTION 4

Describe the "procedure" in which someone becomes recognized as a Saint.

QUESTION 5

Why does the Orthodox Church think so much about the Saints? What do the Protestants and other non-Orthodox who profess belief in Christ think about them? Speculate why.

QUESTION 6

The Saints are like trees, fed by the ever-flowing stream that is the grace of God. Just as there is one sun, but many types of trees that are nourished by it, so there are many ranks of Saints, from many walks of life. The church has given "titles" to many of them. Here is one: "Equal to the Apostles". What does this mean? Give at least 3 examples.

QUESTION 7

Another title given to some saints is "Fool for Christ". Explain. Give at least one example.

QUESTION 8

What is an "Unmercenary Healer"? Give an example.

QUESTION 9

Some of the Saints we love were "baptized by blood". Describe what this exceptional occurrence is and give a scenario.

QUESTION 10

The church is always aware of the phalanx of the Saints, and knows that they are present during the Divine Liturgy. In token of this, the priest commemorates nine separate "ranks" or categories of the Saints before the Divine Liturgy.

In which service is this done? What are the nine ranks? What do these ranks symbolize?