Redeeming the Time Vol. 02.13 9th Sun After Pentecost Jul 27/Aug 9 1998

News and Announcements *

Questions about St Christina *

Questions about Matt 14:22-34 - Jesus Walking on the Water (9sunape) *

Answers to Questions about St Christina *

Answers to Questions about Matt 14:22-34 - Jesus Walking on the Water (9sunape) *

David had back surgery Tuesday, Aug 4th. At the present time, his recovery is going very well. He is in Plano Presbyterian Hospital, Room 516, phone (972) 608-8516. Some in the church will be building a ramp for him at his home, because he will not be able to negotiate stairs safely for a while. Please remember to pray for David, especially during his recovery period.

Fr Seraphim has become aware that some may have trouble with gathering for choir practice on Thursday evenings after Moleiben. Therefore, the choir is asked to meet this Sunday after Liturgy to discuss all possible scheduling options. Please plan on attending this meeting - if you do not voice your opinion at this meeting, your opinion cannot contribute anything. We must give fair warning that practice will probably become obligatory for those who wish to sing in the choir, except under special circumstances, which should be discussed with Fr Seraphim and the choir director. Following are some of the possible times the choir may meet (on a WEEKLY BASIS!) All have their advantages and disadvantages.

The progress of the choir has been fantastic, and we should want to build on these accomplishments. Singing in the choir is a ministry to God and to the faithful in the church, and therefore demands effort of us, both during and outside of the services. Thanks in advance for your participation.

There will be regular reader's classes soon, which will be obligatory for all those who wish to read in the church. Fr. Seraphim will be contacting the readers and those who wish to learn to become readers about this very soon. As we read for the edification of others, and to glorify God, we must learn to read in the correct manner, and with reverence, piety and a sense of responsibility. Reading is an honor to be taken very seriously. May God grant His mercy and grace upon our readers!

We had the first meeting of the St. Nicholas Youth Group last week. Congratulations to our first president, Irene Lewis, our first secretary/treasurer Genevieve Holland, and our first Historian Joseph Sanchez! We will meet again next week (August 16) to vote on our patron saint, and begin discussing fundraising and other activities. All youth are invited.

Many years to Mary Wilder who celebrated St Mary Magdalene last Tuesday.

Many years to Christina Holland and Christina Lewis, who celebrated St Christina last Thursday. We sang a molieban at church Thursday evening to St Christina, and sang her canon.

What does the name Christina mean?

When is St Christina commemorated? What "rank" is her feast?

Approximately when did St Christina live, and where? What was her upbringing?

Because St Christina is a _______, icons of her show her holding a ______. Explain

What is the Gospel reading that commemorated St Christina? Why?

How did St Christina learn the Christian faith? Did she have obstacles?

When was St Christina baptized? Be careful answering this one!

Describe St Christina's passion.

Approximately how old was St Christina when died?

St Christina's relation and conflict with her parents deserves careful scrutiny, and has much to teach us.

What should we learn about faith and priorities by observing St Christina as our example? What words of Christ should come to mind when we contemplate Christina's struggles with her parents (if you cannot quote them directly, just give the gist of them in a paraphrasement).

This is a very important concept, which too many fail to understand, and many even fail to convert to the Orthodox faith because of problems similar to, but much less extreme than Christina's.

The name Christina means "Little Christ".

"He Who ordereth all things according to His providence / granted thee the name of Christ / as thou didst deserve; / for thou didst have a better end / in both thy name and thy works, / having betrothed thyself to Christ / piously and with faith. / And as the daughter of the King of heaven // thou dost rejoice with Him, praying for us, O martyr." (Vespers for St Christina, Sticheron at "Lord I have cried", Tone 4)

"Thou didst truly demonstrate the twofold working of thy Christian name: / in betrothing thyself to Christ in the purity of thy virginity, / with the blessing of the Father and by the activity of the Spirit / thou didst shine forth more brightly than the rays of the sun / in thy steadfast endurance of torture. / Wherefore, thou didst offer thyself / as a pure and unblemished sacrifice on the altar of heaven, / and dost rejoice forever with the choirs of virgins and martyrs. / With them, O Christina, namesake of Christ, // beg thou that peace and great mercy be given to those who honor thee." (Glory at Lord I have cried)

St Christina is remembered July 24. This is Aug 6 on the civil calendar. Her feast is a "six stichera" service. This means that 6 stichera are sung for her during vespers.

St Christina lived in the third century, when paganism was still very prevalent. She grew up in the city of Tyre. Her parents were pagan, and her father Urban was the governor. She was brought up in idolatry until Christ revealed Himself to her at the age of about 11. Her father made her live in a tower in order to hide her great beauty until she was full grown. In her tower, Christina saw the beauty of God's creations and yearned to know the True God. God saw this, and revealed Himself to her through His angel.

Because St Christina is a martyr, icons of her show her holding a cross in her right hand. By Holy Tradition, martyrs are depicted holding a cross, which indicated their willingness to give up their temporal lives for Christ, just as Christ gave up His human life on the cross.

The Gospel reading for St Christina, and most women martyrs is about the "sinful woman" who anointed Christ's feet shortly before His passion (Luke 7:36-50). The woman "loved much" because she had been "forgiven much". The martyrs love much because they are also illuminated with the knowledge of the forgiveness of God.

"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." (Luke 7:47)

All of us has much that is forgiven. Those who truly love God are those who feel this forgiveness in the depths of their being. Such ones perform outstanding acts of love and devotion, like the woman who anointed the Lord, and all the martyrs who laid down their life for the one Who calls them "friend".

St. Christina's parents were pagans, and did not teach her about the True Faith. She didn't learn of it until Christ revealed it to her through His angel when she showed a great desire to learn of God. She then smashed all the idols in her tower, thus incurring the wrath of her father, who had her tortured.

St Christina was baptized by her blood at her martyrdom for Christ.

" Thy ewe-lamb Christina, O Jesus, crieth out with a loud voice: / "I love Thee, O my Bridegroom, and, seeking Thee, I suffer. / I am crucified and buried in Thy baptism. / I suffer for Thy sake, that I may reign with Thee; / I die for Thee, that I may live with Thee. / Accept me, who sacrifice myself for Thee with love, like an unblemished offering!" // By her supplications save Thou our souls, in that Thou art merciful." (Troparion for St Christina, Tone 4)

When St Christina was illuminated with the truths of the Christian faith from the angel, her pure soul loathed all the idols surrounding her, and she smashed them to pieces. This action enraged her father Urban, who, forgetting his natural love for his daughter, tortured her. The evening before he planned to have her executed, Urban, in full health, was taken from this life. She was then tortured by Urban's two successors, the first being Dion, who also died unexpectedly. Her last persecutor, Julian, cut off the holy one's breasts and also her tongue, which the holy one threw back in his face, blinding him. After many other tortures, which inspired many of the inhabitants of Tyre to follow the Christian faith, she was finally beheaded.

"Neither the passionate attachment of thy parents, / nor the pleasure of food, /nor possession of riches, O glorious one, nor threats of torments, / neither fire, the sword, the abyss or the wheel, / nor yet the attack of wild beasts / were able to separate thee from the love of the Creator, O virgin martyr Christina, // thou glory and boast of the martyrs." (Vespers, "Lord I have cried", Tone 4)

St Christina was just a girl when she was martyred, eleven years old.

We must love the Church and Christ above all, including family, and follow Him even unto death. Christ said, "He who loves husband, or wife, or mother or father or son or lands more than Me is not worthy of Me." This means that we need to give up these temporary things, such as family, if the prohibit us from following Christ.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. {35} For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. {36} And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. {37} He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. {38} And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. {39} He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." (Mat 10:34-39)

"To teach us, that loneliness and retirement is good, when we are to pray to God. With this view, you see, He is continually withdrawing into the wilderness, and there often spends the whole night in prayer, teaching us earnestly to seek such quietness in our prayers, as the time and place may confer. For the wilderness is the mother of quiet; it is a calm and a harbor, delivering us from all turmoils." (Chrysostom HOMILY L. MATT. XIV. 23, 24)

At an earlier time, the Apostles were with Jesus in a boat that was beset by a storm, while Jesus was asleep. The Apostles were terrified, and woke Jesus, saying "Lord, save us: we perish." (Matt 8:25). The Evangelist reports their amazement: "... the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" (Mat 8:27)

This event, chronicled in Matthew 8:23-27 was much earlier in Jesus' ministry. At this time, the Apostles were still unformed, and weak in faith. They were terrified in a boat with the God-man right beside them, because they did not really understand all things about Him yet. Jesus taught them and strengthened their faith gradually, by degrees, and in the same way teaches us. Later, when their faith was stronger, and able to endure more, He allowed the Apostles to flounder in the waves an entire night without him, because they were ready for this greater test.

"He Himself then went up thither with this object, but the disciples are tossed with the waves again, and undergo a storm, equal even to the former. But whereas before they had Him in the ship when this befell them, now they were alone by themselves. Thus gently and by degrees He excites and urges them on for the better, even to the bearing all nobly. Accordingly we see, that when they were first near that danger, He was present, though asleep, so as readily to give them relief; but now leading them to a greater degree of endurance, He doth not even this, but departs, and in mid sea permits the storm to arise, so that they might not so much as look for a hope of preservation from any quarter; and He lets them be tempest tossed all the night, thoroughly to awaken, as I suppose, their hardened heart." (Ibid.)

"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Mat 10:22)

"Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. {15} When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. " (John 6:14-15)

"And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. {29} And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus." (Mat 14:28-29)

Peter left the boat with holy zeal, and the best of intentions. After walking for a bit, a strange thing happened: "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me." (Mat 14:30) Peter began to look at his external circumstances, and he who was walking on the tempestuous and dangerous sea, feared the wind, and much lesser danger. He only began to sink when he became afraid of the wind. So it is with human nature. We sometimes fear lesser things because of the frailty of our nature, and lose our faith.

"Meanwhile the ship which carries the disciples, that is, the Church, is tossed and shaken by the tempests of temptation; and the contrary wind, that is, the devil her adversary, rests not, and strives to hinder her from arriving at rest. But greater is "He who maketh intercession for us." For in this our tossing to and fro in which we toil, He giveth us confidence in coming to us, and strengthening us; only let us not in our trouble throw ourselves out of the ship, and cast ourselves into the sea. For though the ship be in trouble, still it is the ship. She alone carrieth the disciples, and receiveth Christ. There is danger, it is true, in the sea; but without her there is instant perishing. Keep thyself therefore in the ship, and pray to God. For when all counsels fail, when even the rudder is unserviceable, and the very spreading of the sails is rather dangerous than useful, when all human help and strength is gone, there remains only for the sailors the earnest cry of entreaty, and pouring out of prayer to God. He then who grants to sailors to reach the haven, shall He so forsake His own Church, as not to bring it on to rest?" (Blessed Augustine, Sermon 25 on the Gospels, Matthew 14:24,)

"Redeeming the Time" is an almost weekly Journal of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Dallas Texas. Distribute this text if you wish, but only if attribution and all contact information are included. I would appreciate being contacted if any large-scale use of this text is desired. All unsigned or unattributed portions © 1998 Fr Seraphim Holland. All rights reserved

Email: seraphim@orthodox.net