Promise The
HOLY TRINITY GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH WESTFIELD ^ NEW JERSEY
HtgocWestfield@htgocnj.org
February 2012 ^ Volume 36, Issue 2
908-233-8533
holytrinitywestfield.org
Let’s come back to Life! Lenten 2012
■ THE REVEREND PETER DELVIZIS My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
L
ent, that great period in the life of the Church dedicated to prayer, fasting and reconciliation, begins on February 27. During this Season of Repentance, the Church asks us to deepen our commitment to Jesus Christ. We do this fi rst by beginning with repentance. The crucial statement pronounced by St. John the Baptist and by Christ Himself as He began His awesome and life-saving ministry is for each of us to “repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” Many of us today need to come to Christ, for many have spiritually drifted away from God. Recently, I read the story of Christ walking into the city of Nain where He raised back to life a young man who was once dead. Of course, we know Jesus performed two other “death to life” miracles in the Gospels. This story is captivating, because we see, on the one hand, a young man who died, who was ready to be buried, surrounded by mourners crying out, and on the other Christ Himself showing His customary love and compassion for this young man and his widowed mother The funeral procession stops as Christ is confronted by death - man’s adversary. Not to be insulted or mocked, the Lord touches the coffin and says, “young man, I say to you arise.” And the young man rose back to life as he began to speak. Imagine the awestruck crowd that day seeing and witnessing this incredible miracle. Not only
do we witness Christ’s divinity when He brings this person back to life, but we also witness His humanity, for He showed love and compassion to this family. Christ also shows us His love and compassion. He is always there in our time of need, ready to accept us back into the fold of His flock. This story also demonstrates the theme of Lent. Many of us are dead in sin and by relying on God’s power we can wake out of our spiritual complacency to open our eyes to His glory. Many of us today are spiritually dead. We become the walking dead since we are void of any Godly conscious, ignorant to the power given to us in the Divine Liturgy. We follow after the whims of this world neglecting the eternal kingdom. We sporadically attend church or we do not receive the Holy Sacraments. We do not involve ourselves in Stewardship. And the thought never occurs to us to attend the Lenten divine services. Have you drifted away from Christ and His Church? It is easy to drift. To be a drifter is to allow a current or some other force to subtlety take you away. Are you slipping away from Christ, your family, your Church? Lent asks you to take courage and begin swimming against this current that is pulling you away. You must know that Christ is with you giving you the strength to return to Him. Return to the father and be an imitator of the Prodigal Son. Run towards the Father’s embrace. We need to wake up! We need to open eyes and ears to the word of God. We need to prepare ourselves for the last day Pag. 3
Wait for the promise of the Father ThePromise-FEB2012.indd 1
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