Let us follow the example of the Canaanite woman in persistently and boldly offering even our deepest pains and greatest weaknesses to Christ for healing.

As we celebrate the restoration of icons today, let us become more beautiful living icons of our Lord’s salvation and gain the strength to treat every neighbor accordingly as we live and breathe in this world. Remember: They are His living icons also.

In light of what such atrocities reveal about the human condition, it is obviously not enough to affirm religious beliefs, to perform certain acts of outward piety, or merely to identify ourselves as Orthodox Christians. Indeed, it is entirely possible to do all those things while remaining blind, embracing the darkness, and becoming all too comfortable with the forces of death and destruction.

When we truly know that we are the chief of sinners and recognize that our very existence is dependent upon the mercy of the Lord, then we will no longer be driven to condemn anyone else.

Through the many struggles of this season of Lent, we all have the opportunity to grow in the faith necessary to entrust ourselves more fully to Christ.

We have all had the experience of suddenly perceiving a truth that we had previously not grasped. There are times when the fog lifts, the lights come on, and what was opaque or out of focus becomes clear. That is precisely what the apostles Peter, James, and John experienced on Mount Tabor when they were enabled to behold the divine glory of Jesus Christ, Who shone brightly with light as the voice of the Father identified Him as His beloved Son.

Today we conclude our commemoration of the Lord’s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, when the spiritual eyes of Peter, James, and John were opened to behold His divine glory and they heard the voice of the Father say, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Mk. 9:7)

We remain in a period of preparation to behold Christ at His appearing. The One born at Christmas and baptized at Theophany is brought by the Theotokos and St. Joseph the Betrothed to the Temple in Jerusalem as a 40-day old Infant in fulfillment of the Old Testament law, which we will celebrate later this week at the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the old man St. Simeon proclaims that this Child is the salvation “of all peoples, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel.” The aged prophetess St. Anna also speaks openly of Him as the Savior. At the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, we celebrate the appearance of the Lord Who fulfills the ancient promises to Abraham and extends them to all with faith in Him. By His appearance, He has enlightened the whole creation. Christ is “the true light which gives light to everyone coming into the world.” (Jn. 1:9)

Unless we are very careful, it is easy to fall prey to the temptation of defining holiness in ways that serve our preconceived notions, which may have very little to do with finding the healing of our souls by sharing more fully in the life of the Savior by grace. We often see righteousness through the lens of our own sensibilities about worldly divisions and disputes in ways that have more to do with serving our own passions than with serving the Lord. Today’s Scripture readings challenge us to wake up from such delusions and to see ourselves clearly before His infinite holiness.

On the last several Sundays, our gospel readings have challenged us to return home from our self-imposed exile. Zacchaeus gave more than justice required to the poor and those whom he had exploited from his ill-gotten gains, and was restored as a son of Abraham. By her persistence and humility, the Canaanite woman received the deliverance of her daughter as a sign that Christ calls all people to return home to Him in faith. The publican returned to his spiritual home by humbly calling for the Lord’s mercy, even as the Pharisee exiled himself by his pride. The prodigal son took the long journey home after coming to his senses about the misery of being in exile from the father whom he had abandoned.

We are certainly in a spiritually rich time of year in the life of the Church. Having begun the fast in preparation for the Dormition of the Theotokos, we are now also anticipating the Transfiguration of the Lord, when Peter, James, and John beheld His divine glory on Mount Tabor. As with all the feasts of the Church, the point is not simply to remember what happened long ago, but instead to participate personally in the eternal truth made manifest in these celebrations. And that means nothing less than being transfigured ourselves by our Lord’s gracious divine energies as we come to share more fully in His restoration and fulfillment of the human person as a living icon of God.

St. Paul told the Corinthians to “make holiness perfect in the fear of the Lord.” For some this sounds like “works-righteousness” and for others like the picture of an angry God. Instead, St. Paul echoes many OT texts that give tantalizing intimations of holiness to which we are called, participating in what has been done for us already.

Consider how the prophet Isaiah and the sage ben Sirach help us to understand more about the gospel’s teaching on forgiveness, and St. Paul’s words on living the attentive life of ascesis. Why should we ask forgiveness of those whom we think we haven’t even hurt—because our sins hurt everyone in the body of Christ!

To err is human and to forgive is divine, but our readings for this coming Sunday, illumined by the prophets, show us that the proclamation of forgiveness is now a human responsibility. The God-Man demonstrates that God has bestowed this divine characteristic, part of His glory, to those who are his sons and daughters. God forgives, and we forgive. (Matthew 9:1-8; Romans 12:6-14; Jeremiah 31:27-34; Jonah 3:1-10)

This week we concentrate upon the epistle reading, where St. Paul mentions (as he does elsewhere), God’s armor for our use in life. This imagery may be difficult for a contemporary audience, but it is found many places in Scripture, and cannot be dismissed. We consider the “active” and “passive” weapons wielded by our Lord Jesus, and commended to us, by means of other NT readings, Isaiah, and the book of Wisdom. (2 Corinthians 6:1-10; Isaiah 59:15-17; Wisdom 5:17-20; Isaiah 11:3-5)

Our readings for the eleventh Sunday of Matthew (1 Corinthians 9:1-12, Matthew 18:23-25) happily correspond this year with our remembrance of the Holy Prophet and last of the Judges of Israel, Samuel. Parts of his story in 1 Samuel/Kingdoms 12 and 28, plus words about him in Psalm 98 (LXX)/99 and Sirach 46, help us understand more deeply God’s character of justice and forgiveness, exemplified in the prophet. We, too, are called to this pattern as we respond to the problems of our day, including the social unrest and violence of this week.

This Sunday, the fourteenth of Luke, we also commemorate the prophet Zephaniah, whose tiny book in the OT speaks eloquently both of the dark state of God’s people, and his aim to bring them into the light (Zephaniah 1:14-17; 3:9-20). Those themes help us to think more concretely, and as a community, concerning the gospel and epistle for today (Ephesians 5:8-19; Luke 18:35-43), where spiritual blindness and sight is also addressed.

On this first Sunday after Pentecost, we clarify and amplify the readings from Matthew and Hebrews by looking to the story of Solomonia and her seven brave sons (2 Maccabees 7). This woman, known in the early Church as a prophetess, spoke clearly of God’s creating and resurrecting power, and so inspires us, in our challenges today, to follow Christ to glory.

We read the difficult chapter of Revelation 9, looking to Job, Ezekiel 9:3-8, the words of Jesus (Luke 21:18), and the wisdom of some early commentators in order to help us consider the problem of evil, placed alongside our omnipotent and loving God.

We look to John’s intriguing vision of the Temple and the two witnesses in Revelation 11:1-14, aided by the visions of two earlier prophets in Ezekiel 40 and Zechariah 4. John’s images help us to understand that the bitter-sweet scroll pertains to us, and our witness in a God-defying world, as we follow the slaughtered-standing Lamb wherever He goes.

"Saint Agnes," from Women of Faith, written by Calee M. Lee, illustrated by Lisa Graves (Xist Publishing, 2015)

Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Lent, "Leaving Egypt and In the Wilderness," by Elissa Bjeletich, illustrated by Jelena Jeftic (Sebastian Press, 2017).

Vanessa The Wonderworker, written and illustrated by Grace Brooks, Chapter One. Available on Amazon

Vanessa The Wonderworker, Chapter Two, written and illustrated by Grace Brooks. Available on Amazon

Vanessa The Wonderworker, Chapter Three, written and illustrated by Grace Brooks. Available on Amazon.

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Vanessa The Wonderworker, Chapter Twenty Eight, written and illustrated by Grace Brooks. Available on Amazon

Vanessa The Wonderworker, Chapter Twenty Seven, written and illustrated by Grace Brooks. Available on Amazon