Daily readings and reflections, available at 
http://www/orthodox.net/scripture     

 These reflections and others are also posted on the blog: 
http://stnicholasdallas.blogspot.com/ 

   5  





   33 rd  Week After Pentecost v Saturday 



 The text of the scriptures, followed by short reflections. 



  Ephesians 1:16-23  Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of
you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that
ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding
greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working
of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from
the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far
above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every
name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the
head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of
him that filleth all in all.



  Luke 12:32-40  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms;
provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens
that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let your
loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like
unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding;
that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find
watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make
them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he
shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find
them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman
of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have
watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye
therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think
not.



 How should we pray for someone? St Paul gives a good example here. He
prays: 

 =

 ? That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what
is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints...¦ 



 St Paul understood that the Christian life is about knowledge. The 
encompasses knowledge about the true nature of things, of which he
mentions non exclusively three:  



    we fully knew the revelation of Christ, and, as a natural result of
this, a full understanding of our calling? Since in order to know
someone, we must become like him, and participate in his life by action,
to have full revelation ?of the knowledge of Him¦ is to completely cast
off sin, and become holy and good, a secure possessor of the peace which
Christ offers to us. 



 We need not pray that ?So and So¦ ?stop this¦, or ?start that¦, because
the fulfillment of the simple prayer that they will have the ?spirit of
wisdom...¦ encompasses all changes in their life necessary for their
happiness. 



 The only prayer actual necessary for anyone, is ?Lord have mercy¦,  .
To ask God for mercy is to ask for help in all things, so that we may
have given unto=us ?the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of him: The eyes of (our) understanding being enlightened; that (we) may
know what is the hope of his calling¦



 The   is so very important if we are to have powerful prayer. While it
is easier to concentrate when we only say ?Lord have mercy¦, or some
derivative, like the Jesus prayer, within our soul  . St Paul's prayer
for the Ephesians is one example of what we should be praying for when
we pray for others (and ourselves). 





 Our Father, we beg mercy from Thee, and that through Thy son, Our Lord
Jesus Christ, we unworthy ones may be given the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of thy Son, and that the eyes of our
understanding may be enlightened; that we may know what is the hope of
our calling and the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
saints. And remind us forgetful ones of the exceeding greatness of his
power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty
power. Amen.





 The great power of the Holy Scriptures is that they impart immutable
truths to our changing nature and circumstances. The truth never
changes, but our understanding is nuanced by out life's situation. For
instance, we may read and admonition about forgiving others, and be
stricken in heart because we remember that we hold something against
someone. Or perhaps whe n we hear the story of the publicna and pharisee
we are reminded of some follish boasting we made the previous week. The
application of the truths of scrupture are ednless. We must read them so
as to make application to our daily life, and our own personal ?faith,
and ... knowledge of the Son of God, ... unto the measure of (our) 
stature of the fulness of Christ¦   





 Today, as I read this Gospel, I am struck by how much these words are 
blueprint for the success of a parish, such as ours. My life situation
right now is that I am the pastor if a ?little flock¦, which is making
rapid changes, and I am aware of our strengths and weaknesses, and our
pressing needs. One pressing need is to build a suitable place of
worship, and commence together to building a legacy for our children and
children's children v a place where the light of Christ shines so
brightly that all around see it and are attracted to its warmth. In this
context, these words are a balm and cause within my poor soul feeling of
great anticipation and hope and gratitude for the privilege to be
participating in the holy work of God. This balm helps wash way any fear
of failure v how can we fail if we do the work of God? 



 F ear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give
you the kingdom. 



 Our parish is indeed little. With God, size means nothing, since He is
bigger than everything, and numbers mean nothing, since ?joy shall be in
heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine
just persons, which need no repentance.¦ (Luke 15:7)



 ? The Kingdom¦ is a state of being, not a place. The Kingdom is peace,
and happiness, and perfection, and ?the spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of (Christ),  the eyes of (our) understanding being
enlightened¦. It should be the goal of the people of God to not only
gain the Kingdom, but also for their churches to be a part of the
Kingdom v a place of love and zeal and everything profitable to the
soul. This is my wish as pastor of our little flock. It is always good
to be reminded that this is also our Father's good pleasure for us v
something we must remember especially when difficulties arise. 



 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not
old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief
approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. 



 We shold read the scripture to learn the way to live; and not to feel
good about promises. It indeed is our Father's good pleasure to give us
the kingdom, but this is empty, useless and lifeless knowledge for us if
we do not follow the path laid out for us to achieve this blessed state.
Since the kigndom is about BECOMING PERFECTED, and we tend so easily
remain in our sins, it is absolutely imperative to be reminded of an
immutable law: ? For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.¦  In other words, we must always check our priorities against our
supposed goal v the Kingdom. 







 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye
yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return
from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto
him immediately. 



 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find
watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make
them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he
shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find
them so, blessed are those servants. 





 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the
thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house
to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man
cometh at an hour when ye think not.