{"id":7136,"date":"2021-07-11T11:07:52","date_gmt":"2021-07-11T01:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/?p=7136"},"modified":"2021-07-11T11:40:10","modified_gmt":"2021-07-11T01:40:10","slug":"written-in-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/written-in-heaven\/","title":{"rendered":"Written in Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Written in Heaven<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Elijah Iskander<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Reading Luke 10:1-20<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord prepares the seventy to go out, and gives them a\nseries of key instructions. These are pivotal to the Christian that wants to see\nthe Hand of God in their life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go Two by Two<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This may seem like an insufficient way to deliver a message across a large area. To go two by two would half the amount of people reached. In Ecclesiastes 4:9, we read, \u201cTwo are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two are better than one for if I fall, the one that is by my side will lift me up again. The apostles had these instructions in their mind very clearly. Even when St Paul and St Barnabas served together and had a disagreement and wanted to part ways, they still did not go alone. St Paul took Silas, and St Barnabas took St Mark, as a matter of necessity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord loves our unity. We learn that in the liturgy as\nwell. The Liturgy cannot happen without a priest, a deacon and a congregation \u2013\nat least three gathered together. The Lord loves us to be united with each\nother, so that we are united in Him also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the prayer of reconciliation, we exchange a holy kiss and\nthe Lord reminds us that if you have a problem with another, you must reconcile\nwith that person before you come to the altar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the liturgy, we know that the priest will say, \u201cPray,\u201d and the deacon will respond, \u201cStand up for prayer.\u201d There is a slight variation in Coptic to this, where the priest will say, \u201cEsh-leel eflogison.\u201d This is say, \u201cpray, and you<\/em> bless,\u201d directed toward the other priest. If there are multiple priests present, the priest praying may say, \u201cEsh-leel eflogite,\u201d which is, \u201cpray and they<\/em> bless.\u201d It\u2019s a very subtle but very blessed difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Spirituality of the Rites of the Holy Liturgy by Bishop Matteous<\/a>, he writes about the \u201csecret handshake\u201d the priests do when one of them is offering incense around the church. One priest is taking all the prayers of the congregation when he goes around the church but he sees another priest and offers him the fellowship of incense, as if to say, \u201cpray with me, Abouna.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of offering incense to clergymen, in general, is to involve them all in the offering of incense and in raising their prayers and supplications to the Lord. This intention can be seen in the incensing priest\u2019s request of his associate which asks the associate to pray for him, while they offer incense to the Lord together, coupled with a supplication for the<\/em> Lord\u2019s assistance. This is known as the \u2018Fellowship of Incense\u2019.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Lord loves us to be united two by two. Another key\nreason why the Lord would want us to be in fellowship is the very next reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamb among wolves<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBehold, I send you out as lambs among wolves<\/em>\u201d \u2013 Luke 10:3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because we are weaker than those around us, but alluding to the prophecy in Isaiah; \u201cThe wolf and the lamb shall feed together<\/em>\u201d \u2013 Isaiah 65:25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wolves will be converted into lambs, so as these lambs\ngo out two by two and face harshness, they need to overcome that with the\ngentleness of lambs. I might need somebody to support me, correct me, ensure my\nways do not reflect the wolves around me but the gentleness of the Lord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sent to the Gentiles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There are a few interesting instructions that could not be directed toward the Jews. Food is mentioned twice \u2013 \u201cAnd remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give<\/em>\u201d (Luke 10:7) and \u201cWhatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you<\/em>\u201d (Luke 10:8). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does the Lord seem preoccupied with what they eat? Not\njust this, but another interesting instruction is given to greet no one on the\nroad. The Lord was preparing them for a mission to the Gentiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a Jewish person was invited to a meal, they could not eat\nwith Gentiles, or the uncleanness of their food. The Lord now says to eat the\nfood that is put before them. This goes hand in hand with the next instruction\nto greet no one along the road. This is so that no human traditions get in the way\nof the mission. They have somewhere to be that cannot be hindered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A visiting bishop was invited into the home of one of the priests. They all gathered together to prepare a meal for him. Just before he arrived, he rang the priest and said he could not come. He had a more urgent service to attend to. The priest was so pleased with this response, because he could see that he had a mission. He was there for a purpose, and he could not allow the social conventions to get in the way of his mission. The Lord prepared the disciples to be extremely focused on their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord then gives them authority \u2013 \u201cHe who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me<\/em>\u201d \u2013 Luke 10:16. This is the height of all dignity. The apostles leave and are happy and say, \u201cLord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The response of our Lord is not what His disciples were\nexpecting. This was no easy mission that the disciples had signed up for. When\nthey return with joy, we expect the Lord to respond in joy also. The Lord tells\nthem, \u201cBehold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and\nscorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means\nhurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to\nyou, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He tells them that they are happy for the wrong reasons. St Cyril of Alexandria comments of this saying, \u201cThe Lord was a Farmer, taking out the weed of pride and love of authority before its roots were deep<\/em>.\u201d In our ministry we must do the same. We must not seek the praise of others. We should be happy when we see miracles, but this does not override the happiness in being the child of the Lord. I have done my duty as a servant of the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us pray together in our homes, let us reach out to those\nwho have the same struggles as us. To the one that is living alone. To the\nother with kids stuck at home. To the one struggling financially. Go to another\nthat is in the same position as you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us greet no one along the road. We have the chance to do\nwhat is pleasing to the Lord, so let us not become distracted. We are numbered\namong those chosen by the Lord, so let this remain our focus above all else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written in Heaven Adapted from a sermon by Fr Elijah Iskander Reading Luke 10:1-20 The Lord prepares the seventy to go out, and gives them a series of key instructions. These are pivotal to the Christian that wants to see the Hand of God in their life. Go Two by Two This may seem like … Continue reading “Written in Heaven”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7138,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7136\/revisions\/7138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}