The Catalog of Good Deeds

“Magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3)

In pre-revolutionary Russia, when a seminarian proposed to the girl he hoped to marry and to have as his life’s companion, consort or “Matushka,” he would send her a note with the above words from the Bible. See what it suggests? You and I with God to guide us will go through life having a common purpose. Yes, marriage is about love, but it includes the Source of love, the greatest Teacher of affection between a man and a woman, because He gives meaning to life itself. Let them expand their understanding of God’s mighty deeds in creation in ways that Adam and Eve would not achieve. To magnify the Lord is to increase our own souls and broaden our perspective of His mighty works. To exalt the Lord is to sing praises to His name not only by our voices, but also by our deeds. How we live amplifies His glory beyond the chanting of our prayers.

Certainly one can do that on his own; however, the prayer to “Our Father” is enhanced when two or more utter the phrase “hallowed be Thy name.” It includes the entire Church not only globally but also along with those who have gone before us to their rest. Yet in the parish and the community the joint effort to augment the awareness of God’s presence in the lives of others is a glorious way to “exalt His name together.”

The beautiful phrase is not only for priests’ families. Every married couple can make it their motto. When two people choose to be wed in the Orthodox Church, they are committing themselves to welcome the Holy Trinity in their lives. Being crowned with honor and glory is assuming responsibility for a realm that includes home and offspring. It presumes engagement with obstacles that come about from time to time that thwart and challenge the royal couple. Your wife is always your best friend. She must never be treated as an object, or in the degrading phrase our fallen culture uses: arm candy. The reason OJ Simpson went from national football hero to persona non grata in the nation was not only because he got away with murder, but because he was unable to let Nicole be herself. She was for him a possession, not a person.

And the wife must bear in mind: Your husband is also your neighbor, in the image Jesus used to explain the definition in the parable of the Good Samaritan. This culture so intent on avoiding sacrifice and pain will do little to restore harmony in the home—but the third Partner will never fail. They are blessed by Jesus Christ, He who was at their wedding as He was in Cana of Galilee, He who hears every prayer and responds to every heartfelt plea.

But it’s imperative that the man and wife grow together in mutual respect and support. They are like mountain climbers tied to each other. They both must struggle ever onward and upward. When one fails to keep up his end, the other will fall with him.

Even when they both share the tasks, to exalt the Lord together means that they grow beyond selfishness. I’ve had so many cases where they appreciated the counseling, congratulated choir and me for a glorious wedding, then dropped out of Church commitment, even if they had formally been active members. In a way, they extend the honeymoon to shut all others out. When that pattern of self-indulgence becomes the norm, they are cut off from the life of the Church and exist only in the secular society. If the Lord and His Church no longer have a place in their homes and lives, what can they expect from their children?

Source: https://oca.org/reflections/berzonsky/the-girl-that-i-marry

One can understand much about a group through their music. I vividly remember the music when I once visited a Kingdom Hall with some Jehovah’s Witnesses. Many of their songs could be summed up as, “Jehovah’s mad and he’s gonna smite you unless you join our organization, cause this is the only safe place. So, convert lots of people, or Jehovah’s gonna smite you!” I was torn between bursting out laughing at how ridiculously obvious the Watchtower’s fearmongering is, or crying because I was surrounded by people who had swallowed this lie about God being a monster from Whom we need to be saved.

In Eastern Orthodoxy, our hymnography is also our theology. In it, I am constantly finding songs that speak of the goodness of God, His love, and the significance of different biblical and historical events. The songs essentially are the sermon, and many sermons can be derived from the songs.

Without further ado, here are several hymns from Theophany that explain the significance of Christ’s baptism and what that means to us (none of this was ever explained to me in my pre-Orthodox days).

Tropar of Theophany – Tone 1:

At Your baptism in the Jordan, O Lord, worship of the Trinity was revealed, for the Father’s voice bore witness to You, calling You His beloved Son and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of these words, O Christ God, Who appeared and enlightened the world – glory to You. (this hymn is repeated several times throughout the service)

Kondak of Theophany – Tone 4:

You have appeared today to the inhabited earth and Your Light, O Lord, has been marked upon us, who with knowledge sing Your praise. You have come, You are made manifest, the Light that no man can approach.

The Litija Verses – Bolharsky Tone 4:

He Who covers Himself with Light as with a garment has deigned for our sakes to become as we are. Today He is covered by the streams of the Jordan, though He has no need to be cleansed by them, but through the cleansing that He Himself receives, He bestows rebirth upon us. Without fire He casts anew, and without shattering, He refashions; and He saves those who are enlightened in Him, Christ our God the Savior of our souls.

John the Baptist saw You draw near, the one Who cleanses by Spirit and by fire the sins of the world, and he cried aloud in fear and trembling saying: I dare not touch your Immaculate Head. Instead, O Master, sanctify me by Your Theophany, O You Who alone loves mankind.

Christ is baptized He comes out of the waters, and carries up the world with Him. He sees the heavens opened that Adam has closed against himself and his descendants. The Spirit bears witness to the Divinity of Christ, for He hastens toward His creation; and a voice sounds from Heaven for it is from Heaven that He has come down to give testimony, and He is the Savior of our souls.

Samoholasen Tone 8:

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Today all creation is enlightened. Today all nature is glad, things of Heaven and things upon earth. Angels and men mingle with one another, for where the King is present there His army also goes. Let us run then to the Jordan. Let us all see how John baptizes a sinless and uncreated Head. Therefore let us cry aloud with one accord, echoing the voice of the Apostle: the grace of God that brings salvation to all men has appeared, shining upon the faithful and granting them great mercy.

The Aposticha – Samohlasen Tone 2:

Seeing You, O Christ our God, drawing near to Him in the river Jordan, John the Baptizer exclaimed: “Why do You, Who are without defilement come to Your servant, O Lord? In whose name shall I baptize You? Of the Father? But You bear Him in Yourself! Of the Son? But You are Yourself this Son made flesh! Of the Holy Spirit? You know that through Your own mouth You give Him to the faithful.” O God, Who has been manifested, glory to You.

CANTOR: The sea saw it and fled, Jordan was driven back.

ALL: The waters saw You, O God, and were afraid. For the cherubim cannot lift their eyes upon Your glory, nor can the seraphim gaze upon You. But standing by You in fear, the first carry You and the second glorify You. We proclaim with them, O merciful Lord: O God Who has appeared to the world, have mercy on us.

CANTOR: What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan that you were driven back?

ALL: Today the Maker of heaven and earth comes to the Jordan in the flesh. For baptism the sinless One asks, that He might cleanse the world from the error of the enemy, He Who is the Master of all is baptized by a servant, and He gives mankind cleansing through water. Let us cry aloud unto Him: O God Who has appeared to the world glory to You.

Verse – Tone 6:

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Seeing the Sun that came forth from a Virgin, asking for baptism in the Jordan, the shining Lamb that was born of a barren woman, [John] cried to Him in fear and joy: Sanctify me, O Master, by Your divine Theophany.

St Simeon’s Prayer:

Now let Your servant, depart in peace, O Master, according to Your Word. For my eyes have seen Your Salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people. The Light of revelation for the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.

The Great Blessing of Water – Stichera – Samohlasen Tone 8:

The voice of the Lord upon the waters cries aloud saying: “Come all of you, and receiving the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of the fear of God, from Christ Who is made manifest.”

Today the nature of the water is sanctified and the Jordan is parted in two, it holds back the stream of its own waters, seeing the master wash Himself. O Christ our King, You have coming into the river as a man and in Your goodness You make haste to receive the baptism of a servant at the hands of the forerunner for the sake of our sins, O God Who loves mankind.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

At the voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” You have come, O Lord, taking the form of a servant, and You Who are sinless ask for baptism. The waters saw You and were afraid. The Forerunner was seized with trembling and cried aloud saying: How shall the lamp illuminate the Light? How shall the servant set his hand upon the Master? O Savior Who takes away the sins of the world, sanctify both me and the waters.

Prokimen – Tone 3:

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom shall I fear? Whom shall I fear?

Source: http://www.orthodoxroad.com/hymns-from-the-vigil-service-for-theophany/

On Monday, January 1, 2018, the Department of Antiquities of Israel announced a unique discovery: during the excavations near the Wailing Wall, a unique seal was found, which belonged to a Jerusalem ruler, who lived 2700 years ago, as the Israel mass media say.

The seal has the shape of a clay oval (13-15 mm) and is 2-3 mm thick. Two men dressed in striped clothes and greeting each other with raised hands are pressed on the seal.

The scientists decoded the inscription on the seal as, “belongs to the Ruler of Jerusalem”.

According to the archeologists, the finding dates back to the 7-6^th century B.C., which is the late period of the Solomon’s Temple. The Department of Antiquities states that “rulers of Jerusalem” (another variants of translation are “town governor”, “governor”) are mentioned twice in the Torah. The same name belonged to Joshua, who ruled in Jerusalem during the time of Hezekiah’s reign (the 8th century B.C.), as well as Maaseah, who was the governor of Jerusalem during the reign of Josiah (the 7^th century B.C.).

Shimon Kohen, an archeologist, found the seal when he was sifting the soil near the ruins of the building, which dates back to the late period of the Solomon’s Temple. This building is 100m to the West from the western wall of the Temple (the Wailing Wall).

It is not a fact that the seal belonged to one of the Jerusalem governors. His owner could be one of the reputable citizens, who received it from the governor as the sign of their friendship or just as a souvenir. Such seals could be also used as stamps on goods.

Another version says that this is a seal used for covering letters. Earlier, archeologists have found dozens of such seals of that time, but none of them had inscriptions indicating that the seal belonged to the governor of Jerusalem.

Source: http://pravoslavie.by/news/u-steny-placha-nashli-pechat-prinadlezhavshuju-pravitelju-ierusalima-kotoryj-zhil-2700-let-nazad