To see at last a future to seek Christ in everything and to be able to feel good in the man. This is enough to save His likeness. Archimandrite Andrew (Konnos) – about gospel stories that teach you to love as Christ.
Photo: tatmitropolia.ru
- Archimandrite Andrew (Cananas): what kind of Christ do we believe in?
- Archimandrite Andrew (Cananas): the Good news is that you will be in Paradise!
- Archimandrite Andrew (Cananas): We have been expected from bad people
- Archimandrite Andrew (Cananas): do Not prevent children to choose their own path
- Archimandrite Andrew (Cananas): Love and do what you want!
How to start a love
Archimandrite Andrew (Konnos)
We will imitate the Lord and the saints, fell in love with Him – we love each other.
Remember, He told us, His pupils and successors, Their children, who were left on earth after Himself? The Lord left on the earth His Body and Blood, left the Church. What is the Church? This Is The Body Of Christ. That is, we are the Body of Christ, we are His Body here on earth. It turns out that if someone wants to see Christ in this life, It has to show us. So what did the Lord say?
“By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another” (Jn.13:35). Now I’m leaving. But witnesses to heaven, I will send you the Holy Spirit Who will capture My image in your hearts. And people will look at you and see you Me. I’m going to do, and your hands will become My hands; your lips My lips, your presence is My presence. I am and will be among you. And as people – wife, children, neighbors, friends – want to see something specific, they will look at you and through you to see Me. Can you show Me?
How Is It, Lord? How can I show You? What you have to be to do this? You must learn to love.
The Lord has not left us. He didn’t let us go astray, saying the most important thing – a few words, but they are the core around which everything else is formed.
I’ll start with this – God willing and everything else.
Photo: patriarchia.ru
Passion and weakness
So the Lord said, “Learn to love, and others, seeing your love, you will understand that you are My apprentice, and you will begin to love”. Then it would be simply impossible not to love; it will be impossible not to throw your weapons on the ground, not to fall on my knees, not to cry – seeing man, who loves for real, forever. The Lord loves us infinitely.
Sometimes, people experience each other, validate feelings, check how strong the love. And when there is a quarrel, say: “you see! Once you reach a certain limit, and all is forgotten! “I love you, I love you”… And as soon as something hurt – then the care and separation”.
But the Lord loves us infinitely. And whatever we do, whatever the pain or hurt – now or in the past or in the future, until the end of the world – one we will not be able to do: make Him stop loving us. Because the Lord loves us infinitely, His heart is like the sun. No, not so: the sun, warming our planet and life on earth, still one day will go out, and the love of the Lord never goes out. And He loves us all.
How is that possible? How can You, Lord, to love us as sinful people? It is not clear. As You look at us and love love, despite the fact that seeing our life in all the details! Not pretty from the outside image that we display to other people, and the internal world of each, what others do not know – all the passions, infirmities, vices, selfishness, conscious and subconscious?
The Lord can enter where there is no access, even the best psychologist is professionally extracted from the depths of the subconscious memories and past experiences. All this is known to the Lord better than anyone.
And even more. After the fall, we humans are drowning in the passions, vices, selfishness and sin. And the Lord sees it all – He looks not at the external picture, and that for her, and loves us.
How is that possible? How can He so much loved us?
“There comes a point when you realize Who I am”
Jesus and Photinia
And how could He love a woman of Samaria Photinia? How? Five husbands, life is good, some of the humiliation – she was humiliated, and others; an inability to love, keep the family hearth. This woman despised her pointing. And the Lord loved her.
Well, but how He got her to his coming? “You are My friends…” says the Lord (Jn.15:14). Not only His disciples, the apostles, but everyone who wants to approach Him, becomes His friend.
How Is It, Lord? “I loved it, says Christ, because they looked not five marriages, failed marriages, and more. You people tend to delve into the past of man, of his sins. You and focus. And I have another tendency – the divine, I see things differently. You’ve only seen five failed marriages, and I saw the sixth, with Me, the Bridegroom of her soul — Christ. I wasn’t looking at what she has been all these years, and what it will become in the future. Theologians call this eschatological perspective. I saw her enlightenment and loved before it changed”
Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Died before our repentance, before we said, “I have Sinned, Lord!” Christ loves you even before you ask for forgiveness, because we ask Him to forgive us – because of His great love and mercy to us.
Your love, o Lord, “hath broken my bones”, melted my heart, I say thank You. And the Lord says: “I love thee not when you thank Me, “before Philip called you, when you were under the Fig tree” (Jn.1:48). Even before Philip, to the gospel and the Apostolic Epistles, I already loved you before anyone else. Just comes a time when you realize Who I am.”
The Lord always loves you. This is the beauty of His love.
Photo: patriarchia.ru
The Lord looks not at the past
He looks at our future, not the past. Looks with hope for the soul of everyone, as if she was already who He wants to see her. After all, God created us in order that we become Holy, humble friends to Him, radiant in His love and glory and bliss. Here what is important for Him. And for our sins He looks like mimoradny episodes, mischief, negligence is not focusing on them, and looking forward. And His love wants to save the souls of all men. He’s the One, “Who wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (Tim.2:4). Here’s the Lord’s love. So He is our Christ.
And He saw not Saul, but Paul. Even when Saul was guarding the clothes beats the stones of the first Martyr Stephen, the Lord knew that the time will come and this person will remove the last of the clothes themselves – in His name, giving Him everything. And not only clothes. There will come a time, and this man, with clothes of the murderers in the hands, give the Lord not just his clothes – he’d give his soul, the interior, hiding the true beauty of his soul. All of this he will give God everything – to Him.
And the Lord loved him and appealed to him, because he knew that any sinner, any prodigal son at heart a good man, but is looking for is not there.
A goal of any search – Christ. You are looking for. And his approach is disarming, and you finally surrender to Him.
So I watched the Lord and the publican Levi Matthew. He loved it, while for others he was the only publican – exploiter, bad and dangerous man, the oppressor. And the Lord felt that his soul needs help. He saw the Holy Evangelist Matthew saw the future saints who will Shine thanks to the written gospel.
Source
Translation Yelizaveta Terentyeva for the portal “Orthodoxy and the world”