In our class this week, I’d like us to begin with some observations and reflections on this important first week of Lent. Our efforts individually as well as our experiences more collectively together as the Body of Christ during our many weekly gatherings.
I’d then like us to read and reflect on the short homily from Father Phillip LeMaster entitled ’Become a Living Icon’. It’s a very encouraging call for us ’to think of Lent as a time to make ourselves better icons of the Lord’. He reminds that Christ is the new Adam who has ’become one of us, with a visible human body … who has restored and healed every dimension of our fallen humanity’. Our efforts in Lent can be ’small, humble, imperfect steps to open ourselves to this new life in Christ, to become better living icons – living images – of what it means for human beings to share in God’s salvation’. And in this process as we ’grow in His image and likeness, the more we will become our true selves’. We proclaim on the Sunday of Orthodoxy that ’we not only carry icons, we are icons’.
Our discussion then will get into the crucial issue of how our humility is the ’mother of virtues’ we need for this journey. We’ll review a new posting that relates the Great Canon’s use of the wise thief and harlot as ’icons’ for us to learn and practice humility. We’ll also review Father Thomas Hopko’s excellent insights about humility and hopefully find time to dig deeper into how the Prayer of St. Ephraim can help restore us to the ’life of the spirit’ and how our bodies are ’the temple of the priceless human soul’.
I will print out the following articles for our class tomorrow:
- Becoming A Living Icon
- Why is humility the ’mother of all virtues’
- How is the humility of the wise thief and harlot highlighted in the Great Canon
- Why is the ’Prayer of St. Ephraim’ our Lenten Prayer
The articles below were created this past week and may be useful for your reflections on the week and preparation for our class. If you find these postings helpful, remember you can subscribe to receive them via email as they are posted during the week. You can do this by simply entering your email address and pressing the update button from the menu of the adult education website.
- Death of Christ and the Life of Man
- Metropolitan Tikhon’s ’Beginning of Lent 2022’ Message
- Scriptural Reflection on an ode in the Great Canon
- Great Canon’s Call For Us to Return to our True Home
- Come to the Great Canon and Wake Up
- The Liturgical Structure of Lent
- Presanctified Liturgy Guide
This week the teens will have a small group breakout that will begin at about 9:30am midway through the class. I’m certainly open to other small group breakouts that could explore this material and perhaps come back together with key observations for the entire group.
St John’s Adult Education 