Who is Satan/Devil? (7-9-2017)

   Humor- Once there was a poor young couple, and the husband served as a minister.  He complained to his wife for breaking her promise not to buy a new dress. She responded, “The devil made me do it. It’s his fault for tempting me.” He replied, “You could have said, ‘Get behind me Satan!’” She said, “I did, but then he whispered over my shoulder, ‘it fits you beautifully in the back too.’”

   The two men possessed by demons in today’s Gospel reading from the Fifth Sunday of Matthew (8:28 – 9:1) gives us the opportunity to talk about the first demon, the devil. Fr. Anthony Coniaris provided many thoughts about Satan in his sermon “The Truth About the Devil and His Demons” (This is My Beloved Son: Listen to Him, vol. 1, pp.145-152).

   Satan is clever. He knows how to play us, both our weaknesses and our strengths. The Apostle Paul warned that he masquerades as “an angel of light” [¹⁴And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. (2Corinthians 11:14)]. Satan was in the beginning the angel of light. That’s why his name was ‘Lucifer’ which means “bearer of light.”   St. Clement of Alexandria said, “God created an archangel and the archangel made himself a devil.” Jesus said, ¹⁸And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Luke 10:18). [¹²"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! (Isaiah 14:12)]

   We know more details about Satan/Lucifer’s fall from the Book of Revelation;

⁷And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. ⁹So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him…¹²Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." (Revelation 12:7-9,12)

   Now he has become ‘Satan’ because, as the name means, he “opposes and plots against” God. And his newly chosen darkness must be disguised so that he may tempt us give in to our weaknesses and pridefully exalt ourselves in our strengths. The word ‘demon’ comes directly from the Greek and is a fallen angel, one of Satan’s disciples.

   He cannot fight God, so he tries to hurt God by harming His children. He is the one who “entered Judas” (John 13:27) to bring about the betrayal and death of Jesus. He is the one who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

   Thus, he earns his second name, the devil or ‘diabolos’ because he divides us from God and from each other.

Because of Satan’s great ability to disguise himself, many people do not believe that he even exists. And that becomes one of his great tricks.  The devil is able to convince us that he does not exist. He is like the opossum, that fierce little rodent, who, when cornered by its enemies, plays dead.

   Malcolm Muggeridge wrote in his book, “Jesus, the Man Who Lives”: “I have found the devil easier to believe in than God…a diabolical presence in the world pulling downwards as gravity does instead of pressing upwards as trees and plants to when they grow and reach resolutely and beautifully after the light.”

   One of the other tricks of Satan is to turn things upside down. He portrays good as evil and evil as good. This is the unforgiveable sin against the Holy Spirit (Mt.12:31). Satan is the father of lies. Think about how sin is portrayed in movies, television shows and other media. Fornication and adultery are no big deal. Abortion and homosexuality are upheld as virtuous. But, speaking as a parish priest, perhaps many of you have also noticed, these sins are terribly hurtful and destructive to people’s lives, and not to just the one or two people directly involved, but to many more indirectly. In fact, demons have other names today such as pornography, addiction, alcoholism, greed, envy, lust, etc.

   It is important to know our enemy. The devil always takes the good things that God has created for us to enjoy and tries to get us to distort and abuse them. For example, the demon of money is greed. The demon of sex is lust. The demon of self-respect is pride. Money is not evil but the love of money is! ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1Timothy 6:10). Sex is not sinful but using others for one’s selfish gratification outside of marriage is. Listen to what Jesus says about Satan on this matter:

⁴⁴You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44)

    [Story about scorpion and turtle.] The nature of the devil is incorrigibly deceitful and destructive, illogical and irrational. That’s why evil does not make sense. There is no logic to it and often a sign of devil’s presence is the confusion he causes. He promises freedom but delivers slavery. He promises life and delivers death.

   Have no doubt though, Satan is for real. Jesus Himself had to struggle with him during His forty days in the wilderness. He taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “deliver us from the evil one” (Mt. 6:13).

     ⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1Peter 5:8)

   The devil has not changed in his ways with us. Master deceiver that he is, his approach is always with a lie.

     ⁴Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. ⁵For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5)

   The devil comes and tells us: “You don’t need God to tell you what to do. You are not the puppet. You can do things your own way. Be totally free. Set your own rules. You call the shots.”

   “The devil made me do it.” Once Satan has convinced us to sin, then he moves on to his third trick of lies, that is to convince us that we did not commit sin. Thus, we blame others, even Satan himself. However, St. Cyril of Alexandria says, “The devil is able to suggest, but he has no power to force himself against our choosing. It is by choice that we sin.” Sin arises within us as the demons take advantage of our sinfulness. They aggravate it by introducing evil thoughts into our hearts. This is why Jesus urges us to “watch and pray” that we may not enter into temptations (Mt.26:41). Evil thoughts do not become sinful thoughts until we welcome them into our hearts and begin to take pleasure in them, mulling them over and over.

   So how do we resist Satan? Knowing his three tricks is a start. Remember: 1) he does exist; 2) he is a liar, but 3) he does not have power over us. There are some other strategies we can employ to counter the devil.

   St. Makarios the Great said, “The most important work in the spiritual struggle is to enter the heart and there to wage war with Satan; to hate Satan, and to fight him by opposing thoughts…by fornication in his thoughts, then there is no profit whatever in keeping his body pure.” ²⁸But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28)

     By entering the heart, we can guard its gate to oppose the logosmoi or thoughts by joining forces with God who dwells also therein. ⁴You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1John 4:4). As Jesus said, ⁴Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (John 15:4)

   With God’s inner presence, we have the power and the authority to command Satan to leave us and leave us alone (Mt.16:23; Mark 8:33).

     ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " ¹¹Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:10-11).

   St. Gregory Nazianzen says, “If the devil tempts you to ambition by showing you in an instant and in a single glance all the kingdoms of the earth, and if he claims that they all belong to him, then do not believe him for he owns nothing at all.”

   But the greatest weapon of all against Satan is prayer. That’s why he works so hard to distract us from prayer with our daily chores. That’s why he entices us to skip liturgy with weekly chores, entertainment, sleep, recreation, family time, etc. Because the devil knows he has no power against prayer, so he tries to prevent us in the first place.

In conclusion…

   Someone said once that in God’s kingdom there is always an election going on. God votes for you and the devil votes against you. But you have the deciding vote. Who will you vote for: God or Satan? Truth or lies? Freedom or slavery? Life or Death? ²⁴"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24). Amen!

ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

REV. FR. RICHARD DEMETRIUS ANDREWS, PRESBYTER

www.stgeorgegoc.org

July 16, 2017                                                                                         Sunday of the Holy Fathers

TODAY’S EVENTS: Middle Eastern Festival at St. George Antiochian 12pm; Serve-a-Meal at FOCUS MN 4pm; Greek Dance Practice 6:30pm.

Epistle Reader:Stephen Kanavati                                        Prosfora: Rita Kanavati

Fellowship: Connie & Michael Tzenis                                Head Usher: Joe Weiser                        

Monday       07-17     Parish Council meeting                                                                                 6:30PM

Tuesday       07-18    LOMCP board meeting at Wells Fargo Bank in Stillwater                               6:30PM

                                   Camp Task Force meeting at Hola Arepa                                                   6:30PM

Thursday     07-19     Glad Tidings mailing – volunteers needed                                                  10:00AM

                                   AHEPA meeting                                                                                        7:00PM

Saturday      07-22     Jr. GOYA overnight trip to Philoxenia House in Rochester                             8:00PM

Sunday         07-23     ORTHROS (8:15am) &DIVINELITURGY- 7^TH SUNDAY OF MATTHEW              9:30AM

                                    Serve-a-Meal at FOCUS MN                                                                       4:00PM

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

New Metropolitan of Chicago: the Trisopon (list of three candidates) selected by the Holy Eparchial Synod of America was forwarded to the Patriarchal Synod in Constantinople. Unofficially, it appears that the list has been rejected and a new list must be selected. Please continue to pray that God grant us a worthy successor and chief shepherd. Until then, Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit is serving as locum tenens.

Festival Baking: help make delicious Greek sweets! Contact Nanette Gomez or the office for dates and times.

Think About It: Passions are removed from the soul through fasting and prayer.  St. Elijah the Presbyter

Advance Sale Festival Tickets: Last week to save! Opportunity to purchase Advance Sale tickets at the price of $10 for $12 of food & beverages ends next Sunday, July 23. (After that, price is $10 for $10 of food and beverages) Festival tickets are available for purchase on Sundays after church or by calling the church office...they make great gifts for friends and colleagues!

Prothesis Project- the masonry work for the new antiprothesis/skeuvophylakion project is complete. This is the first phase. After sealing and painting, the next is the installation of the new carved wood cabinets for both the original prosthesis in the north niche and the new antiprothesis in the south niche. Each will have a special carved panel, one of St. George and the other a Lamb with a Cross. Additional work includes marble tops and an icon in the south niche. This will be beautiful addition to our sanctuary space and provide practical storage, display and preparation space for the worship services. Stay tuned!

Roselawn Cemetery Lots: available to parishioners at a 15% discount off 2017 list prices. Discounted prices are: Monument Lot (2 graves) $5,865.00; Flat Lot A (2 graves) $3,485.00; Flat Lot B (1 grave-limited availability) $2,040.00. For more info or to purchase a lot, please contact the church office.

Lexington Parkway Improvements- starting early July, concrete and brick crosswalks will be replaced with blacktop along with new pedestrian accessible curbs at intersections. Watch for lane shifts and closures.

Stewardship 2017: Theme is You are the Voice of Christ in a Changing World: As the Father Has Sent Me, So I Send You (John 20:21). We have received 115 pledge cards for 2017 with a total of $170,842 and an average of $1,485. Be sure to increase your pledge, even if only a few dollars. This reflects spiritual growth and overcomes stagnation. We encourage everyone to give a minimum of 2% pledge of gross yearly income to become a self-sustaining community, far less than the biblical ideal of tithing or 10%.

Patristic Wisdom: God rests in the saints and even in their very names and images. It is only necessary to use their images/icons with faith, and they will then work miracles.                       St. John of Kronstadt (+1907)

Need Counseling? Fr. Rick is always available by appointment for pastoral counseling. He will soon become a Licensed Associate in Marriage & Family Therapy (LAMFT). To complete his doctoral internship, Father needs a certain number of hours counseling individuals, couples and families. His program allows pastoral counseling to count towards those hours. Fr. Rick has over 22 years of parish priest experience as well as doctoral training in MFT. Help him to help you. All counseling is strictly confidential. Fr. Rick is also a certified Seminar Director for the Prepare-Enrich program (www.prepare-enrich.com), the premier pre-marital and marital counseling assessment tool in the world. This enables him to train others to become program facilitators.

Let Us Commit Ourselves and one Another: We cannot neglect the task of practical preparation to enhance our liturgical participation. Commitment to God and His family (the Church) requires advance planning and sacrifice. It behooves all of us to take seriously our Orthodox Christian Faith by participating the Sunday Divine Liturgy and weekday Lenten services. Let us commit ourselves and one another and our life to Christ our God!

Wisdom from the Church Fathers: The Apostles maintained this rule: Not to complain in suffering and adversity, but bravely and patiently to accept whatever things happen in this world. We too must bear whatever happens with patience and courage. For it is written, “A sacrifice to God is a a broken spirit; a hear that is contrite and humbled, God will not despise” (Psalm 50:17).         St. Cyprian of Carthage (+258)

Rise and Shine! Orthros is the sunrise service in the Orthodox Church but probably one of the most neglected. Every individual and family should make an effort to participate periodically. At least, plan to arrive at the beginning of Divine Liturgy. Like Vespers, Orthros has many profound hymns about Jesus' Resurrection and the Saints or Feast of the Day along with petitions, prayers and readings. Orthros begins Sunday morning 8:15am.

Recycle Icons- please do not throw icons, including printed Sunday Bulletins, in the trash. They are holy and sacred images of the saints. Please return them to the church office or social hall to be given to those in need.

Original Materials: must stay on church premises. It is a policy of our parish that no original material (paper, photos, electronic, etc.) is to leave the church. If someone wants or needs something, a copy will have to be made if one does not already exist. This applies to bookkeeping documents, archives and all church records.

Church Fathers Speak: Just like a shadow follows a body, so does temptation follow good deeds—for no one will enter the Kingdom of Heaven without temptation. Thus, endure without anxiety and pray—the Good Lord will reward you for your diligence and patience.                        St. Dorotheos of Gaza (+565)

75th Anniversary Album Update: Thank you to everyone for their patience as the album is reaching its final stage of production. Thanks to all who submitted materials including family pages. Thanks also to Dawn Lampros, Denise Smith and Julie Delton for their tireless efforts to bring forth a top quality history of our parish. It is very typical for parish anniversary publications to take a year or more to complete. We anticipate a finished product by early summer--well within normal parameters.

Welcome Visitors Thank you for joining with us in prayer and fellowship. The worship of the Orthodox Church is deeply rooted in and very similar to that of the early Christian Church. Unique sensory stimuli and mystery are elements that go back even to the liturgy of the Jewish temple. Everything in an Orthodox Christian church communicates the majestic presence of God the Holy Trinity with His Saints. It is literally heaven on earth. It is a sad consequence of the divisions in Christianity that we cannot extend a general invitation to receive Holy Communion. Visitors are invited to receive the blessed bread (antithoron) at the conclusion of the liturgy. We pray and work for the reconciliation and unity of all Christians. If you are interested in learning more about Orthodoxy, please contact Fr. Rick at fatherrick@stgeorgegoc.org. We are proud of our Greek heritage but one does not have to be of Greek descent, nor speak Greek to be a Greek Orthodox Christian.

Note to Orthodox about Holy Communion: Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ is one of the most Holy experiences for a Christian in order to be granted the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. We are never worthy to partake of Divine Nature. Yet, it is essential that we prepare ourselves for this sacred Communion by constant prayer, reading the Scriptures, regular fasting and periodic Confession. At a minimum, we should fast all morning before Communion, arrive at the beginning of Liturgy, and come for Confession at least once a year. In addition, we should not have separated ourselves from the Church through serious sin. Otherwise, please refrain from Communion to avoid “judgment…not discerning the Lord’s body” (1Cor. 11:29). Contact Fr. Rick for pastoral guidance.

Glad Tidings deadline: The 10th of each month. Glad Tidings email: gladtidings@stgeorgegoc.org  Sunday Bulletin Deadline: Wednesday Noon each week.  Email: office@stgeorgegoc.org