IF YOU HAVE NOT SENT IN THIS YEAR'S STEWARDSHIP PLEASE DO THAT TODAY.

ON FEBRUARY 10 WE WILL HAVE OUR GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING IN OUR UNDERCROFT AFTER LITURGY. ALL STEWARDS ARE ASKED TO ATTENDING. A MAILING WENT OUT WITH ALL THE INFORMATION AND AGENDA. PLEASE MAKE AN EFFORT TO ATTEND.

THE GREEK DANCE CLASS ON WEDNESDAY AND BIBLE STUDY ON THURSDAY ARE IN SESSION. PLEASE CALL THE CHURCH OR ASK ANYONE AT THE CANDLE STAND FOR INFORMATION.

WE ARE MOVING AHEAD WITH THE RENOVATIONS OF THE CHURCH AND HALL. OUR ARCHITECT HAS FINISHED THE PLANS OF ALL THE WORK NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE RENOVATIONS.

ST. JOHN'S IS PREPARING AN 80TH ANNIVERSARY JOURNAL TO COMMEMORATE THIS GREAT ACHIEVEMENT AND TO HELP DEFRAY THE COST OF THE RENOVATIONS.

Pride and Humility

"A young girl in England was applying for a position as a housemaid. She showed her recommendations to a prospective employer. After reading them, the woman said to the applicant. 'You certainly have some fine recommendations here.' The girl replied, much pleased, 'I am glad you like them. I wrote them myself.'

The Pharisee did the same. He took a census of his virtues and showed his self-written recommendations to God. He prayed, 'God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.' The Pharisee reminds us of the Hollywood actor who said once, 'I used to be quite conceited. But my psychiatrist cured me of that, and now I am one of the nicest guys in town.' His sin was the sin of pride. 

But what's wrong with pride? Some will ask. Isn’t pride a natural good? Without pride we would be doormats. We would not develop our talents. We would feel inadequate and inferior. Without pride we wouldn’t wash our faces, tidy ourselves in any way, take satisfaction in our work, or keep ourselves fit for our highest achievements. Without pride we would sag as personalities. There is a healthy pride which a man needs to have in order to function as a person. 

If pride has been called the greatest of all sins, it is because it closes the door to God and other people. It builds barriers between man and God, between man and man. 'I don't need you. I am self-sufficient' If sincere humility, on the other hand, has been called the greatest of all virtues, it is because it keeps the door open to God and other people. It tears down barriers.

Consider how much pride there is on some of our prayers. A woman said once that she had lost her faith in God because He did not answer her prayer as she thought they should have been answered. To feel that God must do everything according to our wisdom is pride at its highest level. True prayer is humble. It leaves room for God's wisdom and love. It says, 'Thy will be done, O Lord.'

Consider how much pride is involved in our racial difficulty today. The Pharisee, who brags about being better than others, is not confined to the time of Jesus. He lives today. He takes pride in the color of his skin. He looks down on others who have a darker skin than his own. The Pharisee of race prays even today, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men . . .' 

Consider the pride we take in our positions. The conductor of a famous symphony orchestra was asked which instrument was the most difficult to play. He thought for a moment and then said, 'Second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists. But to find one who can play second fiddle with enthusiasm - that's the problem.  And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.' 

Consider Jesus who had the highest position in the universe. If anyone should have been proud of his position, He should have been. Yet, says Archbishop Wm. Temple, 'In a moment when He was especially conscious of His divine mission and authority, knowing that He came forth from God and went unto God, what did He do? Did He sit on a throne and ask His disciples to bow before Him in homage? No! He took a towel and performed the task of the lowest slave, the task that no one else wished to perform. He washed His disciples' feet. That is what He thought it was like to be God.' He showed us that He who occupies the greatest position in life is not he who sits on a throne but he who serves. 

Consider next how pride in our own goodness keeps us from receiving God's forgiveness. Jesus said once, 'I did not come to invite the righteous but sinners to repentance.' What He was really saying is this, I did not come to invite people who are so self-satisfied, so convinced of their own goodness that they don't need anyone’s help; I came to invite people who are very conscious of their sin and desperately aware of their need for a savior.' He was saying, 'It is only those who know how much they need me who can accept my invitation.' The Pharisee was convinced of his own goodness. His cup was too full of self. There was no room of God. But the Publican was aware of his sinfulness. He emptied his cup of sin and self. He prayed, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner.' And God filled his cup with forgiveness. 

Consider finally how pride in our own strength keeps us from received God's power. An alcoholic must sacrifice his pride completely before he can be cured. He must acknowledge that he cannot overcome drinking on his own. He must admit his own inadequacy and call upon God for strength. And yet this is one of the most difficult things for the alcoholic to do. Why? Because of his pride. He likes to fool himself into thinking that he can quit whatever he wants, when the truth is that he cannot.

A man turned on the hose once to water his garden, but no water came forth. He called out to his son check the spigot to see what was wrong. The son brought it to his father's attention that the reason there was no water was that his foot was on the hose. The father stepped off the hose and the water immediately poured forth. So it is with us many times. If we are not victorious Christians it is because SELF stands in the way. 'I can do this on my own. I don't need God's help,' says the proud person. But the humble person keeps SELF out of this way and his life is filled with strength for God.

It was brought to the attention of one of the popes once that a certain abbess was performing miracles in a convent. The Pope sent St. Philip Neri to investigate. After a long trip he arrived there, tired and exhausted. He took off his shoes, which were loaded with mud and asked the abbess to clean them for him.  The abbess stuck up her nose haughtily and walked away. St. Philip Neri left the convert and returning the Pope, he reported, 'There are no miracles performed in the convent. Where there is no humidity that can be on miracles.'

If there are miracles where there is humility, it is because humility helps us realize our sin and weaknesses - our emptiness - and keeps the door open always to God's love, forgiveness and power." The End

The above passage is from the "Eastern Orthodoxy: A Way of Life" by Fr. Anthony Coniaris. I think we can learn a great deal from these wonderful words and diagnoses of our Fallen Condition and the ways to rectify its cause. Only by admitting our sinfulness do we allow God to act in our lives. God Bless All of You!

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