Sermons
În biserica Străjerul, predicile din cadrul slujbei de duminică au rolul de a întregi tabloul unei experienţe liturgice specifice zilei de duminică, ziua Domnului.
Predicile se realizează structurat, pe cărţi ale Scripturii. Alegerea carţilor se face în funcţie de dinamica şi de nevoile comunităţii.
Prezentăm aici câte un sumar al predicilor din duminicile anterioare, în ideea că vor fi folositoare pentru cei care le citesc, dar şi ca o expresie a viziunii şi specificului comunităţii noastre. See archive.
Book „The Acts of the Apostles” (chap. 2:1 - 13)
The event occurred fifty days after Easter represents the descent of the third Person of the Holy Trinity upon the world. We need to understand that this is an objective, historical and unique event. The Holy Spirit descends upon the world to be „with us and within us". This expression does not need to be understood as a coming into being of the Holy Spirit. The only one assuming our nature is the Son of God.
It is important to consider the Lord's expression from John 16:7 which said: „it is to your advantage that I go away...". The following question is asked within this context: what would this „it is to your advantage” mean and why the Holy spirit needs to descend after the Christ Ascension? Here we come close to the secret of man redemption, to the secret of the Work of God, which is the Work of the Holy Trinity.
It was to the advantage of man that Christ goes to the Father; it was to our great advantage to us. Christ appears before the Father as God-man, He introduces to God the new man, the restored man. Christ accomplishes the Work, the man is taken out from death and from falling. The outcome of His sufferance and Work is presented before God, is taken to God. The redeemed man is introduced before Heaven, impossible to fall again, the man united with God in the Son Incarnate. But the Work does not complete here. What Christ accomplished in Himself, the Holy Spirit brings in history and shares with the man. Without the Christ's Ascension, His redemption's descent upon us is not possible, and this gift is brought to us only by the Spirit's Descent.
The manner in which such Descent was made is suggestive: by power and tongue of flames. It is that life giving power, the power of God which comes upon people, power of victory upon the evil, death and sin. The image of the tongue of flames, fluid metaphor specific to the Spirit, it sends us to the idea of a counter- Babel . For the people in Babel , the languages were a sign of the divine punishment. People became more aware of the sin, which means separation, fight, embitterment, enmity and finally death. But on Whitsuntide, the tongue of flames is not the sign of punishment. It is a sign of unity in diversity, a sign for the world, a sign for those on the outer side of the Spirit. Although they were speaking other languages, it was not something strange, uncomfortable and distant to the apostles. Both the divine flame and fire were there. The harmonious communion of the apostles „plunging” into the Holy Spirit reality is odd for those from on the outer side. They can see and hear but do not have senses to comprehend what is happening. Therefore, dissociation between those all in one Spirit and those on the outer side is obvious.
On Whitsuntide, the victory of Christ, Christ Himself, as new Man was shown, in the reality of unity, which means communion of persons with the Spirit. The Spirit descent is the day of enlightenment, the day of discovering the secret, the beginning of a new era. From that day on, a regeneration commences, within the man, the man acquires the conditions of a life which is no more subject to the power of sin.
The Holy Spirit comes upon the world to show Christ, comes to face the world with the embodiment, comes to prove the innocence of the world:
- as far as the sin is concerned, as the people do not trust in Christ. Christ asked the world to trust in Him and the world just acted otherwise. If Christ is the only way towards God then the sin of disbelief is not absolved. But the Holy Spirit comes to show the man the path, which is the faith in Christ. That who does not have faith, remains in sin and he cannot be absolved. The illusion of the world during those times end especially of the Jewish world was that Jesus Christ was a disbeliever. Therefore, guilty of disbelief. But this is exactly the world's guilt and the Holy Spirit comes to show this. This is how the first sermon started when the Holy Spirit showed the man's disbelief in Christ. It is hard to trust in Him, that is why He is the one helping man. The Holy Spirit is the Interceder, helping, giving courage, power.;
- as far as purity is concerned, as Christ went to the Father. For a religious man, there is the certainty that the pure one shall go to God. But about Christ the people misunderstood. He died like a cursed person, as a sinner. And the world did not understand why. He did not die for His sin and the fact that He went to God shows His purity. He died for the sin of the world and the world did not understand this. The role of the Holy Spirit is to show what this death meant to the world. The world is guilty and the Holly spirit proves to be so as the world lives in sin. Christ is the only pure among the people that is why His sacrifice was received by God;
- as far as the judgment is concerned, as Christ judged the sovereign of this world. When Christ was subject to judgment, the world rejoiced thinking justice is done and an evil is cast away. Yes, the evil is cast away, but not by means of the act of the world but by the willing sacrifice of the Son of God. The people regarded that Christ had a fair judgment. But the Holy Spirit comes to disclose the real judgment. He proves the world guilty, as its judgment is not the fair one. Christ brought judgment by His relation to the world and God and the evil bit its own biter by self deluding it could become the master of life.
Iassy, 14 January 2006
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