November: Day 30: Teaching 1: Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called

November: Day 30: Teaching 1:
Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called
 
(On the Means to Maintain Spiritual Joy in Oneself)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Andrew the First-Called, whose memory is celebrated today, one of the Twelve Apostles, was a fisherman from the city of Bethsaida. He was the first to follow Jesus Christ, which is why he is called the "First-Called" and brought his brother Simon Peter to Him. After the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, Saint Andrew preached the faith of Christ along the shores of the Black Sea, passed through Pontus, Bithynia, Iberia and transferred his preaching to Scythia (present-day Novorossiya). According to tradition, he reached Kiev and predicted that the grace of God would shine on the mountains of Kiev and throughout that country. He founded the Church in Byzantium, for which he appointed Stachys as Bishop. Around the year 62, in the city of Patras, in Achaia, he died by crucifixion.

Before his death sentence, seeing the cross made, by order of the proconsul of Achaia, Aegeas, in the form of the letter X (which later became known among Christians as the Saint Andrew's Cross), the Holy Apostle Andrew exclaimed with joy: "O good cross, long desired, passionately loved, unrelentingly sought, and now prepared for the desiring soul! I come to you calm and joyful: and you with triumph accept me!" Thus cried Saint Andrew the First-Called, and in the horrors of death on the cross he set forth his blessedness!

II. The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called is “an example of the spiritual joy of a Christian.” At the sight of the terrible instrument of his painful death – the cross, he not only did not become despondent and afraid, but on the contrary, he was very glad that through the cross he could come to his Lord in His blessed kingdom.

And every Christian can "Rejoice always in the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), in sorrow and in happiness, in suffering and in prosperity, during life and before death.

What are the means to maintain spiritual joy in oneself?

a) The joy we are talking about can be supported in us, firstly, by timely reading of the word of God. A man is gladdened by the acquisition of gold, silver and other valuables; but the word of God pleases the pious incomparably more - more powerfully, more vividly. The Prophet David experienced this. He says that the law of the Lord is more desirable, more precious, more pleasant, more joyful to him “than a thousand pieces of gold and silver” (Psalm 118:72). Indeed, the law of God is a joy for the soul. It elevates a person from earth to heaven, and makes not only the righteous man, but also the sinner feel great spiritual consolation. The righteous man rejoices, seeing in the Holy Scripture the love of God for righteous people; the sinner is comforted, seeing in the words of the Lord the promise of God’s mercy to repentant sinners. “How sweet are Your words to my taste, more than honey to my mouth,” exclaims the Holy King and Prophet David (Psalm 118:103).

b) The second means of maintaining spiritual joy is visiting the temples of God. This is so joyful for people who are at least somewhat pure in heart that the mere thought of the approaching opportunity to be in the temple of the Lord, to attend a church service, gladdens their soul. This is evident from the example of the Royal Prophet David. “I rejoiced,” he says, “with those who said to me: let us go to the house of the Lord” (Psalm 121:1). According to the remark of Saint Chrysostom, the visible temple of the Lord is the same as heaven. It is for this reason that the grace of God especially acts in the temples of God and, touching our hearts, dispels the oppressive, spiritual darkness of ours, which is continually brought in from somewhere, and brings down into the depths of our souls a new, bright ray of faith and hope for the mercy of God, and thus the hearts of those reverent visitors to church prayer who did not have joy when entering the temple are cheered up, and the joy of those God-loving participants in public worship, who had gracious joy in their hearts even before entering the temple of God, is strengthened and elevated.

c) The third means of maintaining spiritual joy is abstinence from excessive consumption of food and drink. Gluttony and drunkenness darken the soul, burden the heart, disturb the conscience, and therefore take away joy from a person. On the contrary, abstinence, contributing to the enlightenment of the mind, the sanctification of the will, the taming of passions, protecting us from sins, also contributes to the maintenance of spiritual joy in a person. Moreover, a person who is abstinent and sober can more easily preserve his health, his wealth, his honor and peace with his neighbors: and these blessings of life, as is known, greatly contribute to the preservation and continuation of the joy of our spirit.

d) A further means of maintaining spiritual joy is prayer. The source of spiritual joy is God. Prayer brings us closer to God and, bringing us closer to God, puts us in a state where we can easily draw spiritual joy from God. When we are close to God in prayer, are we happy? Our happiness is heightened by the thought of God’s good will towards us. Are we unhappy? Our unhappiness is diminished by the thought of the possibility of receiving help from the Almighty Creator, who said: “Ask, and it will be given you” (Matt. 7:7). And again: “Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:13). Moreover, prayer at home, by bringing us closer to God and making us feel His goodness, arouses love for Him; and where there is love for God, there is always abundant and ever-increasing joy.

e) A more convenient means for many to maintain spiritual joy is mercy to the poor and unfortunate, shown by almsgiving or charity. This virtue is the highest. It was the one Jesus Christ demanded most of all from His followers. “Be merciful,” said the Savior to His disciples, “even as your Father who is in heaven is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Therefore, mercy, as a virtue especially pleasing to God, produces sweet sensations, a quiet heavenly joy, in the soul of a merciful Christian.

f) The most powerful means of maintaining spiritual joy is the worthy communion of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ. This sanctification is light, is life, is the sweetest joy of the Christian soul. As a feather burns in fire, so in the mysterious, joy-giving flame of this mystery all our sorrows are destroyed, our heart is as if melted, softened, renewed, becomes indifferent to everything sinful, is inspired by everything heavenly, meets joy everywhere, triumphs, is blessed. Glory to the merciful God, who in this mystery brought paradise down to earth, and granted us, in His mysterious Body and Blood, a sure means of destroying our sorrows and an inexhaustible source of spiritual joy.

g) Finally, the last and most powerful means of maintaining spiritual joy in oneself is a living representation of the blessings of eternal life in the Kingdom of Christ and our God, the means that inspired the holy martyrs and gave strength to their wondrous patience in torment for Christ.

"As the feeling of health is inseparable from a healthy person, so spiritual joy is from one who lives by the spirit and does not fulfill carnal lusts," says the great contemporary spiritual writer, Bishop Theophan. "This is the joy of the saved, who clearly sees that he has passed the perniciousness. It cannot be inflated; it is born and stands by itself. The commandment of the Apostle: 'Rejoice always' (1 Thessalonians 5:18), perhaps is more of a sign that if you do not rejoice, then you do not stand in the present rank."

According to Palladius of Helenopolis in his “Lausiac History,” there were about five hundred brothers in the monastery of Abba Apollos, and they all always rejoiced, despite the great deprivations of the desert, and rejoiced with such joy that no one here on earth can point to such joy and bodily merriment. There was no one bored or sad among them, and Abba Apollos usually said: “Those who are to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven should not grieve on the path to salvation; let the pagans groan, let the Jews weep, let the sinners grieve, but those who follow the right path must rejoice.” (see the book “Interpretation of the Epistle to the Galatians,” Bishop Theophan, Moscow, 1875, p. 381).

III. Let us make use, beloved brethren, of these means, sufficient to maintain in us the joy of the spirit, and let us thank the Lord, Who gives us both joy and the means to continue and increase this joy, necessary for the temporary and eternal happiness of our souls. Amen.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.