JESUS SAID: “LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE” Matthew 28:20.

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

JESUS SAID: "LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO
THE END OF THE AGE" [Matthew 28:20].

Since the Lord is sending His disciples out among the Gentiles (pagans) to face death and danger, He gives them courage by saying, "Fear not, for I will be with you until the end of the age." Saint Theophylact says, "See also how He mentioned the end so as to arouse in them disdain for these calamities. Do not be downcast, He says to them, for all things will have an end, boht worldly sorrows and worldly joys. Do not be oppressed by sorrows for they will pass, and do not be deceived by good things, for they too, will come to an end. His promise to be with them was not made only to the Apostles, BUT TO ALL HIS DISCIPLES. For of course the holy Apostles would not live unto the end. He makes this promise even to us, and to those after us, not that He would be with us until the end, and then after the end He would depart from us–far from it! For it is rather from that moment on that He will be with us ever more clearly and distinctly. For the word "until", wherever it occurs in Holy Scripture, does not exclude the things that come after. Giving thanks, therefore, to the Lord Who is with us here, and provides us with every good thing, and again will be with us more perfectly after the end."

As Orthodox Christians we are not only reassured but also comforted by His promise to be with us always. There is no time when the Lord Jesus Christ is absent from His disciples and followers. This means that He is with us at the most critical days of our life, throughout the days and nights when we experience the various human conditions and challenges whether it is illness, torment, loneliness, despair, fear, sadness, sorrow, and temptations. He is present also on the most happy days of our lives, when we rejoice and we experience the many blessings that come from Him. No matter if our closest relatives or friends are present or not, we are never alone for Christ is present with us. Our Savior remains close to all those who entreat Him and seek His friendship and presence. He is there no matter what the circumstance may be. Everyone at one time or another faces a turbulent time in his or her life when conditions are threatening, when we run out of options, when we are lost, when we are exhausted from the numerous problems or sorrows, when our life feels like a wasteland, dry, empty, and even aimless. However, we are never alone, for God is with us, and when we begin to trust Him and believe this way, we will endure, and triumph over all of life’s obstacles. Jesus calms all the storms that threaten us. In the most difficult moments of life, faith unites us with Christ and gives us His strength and comfort.

Life, as we all have come to know, can change drastically and unexpectedly. It can be tranquill one day and violently stormy the next. This brings to mind the miracle when Jesus saved His disciples from a stormy sea. According to the Gospel of Saint Matthew 14:22-33, "Jesus made His Disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side…the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘BE OF GOOD CHEER! IT IS I; DO NOT BE AFRAID." In saying to the disciples, "be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid," He is also assuring us He will be with His people in the midst of the storms of life. "And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, "COME." "Come," is Christ’s invitation in the midst of wherever turmoil, trouble, struggle we are confronting. "Do not be afraid," as long as He is with us we should never be afraid of anything.

"And when Peter had come down out of hte boat; he WALKED ON THE WATER TO GO TO JESUS. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; AND BEGINNING TO SINK HE CRIED OUT, SAYING, "LORD, SAVE ME!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand AND CAUGHT HIM, AND SAID TO HIM, ‘O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH WHY DID YOU DOUBT?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased." On the one hand we see that our faith in time of danger is wavering, and on the other hand, we see the Lord stretching out His hand to catch us. He does not allow us, even when our faith is "little" to drown in the sea of adversity. The tendency for some, at times of trouble, is to be distracted and look away from God instead of looking towards Him. We hesitate and are weakened because we take our eyes off Christ, and instead, we focus on the issues, the storm, that threaten us. Don’t allow, what seems like enormous waves, to frighten us. When we allow the storms of life to frighten us, we become so overwhelmed by fear, and disoriented, that even when we see our Lord coming toward us, we don’t recognize Him and we, just like the disciples, see a "ghost," instead.

Believe and trust our God and Savior and do not lose faith in Him. As human beings we will face many challenges, problems, storms, illnesses, struggles, disappointments, sorrows, tragedies, etc. throughout our lifetime. As long as our faith remains steadfast all the concerns which we have in life will be dealt with and by the grace of God will be resolved. We witness many miracles such as the one mentioned above and if you look closely at your life you will see clearly a number of miracles that have taken place already in your life. A miracle will manifest when we call upon God in faith for His help and what seems to us to be an impossible task becomes possible in an instant. Everything that God does, He does in wisdom and when He feels is the right time for His intervention, and NOT ours!

In Our Orthodox Christian Traditions, prayer is essential and as Saint John Chrysostom emphasizes prayer is the most powerful thing in the life of a person, and nothing can be compared with prayer. Prayer is the unique and priceless gift of our Creator to man, because it is through prayer that we are united with Him. The holy Apostle Peter cried out, "Lord, save me!" which is the shortest prayer in the Holy Bible. In our Orthodox Tradition we constantly chant and say, "Kyrie Eleison," or "Lord, have mercy." We also offer the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner," which is an expansion of it. However, if one is to offer it to God, it must be said with faith, trust, humility, sincerity and with absolute conviction.

_____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George