ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="doctitle" --> <title>The Voice Of Orthodoxy</title> <style type="text/css"> <!-- body { background-color: #ecedf2; } .style81 {color: #0C5ADC; font-weight: bold; } .style82 {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; } --> </style></head> <BODY LEFTMARGIN=0 TOPMARGIN=0 MARGINWIDTH=0 MARGINHEIGHT=0> <table width="784" height="111" border="0" align="center" bordercolor="#E9E9E9" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr> <td height="45" bgcolor="#9999FF"> <p align="center"><font size="+6" COLOR = #990000> THE VOICE OF ORTHODOXY</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="45" bgcolor="#9999FF" valign="top" > <p align="center"><b><font size="+2"> <i>A Bimonthly Conservative Journal To Defend The Apostolic Faith, Morals And Canons Of The Ancient Orthodox Church.</b></i> <strong> <table width="784" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td align = "left">Volume : XIII</td> <td align = "center">NOVEMBER- DECEMBER 2009</td> <td align = "right">Issue : 6</td> </tr> </table> </strong> <marquee scrollamount="2" direction="left"><i>ORTHODOXY: THE TRUTH BEARER; FOR REQUESTS CALL: 773-480-7273</i></marquee> </p> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="784" height="758" border="0" align="center" bordercolor="#E9E9E9" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr> <td width="164" height="182" rowspan="2" valign="top" bgcolor="#9999FF"><br /> <table width="96%" height="75" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" bgcolor="#9999FF"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="153" valign="top"> <table> <tr> <p><img src="../../images/st.mary.jpg" width="153" height="209" /></p> </tr> </table> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#eef5f9"> <td bgcolor="#ecedf2" height="14"><table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="98%" align="center" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="15%" height="16"><div align="right"> <div align="justify"><font color="#333333" size="2"><width="8" height="9" /></font></div> </div></td> <td align="justify" width="85%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#333333" size="2"><a href="../../default.html">Home</a></font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#eef5f9"> <td bgcolor="#ecedf2" height="14"><table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="98%" align="center" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="15%" height="16"><div align="right"> <div align="justify"><font color="#333333" size="2"><width="8" height="9" /></font></div> </div></td> <td align="justify" width="85%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#333333" size="2"><a href="../../current.html">Current Issue</a></font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#eef5f9"> <td bgcolor="#ecedf2" height="21"><table width="99%" height="18" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="15%"><div align="right"> <div align="justify"><font color="#333333" size="2"><width="8" height="9" /></font></div> </div></td> <td align="justify" width="85%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#333333" size="2"><a href="../../archives.html">Archives</a></font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </br> <font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Sponsors &gt;&gt;</strong></font><br /> <table width="98%" height="159" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" bgcolor="#ecedf2"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#eef5f9"> <td width="149" bgcolor="#ecedf2" height="23"><table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="100%" align="center" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td><div align="justify"></div> <font color="#333333" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" class="style45"><b>Coming Soon..</b></font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="EditRegion13" --> <table width="620" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td width="614" height="476" valign="top"> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>GUEST EDITORIAL</b></font> <br> </p> <p align="center"><font color="#FF0000" size="6" face="Times New Roman"><b>NATIVITY REFLECTIONS:</b></font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#FF0000" size="6" face="Times New Roman">WAITING WITH HOPE AND EXPECTATION</font> <br></p> <p align="center"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b><i>(This is one of our Nativity 2009 Editorials and written Tenny Thomas, one of our contributors. Mr. Thomas holds graduate degrees from Cambridge University and Oxford University in United Kingdom, and is growing as a mature Orthodox Theologian by his own right and is reading for his doctorate in Theology at Columbia University, New York. He has been tutored in England by several outstanding orthodox thinkers, including Archbishop Kallistos Ware. Here we present his REFLECTIONS as a Guest Editorial- Chief Editor) </i></b></font> <br> </p> <p align="center"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>By Tenny Thomas</b></font> <br></p> <p><font size="5" face="Times New Roman"><b>1) -Meditational Texts</b>: </font> <br> </p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Jeremiah 33:14-16, Psalm 25:1-10 , 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 and Luke 21:25-36 </b></font> <br> </p> <p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The LORD Our Salvation </b></font> <br> </p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>The Nativity of Christ marks a wonderfully exciting time in the church year. The </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>change of season proclaims - Jesus Christ is coming! We sing  O come, O come, </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Emmanuel as we await Christ Jesus arrival. In announcing his nativity, all the readings echo the word COMING: </b></font> <br></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>" Behold, the days are COMING, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (Jeremiah 33:14, RSV) </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>" So that he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the COMING of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>3:13, RSV) </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>" And then they will see the Son of man COMING in a cloud with power and great glory. (Luke 21:27, RSV) </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>The message of Nativity is God s reassurance to us of his faithfulness to his promises. The promise is that Jesus Christ will be present among us and the Holy </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Spirit will guide and counsel us. Advent also is a summons to watch and pray. </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Watch for signs of the kingdom of God, for signs of love and forgiveness, for signs of hope and joy, for peace. Be alert for opportunities to reach out to others. </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Pray for the coming of the kingdom and the fulfillment of God s will. We are called to grow in holiness as we prepare for the coming of the Lord. </b></font> <br> </p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>God will overcome and change the world by pouring out, in self-sacrifice and </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>love, his unrestricted force and flood of divine life. This life can be brought into </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>being by making real in human affairs the depth of divine life and love; by showing  glory  the intensity and radiance of unqualified joy, eternal self-</b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>giving. Only in the heart of the ordinary vulnerability of human life can this be </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>shown in such a way, so that we are saved from the terrible temptation of confusing it with earthly power and success. This is an assurance from the LORD,</b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>as recorded by Jeremiah, that God truly is the LORD, our salvation. </b></font> <br></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>We have begun the new church cycle; we start over again, and we have the opportunity to review and recommit ourselves to the disciplines of faith. We will again receive the invitation and call,  Come, for all things are ready! Let us respond with faith, in preparation of Jesus Christ s coming! Amen! </b></font> <br> <br></p> <p><font size="5" face="Times New Roman"><b>2) - Meditational Text: </b></font> <br> </p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Malachi 3:1-4, Baruch 5:1-9, Luke 1:68-79, Philippians 1:3-11 and Luke 3:1-6 </b></font> <br> </p> <p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Prepare the Way for the Lord </b></font> <br></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Preparing is hard work and preparing the way for the Lord is harder. The </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>prophet Malachi calls us to a time of preparation during the Advent season as we anticipate the coming of Christ. Malachi has good news God will indeed </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>appear. As a spokesman for the Lord, the prophet begins this particular chapterby saying,  Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>(Malachi 3. 1, RSV). In this season of preparation, we await the coming of Jesus </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>into his temple  and into our hearts again at Christmas. </b></font> <br></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>But, Malachi also has a warning:  But who can endure the day of his coming, </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner&#39;s fire and like fullers </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>soap. (Malachi 3. 2, RSV). In other words, the coming of the Lord means judgment. </b></font> <br></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>That is precisely why it is imperative that we prepare for the Lord s return.</b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Preparing for the Lord s coming is a matter of purification. True spiritual </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>preparation involves repentance and change of heart. That is what getting ready for Christmas is about  preparing the way for the Lord s arrival into our lives. </b></font> <br></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>Like Malachi, John the Baptist tells us to prepare, but he also admonishes us to repair the path into our hearts. The crooked areas needs straightening and our </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>souls that have been bent and turned by too many false hopes need to return to God. The only way for us to get our souls made right with God is for us to turn our hearts toward the coming Savior. John said it best when he quoted the </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>prophet Isaiah, saying,  Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. </b></font></p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>(Luke 3.4, RSV). </b></font> <br> </p> <p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><b>This Advent season, may we have the courage to ask God to repair our hearts so that we are truly prepared for the coming of the King of Kings, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen! </b></font></p> </td> </tr> </table> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --></td> </tr> </table> </body> <!-- InstanceEnd --></html>