Fr. Silouan Benedict
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The emphasis on the Word of God is of the Highest Order in the Orthodox Church. Whether it is the Matins, or the Vespers, or the prayer of the hours, the Divine Liturgy etc, the entire Liturgical Cycle of the Church is completely based on the Word of God. We actually consume the very Word of God in the Holy Mysteries during the Divine liturgy.
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At every Liturgy, the Priest prepares the sermon first by reading the writings of the Holy Fathers. He prays long before the Liturgy as well, and also learns to practically apply the sermon. This is the sermon I am used to preaching. In Essence, there will be no effective sermon without understanding what the Holy Fathers meant about the passage that is explained. Not using the Holy Fathers when understanding Holy Scriptures is like saying, “I know everything,” and there is nothing more dangerous to your soul than that kind of an attitude.
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The Word of God is expected to be lived and we all ought to put on Holy Scriptures like we put on Clothes for different occasions, so should we put on the word of God into our hearts on all different occasions. St. John Chrysostom Says that, “The Holy Scriptures were not given to us that we should enclose them in books, but that we should engrave them upon our hearts.”
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Read the word of God in synergy with prayer. I mean to say that you should combine reading the word of God like prayer. I always tell people, “Learn from the crow!” The crow puts its beak into water, takes a little water, lifts its beak up and then looks to the sky and swallows the water. In the same way, read a little, think a little and then pray a little. The Epistle of Hebrews 4:12 tells us For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. When you combine the Word of God with prayer, it is even more powerful, because you are acting on the word of God, and not just reading it. You must ponder on the Word of God. You must listen attentively with all your senses. Listen to what St. John Chrysostom says on what Prayer does to us: “The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; it hath bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt.”
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I have also noticed that one can actively read the word of God with all our senses, especially the singing or chanting of Psalms, which are pearls of wisdom, spiritual diamonds; and when you chant them, use the Sign of the Cross and anoint yourselves as often as you can—especially when you say “Lord,” and in this you will notice that even your body is praying. Do it from your heart, not just outwardly.
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Point everything in the word of God to yourself. What I intend to say is: Do not judge your brother or sister through the word of God that is read or spoken, rather point the word of God to yourself. The only person who needs to change is I, Me, and Myself. Let the Word of God sink into you so that you think about how to change yourself. Only then will you bear fruit.
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The Word of God acts gently within your soul. God transforms us through his word, so it is very necessary to allow the Word of God to sink into you. And the right interpretation of the Word of God has to sink within you, not the word of God spoken by heretics and schismatics. The Orthodox Church helps you to know the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth. That is why the Orthodox way of knowing Holy Scriptures are important.
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Next, the revelation of the Word of God to us is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord tells us in John 16:13-15: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you”. St. Ambrose of Milan says, “(The Holy Spirit) speaks the truth, He breathes wisdom. He does not speak without the Father, for He is the Spirit of God. He does not hear from Himself, for all things are of God…Therefore what the Spirit says is the Son’s, what the Son has given is the Father’s. So neither the Son nor the Spirit speaks anything of Himself.” It is necessary for us to understand that we cannot believe in our own private interpretation. The Word of God is the Book of the Orthodox Church. Without the Orthodox Church, there is no right understanding and right experience of the Word of God. What the Word of God means, what it intends to say, what is the background and right context is ONLY revealed in the Orthodox Church. There is no other way. The fullness of Christ can only be experienced in the Orthodox Church.
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Last but not the least: Without Holy Tradition, your understanding of Holy Scriptures is never complete. Fr. Georges Florovsky expresses this idea: “Tradition is the witness of the Spirit; the Spirit’s unceasing revelation and preaching of good things… To accept and understand Tradition we must live within the Church, we must be conscious of the grace-giving presence of the Lord in it; we must feel the breath of the Holy [Spirit] in it…. Tradition is not only a protective, conservative principle; it is, primarily, the principle of growth and regeneration…. Tradition is the constant abiding of the Spirit and not only the memory of words” (Sobornost: the Catholicity of the Church, in the Church of God, pp. 64-5). To an Orthodox Christian, Tradition means the Holy Bible; it means the Creed; it means the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils and the writings of the Fathers; it means the Canons, the Service Books, the Holy Icons, etc. In essence, it means the whole system of doctrine, ecclesiastical government, worship and art that Orthodoxy has articulated over the ages (Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, p.204). This is the Beauty of Orthodoxy!
Words of Caution:
To all people who believe in private interpretation of Holy Scripture: You are treading a dangerous path, you are walking on a path that will lead to confusion/darkness of the mind. None of us can dare to say that we know Christ more than His Holy Mother, the Theotokos; none of us can also say that we know Christ more than his Holy Apostles, none of us similarly can also evidence that we know Christ more than those who followed him closely, i.e., the Holy Fathers/ Saints of the Church. If you ignore the instruction of the Mother of God, if you ignore the instruction of the Holy Apostles and if you ignore the instructions of the Holy Fathers, you are going nowhere, you are only going down the path of confusion/darkness of the mind. If your excuse is that where you live, there is no Orthodox Church, you can first learn to walk the path that leads you to Orthodoxy, then become Orthodox, and God will help you to establish the True Faith. There is no excuse in 2015 that anyone in the world can have to not know the Orthodox Faith. But if you have not heard about the Orthodox Faith, then it is possibly not your fault. But if you have read this article you have heard about it, it is time for you to dig and understand. This is the only Church that Christ established. I am encouraging you in love: Let not your excuse be your unwillingness to walk towards the Truth. If God is your number one priority then you must take the effort to discover Orthodoxy. Do not seek entertainment in Church, do not be lazy in your heart towards knowing and experiencing the truth, do not be hardhearted and hard-headed, do not be cold towards God. You are the best judges of yourselves. I have enclosed a link for your further reading and may God help you all.
I will end with the words of the Elder Leonid of Optina. “If you would be simple-hearted like the Apostles, would not conceal your human shortcomings, would not pretend to be especially pious, if you would walk free from hypocrisy, then that is the path. While it is easy, not everyone can find it or understand it. This path is the shortest way to salvation and attracts the grace of God. Unpretentiousness, guilelessness, frankness of soul—this is what is pleasing to the Lord, Who is lowly of heart. Except ye become like children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of God (Mt. 18:13).”
