Unity and Harmony

“God created human beings to live forever in complete harmony with Him and in perfect obedience to His will. But by the sin of Adam and Eve, the whole human race became subject to death and disobedience. In this state of corruption, all humans were helpless to keep the law. But the Son of God was born to undo what Adam and Eve did. Paul writes, “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (OSB Romans 8:3).” (Fr. Basil)

“If you re read the list of the Apostles (Matthew 10:2-4), you will notice that the disciples are paired together in six groups. Jesus did not send them out alone, but in twos to mutually support each other and to work together. Think about that. The apostles worked together with one another. There was no private work for the Church among them. What they did, they did cooperatively with one another. The same is true for us. The Lord’s work is always fulfilled within and for the body of Christ, the Church. Do you see what that means? Working for the church and fulfilling the tasks of the Lord require a spirit of teamwork, a sense of mutuality, and a shared vision for the overall goals and purposes of the church…None of us can complete our tasks properly without reference to the other members of the Church. We need one another to do what we must do for Christ… Further, we should never try to do our work for the Kingdom alone, isolated from others. The Kingdom is not a one-man or a one-woman show. Jesus sent out His disciples two-by-two. Let that be an example to us. We need to be coworkers with our priest and with one another in order to accomplish the task. It is more important that we work together in harmony than to merely complete some task.” (Fr. Stanley Harakas)

“Witnessing” the Love of God is to live in Christ and live a life of the purest, unqualified love. Love lies at the very heart of Orthodox Christian life. This Divine Gift causes unity, fulfillment and everlasting joy. When we witness in today’s society, we share in the Life of our Lord. His is the Head and we are the body. Our witness, as we carry His Cross and rise again, is described by Saint Paul as those who are in Christ are a “New Creation”. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Let us rejoice! We receive also as we witness the Good News and our true faith amongst all the world’s people. We have the gift to feed others with our prayers, our support and human expressions of Christian outreach. Simply put: to go into the world and love one and all. Generations have passed whereby some faithful may have had the attitude of hearing these sweet religious words and just went on with their lives. Without the gift of stewardship, meaning one’s faith and witness, the end of their lives are lonely and unforgiving.” (Fr. James Dokos)

“Christ is not only restoring the relationship of each of us to God, but also restoring humanity itself and the relationship each of us is to have with each other. We are to love one another because Christ unites us to divinity and really to our humanity. It is God’s love for us and in us which brings to an end all human alienation, separation and division.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)

“Living with an awareness of the kingdom enables us to say, with the Apostle John, “We are of God” (1 John 4:6). We understand John’s “we” to refer not only to the apostles, but to everyone who struggles to remain in communion with them. As Christians, we strive to live in harmony with and be nurtured by the apostolic environment of the Church, for this “environment of the spirit” has ultimate command and power over our lives.” (Dynamis 3/3/2021)

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