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Pastor's Message
Fr. Alexander Goussetis
Many saints and Christian writers note that the Scriptures are a love letter from God addressed to each one of us. It is a unique way of viewing the Bible since many see Scripture as abstract or irrelevant to our day and age. Yet if we consider this holy resource as a personal love letter, the dynamics of how we relate to the Bible changes.
How do we act when we are in love? People are capable of tremendous self-sacrifice and attentiveness when they are in love. The remarkable thing is that they don’t even think of it as costly—they find it the most "natural" thing in the world, and not to share in this love would be a painful alternative. The center of one’s life becomes the beloved.
There are many parallels which can be drawn between a love relationship with other people and a love relationship with God. First and foremost: it takes time! All worthwhile relationships require quality time together. We grow in love with God as we grow in any intimate love relationship — through a continuum of knowing, trusting, desiring, surrendering our defenses and fears, and ultimately our very selves, to the Beloved.
Reading Scripture is an avenue through which we develop and cultivate this love relationship with God. Reading the Bible, however, requires a different approach than reading a magazine or newspaper or on-line article. Most times we read quickly to gather facts or increase our knowledge of a particular topic. Other times we read for entertainment purposes.
Scripture reading becomes more meaningful when we allow the words to slowly seep into our mind and soul, inviting the wisdom of God to penetrate our innermost being. The focus is not on the quantity of pages read but the quality of what we are engaging. Short passages read deliberately and purposefully many times during prayer allows the reader to center on God’s love for us.
Try this exercise. During your next prayer time, after a few moments being still, read the following verses slowly and meditatively:
"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. . . I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:9-11)
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
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