The Holy Martyr James of Persia (422); Our Venerable Father Palladius
1 Timothy 4:4-8, 16; Luke 16:15-18; 17:1-4
Nativity Fast. Abstinence from meat and foods that contain meat.
Read 1 Timothy 4:4-8, 16
“Nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” When we look at the world and what it presents to us—politics, film, music, media, and money—this admonition by St. Paul is key. How we are to understand and see the “good” in all of it requires the perspective of thanksgiving. This is no mere sentimental value for hallmark cards but rather shot through with Christian content. At the heart of every divine liturgy is “thanksgiving.” Indeed, the word “eucharist” means properly speaking, “thanksgiving.” So to receive a gift eucharistically means being able to seize that which is godly in it, separating the wheat from the chaff as it were in order to enjoy it how our creator intended it.
When it comes to politics, Aristotle hinted as much that it is a part of our constitution: we are political animals. This does not mean that we are all to be television commentators and pundits. Rather, we are meant to be people of the “polis” of the city. We are meant to be together as social creatures. To receive this fact eucharistically means not to hold on to the animal side of our nature, bashing those that don’t agree with us. Rather, it recognizes that we need each other, even the other, the marginalized voice, the side that doesn’t agree with me. Our discernment of what is good is aided by the virtue of “godliness” the RSV’s translation of eusebeia. You can translate this also as piety. One of the things to remember about this virtue is that it is cultivated primarily through action: the repeated, ritual activity, of offering sacrifice to God. Our daily prayer rules help us in this endeavour. They ensure us that the regular use of God’s language of the sacrifice of praise as found in the psalms, the Jesus prayer, the rosary, and the like, are on our lips and not the clichés mindlessly imbibed from the news stream. Learning piety is a muscular activity before it’s a mental activity. In our discernment, it helps our reflexes to receive with thanksgiving.