Jeremiah,
Chapter 26, verse 19
Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah condemn him to
death? Did he not fear the LORD and
entreat the favor of the LORD, so that the LORD had a change of heart regarding
the evil he had spoken against them? We, however, are about to do great evil
against ourselves.”
Have you ever been around
people who cannot handle the truth! Speaking the truth got Jeremiah in dire
straits. Unmoving, the temple officials and elders trashed Jeremiah nonetheless
they were too afraid to kill him.
Dire Straits[1]
· At the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, God tells Jeremiah
to stand in the court of the temple and speak to all the people and cities of
Judah. They're getting another chance to repent. Maybe they'll actually listen
this time. · If the people don't finally come to their senses, God's
going to do the same thing to Jerusalem that he did to Shiloh up north: it'll
be devastated, but the priests and prophets don't want to hear it, and they
threaten to kill Jeremiah. · The king's officials come to the temple, and the priests
and prophets tell them about what Jeremiah had just prophesied. They think he
should die for it. · Jeremiah says that he's only saying what God has made him
say. If they want to kill him they can go right ahead, but innocent blood will
be on their hands. · The officials and the people agree that Jeremiah shouldn't
be put to death. Some of the elders point out that Micah prophesied about
Jerusalem's destruction during Hezekiah's reign and Hezekiah didn't kill him.
· And besides, God changed his mind and actually didn't
destroy Jerusalem that time. Maybe that'll happen again.
Candles[2]
When the
people of Israel offered worship, in the Old Testament they did son amid the
flicker of many lights. So important were these lights that the main one, the
temple menorah became the most recognizable symbol of Judaism. The Christian church
is a temple and as such lights play an important part in worship. In fact lamps
and candles are a symbol of the person of Christ. “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn. 8:12) At the church’s
greatest celebration on the Easter Vigil the priest holds the paschal candle
aloft and proclaims “Christ our light!” three times. The lamp is a symbol of
Christ, God’s presence among us. The lighting of votive candles is the “offering”
of the faithful.
The Use of Candles in the
Orthodox Church[3]
Question: Why do
we light candles in the Orthodox Church?
Answer: There
are typically two types of candles that Orthodox are familiar with. First there
are the genuine pure beeswax candles made from the combs of hives. Secondly,
there are the paraffin wax candles made from petroleum. When the Fathers of the
Church speak of the Orthodox use of candles, they are referring to the pure
beeswax candles and not the latter. Paraffin wax produces carcinogens and soot
when burned. In fact, one air quality researcher stated that the soot from a
paraffin candle contains many of the same toxins produced by burning diesel
fuel.
With this
information in mind, we can better understand the six symbolic representations
of lit candles handed down to us by Saint Symeon of
Thessaloniki:
1. As
the candle is pure (pure beeswax), so also should our hearts be pure.
2. As
the pure candle is supple (as opposed to the paraffin), so also should our
souls be supple until we make it straight and firm in the gospel.
3. As
the pure candle is derived from the pollen of a flower and has a sweet scent,
so also should our souls have the sweet aroma of Divine Grace.
4. As
the candle, when it burns, mixes with and feeds the flame, so also we can
struggle to achieve theosis
(union with God).
5. As
the burning candle illuminates the darkness, so must the light of Christ within
us shine before men that God's name be glorified.
6. As
the candle gives its own light to illuminate a person in the darkness, so also
must the light of the virtues, the light of love and peace, characterize a
Christian. The wax that melts symbolizes the flame of our love for our fellow
men.
1. To
glorify God, who is Light, as we chant in the Doxology: "Glory to God who
has shown forth the light..."
2. To
dissolve the darkness of the night and to banish away the fear which is brought on by the darkness.
3. To
manifest the inner joy of our soul.
4. To
bestow honor to the saints of our Faith, imitating the early Christians of the
first centuries who lit candles at the tombs of the martyrs.
5. To
symbolize our good works, as the Lord said: "Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in
the heavens." The priest also gave us this charge following our baptism.
6. To
have our own sins forgiven and burned away, as well as the sins of those for
whom we pray.
Question:
Is there any other reason why we light our candle in church?
Answer:
Besides the higher spiritual reasons mentioned above for why we light candles,
there is another simpler and practical reason: to make a financial offering to
the church. When we go to light our candle, we should also give an offering for
the various services and expenses of the church. The church gives us the candle
as a blessing for our offering and allows us to ignite the flame of the symbolisms mentioned
above.
Question:
Should we light candles outside the church as well?
Answer:
It is good and laudable to light candles at home when we pray, when the priest
visits for a house blessing with Holy Water or Holy Unction, and even light a
candle when we visit the grave of a loved one.
Question:
Is there any other purpose to the candle?
Answer:
When we light a candle in the church, we are making an offering to the church
or to a particular icon to beautify it and show through physical light the symbolization
of the uncreated light of God's house or the saint depicted in the icon. It is
also customary for the faithful to offer pure beeswax candles at the
Consecration of a new church.
Friday after Passion Sunday: Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A special commemoration, one week before Good Friday, of Mary's compassion for
(literally, "suffering with") Her innocent son. (http://www.holytrinitygerman.org/septlentschema.html)
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