To the saints in Portland
A blessed, Christ-filled day to you. Yesterday’s sermon mentioned a letter from Saint Paul that might be delivered to the Orthodox community that meet at the corner of Pleasant and Park Streets in Portland, Maine – though Paul surely sends the same letter today to every church community anywhere in the world. Here is Paul’s letter delivered in 21st-century style through the Internet:
To the church of God that is in Portland, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people. We give joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his saints in the kingdom of light; the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
This message of encouragement is adapted from the letter Paul wrote to the saints in the ancient town of Colossae (in what is today Turkey), with the opening greeting partly adapted from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Paul always addressed the readers of his letters as ‘saints’ or ‘called to be saints’. (Though some modern translations, like the NIV, avoid using the word ‘saint’.) The biblical word ‘saint’ is somewhat different and broader in meaning than the word the church uses to identify someone as Saint. But the Orthodox Liturgy still uses the word ‘saints’ to describe all who are present at the Liturgy.
Paul did not write the following words, but they were written by a saint of the 20th century, an Orthodox saint who understood exactly what Saint Paul meant. Saint Sophrony wrote these words to his community in Essex, England:
What I would like for you, my dear brothers and sisters, and especially for those who have come recently, is that you open your minds and hearts, so that the Holy Spirit may trace in you the image of Christ.
Are there better words that a pastor can say to a community of faith? Both Paul and Sophrony were great pastors. They lived grace and transmitted grace. The image of Christ was fully formed in them. And that is why they now reside in the uncreated light and beauty of God’s presence. The glorified saints rejoice with us who are struggling to be revealed as saints.
May you the reader have a blessed, Christ-filled week. And please do gather with your Orthodox brothers and sisters – your fellow struggling saints – next Sunday to hear more encouraging words from Saint Paul in the Liturgy.
