{"id":5021,"date":"2020-11-11T12:54:28","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T12:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/?p=5021"},"modified":"2020-11-11T12:54:28","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T12:54:28","slug":"spiritual-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/spiritual-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Food"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Spiritual Food<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lord Jesus Christ taught about food and drink in the John Gospel during the apostasy era. When HE went to the city of Sychar in Samaria and arrived at Jacob\u2019s well, Lord Jesus met a Samaritan woman and asked her, \u201cFetch me a drink\u201d. Later, towards the end of the passage we hear,\u00a0In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, \u201cRabbi, eat.\u201d\u00a0But He said to them, \u201cI have food to eat of which you do not know.\u201d\u00a0Therefore the disciples said to one another, \u201cHas anyone brought Him anything to eat?\u201d\u00a0(John 4:7, 32-33)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Then, Lord Jesus states plainly \u201cMy food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. What he is talking about is a different type of food: One that does not have a material nature or origin, a food that is spiritual, not physical. (John 4:34)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lord Jesus explained about another spiritual food and that is doing the will of God the Father. When we talk about will, we\u2019re not talking about a legal document to be executed upon a person\u2019s death. Nor are we talking about an adverb describing a future action to be taken. Rather we are talking about a wish, a want and a desire.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The will of God is central to our lives as human beings. In the HIS Prayers, Lord Jesus taught HIS disciples to pray to God the Father asking for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord Jesus also says,\u00a0for whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.\u201d\u00a0(Matthew, 6:10, 12:50, Mark 3:35)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the Gospel of John, Lord Jesus taught in more detail. \u201cFor I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.\u00a0This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.\u00a0And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day\u201d (John 6:38-40)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Perhaps Lord Jesus\u2019 most famous and meaningful preaching\u2019s comes from HIS own prayer to God the Father in the Garden of Gethesemane.<em>\u00a0<\/em>saying<em>,\u00a0<\/em>\u201cFather, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.\u201d\u00a0(Luke 22:42)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Apostle Paul helps us understand better what in fact God\u2019s will is. He says: <sup>\u201c<\/sup>See then that you\u00a0walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,\u00a0redeeming the time, because the days are evil.\u00a0Therefore\u00a0do not be unwise, but\u00a0understand\u00a0what\u00a0the\u00a0will\u00a0of the Lord\u00a0is.\u00a0And\u00a0do not be drunk\u00a0with wine, in which is dissipation; but\u00a0be filled with the Spirit,\u00a0speaking to one another in\u00a0psalms and hymns\u00a0and spiritual songs, singing and\u00a0making melody\u00a0in your heart to the Lord,\u00a0giving thanks always\u00a0for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,\u00a0submitting to one another\u00a0in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:15-21)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Consequently, the following exemplary quotes:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>\u201cChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.\u00a0\u201cHonor your father and mother,\u201d\u00a0which is the first commandment with promise:\u00a0\u201cthat it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.\u201d And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.\u00a0<sup>5<\/sup>Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Lord Jesus Christ;\u00a0not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the\u00a0will of Godfrom the heart,\u00a0with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,\u00a0<sup>8<\/sup>knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether\u00a0he is\u00a0a slave or free.\u00a0And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.\u201d (Ephesians 6:1-9)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cFor this is the\u00a0will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality\u201d(1Thessalonians 4:3)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cNow we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.\u00a0See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.\u00a0Rejoice always,\u00a0pray without ceasing,\u00a0in everything give thanks; for this is the\u00a0will of Godin Christ Jesus for you.\u00a0Do not quench the Spirit.\u00a0Do not despise prophecies.\u00a0Test all things; hold fast what is good.\u00a0Abstain from every form of evil.\u201d(1Thessalonians 5:14-22)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cTherefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions,\u00a0and\u00a0giving of thanks be made for all men,\u00a0for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.\u00a0For this\u00a0is\u00a0good and acceptable in the sight of\u00a0God our Savior who\u00a0desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.\u201d (1Timothy 2:1-4)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Apostle Peter chimes in too:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cFor this is the\u00a0will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men\u00a0as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.\u00a0<sup>17<\/sup>Honor all\u00a0people.\u00a0Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.\u201d\u00a0(1Peter 2:15-17)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cFor\u00a0it is\u00a0better, if it is the\u00a0will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.\u201d (1Peter 3:17)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian adds the following:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><sup>\u201c<\/sup>Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.\u00a0For all that\u00a0is\u00a0in the world&#8211;the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life&#8211;is not of the Father but is of the world.\u00a0And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the\u00a0will of God\u00a0abides forever.\u201d (1John 2:15-17)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Many scriptural references are in scripted in the Holy Bible regarding God\u2019s will. In fact all of God\u2019s commandments are an expression of HIS will for us. When we try to discern God\u2019s will for each one of us individually, we need to start with His general commandments for all humanity. For it is within the sincere effort of humbly trying to fulfill God\u2019s commandments that we can begin to discern His unique plan for each one of us personally. In other words, it is in following the general path of the Christian life, that each one of us discovers the unique trail that God wishes us to travel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In conclusion, there is another specific expression of God\u2019s will that Jesus reveals to us at the end of today\u2019s Gospel. Listen again:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lord Jesus said to them, \u201cMy food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.\u00a0Do you not say, \u2018There are still four months and then comes the harvest\u2019? Behold, I say to you,\u00a0lift up your eyes\u00a0and\u00a0look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!\u00a0And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that\u00a0both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.\u00a0For in this the saying is true: \u2018One sows and another reaps.\u2019I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored;\u00a0others have labored, and\u00a0you have entered into their labors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Church Fathers interpret and explain Lord Jesus\u2019 teaching as such:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lord Jesus instructs HIS disciples to lift up their eyes so that their thoughts may be focused on what God wants to accomplish (Origen). The fields that are white for harvest are the multitudes of souls prepared for receiving the preaching of the gospel (Chrysostom). Both sowers and reapers rejoice together (Origen) as Moses and the prophets prepared the harvest (Chrysostom), along with the seeds sown by Christ (Theodore). The harvest is then reaped by the glittering and sharp word of the apostles, who then bring their harvest to the floor of the church (Cyril A.). Jesus had done the spadework for the apostles as He cultivated the prophets from the beginning (Theodore).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thus, we must fulfill the will of God be imitating Photini, the Samaritan woman by sharing and proclaiming the Gospel of Lord Jesus Christ, the Good News of God\u2019s kingdom. She is Equal to the Apostles; she helped sow the seeds that the other Apostles would eventually reap in harvest. The Apostles also sowed and others later reaped, repeating through every generation in the Church down to our own present time. How will we reap the harvest that our predecessors sowed? How will we plant seeds that will lead to a new generation of faithful, dedicated and committed Christians to sprout up and grow? This is God\u2019s will; This is our food. Let us do it and be fulfilled!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Source: Saint George Greek Orthodox Church <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lord Jesus Christ taught about food and drink in the John Gospel during the apostasy era. When HE went to the city of Sychar in Samaria and arrived at Jacob\u2019s well, Lord Jesus met a Samaritan woman and asked her, \u201cGive me a drink\u201d. Later, towards the end of the passage we hear, In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, \u201cRabbi, eat.\u201d But He said to them, \u201cI have food to eat of which you do not know.\u201d Therefore the disciples said to one another, \u201cHas anyone brought Him anything to eat?\u201d &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5021"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5021"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5022,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5021\/revisions\/5022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}