Saint John The Forerunner As A Model For Our Lives

The Psychic and Precursor John the Baptist (Local holiday Day - January 7)By Protopresbyter Fr. George PapavarnavasThe Generous Precursor is the integrity who was praised by Christ snooty than everyone else: "Together with those that are untrained of women bestow is not a outstanding member of the clergy than John the Baptist" (Lk. 7:28a). He is the album of the Prophets, not in age having the status of he austerely lived thirty duration, but in terminology of attractiveness and country, while he was through fine not austerely to see, but to noise "the proclaimed" Messiah. But hence Christ went on to stress that the smallest in the Federation of God is outstanding than Saint John the Precursor ((Lk. 7:28b). He supposed this, according to the interpretation of the Delightful Chrysostom, to elude the crowds being dragged not at home in their exaggerations with this congratulate and stare John pompous than the God-man Christ. But according to novel interpretation, by the fourth century ecclesiastical versifier Didymus the Blind, the youngest of the Religious Apostles, Saint John the Theologian, is outstanding than the Precursor, having the status of the Apostles are outstanding than the Prophets.He was untrained of an uncultivated female and was the fruit of prayer. As a fetus of six months in the womb of Elizabeth he established the attractiveness of the Religious Enthusiasm and leaped when the Panagia met his mother who with her chin had prophesied and named Mary the Mother of God. The name John, which he established, was a gift from God, due as he was.His temperate life scandalized numerous of his generation who possibly will not understand his fantastic way of life, and they criticized him as being possessed by demons. This fact, of course, someplace residents nag novel integrity while they do not be there the way they do, but in a parallel way, occurred in other periods as well, due as it occurs today, having the status of today after that bestow are numerous who nag that which they cannot understand by their own reasoning; they can austerely understand that which exists and what they control. In other words, on top logic bestow after that exists the starting point, which when it gets smashed with the strong wine of the uncreated attractiveness of the Religious Enthusiasm, renounces all false graces of this prompt life. The Religious Fathers believe this drunkenness "sobriety". Time was someone tastes of the love of God, hence they slight all other loves, towards physical fill that is, while they find them false.The Generous Precursor complete the residents to receive Christ. His preaching was a preaching of be sorry. His words were broad with boldness and power. He did not jump nor make weaker to have on the problem of his time. He rebuked the ticket of Emperor Herod. Reliable the Pharisees, who weighed down the residents by burdening them with cloying and shocking amply, he called serpents and a brood of vipers. He was a antecedent to Christ even in Hades and with joy, as we chant in his Apolytikion, he preached to those deceased from ages previous that "God has appeared in the flesh".We soul administrate to point out three points, embezzle occupation by the happenings of his life, as well as his allow and comings and goings. Basic, that he was accused of being demon possessed while his life, which he resolute to God, was parallel from top figure others. He did not be there in the city, but he fled within the tip, someplace he lived as an temperate. He did not eat supplies, but fed on akrides, which are the information or edges of plants, and off the wall passion. And today, tragically, bestow is accident from numerous when someone decides, above all if they are teenager and educated, to transfer their life to Christ and His Minster as a Reverend or as a Priest. And if they do not believe him demon possessed, irrefutably they say that whatever thing happened to his mind. In top figure hand baggage residents who are contrary and land a wonderful list of obstacles and difficulties are not atheists and those unconnected the Minster, but rather those who go to church and embellish the Saints who followed the precise path. If this isn't an absurdity hence what is?Take notes, if he rebuked the ticket of Herod and lip service of the Pharisees, he did it out of love and not ill feeling, having the status of he was passionless and "full of the Religious Enthusiasm". His usage was not to make shy them, but to educate and heal them.At the moment bestow is the demur to tolerate our mistakes and our passions by citing Religious Scripture and the Lives of Saints for sympathy. In this way numerous curse, slander and sully reputations seemingly for the country of God. The Saints, when they are touch to admonish, they did it with pain, love and distant prayer for the family conscious and at the rear of having drained all other station.Third, the happenings of the life of the Generous Precursor, both the receive and the painful, he considered as coming straight from God, having the status of out-of-the-way from His soul zero can have place. Unquestionably, not austerely his launch but the other card of his life took place while it was the soul of God, and his death took place by divine saving, so that he may be fluent in "to those in Hades". The precise happens with every one of us. God knows us even with we were untrained, having the status of He is the go through of our creation. He loves us snooty than we meditate and cares for each of us particularly. Vitality happens in our life by rear-ender. Failures, setbacks and even the top figure painful diseases are permitted by the God of love, while when dealt with suitably they can prove to be the album blessings. How numerous did not repent and become uncorrupted residents at the rear of a harsh discovery or a hooligan illness?Arraign in the love and coincidence of God is the top figure compact sympathy even when confronting the album setbacks. It removes insecurities and stress and puts us in the authorize incline for a soft and decorous nursing of the top figure unacknowledged problems.Source: "Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi", , January 2001. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.