The Word of the Day is 'commend.' In times of prosperity, we often overlook the fact that we are not the masters of our present or future. We start building a life without acknowledging our Creator and Redeemer. However, in times of adversity, when things don't go as planned, we realize the futility of our attempts to live for ourselves. During these moments, we find solace in the belief that everything is under God's control. We 'commend' ourselves and our troubles to Him, a powerful act of surrender and trust.
In today's reading of Romans 14:6-9, St. Paul urges the Romans to put their lives into the hands of God. He states, "If we live, we live to the Lord. If we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's" (vs. 8). In this spirit, at the end of every litany in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church, we "commend ourselves and each other, and all our life unto Christ our God" (St-Tikhon's 1984). Our prayer acknowledges that, as St. Paul says, we are the Lord's (vs. 8).
The Meaning of "To Commend"
The Greek term for "commend" is translated as "surrender." The word implies "giving up control, power over, and possession of something valuable. In commending ourselves, each other, and all our lives, we let go of everything in our lives, especially our most profound concerns for ourselves, others, and our fellow members of the Body of Christ.
We can surrender our very lives with confident faith for two reasons: First, we do not own our lives. As Paul says in our reading, whether we live or die, "we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:8). Second, we belong to a God of providence. The Creator oversees, governs, and cares for His creation. To commend everything to God is an expression of faith that His providence will never fail us. Jesus taught that those who worry about clothing are of "little faith" (Matthew 7:30" From this teaching, we might conclude that our worry is proportionate to our faith; the more worry, the less faith.
St. Isaac the Syrian About God's love.
When we have faith in God's watchful care, whatever happens in our lives, we can entrust everything to Christ. Yet St. Isaac the Syrian gives us an even deeper insight. Our faith in God's oversight over creation is based on His love. He writes: "In love did God bring the world into existence; in love does He guide it during this its temporal existence; in love is He going to bring it to that wondrous transformed state, and in love will the world be swallowed up in the great mystery of Him who has performed all these things; in love will the whole course of the governance of creation be finally comprised. (Bock. II.38.2)
Yet, St. Isaac continues his reassurance of God's eternal and unchanging love. He writes, "The love of God is indiscriminate, promiscuous, prodigal. It intends [embraces] every rational creature. As Jesus teaches, the Father who is in heaven "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt 5:45). There is no one who is to the front of or to the back of God's love. Rather, He has a single equal love which covers the whole extent of rational creation, all things whether visible or invisible: there is no first or last place with Him in this love for any single one of them" (II.38.2) quoted in Bock .2014, 3).
In Summary
in summary, when we commend ourselves and everything to the loving Creator, we demonstrate our faith in God's providence. This faith is our anchor through the storms of life. Yet when we face these trials, we can remind ourselves that the difficulties we experience are only for a time. They are even beneficial. St. John Chrysostom says that tenderly cultivated trees that never withstand the wind and storms become weak and bear little fruit. But those that prevail against wind, drought, and heat grow strong and fruitful. We do not own our lives or are in charge of them. But the God of mercy grants us strength and comfort in stressful times, so we grow in faith as 'we commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to Christ our God."
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