August: Day 25: Holy Apostle Titus

 

August: Day 25:
Holy Apostle Titus
 
(How to Use the Word of God?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Apostle Titus, whose memory is celebrated today, came from Crete, today's Candia, from pagan parents of noble origin. From his youth he loved reading Greek philosophers and poets, thinking to find the truth in them; he led a virtuous and chaste life. When he was a youth of 20, Titus twice heard a voice in a dream saying the words: "Titus! You must leave here and save your soul, for Greek education and pagan wisdom will not save you; read Hebrew books." Then Titus learned Hebrew and began to read the prophetic books, especially the Prophet Isaiah. From them he understood the insignificance of paganism and believed in the true God. 

At this time, rumors of Jesus Christ, His miracles and teachings reached the island of Crete. The ruler of the island, Titus' uncle, sent him to Jerusalem to verify the truth of the rumor. Saint Titus, having seen the Lord, became His disciple. Having been converted to Christ, the Apostle Paul loved Titus very much, and he accompanied the Apostle to preach to the nations in various countries. The Apostle Paul, having visited Crete, made Titus bishop there. From Nicopolis, in Macedonia, he wrote him a letter about the duties of a shepherd.

When he was going to spend the winter in Nicopolis, the Apostle Paul summoned his beloved Titus there, always rejoicing when they were together and grieving when they were separated. When the Apostle Paul was sent to Rome in chains, the Apostle Titus, having learned of this, went there and remained with his teacher until his death, buried him, and then, returning to his city of Gortyna on the island of Crete, he labored tirelessly, bringing the idolatrous Greeks to Christ, teaching everyone and confirming his teaching with miracles.

The Holy Apostle Titus died at the age of 95; in his dying moments he was consoled by a vision of angels and, his face brightening, with inexpressible joy he departed to the Lord.

II. We have seen, brethren, that the Holy Apostle Titus was directed in a vision to read the sacred books of the Jews, through which he could find salvation. He learned the Hebrew language, read the prophetic books, from which he learned the insignificance of paganism, and believed in the true God, and then was soon baptized, having heard the preaching of Jesus Christ Himself. Thus the reading of the sacred books led the Holy Apostle Titus to salvation.

Is this how we read the holy books? Are we so obedient to them?

a) The word of God, my brethren, is, in the words of the Prophet, "a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths," i.e. the only true guide on the path of our pilgrim life in this world, which alone leads and brings us to our heavenly homeland, to the house of our Father, Who is in heaven. Without it, we would wander, as in darkness, in the midst of a gloomy desert. A traveler, caught in the darkness of night, does not know himself where and how he is going, loses his way, wanders and stumbles, does not see either the obstacles blocking his path, or the abysses into which he can fall and perish. This is what happens to a person in his moral life and activity, when this life and activity are not illuminated by the light of the word of God. Like dumb animals, he is guided only by external feelings and the inclinations of his sinful heart, blindly follows the attraction of his passions, acts on the impulses of temporary benefits and to satisfy his carnal lusts and desires.

b) How exactly should we use this light? In the way that the great and holy men glorified by God used it and taught us to use it, as did the now glorified Holy Apostle Titus. We must, following their example, listen to the word of God and test our own life against it – our thoughts and feelings, our desires and intentions, our words and actions.

We hear, for example, how the Lord Jesus Christ blesses "the poor in spirit” and the "pure in heart," "the meek" and humble, "the peacemakers" and gentle, "the merciful" and compassionate to their neighbors, those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness;" let us ask ourselves: are we zealous in acquiring these godlike virtues, in order to become sons of the Most High?

We hear that the Lord proclaims woe to the proud and hypocritical, to liars and to those who are greedy and hard-hearted, to luxurious sensualists and pleasure-seekers, to debauchers and seducers, to blasphemers and the blasphemous: do we strive to keep ourselves pure from every impurity that kills the soul? We hear that we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind: do we love Him above all else in the world? Does our heart cling solely to the one Lord, not splitting between Him and the world? Are we prepared to renounce everything, even our very lives, for the sake of the Lord?

We hear how the Lord commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to help him in need with word and deed, not to upset him with our inattention and contempt, not to offend his honor with our idle talk and condemnation, not to humiliate him with our pride and vanity, not to offend him with violence or deception, not to corrupt his soul with temptation. Do we actually act this way in all circumstances of life, in all our relations with our neighbors?

We hear how the Holy Apostles urge us to abstain from worldly lusts, to flee from intemperance and drunkenness, malice and wickedness, impurity and fornication, stinginess and extortion, idleness and luxury, envy and hostility, condemnation and slander, idle talk and obscenity and similar vices. Do we protect ourselves, at least do we try to cleanse our hearts with repentance from these scabs of the “old man, corrupted in deceitful lusts,” and are we renewed in the spirit of our mind “into a new man, created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth”?

We hear how the Lord calls everyone to repentance, threatening the unrepentant with eternal destruction. Do we repent of our sins? Is our heart contrite when we feel guilty before God? Do we bring to the Lord a tearful and contrite confession of sins, with the unfailing intention of correcting our lives, of beginning to live a God-pleasing life in the fear of God, and not to return back to our former iniquities? Are we preparing to meet the Judge of the world – by a reverent, pious, God-fearing life, or by sincere, wholehearted repentance!

III. Therefore it is necessary, my brethren, to use the grace-filled light of the word of God, turning to it, as a mirror, in all, so to speak, aspects of our lives, in order to see whether there are any stains on it that need to be washed and cleansed by repentance. Only in such a case does the word of God truly become 'a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths," enlightening and illuminating the mind, purifying and enlivening the conscience, confirming and strengthening the will to do good deeds, so that we may walk in them.

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.