August 29, 2008
HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN ALEXIOS REFLECTIONS ON THE NEW YEAR
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Thess 5:3

My dearly beloved in the Lord,

As we look forward to the first of September, the beginning of a New Ecclesiastical Year, this is an appropriate time to pause and reflect both on the past and what the new year will bring to us. Of course, as we consider the past, we have to see the actions of our lives and relationships in all areas - family, business, neighborhood, church and school.

Because our relationships with others are not disconnected from our relationship to God. Because God is the Creator, and created the cosmos in relationship and harmony. But we as the creature have responsibility for creation also, because we have the ability that God gave us to think and create. In us, He gives us His blessing to think and be creative, but we also have the power to make things better or worse, and we bear the responsibility of our choices. According to the way we use our free will, a gift and blessing from God, we can use it to receive blessings and abundance or to damage ourselves and our surroundings.

In today`s society, it often seems as if we have abandoned this principal relationship to our Creator, in favor of self-centeredness. We substitute our own knowledge for God and worship our abilities to the point that we become estranged from our Creator, His Creation and each other. We have wars, mistrust and have created systems that allow evil to prevail. Our brothers and sisters starve while we have too much, and we use our energy and creativity to create more ways to destroy the weak and helpless.

This is why our Ecumenical Patriarch His All-Holiness Bartholomew with the wisdom of the Holy Fathers, has dedicated the first day of September to consider and re-establish our connection to the environment and then to each other. Any change starts from within the individual, who praises and thanks Almighty God for the wisdom and inspiration to use His abundant blessing in the service of our fellow men and not just for our selfish purposes.

May we all, with prayer and God`s grace, strive to be that kind of individual and may He grant us abundant joy in fellowship and strength in service as we continue to work in His service and to His glory in the coming year!

+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta