Taste and see that the Lord is good.
The most beautiful car in the world, without fuel and without a driver, is nothing. It can do nothing but sit where it is, gradually deteriorating, and never achieving the purpose for which it was built. In the same way we, if we do not have Christ present in our hearts, if we lack the Grace of the Holy Spirit, can never ever become the brothers and sisters of Christ Himself, the Divine Human Body of which He is the head, the sons and daughters of the Eternal Father which we were created to become. We have been given the wonderful gift of life, love, family, all the good things of this world, and for which we owe God thanks. But we have another gift far - infinitely far - greater and more beautiful than anything which we now posses or can even conceive. We have the gift and the power to, by the grace if God and with our cooperating effort, mold and transform this temporary and earthly life into eternal life, life in Christ, with united with God Himself, receiving His love and sharing that love with our family, our friends - with all of God’s creation.
Our Holy Orthodox Church, founded by Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, beloved of the Father, has for two thousand years brought this gift to, made possible this exquisite transformation in the lives of countless men and women of all races, ages, classes, educations, means and backgrounds, joining them eternally to the body of Christ, enriching their lives and the lives of everyone who came into contact with them beyond any possibility of expression. This change, this destiny, is not something for some kind of “other” person. It is not reserved for gaunt ascetics, living in the hollows of trees, taming wild animals with a glance. This destiny is, and has always been, the proper and true destiny of every single human being created by God in His love. This destiny is for you. I also am called to it. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” Let us together go into the wedding feast, for the preparations are made, the fatted calf is killed, and this moment is the appointed time for us to enter into a Divine marriage with God Himself.
Every time we partake of the Holy Sacrament should be as it were the first and last time we do so: as the first time because we know that we have not been completely reconciled to God; and as the last time because we live in hope of undergoing our own personal Passover into Life, the eternal Pascha.
The Holy Mystery of the Eucharist
St. Nicholas Cabasilas wrote in the fourteenth century, at a time and place when the world seemed to be falling apart around him: "It is not we ourselves who were moved towards God, nor did we ascend to Him; but it was He who came and descended to us. It was not we who sought, but we were the object of His seeking. He it was who came to the earth and retrieved His own image. He made us heavenly by bending heaven to us and bringing it down. (The Life in Christ) The Incarnation of Christ is not a historical event, something which happened two thousand years ago, to be consigned to memory. It is a living event, which comes to each of us in our Baptism, in our Chrismation, and each time we participate worthily in the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist. It has the power to change us; It has the power to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing which has the power to ultimately overcome hatred, bigotry, and evil. We do not need a new system of government; We need to become new, renewed, men and women - children of God."