Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Ephesians 4:1
Good morning Prayer Team!
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
The word “worthy” has a lot of meanings. Let’s examine a few of them. One meaning that is easy to dismiss is the word “entitled.” People who have a sense of entitlement generally give themselves a high degree of self-worth. Worthy is not supposed to be a “chest-thumping” word where we show ourselves to be better than someone else. On the contrary, the concept of worthiness is one of humility. Some good definitions of this word are “having value,” and “having sufficient importance.” A “worthy effort” is one that brings honor to a task, as well as to the person doing the task. A student who makes a “worthy effort” to study for a test puts a high value on doing well and prioritizes study as being sufficiently important.
The word “worthy” finds it way into our practice of Orthodox Christianity. When someone is ordained as either a deacon, priest or bishop, the ordaining bishop proclaims “Axios”! (Worthy) and the congregation responds either with “Axios” or Anaxios (unworthy). It is the acclimation of Axios/Worthy by the congregation that allows the person being ordained to assume their office.
The word “worthy” is used many times during the Divine Liturgy, except it is usually used in the negative, i.e. No one is worthy, how shall I who am unworthy enter into the splendor of Your saints. We are worthy not because we proclaim ourselves worthy, but because we are enabled by God’s grace to do something extraordinary. For the priest, it is to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, and for the layperson, it is to receive Holy Communion. We do not proclaim ourselves worthy of Holy Communion, as if we are entitled or owed. Rather, we approach to receive by God’s grace, and HIS granting us to be worthy.
The line that leads into the Lord’s Prayer says And make us WORTHY Master, with confidence and without fear of condemnation, to dare to call upon You, our Heavenly God, Father, and to say. We realize that one can only be made worthy by God, and so the challenge becomes to live a life that is worthy of God; not a life where we proclaim ourselves worthy but a life where God finds us worthy.
Each of us is called to many things in our lives—we are called to a vocation based on talents with which God has blessed us. Some of us are called to be spouses, or parents. Each of us is called daily to make an effort with the opportunity we have been given to be alive on that particular day. The operative question becomes not “are we worthy of our blessings,” but rather “are we making a worthy effort with the blessings we have been given?” Or maybe even to a greater degree, “would God say ‘Axios/Worthy’ to the effort we are giving?
We are using the word “Worthy” as our word for 2026 in the parish where I serve. The idea of using this word is not to proclaim ourselves “worthy” or to extol ourselves for the effort we are giving. Rather, we are going to use this word to check ourselves. Is the effort we are giving “worthy” of God and would God pronounce our effort “worthy” based on His thoughts and standards, not ours?
Let’s look at the smallest increment of life, one day, and how we use that day. How much of the day do we offer specifically back to God, through a dedicated time to pray and connect with Him? If we offer only a few seconds of time, is that really worthy of God? Will God pronounce us Axios/Worthy if we never connect with Him? How much of each day is lived for ourselves and our own gain and how much is lived for others? On a given day, this is likely to be skewed one way or the other. There are some days when we will live mostly for ourselves. I know that I plan to use New Year’s Day, as an example, mostly for myself. I plan to watch college football. I do also plan to spend the morning worshipping. Is an afternoon of college football worthy? Occasionally, yes. It is worthy to rest the body, and the brain God has given us with leisure activity. Not every day will be a day for worship, but many days will be. Most days will focus on service to others, and some days will be days of rest. One challenge in life is to find a balance that God would find worthy.
If every day is a day of football watching, that is unworthy in the eyes of God. If every effort ultimately leads back to our own gain, and there is not much charity or service towards others, that is not worthy of God either. As we are about to enter into a New Year, a good question to reflect on daily is: “Did how I spent this day please God?” And then look at family, relationships, work, interactions with other people, time spent in prayer, charitable gestures (not just monetary, but gestures of kindness, mercy, patience, and forgiveness). And even better than a reflection after the day has passed would be a plan as the day begins, “How can I please God today? How can I live a life worthy of my Christian calling today?”
Lord, as we close one year and are about to enter into another, please help me to focus on being worthy of Your many gifts. Help me to be thankful for what I have, and motivated to use each day in a way that will honor to You, in a way that You will find worthy. Guide me on the road of life so that one day You will find me worthy of Your heavenly Kingdom. Amen.
The ultimate goal of this life is to stand before God and hear the words “Well done, Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of Your Lord!” (Matthew 25:21) For God to say “Axios” on our lives and on our entrance into His Kingdom. The rest of our lives begins today. Spend this day in a way that God would find worthy of His calling for your life!
+Fr. Stavros
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