Stephanos of Nikopolis

(Lk 1:14, Lk 2:10, Mt 2:10, Jn 3:29, Mt 13:20, Mk 4:16, Lk 8:13, Mt 13:14, Lk 10:17, Mt 18:12-14, Lk 15:1-7, Mt 25:14-29, Lk 19:11-27, Jn 15:1-17, Jn 16:20-24, Mt 28:8, Lk 24:41, Mt 24;52, 1Jn 1:4, 2Jn 12, 3Jn 1:4, Ja 1:2, Ja 4;9, 1Pe 1:

Joy is returning to the Lord, joy is the obedient insight of the righteous, putting into practice the teachings of God.

Joy is the coming of the savior, announced by the angels, the great Light, joy to the wise, joy to all people of good will. The coming of Jesus – the Light of the world – is the fulfillment of joy.

Joy is receiving the Word and rooting oneself in it, regardless of the vagaries of created life.

Joy is discovering the kingdom of God, letting go of all else, and clinging to it.

Joy is knowing that your name is written in heaven.

Joy is mutual between God, who provided so that He finds souls, and souls, so that they may find Him.

Joy in heaven is when souls that were lost and led astray are found and change their minds, even one by one, and return to the fold, to the community of heaven.

Joy is of the Lord when the soul produces the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the good and faithful soul, according to the grace that God has bestowed upon him.
But the soul that is lazy and fruitless is bad, and this badness will be used to flame the goodness of the good.

Joy is the Word of God that purifies the soul of man who can then produce mature fruit; following the teachings of Jesus is tantamount to loving God and to loving one another.
The joy of Jesus is within us, and through Him our joy can be complete and everlasting.
In contrast, true sorrow is the absence of the Word, the Light, the love of God.
If we seek of God the Word in our lives and in our souls, we will receive it and our joy will be complete.

Great joy is hearing the news, announced by the angels, that Jesus had risen from the dead and would appear to those who follow His teaching.
This joy flames the faith. In the physical absence of Jesus there is the Holy Spirit, and it is a mistake not to have faith.

Complete joy is community with the Father and the Son – the Word of Life – and with each other.

Joy is knowing that our children walk in the ways of the truth, the commands of God, the teaching of Jesus – true love – and complete joy is living together in truth.

Pure, glorified, unspeakable joy is the ongoing in-depth discovery of Christ in the face of various trials which purify the faith as fire, stable and disciplined, rejoicing in our inheritance, the fulfillment of faith, the salvation of our souls.

(Mt 25:14-29)

The good and faithful servants of the Lord produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit, each according to the grace that God has bestowed upon him, and they will enter into the joy of the Lord, into the kingdom of heaven. The bad servants are lazy and fruitless, and their badness - the resources bestowed upon them that they waste - will be used to flame the goodness of the good.

(Jn 15:1-17)

Putting into practice the teachings of Jesus is the way to bear fruit. The Lord will purify those who do so that they bear full fruit, including love and joy, and thereby God is glorified.

(Jn 12:24)

God is glorified when the seeds that He plants produce much fruit. For as great as life is on earth, and it is, greater is the insight that the soul is also a seed in the earthly body, the death of which is necessary to fully bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit, even in the service of one’s fellows throughout the earth.

(Mt 21:34, Mk 12:2, Lk 20:10)

Another example. Because of greed and other forms of spiritual blindness (idolatry), men see a vineyard, but they lack insight: they do not see the kingdom of God.

Men would rather sell their souls for a bunch of grapes, and they are so selfish in their superficial intent that they even habitually kill those who point out that they lack insight.

(Lk 12:17)

Our souls need care, even care from fellow souls. The Lord gives us a chance to care for ourselves and our fellows, expecting them to bear fruit. If not, they will be cut down and their energy transformed into fodder for those who do bear fruit.

(Lk 12:17)

An example of the difference between the sightful and the insightful, the fruits of the earth and the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the idolater and the spiritually mature man.

(Mt 13:24-43)

The Sovereign Lord plants His good seed throughout His creation, including living creatures endowed with free will, the essence of creation, the image and likeness of God. Some will use their will to be disobedient to the word of God, and the insightful and the idolaters grow in the creation together.

The insightful must make the effort to grow deeper roots than the idolaters. On the Last Day, and maybe even before, the Lord will help them, the Holy Spirit, bearing fruit, even energized by the fire fueled with the waste of the fruitless, fruit that matures and souls that shine like the sun (see Preaching of John the Baptist).

(Mt 13:8, Mk 4:7, Lk 8:

The Creator leaves His mark, plants His seed, throughout the Creation, including free will in living beings with a soul, each one having the chance to bear fruit according to his own will and talents, and according to God. Some will choose to outright reject the will of God. Others will perceive the will of God, but will live most of their earthly lives according to their sight and neglect insight. Yet others will accept the will of God, but it does not penetrate deeply into their hearts because their insight lacks depth, and their joy, and other fruits of the Holy Spirit, will not be fulfilled, will not come to maturity. Still others will soften their hearts and let the will of God to penetrate deeply, allow the seed to grow, mature, and hear the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

The time has come now to drop comparisons with the evil in other men and to focus on what is good for the soul.