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+ St. Theophan the Recluse: An Explanation of Certain Texts of Holy Scripture
Mary is conceived by her parents as we are all conceived. But in her case it is a pure act of faith and love, in obedience to God’s will, as an answer to prayer. In this sense her conception is truly “immaculate.” And its fruit is the woman who remains forever the most pure Virgin and Mother of God.
+ Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko: The Winter Pascha
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| Source: uocofusa.org |
"Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" (LK. 17:17) |
Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
The cleansing of the ten lepers (LK. 17:11-19) is clearly a remarkable story that reveals the exousia, or authority, of Christ over sickness. Yet, in addition, it is a healing story that is just as much about the need to offer thanksgiving to God whenever we are a recipient of His abundant mercy.
As the story opens, we first hear the plaintive and pathetic cry from these lepers: "And as he entered the village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us'." (v.12-13) Did these lepers truly believe that Jesus could do something for them that no one else could possibly do?
In response to whatever level of faith they may have had, Jesus cleansed the ten lepers simply by His word: "When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to priests." And as they went they were cleansed." (v. 14).
Lepers, of course, were not allowed to be near the other members of their community, for they were declared to be unclean and therefore, ritually impure (LEV. 13:45-46; NUM. 5:2-3). Their cleansing not only freed them from a debilitating illness that left its victims visibly disfigured; but it also restored them to fellowship in their community. Their ostracism was now over.
According to the Law, the priests that Jesus sent them to would declare their healing and make that restoration to society a possibility. Yet, considering the enormous generosity of Christ in being the source of both their cleansing and restoration, we read with great surprise that only one of them returned to Jesus in order to thank Him:
Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell at his feet, giving him thanks. (v. 15-16)
What adds to our surprise is that this newly-cleansed leper "was a Samaritan." (v. 16) We know that Jews and Samaritans were hostile to each other and that "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans."(JN. 4:9) In the light of that reality, it is all the more significant that there was a Samaritan among the ten lepers. Perhaps, as lepers, they were forced to keep company; but could it be possible that in their misery they understood that they shared a common humanity that transcended their ethnic/cultural/religious barriers? So, perhaps in their collective misery, these lepers overcame their mutual hostility as they remained together on the outskirts of the village.
Be that as it may, Jesus wanted to point out the incongruity of a Samaritan returning to offer thanks to God, while His fellow Jews failed to do so. And then Jesus asks what is a very convicting question that goes to the very heart of the matter: "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner"?" (v. 17-18) Even Jesus calls the Samaritan a "foreigner!" (It is of note that it was a foreigner - Naaman - who returned to Elisha after being healed of leprosy (II KINGS 5:15, LK. 4:27). But the question "cuts deep," we can say.
Christ does not "need" to be thanked. Jesus is not petulant; and He is not offended by the cleansed lepers who failed to return as did the Samaritan. It was the lepers who needed to offer thanksgiving or praise to God for what had been done for them. That was the point that Christ drew attention to through His publicly-stated question. Significantly, Jesus tells the Samaritan: "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." (v. 17) Did the cleansed and thankful leper receive more than the others had done?
St. Athanasius the Great implies this in his comments on this passage:
"They thought more highly of their cure from leprosy than of him who who had healed them.... Actually, this one was given much more than the rest. Besides being healed of his leprosy, he was told by the Lord, "Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you." You see, those who give thanks and those who glorify have the same kind of feelings. They bless their helper for the benefits they have received. That is why Paul urged everybody to 'glorify God with your body.' Isaiah also commanded, 'Give glory to God'." — Festal Letter 6
The leprosy that was treated with fear and great caution in the Scriptures can serve as a vivid metaphor for human sin. In the Orthodox Tradition, we treat sin more as a sickness than as the breaking of a commandment. Sin is more of a "condition" than a "crime." It is, actually, the "human condition" into which we are born when we enter this world. Thus, "Since all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God" (ROM. 3:23), we all need to be healed by God. And we all have been: through the redemptive death of Christ on the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead. And then through our personal death to sin and resurrection to life with Christ through the mystery of Baptism. (ROM. 6:3-11)
For this we give thanks to God from a heart overflowing with gratitude, thanksgiving and love because we are overwhelmed by what God has done for us in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. We may have been healed through Baptism, but without the response of thanksgiving, this healing remains incomplete, and it will not bear much fruit.
On the Lord's Day we come to the Eucharistic service of the Church - the Liturgy - which is the Service of Thanksgiving, we could say. Our presence signifies our own "return" to the Lord in response to His healing presence in our lives. (For the baptized who do not return to thus give thanks, we find a resemblance to the healed lepers who failed to return in order to praise God). And it is then that we offer thanksgiving to God as we offer ourselves up to God through the sacrifice of Christ actualized in the Liturgy. And then we receive the Eucharist - the "thanksgiving food" - to nourish us in this movement of growing love toward the most Holy Trinity:
"Eucharistisomen to Kyrio!" - "Let us give thanks unto the Lord!"
True prayer to the true God is contact with the Divine Spirit which prays in us. The Spirit gives us to know God. The Spirit draws our spirit to contemplation of eternity. Like grace coming down from on High, the act of prayer is too much for our earthly nature and so our mortal body, incapable of rising into the spiritual sphere resists.
The intellect resists because it is incapable of containing infinity, is shaken by doubts, and rejects everything that exceeds its understanding. The social environment in which I live is antagonistic to prayer—it has organized life with other aims diametrically opposed to prayer.
Hostile spirits cannot endure prayer. But prayer alone can restore the created world from its fall, overcoming its stagnation and inertia, by means of a mighty effort of our spirit to follow Christ’s commandments.
+ St. Sophrony: On Prayer: Reflections of a Modern Saint
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| Source: uncutmountainsupply.com |
There are nineteen days of charity, prayer and fasting left before Christmas... Redeem the time.
On Saturday we will commemorate St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker (December 6). There is a certain unresolved tension that accompanies his person and memory: On the one hand, there are few "hard facts" about his life (to the point where many doubt his actual historical existence); and on the other hand, he is clearly one of the most beloved and universally venerated of saints within the Church. It is said that even many Muslims venerate St. Nicholas! A good example of an objective account of the few facts behind the saint's life can be found in a short introductory biographical note concerning St. Nicholas in the book,The Time of the Spirit:
Little is known for certain about the life of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra in Lycia (Asia Minor). It is believed that he suffered imprisonment during the last major persecution of the Church under Diocletian in the early fourth century, and that he attended the first Ecumenical Council at Nicea in 325. Christian tradition has come to regard him, in the words of an Orthodox hymn, as "an example of faith and an icon of gentleness." (Time of the Spirit, p. 69)
For those interested in the historical background of St. Nicholas, the following note found in The Synaxarion, Vol. II, edited by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonas Petras, may prove to be of real interest:
Since the medieval period, St. Nicholas of Myra has been confused with St. Nicholas of Sion, who founded a monastery not far from Myra at the end of the 5th century. The Vita of the latter has come down to us but the incidents in it have been entirely ascribed to St. Nicholas of Myra, with the result that St. Nicholas of Sion has been forgotten n the hagiographical accounts.... (See The Life of Saint Nicholas of Sion, edited and translated by I. N. P. Sevcenko (Brookline, MA, 1984).
So, even if we are dealing with a "composite figure" when we venerate St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, we nevertheless are given a glimpse into the "mind of the Church" when it comes to an image of a true bishop/pastor. A powerful and enduring image of a genuine Christian shepherd has remained within the memory of the Church, regardless of the now unrecoverable "facts" behind the actual history of 4th - 5th c. Asia Minor. It is this "unerring" intuition of the People of God that the faithful respond to up to the present day that remains as a solid foundation upholding all of the wonderful stories that endear us to St. Nicholas. The Church today desperately needs bishops of the type embodied by St. Nicholas. A shepherd who is a "rule of faith and an image of humility" would mean a great deal more to the Christian flock, than legal-minded adherence to canon law. St. Nicholas both protected and interceded for his flock, according to the great Russian Orthodox iconographer, Leonid Uspensky. And he further writes:
"This 'life for others' is his characteristic feature and is manifested by the great variety of forms of his solicitude for men: his care for their preservation, their protection from the elements, from human injustice, from heresies and so forth. This solicitude was accompanied by numerous miracles both during his life and after his death. Indefatigable intercessor, steadfast, uncompromising fighter for Orthodoxy, he was meek and gentle in character and humble in spirit." (The Time of the Spirit, p. 69)
Well-known as St. Nicholas has been, he is perhaps less well-known in today's world. In fact, he may be slowly slipping away from Christian consciousness. Santa Claus, that rather unfortunate caricature of the saintly bishop, clearly has something to do with this. But perhaps the very virtues embodied by this saint are slowly fading from our consciousness. A few weeks back, I wrote a meditation that passed on the name our social and secular world has "earned" for itself through its rampant commercialization of Christmas - and that is Getmas. The author who coined this new term - I forget his name - claims it came to him based on a conversation he had had with a good friend about the "spirit of Christmas." The friend of our author said that Christmas was about "getting things." When the author countered by saying, "I thought Christmas was about giving," the friend quickly retorted: "Sure, people are supposed to give me things!" Out of this sad exchange came the unfortunate, but accurate, Getmas.
St. Nicholas was about the proper understanding of "giving." Perhaps the most enduring quality of his image is that of giving to children in need. Our children learn that those who already "have" more are those who will yet "get" more. And that is because they are taught this by their parents who yield to their demands. So we persist in widening the gap of imbalance between the "haves and "have-nots" without too many pangs of (Christian) conscience. St. Nicholas wanted to restore a sense of balance, and so he looked first to those who were in need, so that they could also taste some childlike happiness from receiving an unexpected gift. In a simple manner, this imitates the giving of God Who gave us Christ at a time when everyone - rich and poor alike - were impoverished through sin and death.
I sometimes fantasize that an ideal celebration of Christmas would find a relatively affluent family making sure that they spent more on those in need than on themselves. If Christianity is indeed the "imitation of the divine nature" as St. Gregory of Nyssa once said, then that need not necessarily be such an unrealistic idea. I do not believe that I have ever actually done that, so I convict myself through the very thought. Yet, I am convinced that our children would respond with an eager spirit of cooperation if properly prepared for some approximation of that ideal. Why should it be otherwise if, according to the Apostle Paul, Christ said that it is more blessed to give than to receive?
Once again, just a thought based upon the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
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| Source: ancientfatih.com |
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; make and female he created them." (Gen. 1:27)
It was jarring to hear the latest verbal assault upon a particular national/ethnic group living within our country. We are on uncharted and dangerous territory when hearing, from deep within our nation's halls of power, that a particular national/ethnic group - the Somali - has been called and dismissed as "garbage." This is unprecedented in our public discourse. And, really, there is only one thing that can be done with "garbage." Such rhetoric enflames and emboldens those who are prone to prejudice and unfair judgment of the "other" within our midst. A public apology might not be forthcoming, but we, as Christians, must "fight the good fight" on the interior level, so as not to allow such inappropriate language to undermine our respect for the integrity of other people, regardless of their national/ethnic or religious background.
This is not a "political" statement, but a moral and ethical stance that is, I believe, supported by the Gospel.
Fr. Steven
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| Source: uncutmountainsupply.com |
Fr. Alexander Schmemann
In our discussion yesterday evening about "Children in Church," we also spoke of parents learning more about the Divine Liturgy, so as to further enhance their living experience of the Liturgy, which in turn can be related to their children in an age-appropriate manner. So, I thought to open this up to the entire parish, so anyone interested in further studying the Divine Liturgy, can also find some helpful titles below.
A good starting place would be Vol. II of Fr. Thomas Hopko's series, The Orthodox Faith. This is actually a very detailed description of all of the components of the Divine Liturgy, including what is called the "Proskomedia/Prothesis," served by the priest and deacon in preparation of the bread and wine that will be offered during the Liturgy. Here is the link:
Another excellent book, that I turned to yesterday evening is: Liturgy and Life - Christian Development Through Liturgical Experience by Fr. Alexander Schmemann:
Then, there is Fr. Schmemann's magnum opus, The Eucharist:
The late Archbishop Paul of Finland, wrote a compact but very helpful book:
If you are looking for a more detailed and somewhat scholarly book on how the Liturgy developed though the centuries, this particular book by Hugh Wybrew - and endorsed by Met. Kallistos Ware - is quite well done:
https://svspress.com/liturgy-and-life/?searchid=0&search_query=Liturgy+and+Life
Nothing can quite match the direct experience of the Divine Liturgy as it unfolds within the liturgical life of the church, but these books can build up our knowledge of the meaning of the Liturgy and that can further deepen our experience.
I am planning on organizing a class in the new year in which we will take a detailed look at the entire Liturgy.
In Christ,
Fr. Steven
You will see what “many prophets and righteous men longed to see … and did not see it, and to hear … and did not hear it” (Mt. 13.17). And ultimately you will see the Son of God Himself being lifted upon the Cross in order to give His broken Body as food for His people, and His shed Blood as their drink, that their hunger and thirst for peace and joy and righteousness, and indeed for life itself, might be forever satisfied.
+ Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko: The Winter Pascha
The time had now come for the shadow to draw to an end, and for the truth, so to speak, to shine forth; even the lovely beauty of Christian conduct, and the glories of the blameless life, and the sweet rational savor of the worship in spirit and truth.
For this reason very justly did the Truth—Christ, as One who with His Father was honored in their temple—command that those things that were by the law should be carried away, such as the materials for sacrifices and burning on incense, and that the temple should manifestly be a house of prayer.
For His rebuking the dealers and driving them from the sacred courts when they were selling what was wanted for sacrifice, certainly means this, as I suppose, and this alone.
+ St. Cyril of Alexandria: Commentary on St. Luke
Therefore, do not be vengeful. Do not return evil for evil, but look to your Father and cry to Him. Only in this way will you guarantee victory for yourself in the clash with evil men.
+ Bishop Nikolai Velimirović: Prologue
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| Source: pixabay.com |
The very name of this day has an ominous ring to it. It may just be the sheer "nakedness" of the open, unapologetic, unflinching - and idolatrous? - materialism that pervades the day. (The data reveals that a staggering multi-billion dollars are usually spent in less than twenty-four hours).
Or, is it the sight of the steely determination of compulsive consumers camping out overnight before the store of their choice that offers that ever-enticing single word: Sale?
Perhaps it is the frantic mayhem of the rush to the doors once they swing open like insatiable jaws leading into a modern-day Moloch awaiting to swallow its victims.
Could it be the unneighborly pushing and shoving for a product on the shelves or a place in the check-out line? How about an uneasy sense of potential violence hovering in the atmosphere if competitive tempers and nerves begin to fray?
Perhaps it is more the rapid devolution, in a veritable "twinkling of an eye," from a day of peaceful thanksgiving, into a day of rampant consumerism that is nothing short of unnerving in its effect. (Once upon a time, this Friday after Thanksgiving was a day of rest and relaxation.) As if it is now that Thanksgiving Thursday has become a mere prelude to the Black Friday to follow.
Or is it, finally, the disheartening havoc wrecked upon any vestigial remainder of "Christmas" that has miraculously continued to linger within our secular culture two millennia after our Savior's nativity in the flesh? We seem to be witnessing a juggernaut that continues to pick up speed and strength as it careens into an unrestricted future with no end in sight.
There is "Great and Holy Friday" and now there is ... "Black Friday."
Am I exaggerating? Please let me know. Of course, one can show the virtue of patience and simply wait until "Cyber Monday" in the quiet of one's own domicile. Not very certain that it will be spiritually healthier ... but it will be far less chaotic and perhaps even safer!
If only we loved God with the type of fervor displayed by our neighbors and co-citizens on Black Friday and rushed to the Church with such energy for the peaceful and prayerful services of this sacred Season!
What a witness to a spiritually-starving world we could make! But, alas, just when will that happen? Then again, with God all things are possible!
The first Christian martyr, the protodeacon Stephen whose memory is celebrated on the third day of Christmas, was killed for proclaiming this marvel when he bore witness that “the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands.”
For this, like Jesus Himself, he was accused of planning the destruction of the earthly temple at Jerusalem (Acts 7.48; 6.14). The apostle Paul proclaims this same doctrine clearly and without equivocation when he writes to the Corinthians and to us that “we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Cor. 3.9).
+Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko: The Winter Pascha
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| Source: uncutmountainsupply.com |
As this tragedy continues to unfold, reliable sources have reported that up to 600,000 people have died because of this ruthless defunding, and of that total as many as 400,000 are children. Truly an avoidable tragedy of "biblical proportions." I recently heard Nicholas Kristof, a prominent journalist (and a Roman Catholic) who is "on the ground" in Africa, deliver this tragic news in an update on the human toll of this defunding, much of which is painful to listen to, partly because it was all so avoidable.
He also shared a link to a site that he has established that will allow for donations that will go toward alleviating some of this suffering: kristofimpact.org. On a recent visit to the hospital, a woman from out-of-state gave me some money and directed me to use it for the poor. I will send it to this charity and believe that it will be well-directed.
In Christ,
Fr. Steven
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| Source: pixabay.com |
A few years ago I ran across an op-ed piece in our local newspaper titled "A Moveable Fast" by Elyssa East. Such a title in a well-known urban secular publication was a bit intriguing, especially since the article's concluding paragraph can be read in an "Orthodox manner" without a great deal of manipulation:
In the nearly 400 years since the first Thanksgiving, the holiday has come to mirror our transformation into a nation of gross overconsumption, but the New England colonists never intended for Thanksgiving to be a day of gluttony. They dished up restraint along with gratitude as a shared main course. What mattered most was not the feast itself, but the gathering together in thanks and praise for life's most humble gifts. Perhaps this holiday season we could benefit from restoring a proper Thanksgiving balance between forbearance and indulgence.
In other words, the uneasy alliance that has formed over the years between Thanksgiving and indulgence does not properly capture the meaning of this national holiday. For Thanksgiving to be properly "observed," a "gathering together in thanks and praise" is the most appropriate response.
This is a good, albeit brief, definition of what we do in the Divine Liturgy. The Eucharist is about our thanksgiving to God not only for what we may have, but for who we actually are: The People of God in the process of growing in His likeness, in our life in Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. We celebrate that service of thanksgiving — the Eucharist — so that we may realize our vocation as "eucharistic beings," and not as mere "consumers." For those who like theological jargon, our anthropology is maximalist, not minimalist. So, just as we engage in the festal Thanksgiving Day table in our homes, we continually make the effort to receive the eucharistic food from the altar table in a spirit of praise and thanksgiving. And we do so joyfully and eagerly.
Elyssa East's op-ed article includes a fascinating historical sketch of the mind and practices of the early Puritans in 17th century New England. Fasting and feasting were part of their way of life. Admittedly, I would acknowledge that the "Orthodox ethos" and the "Puritan ethos" are as far apart as one could imagine. There is the saying that a Puritan is a person who is afraid that someone, somewhere, and for some reason is actually enjoying himself! The Calvinist conception of an angry God Who needs to be appeased before He acts swiftly through punishment does not resonate for Orthodox Christians. And we thank our merciful God for that!
Perhaps the harsh environment and struggle for survival experienced by these early Puritans further influenced some of their bleak theological conclusions. However, some of our practices may coincide. The author relates that the Puritans' fear of "excessive rains from the bottles of heaven," in addition to "epidemics, crop infestations, the Indian wars and other hardships," led them to call for community-wide days of fasting or a "day of public humiliation and prayer." She further writes:
According to the 19th-century historian William DeLove, the New England colonies celebrated as many as nine such 'special public days' a year from 1620-1700. And as the Puritans were masters of self-denial, days of abstention outnumbered thanksgivings two to one. Fasting, Cotton Mather wrote, 'kept the wheel of prayer in continual motion'.
Our fasting as Orthodox Christians, however, is not based on a fearful notion of appeasing God; rather, it is a freely-chosen ascetical effort of self-discipline so as to actualize the words of the Lord when He fasted in the desert: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" [Matthew 4:4]. The rhythm of fasting and feasting is directed by our liturgical calendar, as we are now fasting in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity. We are, however, granted a hierarchical "dispensation" on Thanksgiving Day to "break the fast" in order to celebrate this national holiday as Americans.
Actually, the Orthodox can hold their own with any other religiously-based culture when it comes to feasting. We have a great deal to feast about when we reflect upon the "divine economy!" Yet even feasting is not about "gross overconsumption" and mere indulgence.
A few more of Elyssa East's paragraphs help us understand the historical, cultural and religious background of our Thanksgiving Day celebration. "It was in the late 1660s that the New England colonies began holding an 'Annual Provincial Thanksgiving,'" she writes.
The holiday we celebrate today is a remnant of this harvest feast, which was theologically counterbalanced by an annual spring fast around the time of planting to ask God's good favor for the year. Yet fasting and praying also immediately preceded the harvest Thanksgiving.
In 1690, in Massachusetts the feast itself was postponed, though not the fasting, out of extraordinary concern that the meal would inspire too much 'carnal confidence.' As life in the New World wilderness got easier, the New England colonies gradually began holding only their annual spring fast and fall harvest feast.
Even after Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863, Massachusetts continued to celebrate its spring day of abstention for 31 more years.
As "right believing" Christians, we know to Whom we offer our thanksgiving and why — not only on Thanksgiving Day, but at every Eucharistic Divine Liturgy. As the "royal priesthood" of believers, it is our responsibility to hold up the world in prayer before God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If this national holiday is now characterized by "gross overconsumption," that does not mean that we need to follow such a pattern when we have the opportunity to thank and praise God before we share our domestic meals together. Perhaps a properly understood "fear of God" can be spiritually healthy when we contemplate our choices.
We have a wonderful opportunity to begin our Day of Thanksgiving by first attending the Divine Liturgy on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.
So it is necessary, brethren, that charity should be the motive of all your actions. … No idler is completely deprived of talent. … One receives the gift of intelligence. … Another receives worldly wealth … another … the craft with which he learns his livelihood … a fourth friendship of a rich man.
+St. Gregory the Great: Parables of the Gospel
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| Source: legacyicons.com |
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The fall of our forefather did not bring to nought God's will for the creation of His reasonable creature. For centuries God looked down from heaven to see if there was one person who would 'do righteousness' and cooperate with Him as His minister in the great work of the salvation of mankind. He needed someone whose spiritual state corresponded as closely as possible to the divine state, which is the prerequisite for grace to dwell in the heart of man. Such was the state of the Mother of God. Her utter purity and selfless love for God was commensurate with the unfathomable measure of grace that would come to dwell within her. When God perceived the supernatural humility and purity in the godly child Mariam, 'He bowed the heavens and came down.'
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| Source: uncutmountainsupply.com |
O Master Who lovest mankind, is this bed to be my coffin? Or wilt Thou enlighten my wretched soul with another day?
As St. John was a monk we could, of course, dismiss or ignore such a prayer as "monastic excess" or even as a morbid and medieval fixation on death. (It seems that whenever our contemporary ears encounter anything strange, unfamiliar or jarring from the past the label of "medieval" allows us to disengage from any thoughtful consideration of what is being said). If we are sleepy, but essentially healthy, as we prepare for bed on any given evening, then it seems quite unlikely - thank God! - that our bed will serve as our coffin as we prepare to enter into it. The inevitable seems safely postponed for the moment and we feel confident that we will rise with the sun the following morning. And yet a moment of serious reflection on our common destiny - that great equalizer that we call death - should alert those who are spiritually vigilant, that such a prayer cannot simply be dismissed as either monastic excess or morbid. Understood in the over-all context of how and for what we may pray before sleep according to the Prayer Book and our personal prayers, it is an open-eyed, and hence realistic, reminder that "you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (GEN. 3:19) Perhaps a bit more poignant for those of us who are working on a second half-century that will most assuredly not be completed.
This theme comes to mind on this Monday morning because of yesterday's Gospel reading at the Liturgy: the short parable of the "rich fool" as found uniquely in LK. 12:16-21. Short but devastating. The foolish landowner is far-reaching in his plans for the future. He will tear down his old barns, now inadequate to store his abundant crops, and build "larger ones." Anticipating the enjoyment of a life of ease based upon his accumulated wealth, he says:
I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry." (LK. 12:19)
However alluring, this was not to be. For the very next thing we hear in this parable are these frightening words:
But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (LK. 12:20-21)
Such planning is mere foolishness in the eyes of God. (As Tevye the dairyman said: "The more man plans, the harder God laughs"). The brevity of life and the uncertainty of our end has - although containing a timeless and universal truth - often been reduced to the level of a pious cliché or religious platitude, by reason of sheer repetition. For that reason, spiritual vigilance is essential. In the Church's spiritual tradition we are exhorted to cultivate the "remembrance of death." And yet our highly-secularized society convinces us to practice the "forgetfulness of death." Which is more realistic? Or true to life? Try as we might, we cannot forget death, of course. So, as living human beings "go for it" in terms of life in this world the unwanted "remembrance of death" is there to trouble the mind. In his book, God With Us, Fr. John Breck, in a chapter entitled "The Thought of Death" captures this underlying and unresolved tension:
A great many people actually do chastise their soul with the thought of death. They suffer acute anxiety at the thought that their life will come to and end, that they will die and be buried in the earth. They fear death because of the unknown. What lies beyond the threshold behind that veil? Heaven? Hell? Nothing? The dread of death, which provokes questions like this, can, with tragic irony, push a person over the brink and into suicide. (p. 101)
The "remembrance of death" taken in isolation, especially among those who "have no hope" (I THESS. 4:13), can have a horrible effect upon the soul. It only makes sense to forget about it! The Christian practice of the "remembrance of death" needs to be the result of a lively faith in Christ, the Vanquisher of death, for it to be the spiritually positive practice it is meant to be. St. Paul has said it with an unmatched clarity and eloquence from the very dawn of Christianity:
If Christ is not raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (I COR. 15: 17-22)
From an intolerable reality that leaves us as creatures to be pitied, death itself becomes a passage to life in the risen Lord. St. John Chrysostom could therefore write: "what was the greatest of evils, the chief point of our unhappiness, what the devil had introduced into the world, in a word death, God has turned into our glory and honor." With the powerful words of both the Apostle Paul and St. John in mind, we can fully understand what Fr. John Breck further relates in his chapter about the thought of death:
Our physical death remains before us, certainly and inevitably. But is has been emptied of its power. For those who are "in Christ," true death occurs at baptism, when we go down into the baptismal waters, then rise up from them, in a mimesis, or reactualization, of Christ's own death and resurrection. Baptism effects a "new birth," but only because it signifies the death of the "old Adam," or former being. (p. 101)
The daily practice of the "remembrance of death" is a Christian practice that - besides its realism as mentioned above - allows us to further meditate upon the overflowing love of God that has been poured out for our salvation in Christ, the "Coming One" whose death has overcome death, fully revealed in His glorious resurrection. It may not be the most timely subject for dinnertime conversation or the banter of the workplace; but it has a crucial and time-honored place in our prayer life and in our "search" for those essential truths that we meditate on throughout the course of our lives. Imbued with a Christian realism that we embrace with open eyes and the virtue of hope that leaves the future open-ended, we can consciously avoid the foolishness of the rich man of the parable, but rather heed the teaching of St. James:
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain; whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall do this or that." (Jas. 4:13-15)
There is a healthy realism in all of this!
Not only, he says, are you the causes of life to us, but also of much joy, and so much that we cannot worthily give thanks to God. Your good behavior, he continues, we consider to be a gift of God. Such kindness have you shown to us, that we think it to be of God; rather, it is God.
For such a disposition of mind comes not of a human soul or carefulness. “Night and day,” he says, “praying exceedingly.” This too is a sign of joy.
+St. John Chrysostom: Homily IV on I Thessalonians III
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| Source: wikipedia.org |
Some more thoughtful responses to the NYT's article about the recent conversions to Orthodox Christianity.
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Good morning, Father!
Reflecting on the line "The Church becomes monstrous when it worships itself and reduces its identity to lists of moral principles or a retro historical ideal." Two weeks after I became a Catechumen back in 2023, I visited St Gregory Palamas for the first time with a group of guys. After Liturgy, Abbot Josef was kind enough to visit with us in the guest house. Mark Phillips asked Abbot Josef if he had any pieces of advice for inquirers or catechumens, and his response was "Learn to love Christ more than you love Orthodoxy." That has stuck with me as a way to remain grounded and focused, not overemphasizing the form of Orthodoxy or entering into a "Orthodoxy vs the world" mindset, but simply to focus on Christ through the Church. I think it can be easy as a convert to see the Church as something primarily negative, as something that stands opposed to whatever ideology we disapprove of (political, religious, modernity, etc). The Abbot's reminder was that the Church belongs to Christ and points directly at Him; becoming united to the Body for any other reason than Christ is superfluous.
Just a thought I wanted to share. I agree with you in all of this, finding the article to be dissapointing in its caricature of the Church, though unintentionally. I think it is also a reminder that to begin to understand Orthodoxy, you really have to engage in the rhythm of Orthodox life; a cursory outside look can render these flat renditions of something that is quite beautiful.
In Christ,
Ben Linnabary
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The Church is the Body of Christ, it is about acquiring the Spirit of Christ, of overcoming prejudice and fear; to believe that love and forgiveness is the ultimate Christian message - the Gospel message, and it should not promote any ideological agenda. There is a lot of chaos on the internet and in Orthodox parishes, as well as to unfortunately include clergy and monastics, that is, in my opinion, in direct opposition to the Gospel.
With respect,
Presvytera Deborah
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| Source: legacyicons.com |
Just as the Fathers lay down that perfect love knows no sin, so I for my part declare that a perfect sense of death is free from fear…
The remembrance of death, like all other blessings, is a gift of God…
He who has died to all things remembers death…
+St. John Climacus: Ladder of Divine Ascent
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| Source: wikipedia.org |
The NYT published an article the other day, entitled "Orthodox Pews are Overflowing With Converts," by Ruth Graham. I was pretty disappointed with the overall tenor of the article. It focused, if not exclusively, then primarily, on young men who are now attracted to the Orthodox Church, with the implication that it is in the Church that they can encounter a "manosphere" to their liking. In the words of the article:
"Across the country, the ancient tradition of Orthodox Christianity is attracting energetic new adherents, especially among conservative young men. They are drawn to what they describe as a more demanding, even difficult, practice of Christianity. Echoing some of the rhetoric of the so-called manosphere, new waves of young converts say Orthodoxy offers them hard truths and affirms their masculinity."
This is very misleading because of the fact that there are so many women, from many and varies backgrounds, also attracted to the Church - as in our own parish! Be that as it may, the Orthodox scholar, Fr. Nicholas Denysenko, wrote a very thoughtful and balanced response to the NYT's article, which I am sharing here:
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Today's NYT article on converts to Orthodoxy elicited lively discussion. Some rejoiced. Others criticized the journalist for the limited scope of her presentation. One friend commented that she ignored mainstream Orthodoxy and misrepresented the Church.Peeling back the layers of the gravitation of young American men to Orthodoxy is a story that will draw readers, no matter how much of the larger picture is left out. I'm not making excuses for the journalist. I'm mentioning this because I remember what it was like to have one of the least substantive lines from a long interview used for a story. Some of those unhappy with today's story feel like most of the substance of Orthodoxy was excluded.
I don't know what is going to come of people who come to Church because they feel like it validates their political views. The people they meet in the Church might disappoint them. Maybe they'll become digital creators and use social media platforms to make their case. There are many potential pitfalls.
The one I fear the most is that the people will try to recreate the Church in the image, the name, the metanarrative that comes from some ideological platform, and not from God.The Church becomes monstrous when it worships itself and reduces its identity to lists of moral principles or a retro historical ideal. The Church betrays the tradition she has received when it delights and indulges in confessional polemics, ever seeking to mock and humiliate people who belong to other churches and religious communities. It is as if we try to unlearn the ascetical tradition the Church has us rehearse on a daily basis.
I hope that the people coming to Church will allow their ears to be opened to hear the word of God and to meet him. I hope they will stay the course and learn early on that the gifts of the Spirit received in becoming and being Christian did not include a big, red easy button.I hope that the pastors receiving new people will see the image of God in them and invite them to join a communion of saints in a civilization of priests, prophets, and kings who fail frequently but have the courage to try again the next day.
Those of us committed to the ministries to which we have been appointed are overwhelmed by this moment and many of us are learning on the job, as we go. We need a lot of grace to be the body of Christ in this moment. And maybe that acknowledgement is what can open our eyes to the reality that we are called to be gracious to the seekers and inquirers God sends us.
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This is a very exciting time for us as members of the Orthodox Church, a so many "inquirers" are finding the Church. It demands both openness and pastoral discernment as we encounter and greet spiritually-thirsting human beings - women and men - who are seeking entrance into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We greet them with the love of Christ, for it is Christ - incarnate, crucified and risen - who is the ultimate goal of that spiritual thirst.
Now these things said by us are not merely words but have the witness of their truth from experience itself. Let him who wishes come up and behold the proof of virtue in the virgins of Christ and in the youth who live a pure life in chastity, and the belief in immortality in so great a company of martyrs.
And let him come who wishes to put to test what has been said, and in front of the illusions of the demons and the deceit of the oracles, and the wonders of magic, let him use the sign of the cross, which is mocked by them, merely naming Christ, and he will see how by it demons are put to flight, oracles cease, and all magic and witchcraft are brought to naught.
Who, then, and how great is this Christ, who by His naming and presence overshadows and brings to naught everything everywhere, and who is alone powerful over all, and has filled the whole inhabited world with His teaching?
+St. Athanasius: On the Incarnation
