Monday Morning Meditation -- Christmas and Martyrdom

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

CHRIST IS BORN!
GLORIFY HIM!

The Gospel reading for the Great Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord is Matthew 2:1-12. This passage proclaims the Good News that the Savior was born in Bethlehem according to the biblical prophecies.

The star guides the Magi and they, in turn, bring their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn Child in acknowledgment that He is unique and a true King, testified to by cosmic signs that even the Gentile Magi can properly interpret. Joyous as this is, there is already a hint of the ultimate destiny of Christ in that myrrh is used in the burial customs of the Jews.

On the Second Day of the Nativity, we complete the reading of the second chapter of Saint Matthew’s Gospel—2:13-23, which immediately introduces us to the tragic reality of the massacre of the innocent boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger. The previous joy of the Savior’s Nativity is replaced by the wailing and lamentation of the mothers of these innocent children, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah:

“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more” [Jeremiah 2:18].

The shadow of the Cross lay across the infancy narratives in this Gospel, for in the immediate post-Nativity period, these male children become the first of many martyrs who must die because Christ has entered the world, as many of the powerful of this world—following the dark example of King Herod—will not receive Him; they will actually despise Him and turn against His followers. Thus, the suffering of innocent children is somehow taken up by God as an offering in a sinful world that fluctuates between light and darkness. 

And we must acknowledge that the suffering of innocent children continues to the present time - a suffering directly caused by human wickedness. We now understand that the cave of the Nativity anticipated the tomb of Christ’s burial, and that the swaddling clothes anticipated the grave clothes with which Christ would eventually be bound following His death on the Cross.

On the Third Day of the Nativity - and on the Sunday After Nativity - we commemorate the Protomartyr Stephen, the first to die for his faith in Christ in the post-Resurrection community of the newborn Church. St. Stephen's lengthy speech to his fellow Jews, in which he upbraided them for their lack of faith; and in which he proclaimed Jesus as the Risen and Ascended Christ is recorded in ACTS 7. His brutal martyrdom by stoning followed as his testimony resulted in a furious and deadly rejection of his convicting words. In fact, "they gnashed their teeth against him"(ACTS 7:54).


Martyrdom has always been a distinct and powerful witness to Christ. Actually, “from the beginning” the Incarnation and Martyrdom are inextricably joined together in a world torn by the tension between darkness and light. To our great joy, we know "that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (JN. 1:5). 

The kontakion for the Feast of Saint Stephen captures the movement between the joy of Christ’s birth and the sobering reality of what Christ’s coming meant for some:

Yesterday the Master assumed our flesh and became our guest; Today His servant is stoned to death and departs in the flesh: The glorious first martyr Stephen!

There is no greater witness to Christ than that of the martyrs—flesh and blood men, women and children who gave their lives for the Lord in the sure hope and assurance that eternal life awaited them in the Kingdom of God. 

If we exchange a “Merry Christmas” with others, we always need to be mindful of the commitment we are making to the newborn Christ. As we temporarily indulge in the days of the Feast, we realize that the Christian life is ultimately a commitment to discipline and restraint, even the “crucifixion” of the flesh with all of its desires, in order to “witness” to Christ as disciples who believe that His advent in the flesh, culminating in His death and resurrection, has prepared a place for us in His eternal Kingdom where there is “life everlasting.”

Coffee (on Christmas Day) With Sister Vassa

“... So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary was treasuring up all these matters, pondering them in her heart.” (Lk 2:15-19)

In Bethlehem, ‘ this Child’ immediately became the talk of the town. The shepherds were telling everyone in their neighborhood the good news about Him, and everyone was marveling about it. But the Mother of God rested, as one does after giving birth. She rested, while treasuring up ‘all these matters’ and pondering them in her heart.

Let us also rest today and celebrate, dear friends, while taking care of the new-born Treasure in our hearts. It’s a tender, quiet kind of Christmas joy of the Church-Mother, of all of us, when a new-born Baby is resting in our ‘house.’ We might think of ourselves in these terms, blessed as we are “ through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Lk 1:78-79).

Merry Christmas to all of you, whether you are alone or with others today; whether you are sitting in ‘ darkness and the shadow of death’ (as are our beloved brothers and sisters in Ukraine and other war-torn regions); whether you are dealing with family drama or other concerns; or you have loads of responsibilities in your household or church today, or none, – let’s take care of our own hearts and the hearts of others, minding the precious, newborn Baby in our midst.

Fragments for Friday - The Image of Giving in St Nicholas

 

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.

Midweek Morning Meditation - Forty Shopping (and Fasting) Days Until Christmas

 

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

Here is a meditation from a few years back that I do not overly hesitate to send yet again, because the issues presented here for us to think hard about ("meditate" on), are certainly with us today and are far from being resolved: "There is nothing new under the sun." I hope everyone is prepared to make a real effort to embrace the forty-day Nativity Fast on a level that works for you and your family and that commits us to the life of the Church in a meaningful manner. If we are not prepared, perhaps what you read here will alert you to the Season we are now about to enter. 

~ Fr. Steven
______________

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

Forty Shopping (and Fasting) Days Until Christmas

On Saturday, November 15, we will observe the first day of the 40-day Nativity/Advent Fast, meant to prepare us for the advent of the Son of God in the flesh, celebrated on December 25. (The Western observance is from the four Advent Sundays before Christmas). For some/many of us this might very well catch us unaware and unprepared. However, as the saying goes, “it is what it is,” and so the church calendar directs us to enter into this sacred season in just a few days. This indicates an intensification of the perennial “battle of the calendars” that every Orthodox Christian is engaged in consciously or unconsciously. The two calendars – the ecclesial and the secular – represent the Church and “the world” respectively. Often, there is an underlying tension between these two spheres.

Because of that tension between the two, I believe that we find ourselves in the rather peculiar situation of being ascetical and consumerist simultaneously. To fast, pray and be charitable is to lead a simplified life that is based around restraint, a certain discipline and a primary choice to live according to the principles of the Gospel in a highly secularized and increasingly hedonistic world. That is what it means to be ascetical. And to be an ascetic is not to be a fanatic, but to follow the words of Christ who taught us to practice "self-denial" (MK. 8:34). It further means to focus upon Christ amidst an ever-increasing amount of distractions and diversions. Even with the best of intentions and a firm resolve that is not easy! From our historical perspective of being alive in the twenty-first century, and leading the “good life” where everything is readily available, practicing any form of voluntary self-restraint is tantamount to bearing a cross. Perhaps fulfilling some modest goals based on the Gospel in today’s world, such as it is, amounts to a Christian witness, unspectacular as those goals may be. 

Yet, as our society counts down the remaining shopping days until Christmas; and as our spending is seen as almost a patriotic act of contributing to the build-up of our failing economy; and as we want to “fit in” – especially for the sake of our children – we also are prone (or just waiting) to unleashing the “consumer within” always alert to the joys of shopping, spending and accumulating. When you add in the unending “entertainment” that is designed to create a holiday season atmosphere, it can all get rather overwhelming. Certainly, these are some of the joys of family life, and we feel a deep satisfaction when we surround our children with the warmth and security that the sharing of gifts brings to our domestic lives. Perhaps, though, we can be vigilant about knowing when “enough is enough;” or even better that “enough is a feast.” An awareness – combined with sharing - of those who have next to nothing is also a way of overcoming our own self-absorption and expanding our notion of the “neighbor.”

Therefore, to be both an ascetic and a consumer is indicative of the challenges facing us as Christians in a world that clearly favors and “caters” to our consumerist tendencies. To speak honestly, this is a difficult and uneasy balance to maintain. How can it possibly be otherwise, when to live ascetically is to restrain those very consumerist tendencies? I believe that what we are essentially trying to maintain is our identity as Orthodox Christians within the confines of a culture either indifferent or hostile to Christianity. 

If the Church remains an essential part of the build-up toward Christmas, then we can go a long way in maintaining that balance. Although I do not particularly like putting it this way, I would contend that if the church is a place of choice that at least “competes” with the mall, then that again may be one of the modest victories in the underlying battle for our ultimate loyalty that a consumerist Christmas season awakens us to. The Church directs us to fast before we feast. Does that make any sense? Do we understand the theological/spiritual principles that is behind such an approach? Can we develop some domestic strategies that will give us the opportunity to put that into practice to at least some extent? Do we care enough?

The final question always returns us to the question that Jesus asked of his initial disciples:  “Who do you say that I am?” If we confess together with St. Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, then we know where we stand as the “battle of the calendars” intensifies for the next forty days. In such a way, these forty days will result in a meaningful journey toward the mystery of the Incarnation rather than in an exhaustive excursion toward a vapid winter holiday. The choice is ours to make.

Things to do: 

+ Embrace fasting, prayers and almsgiving with consistency. 

+ Read the Scriptures with regularity. Be sure to read the Nativity narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Also the Prologue of in St. John's Gospel. Share this reading with the family, bringing the children into the conversation about the birth of Christ.

+ Choose a good book of Orthodox literature to read during this Season.

+ Be aware and attentive to the liturgical services during the upcoming forty days. Make a point of being at some of the pre-Nativity services from December 20 - 24.

+ Prepare to confess your sins in the Sacrament of Confession.

The Nativity of Christ and Martyrdom

Source: oca.org

 Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

CHRIST IS BORN!

GLORIFY HIM!

The Gospel reading for the Great Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord is Matthew 2:1-12. This passage proclaims the Good News that the Savior was born in Bethlehem according to the biblical prophecies.

The star guides the Magi and they, in turn, bring their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn Child in acknowledgment that He is unique and a true King, testified to by cosmic signs that even the Gentile Magi can properly interpret. Joyous as this is, there is already a hint of the ultimate destiny of Christ in that myrrh is used in the burial customs of the Jews.

On the Second Day of the Nativity, we complete the reading of the second chapter of Saint Matthew’s Gospel—2:13-23, which immediately introduces us to the tragic reality of the massacre of the innocent boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger. The previous joy of the Savior’s Nativity is replaced by the wailing and lamentation of the mothers of these innocent children, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah:

“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more” [Jeremiah 2:18].

The shadow of the Cross lay across the infancy narratives in this Gospel, for in the immediate post-Nativity period, these male children become the first of many martyrs who must die because Christ has entered the world, as many of the powerful of this world—following the dark example of King Herod—will not receive Him; they will actually despise Him and turn against His followers. Thus, the suffering of innocent children is somehow taken up by God as an offering in a sinful world that fluctuates between light and darkness. 

And we must acknowledge that the suffering of innocent children continues to the present time - a suffering directly caused by human wickedness. We now understand that the cave of the Nativity anticipated the tomb of Christ’s burial, and that the swaddling clothes anticipated the grave clothes with which Christ would eventually be bound following His death on the Cross.

On the Third Day of the Nativity - and on the Sunday After Nativity - we commemorate the Protomartyr Stephen, the first to die for his faith in Christ in the post-Resurrection community of the newborn Church. St. Stephen's lengthy speech to his fellow Jews, in which he upbraided them for their lack of faith; and in which he proclaimed Jesus as the Risen and Ascended Christ is recorded in ACTS 7. His brutal martyrdom by stoning followed as his testimony resulted in a furious and deadly rejection of his convicting words. In fact, "they gnashed their teeth against him" (ACTS 7:54).

Martyrdom has always been a distinct and powerful witness to Christ. Actually, “from the beginning” the Incarnation and Martyrdom are inextricably joined together in a world torn by the tension between darkness and light. To our great joy, we know "that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (JN. 1:5).

The kontakion for the Feast of Saint Stephen captures the movement between the joy of Christ’s birth and the sobering reality of what Christ’s coming meant for some:
Yesterday the Master assumed our flesh and became our guest; Today His servant is stoned to death and departs in the flesh: The glorious first martyr Stephen!

There is no greater witness to Christ than that of the martyrs—flesh and blood men, women and children who gave their lives for the Lord in the sure hope and assurance that eternal life awaited them in the Kingdom of God. 

If we exchange a “Merry Christmas” with others, we always need to be mindful of the commitment we are making to the newborn Christ. As we temporarily indulge in the days of the Feast, we realize that the Christian life is ultimately a commitment to discipline and restraint, even the “crucifixion” of the flesh with all of its desires, in order to “witness” to Christ as disciples who believe that His advent in the flesh, culminating in His death and resurrection, has prepared a place for us in His eternal Kingdom where there is “life everlasting.”

The Mysterion of the Incarnation

Source: orthodoxroad.com

 Dear Parish Faithful,

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

We were blessed yesterday morning with a truly festal Liturgy and celebration of the Lord's Nativity in the flesh. I am sorry about cancelling the festal Matins on the eve of the Feast, but that added rest allowed me to recover enough to serve the Liturgy yesterday. It was a joy see the church so filled with worshippers. I hope that your respective Christmas celebrations went well.

As our fast-paced culture moves so swiftly forward (toward what may be a fair question); it may seem as if Christmas is already over - "one and done" as the saying goes. Or what remains could be the rush to return gifts that do not work, do not fit, or are unwanted. Let's slow things down for a moment, if possible, and bring back to mind some of the incredibly rich hymnography that we just sang in the Liturgy or read through on our own. We can meditate upon these hymns as the Nativity Feast continues until January 4 inclusive. The longest fast-free period in our liturgical year! 

These hymns are united in their rhetorical capacity to state the paradox of God becoming man. I was speaking with someone in the church yesterday, while preparing for the Liturgy, and we both agreed that thinking on the Incarnation can "explode" one's mind. A profound mysterion to use of the Apostle Paul's chosen words to reveal the meaning of Christ among us!

This first example is the third kathisma taken from the festal Matins:

How can a womb contain Him whom nothing can
   contain?

How can He remain in His father's bosom, yet rest in his mother's arms?

It is His good pleasure to accomplish this.

Having no flesh, He purposely assumes it for our sake.

He who is becomes what He never was.

He shares our substance without forsaking His own nature.

Desiring to make us citizens of the world on high,Christ, the Only-begotten of the       Father, is born on earth as a man.

_____

From the Liturgy, the incomparable kontakion, which is actually the prelude to the metered theological poem (known as a kontakion) of St. Romanos the Melode:

Today he virgin gives birth to the transcendent one,

And the earth offers a cave to the unapproachable  one!

Angels, with shepherd, glorify Him!

The wise journey with a star,since for our sake the Eternal God was born as a little child!
_____

And, the special Hymn to the Theotokos that replaces "It is Truly Meet" in the Liturgy (actually the Irmos of the Ninth Ode of the splendid Nativity Canon, also from the festal Matins):

Magnify, O my soul,

the most pure virgin Theotokos,

more honorable and more glorious than the heavenly hosts!

I behold a strange, most glorious mystery!Heaven - the cave!

The cherubic throne - the virgin!

The manger - the place where Christ lay,

  the uncontainable God, whom we magnify in song!

There is no need for any further commentary, as each person who reads and meditates upon these hymns will provide his/her own personal interior commentary. As the Apostle Paul exhorts us: think on these things!

The History of December 25

 

Image source: ancientfaith.com

Dear Parish Faithful,

To this day it remains uncertain as to how exactly December 25 was eventually chosen to be the date on which Christians worldwide celebrate the Birth of Christ (the Armenian Apostolic Church remains an exception, still celebrating the Lord's Nativity on January 6). Scholars and historians have studied the issue deeply and have come to somewhat different tentative conclusions. There is no doubt that December 25 was already circulating as one choice among very early Christian writers before the 4th c. as the date on which Christ was born. Of course, this was based on a "symbolic" reading of ancient ideas about such themes as the creation of the world, and not on historically verifiable data. 

One early Christian idea was that since the creation of the world occurred on March 25; then, the "new creation" in Christ began with his birth on the same day. Yet, it was understood that the actual incarnation of the Son of God occurred when he has conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. That conception would precede his birth by exactly nine calendar months, thus demonstrating that his actual birth in the flesh must have occurred on December 25. This was the theory of a certain Sextus Julianus Africanus, in the 3rd c. However, it was not universally accepted and there is no indication that December 25 was celebrated as a feast day before the 4th c. Yet, an ancient work known as the Chronograph of 354, informs us that in Rome, the birth of Christ on December 25 was first celebrated in 336. As it spread throughout Western Europe, we also know that that date was eventually accepted in Constantinople in 379, and in Antioch in 386. But not in Jerusalem until 6th c.! 

There appears to be good evidence that the Nativity of Christ on December was very much influenced by various other celebrations around or on the date of December 25 - "pagan" as we would say - in Rome in the fourth c. Christians could very well have finally settled on December 25 as a Christian response to these celebrations, even if initially conceived as a polemical response to non-Christian Roman traditions. At this point, I will simply provide a summary paragraph from the book of a prominent historian, Joseph F. Kelly, PhD (chair of the Theology and Religious Studies of John Carroll University) on the origins of Christmas. In fact, his very well-received and fairly detailed study of the issue is known simply as The Origins of Christmas. Synthesizing and summarizing a great deal of historical research, he writes the following in the chapter entitled "Creating Christmas Day and the Christmas Season:" 

“The Roman Christians did not tell us why they finally chose December 25 to celebrate the dies natalis Christi (the “natal day of Christ”), but it was not because they believed it to be the exact date of Jesus’s birth. While no one piece of evidence finalizes the case, most likely the cult of the Unconquered Sun and the Christian struggle against it along with the tradition of identifying Christ with the prophet Malachi’s “Sun of Righteousness” and the dating of Christ’s birth to the day that was also the winter solstice, itself a consequence of dating his incarnation to March 25, all united in Rome to make December 25 an appropriate if not chronologically certain date for Christ’s birth. When this was combined with the birthday of Mithra and the proximity of Saturnalia and New Year’s, the Roman Christians chose a date which had already achieved some acceptance and which could counter several major pagan feasts.”

The Origins of Christmas, p. 83-84 by Joseph Kelly

Could that be understood as "baptizing" a culture and bringing it within a Christian understanding of time and salvation?

From the Archives: Forty Shopping (and Fasting) Days Until Christmas

Image source: wikiart.org

 Here is a meditation from a few years back that I do not overly hesitate to send yet again, because the issues presented here for us to think hard about ("meditate" on), are certainly with us today and are far from being resolved: "There is nothing new under the sun." I hope everyone is prepared to make a real effort to embrace the forty-day Nativity Fast on a level that works for you and your family and that commits us to the life of the Church in a meaningful manner. If we are not prepared, perhaps what you read here will alert you to the Season we are now entering. 

~ Fr. Steven

The Image of Giving in St Nicholas

 

 

Dear Parish Faithful, Yesterday evening, at the Vespers for St. Nicholas at Holy Trinity/St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, there were about thirty parishioners from our parish present for the service. That was more than just a representative group from the parish, I must say! There were five visiting priests, including myself, in addition to the host clergy of Fr. Mark and Fr. John. The service and fellowship went well, and it was a "good evening" spent with other Orthodox Christians.  Here is a nice anecdote shared by one of our parishioners: When one of our children entered the church and saw the stunning mosaics on the wall, she said: "But how do you kiss those icons?"  Below is a meditation on the figure of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Bishop of Myra in Lycia: St Nicholas secretly provides dowries for three impoverished sisters, to save them from being sold into slavery by their destitute father.   The Image of Giving in St Nicholas Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ, There are nineteen days of charity, prayer and fasting left before Christmas... Redeem the time. Today we 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 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.

 

Ding, Dong, Irony on High

Dear Parish Faithful,

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are so little to be among the clans of Judah,from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient of days." (Micah 5:2)

 

"In these days" it is almost banal and trite to offer one more Christian critique of the crass commercialization of Christmas. For the simple reason that the pervasiveness of this phenomenon has become integral to the "American way of life" on an annual basis. But as Fr. Thomas Hopko has once written, we cannot, in response, grimace and gnash our teeth while swearing to "put Christ back into Christmas." That is a clearly a dead-end approach. 

 I wrote an earlier mediation that acknowledged the uneasy tension between the asceticism of the Fast and the consumerism of the holiday season. Our goal as Orthodox Christians is to somehow navigate our way through that terrain in such a way that the overall integrity of the Feast of the Lord's Nativity retains a place within our homes - and hopefully in our minds and hearts. Yet, to remind us of just how pervasive the droning of Christmas sales drowns out the Gospel proclamation of the Incarnation of the Word, I recently found this poem that I am sharing here. I am not a good judge of the quality of poetry, but this poem has a share of images and lines that nicely express the point:

Hush that anguished hymn you’re humming:  
“Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” 
Trumpet Christmas! Fix his coming 
firmly at “The First Nowell.” 

He’s already come in glory!  
Why plead, “Savior, come at last”? 
Let’s talk Christmas! Tell a story 
safely in the distant past.  

Drown out John the Baptist. Edit 
out “Prepare! Make straight the way!” 
Cut to Christmas! Buy on credit.  
Square things up another day.  

Advent’s dreary. Let’s start living 
Christmas now! Wear red and green! 
While we’re at it, skip Thanksgiving! 
Deck the halls at Halloween! 

Then, when the Incarnate Verb 
overnight becomes passé, 
carry Christmas to the curb.  
Pack the Prince of Peace away. 

- Julie Stoner (2009)

The line about "Buy on credit" has a certain resonance today, as I have recently read more than one article about the skyrocketing of credit card debt that Americans are dealing with. And with the Christmas season - and let's not lose the irony of this - that debt is shooting into the stratosphere. 

Are there some practical steps that we could take to create some balance in our lives as we approach the Feast? I would offer this humble suggestion: We will serve the pre-festal Vespers together with an appropriate reading to follow on Monday - Thursday, December 19-22. And the Royal Hours on Friday morning, December 23. As the Nativity has been called the "Winter Pascha" (Fr. Alexander Schmemann) these services are something of a "holy week" before the Feast, though far less intense then the Holy Week before Pascha. Make a point of attending at least one of those Vespers for some reorientation toward the "Orient from on high." Or the Royal Hours which offer an incredible insight into the scriptural passages that proclaim the coming of Christ. Christianity at its most expressive has always challenged prevailing cultural and social norms. In fact, it has often been "counter-cultural." Our role is to maintain that tradition on some level.

The Image of Giving in St Nicholas

St Nicholas provides gifts for three daughters to save them from poverty and harm.

 

Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

 

There are nineteen days of charity, prayer and fasting left before Christmas... Redeem the time.

 

Today we 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 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 childish 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.

'Metaphysically Unsettling' - A Brief Reflection on Black Friday

 

Dear Parish Faithful, 

There is something almost "metaphysically unsettling" about "Black Friday." Not sure of the status of Black Friday this year, but I will assume that it has many a consumer excited and raring to go. Since there is "nothing new under the sun" in our fallen world, here is an older reflection on this cultural/social phenomenon. 

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!