Nativity Narrative Test

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

Here is an old "war horse" that I have sent out over the years; but since we have so many new parishioners, I hope that this Test will generate some interest. How well do we know the Scriptures, and here more specifically about the Nativity Narratives in the Gospels of Sts. Matthew and Luke?

Be that as it may - enjoy and see how  well you do!

 

Nativity Narrative Test

The following test questions should be answered by using the following key:

M – St. Matthew    |     L – St. Luke  

ML – Sts. Matthew & Luke   |   N – Neither Gospel

 

1. This Gospel contains a sequence of revelatory dreams to St. Joseph _____

2. This Gospel has an ox and an ass by the manger of the Christ Child _____

3. This Gospel mentions the census that takes Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem _____

4. This Gospel contains the genealogy of Christ that begins with the Patriarch Abraham _____

5. This Gospel narrates the massacre of the Innocents _____

6. This Gospel narrates the visit of three magi who bring gifts to the Christ Child _____

7. This Gospel narrates the angelic visitation to shepherds watching their flocks _____

8. This Gospel contains references to King Herod _____

9. This Gospel narrates that Christ was born in the Hebrew month equivalent to Dec. _____

10. This Gospel contains the prophecy of Isaiah that a “virgin” shall conceive _____

11. This Gospel narrates the journey of the “Holy Family” to Egypt and back to Israel _____

12. This Gospel narrates that Jesus was wrapped in swaddling cloths _____

13. This Gospel refers to Jesus as the Word of God _____

14. This Gospel tells us that the name of Christ’s mother is Mary _____

15. This Gospel narrates the circumcision of the eight-day old Jesus _____

16. This Gospel narrates that Jesus was born in a cave/stable/house _____

17. This Gospel informs us that Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem _____

18. This Gospel tells us that after His birth, Jesus returned to Nazareth _____

19. This Gospel refers to the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus _____

20. This Gospel mentions women in the genealogy of Christ _____

 

A Christmas Carol - 'Mankind was my business!'

 

“Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face. 'Mercy!' he cried.” (Excerpt From: Charles Dickens. “A Christmas Carol.” Apple Books. GIF from 'Scrooge', 1951.)

 

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

 

The over-all theme of the Parable of the Great Supper, heard last Sunday at the Liturgy, had to do with how being "busy" can easily lead to excuse-making of a dubious kind because we then justify postponing our relationship with God based upon those very excuses. But as Christ said in the parable, the Master of the Supper was not impressed. 

This somehow connects in my mind with a certain literary classic. Over the years I have read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (and seen more than one film version!). For me, one of the most effective passages in the book, is toward the beginning, when the Ghost of Jacob Marley visits Scrooge on Christmas Eve. By this time, the miserly and miserable character of Scrooge has been masterfully etched in by Dickens. And to this day, the name of Scrooge is synonymous with avarice, greed, and a joyless and meaningless accumulation of profit. Earlier, Scrooge had articulated some of the utilitarian philosophy of the 19th c. when he coldly said in reference to the poor and prisoners, "If they would rather die they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."

The Ghost of Marley returns to haunt Scrooge, but Marley himself is in great torment and anguish. Imprisoned in chains that he cannot free himself of, Marley is doomed to roam the earth as a restless spirit witnessing human suffering that he cannot alleviate because he ignored that suffering selfishly during his time on earth. Of the chains, Marley says:

"I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it."

With a deep, bitter regret, Marley then confesses:

"My spirit never walked beyond our counting-house - mark me! - in life my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole; and weary journeys lie before me!... Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one's life opportunity misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!"

At this point in this somewhat macabre dialogue between the two, Scrooge begins to grope for some signs of hope and relief as he intuitively realizes that Marley is speaking words of warning to him for his cold-hearted scorn for the rest of humanity. When Scrooge protests the working of an unseen providence, by saying "But you were always a good man of business, Jacob," we then hear what may be the most significant - and well-known - passage in this scene:

"Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!" 

It held up its chains at arm's length, as if that were the cause of all its unavailing grief, and flung it heavily upon the ground again. 

"At this time of the rolling year," the spectre said, "I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!"

Anticipating the regret of a life not well-lived is a frightening thought. Especially if it comes down to having been too busy!

Good literature is capable of leaving strong indelible images that are much more effective than a well-argued treatise. Dickens' characters were always exaggerated or "larger than life," as we may say. But they then "typify" a great deal about life in the process. 

Besides the necessary business that makes up our lives, and which must be done carefully and responsibly, just what else are we so "busy" with? Does that business also lead us away from charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence? Are we presently scurrying around, making sure that we will have a "Merry Christmas," while also turning our eyes downward so that we too cannot "see" the blessed Star that guides us to the Incarnate Christ? Are we going to somehow be able to "fit" the Church into our "Business?" Both the parable from Sunday and Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol raise the issue of our stewardship of time and the Christian truth that "mankind is our business."

Regarding Fr Alexander Schmemann's Liturgical Vision

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

As we marked the fortieth anniversary of the repose of Fr. Alexander Schmemann on Tuesday, I returned to his Journals and found this entry dated Tuesday, May 18, 1982:

Long letter from Father K[ostoff]: "I would like to at least - though superficially - let you know how absolutely important my three years of study under your guidance and in your presence were to me both intellectually and spiritually. I eagerly absorbed or attempted to do do so to the fullness of my capacity, that vision of the Church and simply of life itself which you presented to us at all times in the chapel and the classroom. For me, personally, and Deborah has expressed the same feelings, this was an encounter with an authentic vision, thereby making it not only inwardly convincing but also lasting and influential."

With many "ups and downs" it has been my goal over the years to remain loyal and committed to the liturgical and eucharistic revival that I was blessed to be made aware of as a seminary student at St. Vladimir's. Therefore, I am in no way blowing my trumpet with quoting my own letter to Fr. Alexander. Nor am I retreating into the pleasant realm of nostalgia. All I did was absorb a vision and practice of the Liturgy from the seminary that was imparted to us by Fr. Alexander in the chapel and the classroom. I then brought this vision and practice with me to the parishes in which I have served beginning as far back as 1981. And I have been here since 1989. 

My concern at this point in my life is this: Has Fr. Schmemann's vision been retained and still put into practice after all these years? Is it still alive and well? His "restoration" of the early Church's liturgical theology was often enough misinterpreted as an "innovation." Is that happening today, as a certain reactionary resistance to Fr. Schmemann's revival/restoration has seemed to settle in even in the Orthodox Church in America? If Fr. Schmemann's legacy is being slowly abandoned, what are the reasons for this, and what is it being replaced with?

Immersed in these thoughts, I then almost immediately received this email letter from an old friend, a woman who studied and graduated from St. Vladimir's in the same year that I did. Her letter brought to the surface some of the very things that I was concerned about. Here is her letter, only slightly edited to eliminate some personal comments she made to Presvytera and me. Regardless of what she may say about me and our parish, her letter is really a tribute to Fr. Schmemann, in that forty years later here is someone else who not only remembers Fr. Schmemann, but is also so grateful for his legacy to the Church. Her letter is therefore both very encouraging, but also discouraging; a reaction that you may agree with:

_____

Dear Fr. Steven,

I was happy to see that your parish streams its services, so I joined in. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. I love the way that you always keep the doors open, and say all the prayers aloud. With rare exceptions, that’s virtually unknown around here, despite the fact that our bishop went to St. Vladimir’s for a while, and that both the last dean and present dean of St. Tikhon’s are both graduates of SVS. I don’t know, maybe this distinctive liturgical practice isn’t taught/stressed/practiced anymore there either? On the 40^th anniversary of his repose, I wonder how much of Fr. Alexander’s legacy is actually preserved by graduates of St. Vladimir’s, despite the lip service. But I digress.

I noticed in your parish how active a role that women played, reading the epistle and even serving as “out-of-altar” girls. That was a nice touch. The choir sounds good, I see catechumens - always a good sign - and lots of communicants. I don’t know if anyone has told you, but it was very difficult to hear your sermon on the stream. I couldn’t figure that, since the epistle reader had been standing in the same place, and was very clear. Maybe you should look in to that. Anyway, you seem to have built a very good parish there. I wish such a parish existed in my area. There is just a different “culture” around here; Orthodox yes, but different from what I was used to. I thought that things would eventually change, but it’s apparently not in the cards. So my heart was cheered to know that the OCA that I joined at SVS nearly 50 years ago still lives and flourishes! I hope that you are not the only faithful and true son of St. Vladimir’s still left out there.

Related:

 Read more of Fr Steven's meditations about Fr Alexander Schmemann

Commemorating 40 Years from the Repose of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann (SVS)

The 12 All-American Councils of Father Alexander Schmemann (OCA)

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.

 

Become a 'Welcoming Cave' for the Messiah to be Born In (Mother Gabriella)

 

Mother Gabriella (center) and sisters at Holy Dormition

 

 Dear Parish Faithful,

I "lifted" this wonderful reflection from the latest issue of The Burning Bush, the small monastic journal of the Holy Dormition Monastery in Rives Junction, MI, over which Mother Gabriella is the abbess. With few words, Mother Gabriella reminds us of the "life in Christ," so that we can spend this Nativity Fast in fasting, prayer and repentance, amidst the tumult of the season.

__________

Greetings from Mother Gabriella

Following the Liturgical season of the life of the Church gives great meaning and richness to life. As we begin this Advent season we cannot help but reflect on the end of life—as nature enters a period of “rest”—and on the spiritual level, on the purification of the soul through fasting, prayer and repentance, so we can better be “born anew” with Christ and in Christ, as we reach the feast of the Nativity.

Father Roman, of blessed memory, reminded us repeatedly, that we are to be born with Christ, live, suffer, die and resurrect with Him, as our own personal experience, not a simple commemoration of the historical facts. God came to teach us how to prepare for the heavenly banquet, by offering Himself as the eternal food, and as the One Who offers “Thine own of Thine own.”

This is the hospitality He teaches us to practice, in our relationship with one another and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. Here at the monastery we have many opportunities to offer and receive God's gifts - the life and work of the monastery.

We thus enter the season of Advent, Nativity and Theophany as an opportunity to reflect on our own life with gratitude for the many blessings God bestowed on us through you who chose to be travelers and co-workers with us on the journey to the heavenly Kingdom.

No matter where you are working your salvation, know that you are not alone. We accomplish everything with Christ and in Christ, or rather, Christ accomplishes His work through each one of us.

Thank you, fellow travelers, for helping us on our journey, and we pray and hope that we are of some help to you. We thank you all for your love and generosity. We humbly pray God to make Himself present in your life the way He knows best! We pray that you will be a welcoming “cave” for the Messiah to be born in.

+ Mother Gabriella