Monday Morning Meditation, Dec 13, 2004 - Imitating the Divine Giver
Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
According to Apostle Paul, the Lord Jesus taught: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (ACTS 20:35) This is a basic moral-ethical Christian principle that, when put into practice, manifests the Gospel in a concrete manner. It is based upon the utter graciousness of God Who "did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all ..." (ROM. 8:32) That movement of divine descent that culminates in the simultaneous abasement and glorification of the Son of God on the Cross began with the Incarnation:
- When in the fulness of time, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under
- the law, to redeem those who where under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
- (GAL. 4:4-5, the Epistle Reading for the Feast of the Nativity)
This was an expression of the divine philanthropia or, simply, the love (agape) of God. Christmas gift-giving is clearly a practice that has been shaped out of the awareness of Christian believers that Christ is a Gift to us all - free, unmerited and undeservedly generous. A gift to another person is, on the human level, at least ideally, an expression of recognition, care and love. It is like saying to the other: "Your existence has meaning for me, as I hope mine has for you." We acknowledge each other through thoughtul gift-giving. (As for those gifts that we reluctantly buy for someone else because we "must," all I can say is: 1) such is life in this world; and 2) thank God for basement bargains). Then, of course, there are the cherished memories of childhood (and beyond) of the warmth and closeness of the Season. Although somewhat dated and rather sentimentalized, all we need to do is think of Bob Cratchet's family in Dickens' A Christmas Carol. There we find a wonderful image of love and joy among conditions of poverty and struggle. As Dostoevsky would also write: such memories are precisely what may "save" you later in life from cynicism and despair. Christmas continues to evoke for me some of my clearest and brighest memories.
Yet, what does this have to do with the veritable orgy of spending (and debt accumulation?) that Christmas both invites and encourages? How has Christmas so merrily and cheerfully yielded to the uninhibited and excessive materialism that so nakedly characterizes its celebration? And why is it that Christians lead the way in all of this? For if North Americans identify themselves religiously as overwhelmingly Christian, than it is Christians who must be doing the vast majority of the spending. Although I have no statistics before me, I would have to assume that it is precisely in North America that Christmas has assumed its most "commercialized" expression. A graceful simplicity has been replaced by saturation. We can claim that the forces of secularism and capitalism have come to dominate in such a way that all of this is quite inevitable. As long as there is money to be made, then we can rest assured that the perfect gift "for the person who has everything" will be invented and perfectly packaged from year to year. Yet, we have readily and eagerly embraced this whole process.
I realize that this is beginning to sound like a rant of sorts, so I will simply make the point that we must at least acknowledge a jarring tension between the event of the Nativity of Christ - in poverty! - and our present-day propensity toward, once again, excessive consumerism. What impulse prevails in such a tension? Does our presence in church merely add a "religious" and soothing "touch" to other pressing and passionate concerns - something like a pious "break in the action?" If this is so, then what have we led our children to expect for Christmas and what can we expect in return? Perhaps less a sense of thankfulness and gratitude, than a sense of entitlement (as someone put it to me yesterday).
I try and avoid trying to say things that are "idealistic" in the bad sense of that term - meaning the unrealistic and unrealizable. But is it being idealistic in this bad sense of the word to imagine that as our perceptions shift and our faith deepens, we can begin to see the Christmas Season as the time of year that we come to the assistance of those who have real need, rather than concentrating our generosity and our resources on ourselves or our small "inner circles?" With God all things are possible. I was speaking to a mother on the phone the other day, who told me that she and her husband had decided to concentrate their resources elsewhere this year, precisely toward children who have real need, because, in her words, their "children have more than enough." And they told their children who did not seem to object! I was deeply impressed.
St. Gregory of Nyssa said that Christian is the imitation of the divine nature. To give a gift in love, especially to those in need, seems to be a good place to begin.
In Christ,
Fr. Steven
Monday Morning Meditation; December 6, 2004 - A Healthy Tension: Preparation and Reception
Dear Parish Faithful,
For those of you who were not in church yesterday - and for those who came too late to hear the Gospel and the homily - I would like to offer a brief summary of some of the content of the homily. My goal was to summarize some of the main points of emphasis made during the series of homilies delivered about the meaning and practice of the Divine Liturgy over the last several weeks. Toward the end of the homily, I mentioned some of my pastoral concerns, concentrating on the reception of the Eucharist.
I asked those of you who do not receive Holy Communion with frequency, or who even receive rarely, to "think long and hard" on what I said about the regular reception of Holy Communion being the Church's norm and earliest practice. The Liturgy leads us to the Eucharist and the Eucharist unites us to Christ. Clearly, something essential is being "missed" when you come to church and yet fail to receive the Eucharist. Why regularly decline the "Master's hospitality?" There are many possible reasons, three of them being: 1) the carry-over of childhood practices from our first, and often, most impressionable parish experiences; 2) a sense of "unworthiness" or lack of preparation; 3) infrequent reception makes it more "special" when we do receive.
Be that as it may, it is equally true that anyone can become quite comfortable after establishing a pattern of infrequent reception of Holy Communion. If you know that you are not going to receive Holy Communion, then why "prepare?" If you do not have to prepare, then why fast and pray during the week in anticipation of receiving? Why be spiritually vigilant in your deeds, words, and thoughts? As I just said, how "comfortable!" Regardless, then, of your initial and well-intentioned impulses for not receiving the Eucharist with any regularity, you see how that can simply fall into an established pattern that harldy leaves you grieving over the non-reception of Holy Communion.
So, please do "think long and hard" about this most important of subjects and your own established patterns. What is preventing you from embracing this normative - and truly apostolic - practice of the Church? Are you setting a good example for your own children? What does it mean that they are receiving the Eucharist with regularity and you are not? This is not an appeal to sentimentality or simply "family unity," but an appeal to the "iconic role" that we all have as parents and to that deeper unity that is found only in Christ. (The parish itself is a "family" as we all know). Changing long-held patterns is never easy, but when the goal is to get closer to Christ, so to speak, then the "incentive" is on the highest of levels.
Yet, my other equally-important pastoral concern was to remind those of us who do receive the Eucharist with regularity to prepare ourselves accordingly so that we may receive "in a worthy manner" and not unto condemnation. (Handouts concerning preparation were made available in church for the last few weeks, and I am certain that just about everyone is well-acquainted with our over-all "eucharistic discipline"). When we sense our own failure in the process of preparation, then we probably do need to refrain from the reception of Holy Communion until we are better focused and more intent upon the seriousness of approaching the Chalice in a worthy manner.
As I asked yesterday in church: "Am I flatly contradicting myself in the above?" On the one hand, I am encouraging infrequent communicants to approach the Chalice more often; and yet, on the other hand, I am discouraging regular communicants to approach the Chalice if they find themselves ill-prepared! I stand with my own answer given yesterday: "not at all." I have tried to articulate what I have termed a "spiritually-healthy tension" between the rhythm of reception and preparation and of preparation and reception. A commitment to embrace both within the strictures and pressures of our daily lives - and accounting for the ups and downs of our own imperfect human nature - is a sign of spiritual vigilance. And spiritual vigilance is the source of spiritual well-being.
Preparation to receive the Eucharist begins with faith in Christ and love for Christ. To believe that Jesus is "truly the Christ, the Son of the living God," and "that this is truly Thine own most pure Body, and that this is truly Thine own precious Blood." This is essential so that we do not get lost in the details. Our faith and love for Christ impel us to be united with Christ - and with each other as fellow-members of the Body of Christ. The living Tradition of the Church tells us that this is a possibility and a reality in the Eucharist: "For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup, you proclaim My Death, you profess My Resurrection!" (Liturgy of St. Basil the Great)
Nothing in the above is to be misunderstood as "pastoral pressure," but rather as pastoral guidance offered in concern for everyone's spiritual well-being and our mutual relationship with God in Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Fr. Steven
Monday Morning Meditation, November 29, 2004 - The Words of The Cappadocian Fathers, Proclaiming the Word Of The Father
Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
We being the third week of the Nativity/Advent Fast this Monday morning. Coming after the extended weekend that began with Thanksgiving Day, we may be either recluctant or relieved - reluctant to get up from the table, so to speak; or relieved to have the opportunity. Be that as it may, we are now within four weeks of the Feast of our Lord's Nativity in the flesh. (Excuse my ignorance, but am I correct in believing that many Western Christians have now begun their Advent Season?)
In my parish, we are now studying the Church Fathers of the fourth century, especially the incomparable Cappadocian Fathers - Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and Gregory of Nyssa. This splendid "human trinity" was instrumental - through their writings, pastoral activity and lives - in rightly glorifying the "undivided Trinity, who has saved us" (Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom). The treatises of these saintly theologians were definitive - and continue to remain normative for Orthodox theology - in how they explained the mystery of the Holy Trinity as well as that was possible through the use of human language. St. Gregory the Theologian humbly acknowledged our limitations in approaching the Trinity::
- The knowledge of the mutual relations and dispositions of the Trinity is a matter
- we are content to leave to the Trinity itself, and to those men to whose purified
- minds the Trinity has already revealed it or will reveal it later. (Oration 23)
- Be content to know this, that the Unity [Monad] is adored in the Trinity [Triad],
- the Trinity [Triad] in the Unity [Monad] (Oration 25)
Any Christian - East or West - who to this day believes in and worships the Holy Trinity is indebted to the Cappadocian Fathers for the classical articulation of that belief. They shaped the content and form of trinitarian theology once and for all, we could say. This is true of basic trinitarian vocabulay that makes the key distinction between "essence" (Gk. ousia) and "person" (Gk. hypostasis), as in the common phrase used to describe the Trinity as "one essence in three Persons." The eldest of the Cappodocians, St. Basil the Great, provides the following clarification:
- The distinction between ousia and hypostasis is the same as the distinction
- between the general and the particular; for example, 'animal' and 'the man X.'
- Therefore in respect of the godhead we acknowledge one ousia, so as not to
- give a different account of being; but we also confess the particular hypostasis
- so that we may have an unconfused and clear conception of Father, Son, and
- Holy Spirit... (Epistle 236)
As to the saving oikonomia (God's gracious dispensation or "household management") which is centered in the Incarnation, the Cappadocian Fathers have a great deal to teach us today. Beginning, perhaps, with their never-ending sense of profound reverance, sheer awe and overwhelming amazement when reflecting upon the mystery of the Word become flesh:
- O strange mixture! O marvellous blending! He who is comes to be; the uncreated
- is created, the unconfinable is confined ... What a wealth of goodness! What a
- mystery is this, concerned with me! I had my share in the divine image, and I did
- not preserve it. He shares my flesh in order that he may rescue the image and
- confer immortality on the flesh. He enters upon a second fellowship with us, much
- more wonderful that the first. Then he imparted an honour; now he shares a
- humiliation. The latter is a more godlike act, and thoughtful men will find in more
- sublime. (St. Gregory the Theologian - Oration 38)
St. Gregory, by the way, was one of the first Church Fathers to explicitly - and emphatically - use the termTheotokos when referring to the Virgin Mary and her essential role in the Incarnation. He clearly anticipates later "reductionist" views concerning this role:
- Anyone who does not admit that holy Mary is the Mother of God is out of touch
- with the godhead. Equally remote from God is anyone who says that Christ
- passed through the Virgin as through a channel, without being formed in her
- in a manner at once divine and human - divine, because without the agency
- of a man; human because following the normal process of gestation ... (Epistle 101)
In a somewhat more philosophical approach, very characteristic of St. Gregory of Nyssa, we find this Church Father attempting to defend the "reasonableness" of the Incarnation from its sceptical detractors who could not possibly envision God "mingling" with matter:
- The birth of the godhead in our nature should not reasonably present itself
- as a strange novelty to those whose notions are not too limited. For who,
- surveying the whole scheme of things, is so childish as not to believe that
- there is divinity in everything, clothed in it, embracing it, residing in it? For
- everything that is depends on Him-Who-Is (Exod. 3:14), nor can there be
- anything which has not its being in Him-Who-Is. Then if all things are in
- the divinity, and the divinity is in all things, why are men embarrassed at
- the divine oikonomia displayed in the revelation which tells us of the birth
- of God in humanity, since we believe that God is not outside mankind
- even now? (Catechetical Oration, 25)
And more specifically about the mystery of the Incarnation, St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote the following:
- It was not in respect of his divinity, as he is in himself, that he was born of a
- woman. Existing before creation, he receives a birth in flesh, but not his
- existence. The Holy Spirit prepared the way for the entrance of the Son's
- own power. The Son did not need any physical material to make ready a
- special 'habitation,' but, as is said of Wisdom, he 'built himself a house'
- (Prov. 9:1) and made into a man the 'dust' from the Virgin, by means of
- which he was mingled with human nature. (Refutation of Apollinarius, 9)
Hopefully, that will serve as an ample dose of true theology this particular Monday morning, providing us with "more than enough" to mediate upon as we further contemplate the "reason for the Season." Perhaps texts such as the above, which demand repeated readings, study, and reflection in order to be meaningfully absorbed and assimilated, will "cure" us of the tempting thought that we know all that is needed to be known concerning the "Christmas story."
The words of the Cappadocian Fathers - Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and Gregory of Nyssa - reverberating through the centuries within the life of the Church and beyond, can certainly serve to provide some sobriety and sanity during a season which at times seems to lack both.
Fr. Steven
Nov 24, 2004 - More from St Gregory the Theologian
Dear Lovers of the Church Fathers,
"When was the Son begotten?" When the Father was not begotten. "When did the Spirit proceed?" When the Son did not proceed, but was begotten timelessly, in a way we cannot understand. St. Gregory the Theologian, Oration, 29, 2
If you ask me, once read this passage will be hard to forget!
Someone pointed out to me after our class the other evening, that we didn't make it to one of St. Gregory's more famous passages concerning the Theotokos. Therefore, I want to touch on it briefly here. St. Gregory is one of the first major theologians to use the term "Theotokos" for the Virgin Mary, thereby anticipating by about half a century the dogmatizing of the term at the Third Ecumenical Council. Here is the key passage:
Anyone who does not admit that holy Mary is the Mother of God is out of touch with the godhead. Equally remote from God is anyone who says that Christ passed through the Virgin as through a channel, without being formed in her in a manner at once divine and human - divine, because without the agency of a man; human because following the normal process of gestation ... ep. 101.
The truth of Mary as Theotokos was more clearly revealed as the Church continued to refine its understanding of the Person of Christ.
Fr. Steven
Midweek Meditation: Nov 24, 2004; The True Thanksgiving Banquet
Dear Parish Faithful,
"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food - and God will destroy both one and the other ... Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." (I COR. 6:13, 19-20)
A liturgical reminder:
A Service of Thanksgiving is scheduled for this evening at 7:00 P.M. and the Divine Liiturgy tomorrow morning at 9:30 A.M.
Offer heartfelt thanksgiving to God - imperishable food for the soul - before partaking of the perishable food that nourishes the belly. One of the essential aims of our Orthodox Christian faith and life, is to restore the proper relationship - as initially given by God - between the soul and body. The body is meant to serve the soul and be guided by the soul. The Fall and its subsequent sin, though, has led to our souls serving the body and all of its demands and appetites. Spiritual harmony, balance and wholeness are restored when we re-establish the original purpose of the soul leading the body. Always remembering God first is absolutely essential in that entire process. Worship, prayer, thanksgiving, etc. allows us to put "first things first."
Are we anticipating that huge and "tasty" meal that is scheduled for tomorrow? Yet, are we forgetting that before we sit down at that table we need to first anticipate the "meal" of the Eucharist offered at the messianic banquet table of the Lord? The "Bread from heaven" is the imperishable food that is Christ Himself: "For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." (JN. 6:33)
I heard on the news that in the State of Maryland, children in the public school system are asked to "thank" anyone or anything but God - that is forbidden! How pathetic.
By the way, in the OCA the Metropolitan traditionally gives a blessing for meat to be eaten on Thanksgiving Day though the Fast has begun.
Looking forward to seeing you tonight and/or tomorrow morning. Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day meals and fellowship!
Fr. Steven
Monday Morning Meditation, Nov 22, 2004; Preparing for The Incarnation
Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
On this Monday morning we begin the second week of the Nativity/Advent Fast that prepares us for the Feast of our Savior's birth in the flesh. I realize that this is something of an old theme, but perhaps we need to periodically revisit this old theme of "preparation" and discover what it indeed yields. Our primary question is: Why prepare through prayer, almsgiving and fasting for the Feast of Christ's Nativity when we could easily join the world and "party" our way to December 25? It is, after all, an exceedingly "merry" event. "Tis the season to be jolly," so why the ascetical effort? Are we being puritanical or are we simply unable to halt the grinding weight of a tradition that, though meaningless, can perhaps be picked apart for some salvageable elements of "old-world color?"
Our preparation actually reflects a profound historical and theological truth. For that is how God Himself has acted within what we call "salvation history." God moved slowly and providentially through history. Even within its schematic nature, the Scriptures leave a great deal of time between the appearance of the First and Last Adam. The long time of preparation within the "Israel of God" was not yet the time for jubilation. It was a time for prophecy and for waiting. The angelic revelation to the shepherds "in that region" occured after Christ was born:
- "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come
- to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
- who is Christ the Lord." (LK. 2:10-11)
This centuries-long period of waiting was characterized not only by "prayer and fasting," but by perseverance, faith and hope:
- "And all these, though well attested by their faith,, did not receive what was promised,
- since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be perfect." (HEB. 11:39-40)
In fact, the limits of human endurance were tested:
- "Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to a better
- life. Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment.
- They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were killed with the sword; they went
- about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated - of whom the world
- was not worthy - wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the
- earth." (HEB. 11:35-38)
These passages from the Epistle to the Hebrews are read on the Sunday Before Nativity.
The Nativity/Advent Season of preparation is thus a microcosm of Israel's preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Within the forty-day scope of this "small-scale model" of Israel's history, we experience both the waiting and the expectation. Our own modest ascetical effort is meant to somehow re-actualize the difficult and demanding experiece of Israel. Every year before the Nativity of the Lord we are reminded of this. Our own "breakdown" or abandonment of the Church's discipline should be a cause for embarassment or repentance when set aside the great demands that God made of His chosen People of old when they were never sure of the fulfilment of their hard-earned faith.
I would hazard the guess that our present pre-Christmas whirl of shopping, spending, partying, etc., came along somewhat late in the day, at least historically. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" are the days after the Feast that reflect the revealed joy of the Season following the birth of Christ. And that traditional carol is a playful reflection of the Church's liturgical calendar - both East and West. It is for this reason that the longest "fast-free" period in the Church occurs precisely from the Feast of Nativity up to the eve of Theophany (December 25 - January 4). Feasting follows fasting. The crass commercialization of Christmas, when you are supposed to be doing your civic duty of stimulating the economy (and apparently saving huge department stores from having to close their doors) by endless buying, is clearly one of the major reasons for the pre-Christmas frenzy. Christmas is now packaged and marketed with ever-increasing sophistication. In fact, it has itself become an unquestioned "tradition" in it own right over the years. How comforting to listen to the Nightly News and hear from Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings that "consumer retail spending" for a particular year is up 3.5% from the previous year! You practically feel as if you are "bonding" with your fellow-consumers in a shared accomplishment. Many Christians will, of course, lament that Christ is never mentioned, but perhaps - considering such a context - that is all the better. Why associate the saving oikonomia ofthe Son of God with the fortunes of the economy? (Not to sound too Scroogish at this point, I am very glad that many people are able to find season-related employment at this time of year and bring some much needed income into their lives).
We live and experience the tension - not necessarily gulf or absolute separation - between the Church and the world that exists in relation to the Birth of Christ. An honest awareness of this tension is essential so that we make responsible decisions in the light of our faith in Christ. This also sets the tone for our families. This also affects our witness to the world. Perhaps a little "non-conformity" will yield its fruit in due season.
The sheer exhaustion and the "post-holiday season blues" that afflicts many people are to some extent, at least, the result of draining the season of its inherent celebratory nature before "Christmas" even arrives. If we are not spiritually vigilant we might be doing no more than dragging our exhausted bodies and souls off to the Liturgy that is meant to be the joyful fulfillment of this wonderful season of preparation. That would only serve to reduce what the Typikon of the Church refers to as "a splendid three-day Pascha" into a "period of convalescence" There is a great wisdom in the Church that we must never feel reluctant to draw upon and to "test" by our very actions. As the Body of Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit, the Church will not let us down.
Fr. Steven
Monday Morning Meditation - Nov 15, 2004 - "For we all partake of the One..."
Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
"Let this Eucharist be my joy, health, and gladness..." (From one of the post-Communion Prayers of Thanksgiving)
I would like to try and give a bit more shape to some reflections on the Eucharist that I made yesterday in the form of the homily delivered during the Liturgy. As essential and even primary as it is, we must be careful not to "reduce" our reception of the Eucharist to the sole effect of our union with Christ. I do acknowledge that it is almost impossible to over-emphasize this aspect of the Eucharist, as the pre-Communion Prayers in Preparation bring out repeatedly:
"That... I may be united with Thy Body and Blood and may have Thee to dwell and abide in me, with the Father and the Holy Spirit."
This is but one example of how the prayers of the Church reflect the promises of Christ Himself:
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him." (JN. 6:56)
Yet, this "vertical dimension" of the Cross - our unique and personal union with Christ - is complemented by an equally important "horizontal dimension:" our communion with one another as we partake of the one chalice. As Apostle Paul stated it:
"Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread." (I COR. 10:17)
I refer to this as a form of "eucharistic egalitarianism." All of the divisive barriers that separate people in the fallen world are overcome and transcended in the Church in the Communion ("common union") of the Lord's Body and Blood that we share as members of the Church. In this alone, the Church will always remain the hope of the world. In being united to Christ, we are united to one another, not simply by an emotional or psychological bond of a shared faith and goodwill, but actually and really in the Eucharist. The Eucharist flows through our very members personally and corporately, for we constitute the Body of Christ by receiving the Body of Christ. Although the Prayers in Preparation and Thanksgiving for Holy Communion are cast in the "I" form, they can be just as well understood communally. Imagine, for a moment, reading the following prayer in the "we" form (a prayer that perfectly formulates the Church's eucharistic realism):
- Therefore I pray Thee, O Master, for Thou alone art holy, sanctify my soul and body,
- my mind and heart, my muscles and bones. Renew me entirely. Implant Thy fear
- in my fleshly members and let Thy sanctification never be removed from me.
There is no conceivable room in the Church for racism, prejudice, discrimination, socio-economic elitism, hatred, and the like. And that, in turn, is not to be mistaken for a naive ideology or warm and fuzzy feelngs. It is based on the Gospel and the ontological reality that in our shared human nature assumed by Christ in the Incarnation has been redeemed and regenerated, so that we are re-united in truth: For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father." (EPH. 2:18) Based on that unity, we must "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." (GAL. 6:2) Or, at least, it should be inconceivable to any one of us to dare approach the Chalice with any of the sinful inclination just mentioned alive in our hearts. We need to first repent and confess our sins. As Aposlte Paul revealed:
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (GAL. 3:28)
In the rather seething post-election atmosphere still very much with us today, perhaps we need to expand this apostolic teaching - which can, indeed, be endlessly expanded and applied to a variety of social, culture and political contexts - to include the following: "there is neither Conservative nor Liberal, there is neither Republican nor Democrat."
Explicitly or implicity, within the context of our covenental relationship with God expressed and actualized in the Eucharist, we offer to God our hope that we can truly "love one another." This is both a goal and a responsibility. It is not a leveling process. What makes each and every one of us distinct - race, ethnic background, gender, etc. - remains precisely as a mark of our personal uniqueness. Yet, such diversity must not become a stumbling block toward division. Every parish and each parishoner needs to be aware of this and make the effort to cultivate the "centripetal force" inherent in the Gospel and thus present through grace in the local community; and struggle against any "centrifugal force" that introduces the dysfunction of the world into the parish.
We approach the chalice together with our "brothers and sisters" in Christ. We must treat each other accordingly. If Christ is in me, then He is also in my neighbor. To sin against my neighbor would then be to sin against Christ.
I have written the above from within the Orthodox Church as an Orthodox priest. Eucharistic communion presupposes full integration into the Orthodox Church through the Mysteries of Baptism and Chrismation and the confession of the Orthodox Faith. My purpose was not here to discuss the "divisions of the churches" and what can be done about that. I am very mindful of our own need to get our household in order!
In the fear of God, and with faith, draw near!
Fr. Steven
November 12, 2004 - Reflections on Sister Magdalen's Talk
Dear Parish Faithful,
I would like to pass on a few brief comments concerning yesterday evening's talk by Sister Magdalen.
It was very encouraging to see so many people present - especially on a weeknight. There were over fifty of our own parishoners present and about a dozen or so visitors. This made for a sizeable group and, in turn, must have been encouraging to Sister Magdalen.
We began the evening with a beautiful Vespers service. When we "assemble" together, we pray before all else and when in church that is through the daily cycle of liturgical services. Our communal prayer sets the tone, so to speak, for what the event will yield in terms of learning and enlightenment.
Sister Magdalen is a wonderful embodiment of the universal Orthodox monastic vocation - simple, direct and humble. She is the monastic version of the "real deal." This means that over the years, and through the ascetical life, one puts away false complexities and artifice. One no longer has to "act," but simply to "be." This is how genuine personhood is restored in relationship to both God and neighbor. Her lively mind and keen intelligence were evident, but placed in the service of saying something meaningful about the "life in Christ" meant for both monastics and those of us in the world. Sister Magdelen "decreased," so that Christ could "increase." She presented the "life in Christ" as lived by St. Silouan of Mt. Athos, conveying some of his teachings and how we can actualize them in our very different life situations.
What stayed with me was a particular anecdote from the Saint's life in which he basically said that if you feel uneasy or embarassed to pray before doing something, then it probably means that what you are intending to do is wrong! In the incident described, St. Silouan simply invited a certain man to say the Lord's Prayer before lighting up a cigarette. If we actualize that teaching in our own lives, it could very well help us overcome many temptations of both word and deed.
The one drawback may have been Sister Magdalen's soft voice. I am not sure if everyone - especially those in the back of the church - were able to hear her well.
After answering a series of questions, the evening concluded with some refreshments and fellowship in the church hall. We would like to thank all of our donators and workers for assisting in our parish hospitality.
We also took a collection that we are going to donate to the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England - the monastic community where Sister Magdalen resides.
All in all, an "edifying" evening, that allowed us to focus on the "one thing needful."
Fr. Steven
Mini-Midweek Meditation, November 10, 2004 - On St. Silouan
Dear Parish Faithful,
To further prepare ourselves for this evening's talk by Sister Magdalen on St. Silouan, we have the following words from the Staretz:
My soul trembles and is afraid when I consider the glory of the Mother of God.
She put not in writing the tale of her soul's affliction, and we know little of her life on earth. Her heart, her every thought, her entire sould were wrapped in the Lord; but to her was given something further: she loved mankind and prayed ardently for people, for newly-converted Christians that the Lord might sustain them, and for the whole world that all might be saved. This prayer was her joy and comfort on earth.
We cannot fathom the depth of the love of the Mother of God, but this we know:
- The greater the love, the greater the sufferings of the soul.
- The fuller the love, the fuller the knowledge of God.
- The more ardent the love, the more fervent the prayer.
- The more perfect the love, the holier the life.
Wisdom From Mt. Athos, p. 56
_____
A further comment:
I read that in a recent New York Times Op Ed page, Gary Wills "questioned whether a people who believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus can be called an enlightened nation."
I think we need to invite him to our Nativity services!
Fr. Steven
Monday Morning Meditation, November 8, 2004 - Synaxis of The Chief Commanders Michael and Gabriel of the Heavenly Hosts
Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
"A stream of fire issued and came forth from before Him; a thousand served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him." (DAN. 7:10)
The commemoration for the Eighth Day of November is titled in the Synaxarion as "The Synaxis of the Chief Captains of the Heavenly Host, Michael and Gabriel, and of the other Bodiless Powers of Heaven." We just completed the Divine Liturgy on this angelic feast, so I thought to perhaps pass on a passage or two with a few comments for this Monday's meditation. The Liturgy, as you all well know, is replete with many prayerful and hymnographic references to the presence of angels, perhaps culminating in the Sanctus when we accompany the angels in their ceaseless worship of God:
Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory!
The Church has - or has always had - a developed angelology, based upon the scriptural revelation as found in both the Old and New Testaments. Meaning, simply, that the Church unapologetically affirms the existence of the "bodiless powers" that are usually referred to as "angels." A more "rationalistic" theology, wanting to free itself from any embarassing legacies from the past, or desiring to "demythologize" the biblical revelation, may want to eliminate reference to the angels all together, or perhaps symbolize them out of existence - especially the "fallen angels" or "demons," I would imagine. The Church has always resisted any attempts to streamline the totality of existing reality - "all things visible and invisible" - and thus openly venerates, hymns and rejoices in the angelic orders as called forth from non-existence into being by the creative power and wisdom of God.
Of course, the fairly recent rediscovery of angels and their newly-found presence in popular culture - from books to films - has been at best a mixed blessing, because the image of the angelic powers has suffered greatly in the process. Over-all, there has been a marked "sentimentalization" of the angelic powers that at times can become so painful that one is forced to wince or look away in distress; or to say: "that is not what I mean when I say that I believe in the existence of angels." Actually, this "declension" began many centuries ago during the period of "renaissance art." This is particularly true when the angels are cast in the image of plump, rosy-cheeked fairies or cupid-like beings (sometimes reduced to the ignominous stature of resembling babies in diapers!). Such an image of an "angel" simply cannot begin to convey the sheer power and dynamism of angelic beings as expressed by St. John of Damascus in the following passage:
- An angel then, is an intelligent essence, in perpetual motion, with free will,
- incorporeal, ministering to God, having obtained by grace an immortal nature:
- and the Creator alone knows the form and limitations of its essence. Also
- all that is rational is endowed with free will. As it is, then, rational and
- intelligent, it is endowed with free will: and as it is created, it is changeable,
- having power either to abide or to progress in goodnes, or to turn towards evil.
- They behold God according to their capacity, and this is their food.
- They are above us for they are incorporeal, and are free of all bodily
- passion, yet they are not passionless: for the Deity alone is passionless.
- They take different forms at the bidding of their Master, God, and thus
- reveal themselves to men and unveil the divine mysteries to them.
- (St. John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith)
Such beings as described by St. John can be mistakenly worshipped by the human beings to whom they appear according to the various biblical accounts of angelic visitations. They inspire an initial reaction of "fear and trembling" before they indentify themselves as coming from God with a particular "message" or for a particular purpose. There are no scriptural records of warm, fuzzy feelings and cozy dialogues accompanying an angelic visitation. This is true of the greatest of the angelic visititations: The annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to Miriam of Nazareth (LK. 1:26-38)
Actually, the heavenly powers have numbers and names that are beyond human calculation. We simply know what God has chosen to reveal to us. Ever since the "divine Dionysios" (the Areopagite) wrote his famous work The Celestial Hierarchy, the Church has accepted his synthesis (and systematization) of the biblical witness to the angelic powers as a hierarchical triad of orders with the three ranks consisting of three "types" of the bodiless powers:
- First Triad: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones
- Second Triad: Dominions, Virtues, Powers
- Third Triad: Principalities, Archangels, Angels
Dionysios assigns different functions and activities to these various angelic beings based upon insights found in the Scriptures. All the more amazing, then, that the Church hymns the Theotokos as "More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim!"
As angels relate to us and the world, the particular version of the Synaxarion that I am drawing from offers the following summary:
God has made the angels his servants and he sends them to watch over the whole earth. An angel is a "messenger" according to the meaning of the word. The angels watch over peoples and nations. In the Revelation of Saint John we read that each local church is protected by its own angel. They work for the fulfillment of all that Providence has ordained for mankind in general and for each person in particular. At the side of each one of us, God has placed a Guardian Angel who constantly watches over us, without ceasing to be in the presence of God (cf. MATT. 18:10). He rouses our conscience to good purposes, helps us avoid the snares of the Devil, and kindles within us the salutary fire of repentance when we have fallen into sin. (cf. EX. 23:20; TOB. 6:4) (The Synaxarion for November - December)
Towards the end of her wonderful book The Holy Angels, Mother Alexandra holds out the following possibility:
And, so, perhaps if we only knew how to listen we would hear the rustle of the celestial wings as they fold ... Or, perchance, does the submerging in the Divine Light of the angelic pinions create instead a great and holy silence, an infinite peace ...? (The Holy Angels, p. 176)
That sounds like a potential discovery worth striving for.
Fr. Steven
Thursday's Theological Thoughts, Nov 4, 2004 - Sayings of Mother Gavrilia
Dear Parish Faithful,
"Do not miss a wise and good woman, for her grace is worth more than gold." (Ecclesiasticus 7:19)
Someone passed on to me a small collection of the "sayings" of a certain Gerontissa (Eldress) Gavrilia. She was a Greek Orthodox monastic who actually travelled the world extensively. Many are now familiar with her life through a recently-published biography The Ascetic of Love. She died in 1992 at the age of ninety-five. Her words have been collected and edited after many audio cassettes of her teaching were discovered following her death. The editor of her biography had this to say about the Gerontissa:
"She did not theologize only because she knew how to speak of God. She theologized because she prayed. Not just as a person who said prayers but as a person who became an unceasing prayer of the the heart ..."
Here is a sample of her direct and lively style after the pattern of the Desert Mothers:
+ Every place may become the place of the Resurrection.
+ Not a knowledge that you learn, but a knowledge that you suffer. That is Orthodox spirituality.
+ Do not desire many things - more than you have, that which is far away. Rather, seek to take care of what you have so as to sanctify it.
+ Better hell here than in the other world.
+ Someone said that the Christian is one who purifies love and sanctifies activity.
+ We desire our freedom? Why? In order to be slaves to our passions.
+ The Christian must respect the mystery of the existence of everyone and everything.
+ As God loves you, so does He love your enemy.
+ When we have God always in mind, then God has us always in mind.
+ We are useful only when we do not exist for ourselves.
+ Three things are needful. First, Love; second, Love; third, Love.
+ The fasting of a diet is so easy when one wants to be slim. And so difficult is the Wednesday and Friday fast when the Church wants it.
+ Every morning open a new page and put your signature on the blank. Whatever God wants, let Him write.
+ Some want to go the Resurrection without passing by way of Golgotha.
+ The greatest part of my prayer here and for years now is Thanksgiving. What else should I ask, when I have everything.
Fr. Steven
Mini-Midweek Meditation , Nov. 3, 2004 - On St. Silouan
Dear Parish Faithful,
As you are aware, Sister Magdalen from Essex, England, will be speaking in our church next Wednesday evening. Her presentation will be about St. Silouan of the Holy Mountain (+1938; canonized in the 1980's) A book of his teachings has been published in English (he was Russian himself) by SVS Press under the title Wisdom from Mt. Athos. His writings are very simple and direct. I will try and provide a few of his sayings to give you a "taste" of that direct style that appeals to the conversion of the heart:
Fr. Steven
Monday Morning Meditation, Nov. 1, 2004 - "Put Not Your Trust In Princes..."
Dear Parish Faithful,
"Put not your trust in princes, in sons of men in whom there is no salvation." (PS. 146:3)
Tomorrow is "Election Day." And for the president, no less. This is always an exciting and nerve-wracking day in America. Especially when we are faced with an election that is both polarizing and, seemingly, unpredictable as to its outcome until the actual votes are computed. None of the experts seem to want to "call it" one way or another. (The dreary prospect of a sustained court battle looms as a possibility if the results are so close as to be contested by one side or another - a legacy of the Florida fiasco of 2000). Regardless of the candidate of our choice, however, upon calmer reflection we would have to admit that both candidates are far from perfect and that their respective programs/platforms are far from flawless from the wider and deeper perspective of our Christian Faith. In a presidential election, I believe we need to think and speak in terms of "relative," and not "absolute" good resulting in the victory of one particular candidate or another. That is inevitable in politics when perhaps its greatest virtue is considered to be compromise. The glorification of one candidate or the other by their most fervent supporters can become embarassing at times; and their demonization by their greatest detractors can lack all civility or charity - and honesty.
I will assume that most of you that read this article will exercise your privilege and reponsibilty to vote. For what it is worth, I would certainly encourage that. And from we are hearing, it seems that our vote in Ohio is going to be of particular importance in determining the final outcome of this election.
All of this means that at some point tomorrow evening or by Wednesday morning, some of you will be quite elated and others quite disappointed. Life, however, will certainly go on. So, I believe it will be important that we readily and ungrudgingly accept the result of the election - the "voice of the people" and/or the electoral college vote - and continue with our deeper vocation and commitment to live genuine Christian - or perhaps more strikingly - Christ-like lives. If you fear that our nation is becoming slowly de-Christianized, then each one of us must struggle to remain Christian in our principles, convictions, thoughts and actions. Jesus told us, as His disciples: "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored?" (MATT. 5:13) Even as we desire to remain good and reponsible citizens, our primary loyalty is to Christ and the Kingdom of God: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (MK. 12:17) We celebrate the memory of great saints who remained faithful to the Gospel in openly and militantly atheistic countries.
Regardless of who wins tomorrow, we will liturgically continue to pray "for the President of our country, for all civil authorities, and for the armed forces." This is in fuflillment of St. Paul's admonition to Timothy:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. (I TIM. 2:1-2)
Fr. Steven
Midweek Meditation: October 27, 2004 - True Wealth and Poverty
We read the moving and powerful parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man at last Sunday's Divine Liturgy. As I was reading the parable on Sunday, I was inwardly wincing at the litany of pitiful and abject pleas of the anonymous "rich man" to find some relief that was simply too late to be had. Such judgment is truly a terrible thing to endure. With our current series of homilies on the meaning of the Liturgy, however, I was not able to focus on this parable. However, I did not want us to totally neglect it, so I would like to provide a few passages from St. John Chrysostom's commentaries on this parable. While a presbyter in Antioch, St. John delivered a series of homilies on this parable to the large flock of that teeming, cosmopolitan city. These homilies have been translated into English and published by SVS Press under the title of On Wealth and Poverty. After reading just these six homilies, one fully understands why St. John is called "Chrysostomos" - the "golden-mouthed!" They have lost nothing of their initial rhetorical power and challenging themes over the course of the centuries. In fact, with our daily temptation toward rampant and undisciplined consumerism; our propensity toward acquisitveness; and our indifference to the poor, these homilies are actually quite "timely."
St. John did not challenge the social and economic realities of the Late Roman Empire on an institutional level. In such a monolithic system, there were no readily available choices of alternative systems of social and economic equality. His appeal was to the human conscience based upon the clear precepts of the Gospel. Actually, St. John, together with other of the Church Fathers, offers an intriguing twist on what "stealing" is from the perspective of the Scriptures:
I will bring you testimony from the divine Scriptures, saying that not only the theft of others' goods but also the failure to share one's own goods with others is theft and swindle and defraudation. What is this testimony? "The earth has brought forth her increase, and you have not brought forth your tithes; but the theft of the poor is in your houses." (Mal. 3:8-10) ... And elsewhere the Scripture says, "Deprive not the poor of his living." (Sir. 4:1) To deprive is to take what belongs to another; for it is called deprivation when we take and keep what belongs to others. By this we are taught that when we do not show mercy, we will be punished just like those who steal. For our money is the Lord's, however we may have gathered it. If we provide for those in need, we shall obtain great plenty. This is why God has allowed you to have more: not for you to waste on prostitutes, drink, fancy food, expensive clothes, and all the other kinds of indulgence, but for you to distribute to those in need ... If you are affluent, but spend more that you need, you will give an account of the funds which were entrusted to you ... For you have obtained more than others have, and you have received it, not to spend it for yourself, but to become good stewards for others as well.
Beyond this "radical" social teaching, St. John also speaks about the roles we adopt in life and how our "true selves" will be revealed in the end:
Just as in the theater, when evening falls and the audience departs, and the kings and generals go outside to remove the costumes of their roles, they are revealed to everyone thereafter appearing to be exactly what they are; so also now when death arrives and the theater is dissolved, everyone puts of the masks of wealth or poverty and departs to the other world. When all are judged by their deeds alone, soome are revealed truly wealthy, others poor, some of high class, others of no account.
This leads him to further define what he understands to be true "wealth" and true "poverty:"
Let us learn from this man not to call the rich lucky nor the poor unfortunate. Rather, if we are to tell the truth, the rich man is not the one who has collected many possessions but the one who needs few possessions; and the poor man is not the one who has no possessions but the one who has many desires. We ought to consider this the definition of poverty and wealth. So if you see someone greedy for many things, you should consider him the poorest of all, even if he has acquired everyone's money. If, on the other hand, you see someone with few needs, you should count him the richest of all, even if he has acquired nothing.
Once again, this great Church Father turns upside down our entire notions of wealth and poverty. St. John offers further pastoral teaching about establishing the right balance between nourishing our bodies and nourishing our souls. If we are not vigilant, we will overly concentrate on the body at the expense of the soul. This sounds like a timeless theme, no doubt, but again an issue exacerbated by the hedonistic tendencies, hardly concealed, at work in our society:
Christ has made it very clear that after taking nourishment at table we ought to receive not sleep in bed but prayer and reading of the divine Scriptures. When He had fed the great multitude in the wilderness, He did not sent them to bed and to sleep, but summoned them to hear divine sayings. He has not filled their stomachs to bursting, nor abandoned them to drunkenness; but when He had satisfied their need, He led them to spiritual nourishment. Let us do the same; and let us accustom ourselves to eat only enough to live, not enough to be distracted and weighed down. For we were not born, we do not live, in order to eat and drink; but we eat in order to live. At the beginning life was not made for eating, but eating for life. But we, as if we had to come into the world for this purpose, spend everythig for eating.
Yet, the more our society slips into - or actively embraces - this "gastronomic atheism," the more we fall prey to just one more idol - the belly.
Plenty of challenging themes from the great St. John Chrysostom. Perhaps he will succeed in reminding us of a spiritually healthy "fear of God" which is the "beginning of wisdom."
Fr. Steven
Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
I accidentally discovered a television program on Friday evening - 20/20 perhaps? - that was covering the aftermath of the Beslan tragedy as its primary focus for the evening. If I had been aware of it beforehand, I would have certainly alerted everyone to it. One of the program's host journalists was in Beslan speaking with both parents and children through an English/Russian interpreter. This relatively small and unknown city from the region of North Ossetia, Russia, was unenviably thrust into international prominence when overwhelmed by tragedy in early September. This, of course, was the terrorist seizure of hostages - children, women and men - on opening day in a large Middle School. A well-intentioned but ineptly conducted "rescue operation" resulted in a death toll that may ultimately exceed five hundred. The very name of "Beslan" will evoke - for years to come - the horrific images of terrified and then dying children who became the victims of regional political tensions that transformed them into innocent sufferers due upon issues far beyond their capacity to understand.
I would like to briefly pass on few images from this program that were powerful expressions - and reminders - of the horror and grief, and yet resiliance and hope of the survivors. The following stood out to me:
+ A mother who lost four children and is left, I believe, with one surviving child. She actually appeared rather calm and even serene while being interviewed. She spoke of her religious faith that has given her strength in this time of intense grief. There were shots of the four graves lined up together and adorned with traditional Russian Orthodox crosses on the grave sites. She expressed a certain solace at the hundreds of letters that she has received from sympathizers from around the world.
+ Another woman described her harrowing experience and how she eventually escaped during the chaos of the ensuing gun battles that broke out between the terrorists and Russian authorities. She made an unbelievably poignant comment that evoked both the carnage of this day and the persistence of humanity that people are able to retain when caught in a "life and death" situation. She recounted approaching a door that would have led her outside and presumably to safety. However, between the door and herself the floor was completely covered with dead bodies - mostly of children. Others outside were urging and pleading with her to hurry up. She hesitated and explained it thus: "I was ashamed to stop on the bodies." She then implied that she found another means of escape.
+ Another painful image was of a mother consumed with guilt over her survival, and that of her infant, while her older daughter perished in the school. This was one of the women who were forced to leave the school by the terrorists themselves. She had a small child that was constantly crying. She claimed that this annoyed the terrorists and that they eventually "set free" these particular hostages. The woman did not want to leave her older daughter behind, but she had no real choice - she was forced to leave. She now bears the guilt of the survivor and she remains haunted by the fact that, as she said: 'I did not go back and say good-bye to my daughter." She then told her interviewer that the future holds no meaning for her, but that she must go on for the sake of her surviving child.
+ A specially-assembled medical team from Moscow was flown to Beslan where they set up an emergency medical tent in anticipation of a violent end to the standoff. It was reported that every child that was brought to this tent on that day - I believe that I heard "around fifty" - survived due to the team's combination of skill and speed.
+ Interviews with the children revealed both trauma and fear, together with a sense of wanting to return to some normalcy. Some of the children explained how the Russian government sent many of the survivors to various resort areas for an extended time in the hope of restoring a "loss sense of joy in life." This provided some temporary relief, but it is obvious that many of these children are quite psychologically traumatized and facing years of recovery and healing. Many will not go near the school and simply say that they wish they could forget about it.
+ The school has been transformed into a something of a shrine. There were shots of hundreds of people slowly walking through the wreckage of the bombed-out and burned-out shell of a building. They were placing flowers and bottles of water in remembrance and respect of the children who were given nothing to drink or eat for three days. Everyone moved about silently and reverently.
+ Perhaps you saw the image/photo of a young girl's bloodied hand clutching a small gold cross that has been circulating. This was a powerful image in the aftermath of the deadly resolution to that fateful and fatal day. Thank God, this personal story has a good ending to it. This teen-age girl was interviewed and explained how she prayed and gripped her cross in simultaneous fear and hope. Her escape - together with that of her brother was quite harrowing and she was wounded in the process. She is now recovering well from her wounds but does have a piece of shrapnel still lodged in her head.
These were a few of the many and moving images that were presented in this television program last Friday evening.
I have chosen to write about the "Beslan tragedy" a few times since in transpired in early September. Perhaps because, like countless others, it got "under my skin" and deeply troubled my soul. Undoubtedly this is due to the fact that the majority of the victims were innocent children. When something this horrific occurs, you cannot but think of your own children and the other children that are very much a part of your life. In my case, that also would mean the many children in my parish under my pastoral care; and the children I have recently encountered in the orphanage homes of Guatemala City. Children you get to know and love over the years. You desperately desire to protect their innocence - and their very lives - but you also realize the fragility of both in a troubled and sinful world. Ultimately, we may have to simply place all of this - including our grief, anger, hopes and fears - into the "hands of God" and trust that He knows best.
In one of his lesser-known, but visionary stories, Dostoevsky vividly and rather boldly describes a meeting in the Kingdom of Heaven between children who had suffered in life and their grief-stricken mothers. Their reunion is narrated in images of light, movement and inexpressible joy. All are united in the presence of Christ. And the narrator/Dostoevsky says the following:
And the mothers of the children stand apart, weeping; each one recognizes her son or daughter; and the children fly to their mothers and wipe away their tears with their tiny hands, begging them not to weep because they are so happy now ...
Dream or reality? This is the question Dostoevsky poses in the end. How we answer that "ultimate question" reveals how we look at life and death - and God.
Fr. Steven
Fragments for Friday, October 22, 2004
Dear Parish Faithful,
At the moment, we are concentrating on the Divine Liturgy through the homilies and our post-Liturgy discussions on Sunday mornings. Returning to the "basics," perhaps we should simply remind ourselves of the very title we use for our eucharistic assembly - the "Divine Liturgy." Drawing on Fr. Calivas, we read the following succinct summary:
The Divine Liturgy is the sacred rite by which the Orthodox Church celebrates the mystery of the Eucharist. This title for the Eucharist is derived from two Greek words theia and leitourgia. The word theia means pertaining to God, hence, divine. The word leitourgia comes from two words leitos (or laos), which means people, and ergon, which means work, hence the work of the people or a public service, act or function.
... By the fourth century, the word leitourgia , together with the adjective theia (i.e. Divine Liturgy), had become the technical term for the mystery of the Eucharist, the central act of worship of the community. The word Eucharist (Eucharistia) in turn means thanksgiving. It takes its name from the central prayer of the Divine Liturgy, the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving (Eucharist) called the Anaphora, which the presiding presbyter or bishop recites for and on behalf of the People of God, of which he is a part. (Aspects of Orthodox Worship, pp. 162-163)
However basic this may seem, it is essential that we always bear it in mind so that we can truly appreciate and experience the magnificence of the Divine Liturgy. We have inherited the Liturgy through the living Tradition of the Church, not as a colorful relic of the past, but as a sacred rite through which we can claim to have direct access to God through prayer, praise, blessing, doxology, supplication, thanksgiving and, ultimately, eucharistic communion. Or, to draw once again on Fr. Calivas:
The liturgical rites are, no more and no less than, the faith of the Church in action. Through them the Church transacts her life of faith for the life of the world and satisfies our endless longing for the sacred that is utterly real, liberating, and transforming. (Aspects of Orthodox Worship, p. 127)
It cannot get any better than that.
The Divine Liturgy, reaching its present form after a centuries-long process of organic development, has a particular shape and structure, according to an Ordo that fulfills the words of St. Paul that everything should be done "decently and in order" (I COR. 14:40) About this, I have written elsewhere:
To do all things in the Church "decently and in order" is not to be mechanical, formal or lifeless. St. Paul's admonition is not a "straightjacket." "Do not quench the Spirit" he exhorts us elsewhere. (I THESS. 5:19) The Holy Spirit is the source of that freedom and joy that we share in Christ and then express and experience in our liturgical assemblies. Yet, freedom in the Spirit need not express itself in some kind of loose, formless worship so often falsely-called "charismatic." Rather, the Spirit fills the unfolding order of the Liturgy with a presence that makes it truly "Divine." In the light of this, how sad indeed if the Liturgy is reduced to an "obligation" to be fulfilled on Sunday morning! (The Divine Liturgy - Meaning, Preparation and Practice, p. 2)
The Divine Liturgy is an endless source of reflection and living experience - as endless and inexhaustible as the Scriptures I believe. . In other words, the Liturgy is a source of endless insight into the revelation of God; and it is our direct experience of that revelation as this revelation is actualized every time that we celebrate the Liturgy. I would hope that that is not only true for the ordained priesthood, but for the priesthood of all believers - clergy and laity alike. It is the same Liturgy, and yet it is always fresh and new. Often, certain texts, prayers and rites lead - after many years perhaps - to an "aha!" experience. To possibly turn a common criticism on its head, the "repetitive" nature of the Divine Liturgy is a great strength to be embraced - not a weakness to be endured.
To strive for "inventiveness," "creativity for its own sake," or for that most elusive and never satisfying goal of "relevance" in the form and content of our worship, would be to invite a form of "liturgical anarchy." It would be to impose the limitations of our immediate concerns on the communal prayer of the Church; to cut us off precisely from that living Tradition that makes everything essential and of eternal value from the past present to our own generation. We worship in direct continuity with the apostles and all the saints throughout the ages primarily through the continuity of the Divine Liturgy which has retained its essential meaning since the gatherings for "the breaking of the bread" in the first Jerusalem community. That should be more than enough to get us excited for the Lord's Day!
These comments are not to be confused with a dead liturgical conservatism that fears any and all changes. That would only invite a dead liturgical formalism. Our parish churches are not museums that recreate long-extinct societies of the past - the "glory of Byzantium" or "Holy Russia." Rather they are meant to be lively eucharistic centers in which we worship "in spirit and in truth." Yet again, we hear the following balanced comments from Fr. Calivas:
We too must be ready to provide the substantive responses to the emerging needs of the Church in our own times. We must provide the necessary, carefully researched, judiciously considered, and well-planed liturgical reforms that will allow us to be in creative continuity with the past and true to the dynamic nature of the Church and the liturgy. (Aspects of Orthodox Worship, p. 127)
Hopefully, it would be our hierarchy that would lead us in such "judiciously considered and well-planned liturgical reforms" when these are considered necessary to safeguard the dynamic nature of our liturgical worship.
We need to thank God for the gift of the Divine Liturgy - served and celebrated "for all mankind."
Fr. Steven
Wednesday, October 20, 2004 - On Sister Magdalen's Visit to the Parish
Dear Parish Faithful,
We will be blessed with a special visitor and speaker in our church on Wednesday evening, November 10. This will be Sister Magdalen, an Orthodox nun from a womens' monastery in England. Sister Magdalen will be in the States for some speaking engagements, especially a Retreat on Orthodox Christian Education at Antiochian Village. She will be spending some time in Middletown with Fr. Christos, as they know each other from England. Fr. Christos recently asked me if I would like to host Sister Magdalen in our parish for an evening, and I readily agreed. So, as we are three weeks away from our date of November 10, I hope that many of you will mark that date and be present as we host Sister Magdalen and hear her talk.
Sister Magdalen is known primarily for her wonderful books about raising children in an Orthdodox manner. Her two main publications are: Children in the Church Today, An Orthodox Perspective; and Conversations with Children, Communicating our Faith. Her topic at a day-long retreat in Middletown on Saturday, November 13 will be "Church as a Family - The Role of the Family and Parish in the Salvation of the World." Her books and her insights are excellent, so I hope that many of you will plan to attend the Retreat in Middletown.
In addition, Sister Magdalen is a disciple of a disciple of a twentieth century Orthodox saint. Her spiritual father was Archimandrite Sophrony, who in turn was a disciple of St. Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938), who was recently glorified/canonized by the Church. We now commemorate St. Silouan on September 24. Archimandrite Sophrony published a remarkable book on St. Silouan that made his life and teachings known to countless Orthodox Christians over the years. Certainly, Sister Magdalen must have heard many stories concerning St. Silouan directly from the living experience of her spiritual father. Thus, the title of her presentation in our parish will be:
St. Silouan the Athonite as a Guide for our Life in Christ.
The evening will begin with Vespers at 7:00 P.M. followed by the talk and them fellowship with refreshments in the church hall.
Please make a point of attending!
Fr. Steven
Monday, October 18, 2004 - On the Divine Liturgy: The Eucharist Constitutes The Church
Dear Parish Faithful,
I was unable to prepare a new Monday Morning Meditation today, but I did want to send out something worthwhile. As you know, we are currently concentrating on the meaning of the Divine Liturgy through the homilies and post-liturgy discussions. I have some fine passages from the book that I have been referring to lately by Fr. Alkiviadis Calivas Aspects of Orthodox Worship. From a subsection entitled, "The Eucharist and the Parish," Fr. Calivas writes the following:
The whole life of the local community is centered essentially on the weekly celebration of the Eucharist, for it is there that the faithful experience the mystery of God's presence and the new reality in the world which God has wrought through the incarnation of his Son. It is at the Divine Liturgy that we confess our common faith, express our indissoluble unity in love, find another life, new, true, and eternal, receive the seeds of sanctity to bear fruit commensurate to the gift, and experience the transfiguration of our being by communicating in the Lord and becoming members of his Body, the Church.
The parish, in canonical union with the local bishop, is the essential eucharistic cell, without which there is no Church, for the Eucharist constitutes the Church and it is never celebrated in the abstract but always at a particular time in some concrete place, the parish or any legitimate and canonical extension of it.
Christ is wholly present at every Eucharist. Hence, the Divine Liturgy is the same wherever and whenever it is celebrated, for there is Christ and his Church. Thus, every other activity of the parish - social, educational, philanthropic, or cultural - is informed by and serves the purposes of the eucharistic assembly for which the parish exists. (Aspects of Orthodox Worship, pp. 174-175)
Fr. Steven
Special Meditation: On The Mourning Period for Victims of the Beslan Tragedy; October 14, 2004
Dear Parish Faithful,
I was reading an article yesterday on the BBC News Service that stated: "The traditional Orthodox Christian mourning period ended this week" for the victims of terrorism in Beslan, Russia. Most of these victims were Orthodox Christians. That "traditional mourning period" is always forty days in length (a very biblical number), so we know that it has now been that long since the horrific events in that small town. Memorial services, during which we pray for the souls of the departed, that Christ will receive them into His Kingdom are offered during those entire forty days; and we publicly acknowledge the departed by praying for them with appropriate litanies during our liturgical services. I did my best to make sure that I prayed at least an abbreviated form of the Memorial Service for those children - together with the men and women who perished with them - here in the church or at home on a daily basis for the past forty days. And, of course, we mentioned them during the Divine Liturgy and other services here in church. The final hymn in the Memorial Service is "Eternal Memory," when we pray to God that He will eternally "remember" - that is keep before Him in His presence for all eternity - those who have departed this life. This is the perfect expression of the "hope that is in us." Only this "reversal of fortune" by the grace and love of God can bring meaning and purpose to suffering and death.
Yet, the article related the sad fact that funerals continue to be served as some of the victims die from their wounds or as other bodies are finally identified. Last week alone, there were twenty-three funerals. The death count continues to rise, and some "experts" are certain it will go beyond 500, many more than the Russian government's "official count" of 331. A numbing anguish has further gripped the town as the profound sense of loss continues to only deepen on a daily basis. An initial stoicism has for many become an inconsolable grief. And, of course, great anger has appeared, seeking vengence on someone or something else - the people of neighboring Ingushetia, home of most of the terrorists, school officials, the Russian government, etc. It is reported that family members visit the charred remains of the middle school on a daily basis to place flowers or simply to roam around in dazed disbelief.
This was an event that should not be easily erased from our memories. The loss of so many innocent children so quickly and so brutally reminds us of the frailty of our lives and of the presence of evil in the world. Of course, countless innocent children suffer and die around the world on a daily basis - the Beslan tragedy magnified that reality in a particularly graphic way.
Yet, in a mysterious way, this tragedy can draw us nearer to God, the Author of life and death, and the One whose boundless love and care extend beyond the confines of this world into the realm of eternity. Christ told us that God numbers the hairs on our head - something that we cannot accomplish. This means that He knows each and every one of us in a perfect manner, far more fully than we can know ourselves. We trust that this "knowledge" endures forever and that it culminates in a love that is stronger than death.
Fr. Steven
Midweek Meditation - Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - Glory To God for Autumn!
Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
From my personal and, admittedly, "subjective" perspective, there is nothing quite like the Fall among the four seasons. For me, this season's greatest attraction is found in the flaming red, orange, yellow and golden leaves that transform familiar trees into a series of neighborhood "burning bushes," each one seemingly brighter than the other. When combined with a piercing blue sky on a sunlit day and a certain crispness in the air, I find myself more vividly aware of the surrounding world and thankful for God's creation. On a somewhat more "philosophical note" - more apt to emerge, perhaps, on an overcast, windswept day - we may realize that this "colorful death" signals the fleeting nature of everything beautiful in this world, "for the form of this world is passing away." (I COR. 7:31) And yet this very beauty and the sense of yearning that accompanies it, is a sign of the beauty ineffable of the coming Kingdom of God.
Growing up on a typical city block in Detroit, I distinctly recall a neighborhood "ritual" that marked this particular season: the raking and burning of leaves that went on up and down the entire block once most of the leaves had spiraled and floated to the ground. Everyone on the block raked the leaves down toward the street and into neatly-formed mounds of color that rested alongside the curb. Then they were lit and the task of raking now became that of tending and overseeing the piles of burning leaves. This usually occured after dinner for most families but one could still see the shimmering waves of heat that protected one from the early evening chill and the ascending ashes rushing upward. Please momentarily forgive my politcally incorrect indifference to the environment, but I thoroughly enjoyed those small bonfires near the curb as the pungent smell of burning leaves filled the air. This unmistakable smell would, as I recall, linger in the air for a couple of weeks or more as different neighbors got to the task at different times. ("Playing with matches" and the simple fascination with fire was, of course, an added attraction for a young and curious boy).
The entire scene embodied the wholesomeness of a 50's first-grade reading primer, as "Mom" and "Dad," together with "Dick" and "Jane" (and perhaps "Spot," the frisky family dog) smilingly co-operated in this joint, familial enterprise. The reading primer would reformulate this "celebration" of healthy work and a neatly-ordered environment into a staccato of minimally-complex sentences: "See Dad rake;" "Dick and Jane are raking too;" "Here come mom!" ("Mom," of course, would invariably be wearing a pretty dress, and "Jane" a skirt, during this outdoor activity). This all served to increase the budding student's vocabulary while reinforcing a picture of an idealized - if not idyllic - American way of life. Since my parents were peasants from a Macedonian village, we never quite fit into that particular mode - especially when my mother would speak to me in Macedonian in front of my friends! And yet I distinctly remember teaching my illiterate mother to read from those very "Dick and Jane" primers so that she could obtain her American citizenship papers, which she proudly accomplished in due time.
Before getting too nostalgic, however, I will remind you that all of this, for me at least, was taking place at the height of Cold War anxiety and another clear memory from my youth: the air-raid drills in our schools that were meant to prepare us and protect us from a Soviet nuclear strike. (Khrushchev's shoe-pounding exhibition at the United Natiions, together with his ominous "We will bury you!" captured the whole mood of this period). These carefully-executed air-raid drills were carried out with due solemnity and seriousness - lines staight and no talking allowed! We would wind our way down into a fairly-elaborate - if not labyrinthine - series of basment levels that were seemingly constructed, and thus burdened, with the hopeless task of saving us from nuclear bombs! We would then sit in neatly-formed rows monitored by our teachers, and apparently oblivious to the real dangers of the Cold War world, untill the "all clear" signal was given allowing us to file back to our classrooms. Thus did the spectre of the mushroom cloud darkend the sunny skies of "Dick" and "Jane's" age of innocence.
I must acknowledge that my short nostalgic digression does not offer a great deal to meditate upon. So as not to entirely frustrate that purpose - and because I began with some brief reflections on the created world - I would like to offer some of the wonderful praises of the beauty of the world around us from Protopresbyter Gregory Petrov, as found in his remarkable Akathist Hymn "Glory to God for All Things." This hymn, which has become quite popular in many Orthodox parishes, was composed by Fr. Gregory when he was slowly perishing in a Soviet prison camp in 1940. In unscientific, yet theological-poetic imagery, he reminds us of what we are often blind to: God's glorious creation. Would he also have "missed" all of this if his life was as free as ours are to be preoccupied with daily concerns and cares that leave no time or room to look around in wonder?
O Lord, how lovely it is to be Your guest. Breeze full of scents; mountains reaching to the skies; waters like boundless mirrors, rellecting the sun's golden rays and the scudding clouds. All nature murmurs mysteriously, breathing the depth of tenderness. Birds and beasts of the forest bear the imprint of Your love. Blessed are you, mother earth, in your fleeting loveliness, which wakens our yearning for happiness that will last forever. In the land where, amid beauty that grows not old, rings out the cry: Alleluia! (Kontakion 2)
You have brought me into life as if into an enchanted paradise. We have seen the sky like a chalice of deepest blue, where in the azure heights the birds are singing. We have listened to the soothing murmur of the forest and the melodious music of the streams. We have tasted fruit of fine flavor and the sweet-scented honey. We can live very well on Your earth. It is a pleasure to be Your guest. (Ikos 2)
I see Your heavens resplendent with stars. How glorious You are, radiant with light! Eternity watches me by the rays of the distant stars. I am small, insignificant, but the Lord is at my side. Your right arm guides me wherever I go. (Ikos 5)
Fr. Steven
Dear Parish Faithful,
As most of you hopefully recall, I began a series of homilies on the meaning of the Divine Liturgy last Sunday. The purpose of these homilies is to deepen our understanding of the Liturgy so that we may further deepen our experience of the Liturgy as the manifestation of the Kingdom of God. This serves the dual purpose - again hopefully - of teaching our catechumens and "seekers" about the meaning of Orthodox Christian worship as they directly experience the Liturgy through their presence; and of renewing our own understanding of the Liturgy so that is never becomes routine or lifeless. To take the Liturgy "for granted, " in other words, should only be feared as something spiritually catastrophic. Periodically "reviewing" its meaning could serve as a tool for avoiding that temptation.
My initial emphasis was to remind us all that we do not merely attend the Liturgy as passive participants or viewers of a religious rite being done of our behalf. "Going to church" or "attending the Liturgy" are conventional, but ultimately lame, expressions for genuine liturgical experience. As I stated on Sunday, we attend concerts, sporting events, lectures, etc. When we "assemble" for the Divine Liturgy, we constitute the Body of Christ, and not merely attend church as a means of individual sanctification. Since leitourgia means "common action," our coming together for worship, prayer, doxology, the hearing of the Scriptures, and the reception of the Eucharist is an activity that reveals our synaxis (assembly) as the Body of Christ through the grace and presence of the Holy Spirit.
I hope to develop some of these crucial liturgical themes over the course of the next few Sundays. At the same time, I would like to introduce you to some of the fine and insightful writing of our contemporary Orthodox theologians, scholars and pastors who are working in the specific domain of liturgical theology. One of the best such writers today is Fr. Alkiviadis Calivas, especially from his new book Essays in Theology and Worship, Vol. Three - Aspects of Orthodox Worship. Under the heading of "Encountering God in worship, Fr. Calivas writes the following about the meaning and purpose of the Liturgy:
In worship the Church encounters the living God. Through worship God is present to the Church. Stated in another way, worship - the liturgy - constitutes the fundamental way by which the Church stands before God. ... Through the liturgy the Church becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit, actualizes herself as the Body of Christ, and becomes the witness to the eschaton, the age to come. The sacred rites of the Church celebrate the Kingdom of God already come and already given as the very pledge of salvation.
...Thus, the liturgy - in its setting, content, and ritual action - becomes the gateway to heaven, a place of mystery, flooded by the presence of God. It brings us to the threshold of another world. The earth encounters heaven; God embraces his creation... (pp. 54-55)
Through the homily this coming Sunday, I hope to develop the Kingdom-oriented direction of the Liturgy as announced in the opening doxology. In the post-liturgy discussion, I want to offer a brief historical sketch of how the Liturgy developed over the centuries
Fr. Steven
Monday Morning Meditation, September 20, 2004; Before Thy Cross...
Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,
For the eight day period of September 14-21 - liturgically an "octave" - the "precious and life-giving Cross" of the Lord is openly venerated throughout the parishes, monasteries and seminaries of the Orthodox Church. And, by extention, perhaps even in the homes of Orthodox Christians. This intense focus on the Cross is the liturgical expression of the "theology of the Cross" as revealed in the New Testament (and not lost to the Church to be "recovered" by Martin Luther and the other "reformers" of the sixteenth century):
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (I COR. 2:2)
Any Christian theology that somehow attempts to soften the meaning and centrality of the Cross is actually betraying the Gospel and the apostolic witness. Of course we need to acknowledge our own personal inability to "live up" to the Cross and all that that demands of us. We are all too aware of our own weakness and our deep reluctance to "take up" our crosses in following the Lord. And we pray that God, by His "grace divine" will strenghten us and prove us faithful in the end. But a theological and pastoral "detour" around the Cross would only reveal a "lack of nerve" before the world and sadly demonstrate that we are "ashamed of the gospel." (ROM. 1:16)
Yet, the centrality of the Cross does not thinly disguise a "cult of suffering" for its own sake. Though the Church vehemently rejects any tendency toward docetism (meaning that it only "seemed" that Christ suffered), the Cross is not meant to be a pious fixation on the bloodied and battered body of Jesus. The Church's hymnography for the Feast acknowledges the passion of the Lord and yet conveys to us the cosmic and triumphant dimension of the Cross:
- The Cross is raised on high, and urges all the creation
- to sing the praises of the undefiled Passion of Him
- who was lifted on high upon it.
- For there it was that He killed our slayer, and brought
- the dead to life again:
- and in His exceeding goodness and compassion,
- He made us beautiful and counted us worthy to be
- citizens of heaven.
- Therefore with rejoicing let us exalt His Name,
- and magnify His surpassing condescension.
- (sticheron, Great Vespers)
- Hail! life-giving Cross, unconquerable trophy of
- godliness,
- door to paradise, succour of the faithful, rampart
- set about the Church.
- Through thee corruption is utterly destroyed, the
- power of death is swallowed up, and we are raised
- from earth to heaven.
- Invincible weapon, adversary of devils, glory of the
- martyrs, true ornament of saints, haven of salvation
- bestowing on the world great mercy.
- (Aposticha, Great Vespers)
Even further is the fact that the Cross is always related to and fulfilled in the Resurrection. The one hymn that everyone knows, and during which we venerate the Cross by our prostrations, perfectly balances the indivisble relationship between the Cross and Resurrection:
Before Thy Cross we bow down and worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection, we glorify.
And at every Eucharistic liturgy, immediately following the reception of Holy Communion, we chant the following hymn that wonderfully weaves together the Cross and Resurrection:
Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only Sinless One. We venerate Thy Cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify Thy holy Resurrection; for Thou art our God, and we know no other than Thee; we call on Thy name. Come all you faithful, let us venerate Christ's holy Resurrection! For, behold, through the Cross joy has come into the world. Let us ever bless the Lord, praising His Resurrection, for by enduring the Cross for us, He has destroyed death by death.
I could be mistaken as I am writing this now, but I do not think that there is a New Testament passage that speaks of "trials and tribulations," suffering and persecution , in isolation from the promise of the glory to come that will be revealed in Christ:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (ROM. 8:18)
For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. (II COR. 4:18)
Even though St. Paul famously said that "Christ crucified" is "a stumbing block to Jews and folly to Gentiles" (I COR. 1:23), we need to take an honest look into our own hearts before we piously nod in agreement. Do not some of our own choices in life - our very life-styles, our indifference to the poor and suffering, our goals and ambitions, our pragmatism and utilitarianism, etc. - undermine our claim to belong to the crucified Lord of glory? And yet Christ "depends" upon us to be His witnesses to, and presence in, the world. For this reason, we continue to pray for "the grace divine, which always heals that which is infirm, and supplies that which is lacking ..."
Fr. Steven