The Water Is Important!

Christ is Risen!

Today is the eve of the Feast of Mid-Pentecost, the Feast of the Holy Church which calls to our attention the fact that one half of the time between Pascha and Pentecost has now passed.  The Holy Spirit will come soon to establish the Church, to make it "firm" and secure for all time!

This past Sunday we commemorated our Lord's healing of the paralytic at the Sheep's Pool - at Bethesda (which in Hebrew means 'house of kindness').  It was there that divine healing could be found for those in need if they entered the waters "when they became troubled," or when by tradition an angel was sent to stir those waters.

In the Gospel reading for this current day (John 7:14-30) we find our Lord having moved from Bethesda to the Temple, "in the middle of the Feast."  This was the Feast of Tabernacles, which which the Jews celebrate each year to remember God's provision for them as they wandered in the desert for forty years, but also to look ahead to the day when God would restore the nation to Israel, and all would gather at Jerusalem to worship God in truth.

It is with this backdrop that we find our Lord ''teaching" the teachers of Israel, to such a great extent does Jesus teach them that they are astonished.  "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Our Lord engages His detractors, accusing them of seeking to kill Him, and they in turn accusing Him of "having a demon."  

The One who fed them in the desert stands before them, and they refuse to recognize or acknowledge Him.  The One who promised to return them to Jerusalem speaks with them, and they deny Him and make accusations against Him - even as they celebrate a feast to 'honor' Him.

Several verses after the end of today's Gospel, but still in Chapter 7 of the Gospel of Saint John, our Lord says these words:  "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."

This coming Sunday will be the commemoration of the Samaritan woman, where our Lord meets St. Photini at Jacob's well.  There He asks her for water, and then promises to her (and delivers to her) "living water."

On the following Sunday we will remember the blind man (Bartameus), who receives his sight by washing "in the pool of Siloam."

We have incidents of water, and water, and water, and water.  Why?

Because we, like the Apostles in these days who were waiting (and being prepared by our Lord) for the Holy Spirit, will come to our "baptisms", will come to receiving the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which comes to us by water and prayer and anointing, which came to the Apostles by the descent of tongues of fire, and which fills the Church with LIFE.

One thing is constant for all that we know of life.  Life cannot exist without water.  That is physical life.  That is temporal life.

But eternal life also must be filled with the water of the Spirit of God, must be founded in that which is the creative force of God, His eternal Spirit, linking us to Him so that we share in His eternal nature.

Water is important! At this 'feast' of Mid-Pentecost, the Church (in Her love for us and in Her wisdom) gives us the repeated gift of focusing us on that 'living water' that our Lord promised - not only to St. Photini (the Samaritan Woman), but to His Bride, the Church, for all time!

Christ is Risen!

Fear

Pascha, the Lord's Resurrection, is now more than a week behind us.  The Great and Holy Fast set aside for us a time in which we might live "in Christ," a time in which our fasting brought us near to Him (by bringing us OUT of the world), but also a time when, through the rigorous ecclesiastical schedule, we were literally "with Him" more frequently.  It was and is a time for us to develop a sense of connectedness to Him as something necessary, as something normal, as part of our daily routine.

Now we are out of that season.  But does that mean that we must return to "things as usual"?  Perhaps the church isn't open for services today, but does that mean that we cannot or should not remain (by prayer, by reading scripture, by reading from the Fathers) connected with our Lord?

Here we sit, on the Tuesday after Bright Week.  The Apostles have seen the risen Lord.  Even Thomas no longer has doubt in the fact of Christ's Resurrection.  As the Lord came to the Apostles this past Sunday, Saint John records that He greeted them by saying, "Peace be with you," that He "breathed upon them," and instructed them to "receive the Holy Spirit."  Clearly as our Lord did this, the Spirit did not at once enter the eleven.  That is yet to come, on the day of Pentecost, weeks from now.

And so to a certain extent, the eleven still live in fear of the Jews and the Romans.  They remain "off the grid" so to speak.  There are no public gatherings in which they speak to other followers of our Lord.  There remains a certain level of fear.

So, what is it that changes in them on that 50th day after the Resurrection?  Yes, of course, they received the Holy Spirit.  But they themselves had to change.  They had to recognize God's plan for them.  They had to come to expect what lay ahead for them, and for the Church - a life lived no less sacrificially than was our Lord's life.

Imagine, twelve men sent into the world to change it fundamentally forever!  The world has spears and swords, by the legions.  The twelve have words, and love.  In the wisdom of the world, the later could never overcome the former.  And yet, "the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God." (1Cor 3:19)

After receiving the Holy Spirit, the eleven (who became twelve again) indeed set out and conquered the whole world.  And the faithful whom they taught continued their conquests, even up to this very day, so that all throughout the world might hear the Gospel of our Lord.

In our times, we fear too many things.  We fear economic disaster, pandemics, super-volcanoes, earthquakes, nuclear disaster, nuclear war, terrorism, ....  The list seems endless.  But what is there truly to fear, except for our own being found to be faithless when our Lord returns?  If I perish in this life today or if I perish in this life 30 years from today, I will perish in this life.  What must concern me is not this life, but rather life eternal, and not being found "among the goats" on that day!

There is nothing in this life that we should fear except for living a life in which we reject our Lord.  For there is no threat in this life that can touch us in eternity, as long as we live a life according to His commandments, loving God above all, loving neighbor as self, laying up treasures in heaven which cannot be taken from us!

As we do this, His peace truly fills us.  There is no room for fear.  There is only Christ crucified and risen!  There is nothing more we need know or embrace than this!

By What Authority Are You Doing These Things?

He was baptized as man, but He remitted sins as God.  He was baptized not because He needed the rite of purification Himself, but that He might sanctify the element of water.

He was tempted as man, but He conquered as God; indeed, He bids us be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world.

He hungered, but He fed thousands;  indeed, He is the bread of life that gives life, and that is of heaven.

He thirsted, but He cried, "If any man thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  Indeed, He promised that fountains should flow from those who believe.

He was wearied, but He is the rest of those who are weary and heavy laden.

He was heavy with sleep, but He walked lightly over the sea.  He rebuked the winds, He made Peter light as he began to sink.

He pays tribute, but it is out of a fish; indeed, He is the King of those who demanded it.

He weeps, but He causes tears to cease.

He asks where Lazarus was laid, for He is man; but He raises Lazarus, for He is God.

He is sold, and very cheap, for it is only for thirty pieces of silver, but He redeems the world, and that at a great price, for the price was His own blood.

As a sheep, He is led to the slaughter, but He is the shepherd of Israel, and now of the whole world also.  As a lamb He is silent, yet He is the Word, and is proclaimed by the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

He is bruised and wounded, but He heals every disease and every infirmity.

He is lifted up and nailed to the tree, but by the tree of life He restores us; indeed, He saves even the robber crucified with Him.

He is the Light of the world, but He wraps the visible world in darkness.

He is given vinegar to drink mingled with gall.  Who is He?  He is the One Who turned water into wine, Who is the destroyer of the bitter taste, Who is sweetness and altogether desired.

He lays down His life, but He has the power to take it again.  He dies, but He gives life, and by His death He destroys death.

He is buried, but He rises again.  He descends into hell, but He brings up the souls.

Saint Gregory Nazianzus, Third Theological Oration, 20.

The Young Rich Man

The Gospel reading for 04Feb16 was from Mark 10:17-27.  If it's not already one of your favorite readings, perhaps this post will help to elevate it on your list.

The young man who comes to the Lord is filled with energy and zeal.  Saint Mark records "he came running and knelt before the Lord."  His heart is filled with the strong desire to learn, to hear, to adapt to that which will elevate him to the Kingdom!  All of these are good things.

But then he speaks.

He asks Jesus, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  In the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the man asks, "What good THING...", implying that there must be a solution to finding acceptance before God that is simple to follow and understand - just "one" thing!

ERROR #1:  Teacher?  You come to Christ as "just" a teacher?  It means that you do not (yet) recognize in Him His divinity, that He is the Son of God.

ERROR #2:  One thing?  You ask for simplicity?

The Lord, in His own way of "teaching" replies, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, and that is God!"  In His answer, Jesus indeed implies to the young man, "Yes, I am 'good' because I am God, but you do not yet know this!"

Jesus responds by speaking the Law of Moses, the Commandments.  Clearly, this is the 'recipe' for pleasing God, since these are the 'rules' given by God to His creatures as their 'rules for life'.

The young man responds to our Lord's teaching by saying, "All these things I have kept from my youth."

ERROR #3:  You've not violated a single point of the Commandments?  Then you are deluding yourself in the intent of the meaning of the Law!  You ascribe to yourself righteousness.  Look inside!  If righteousness is there, why do you come to seek from Jesus an answer to "what is needed"?

And here next is the line that, if this is not yet on your "favorites" list should put it there.  Saint Mark records, "Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him...."  In this expression is a summation of God's choosing to become incarnate, of His saving action on the Cross, in the tomb, of His Resurrection and His Ascension!

Jesus looked at him.  This is not a 'glance' that has the eyes of one seeing a blemish on the face, or a spot on clothes, or noticing the quality of shoes.  This is a look that peers deep into the heart, to the very core of the being of the young man.  This is the "look" that our Lord gives to the man.  And in looking that intensely and deeply into the heart of the man, Saint Mark says, "(He) loved him."

The young man just committed a pile of errors before the Lord.  He didn't recognize Him as God.  He wanted some simple answer to his questions.  He judged himself to be righteous, at least as the Law had been explained to him.  Through all these errors, God the Son still loved him!

What does this say about us?  We, too, have misconceptions about what God expects of us.  We, too, misunderstand how it is that God intends for us to live.  We, too, judge the things that we do that are counter to God's loving rules for life to be small, inconsequential.  We believe that our sins are not worth carrying before God because "they are so small."

Point is - we, too, have so very many "errors" in our coming before the Lord.  But through these, He has the ability and the heart to "look at us."  He knows us.  He created us.  If He can find within us that same heart that desires to seek His will in our lives, then His love for us is also present.

The "prescription" that our Lord gave to the young man was to go and sell all he had, to give to the poor, and then "take up the cross, and follow Me."  The "prescription" that our Lord would give to each of us would differ.  He would no doubt single out those things in each of our lives that are being used as an earthly substitute for our relationship with God.  But the final part of the "prescription" will remain for each and every one of us.  We all need to "take up the cross".  In our lives there are small crosses, there are huge crosses.  The small ones God has given us strength and grace to overcome and deal with as we encounter them.  The huge ones are crosses that we need His help to carry.  We must never be afraid nor ashamed to come to Him for that help.  Indeed, we must at times allow for His placing others into our lives to be such helpers.  Remember, on the way to Golgotha, even our Lord had Simon of Cyrene to help Him carry His Cross!

Let us all, then, follow the One who loves us through our errors!

A Prayer for France, and for the World

When we see carnage at the hands of demonically motivated murderers as we witnessed tonight, we certainly pray for the victims and their families.  We pray first for those who lost their lives.  We pray next for those whose lives will never be the same because they happened to be near, to be eyewitnesses, to the evil that occurred.  We don't often think of praying for the perpetrators, but as Christians, we are called to do even this.

Our Lord, after putting down yet another attempt by Pharisees ("the world") to trip Him in His own words, took His Apostles aside, and He taught them.

"I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:4-5)

Blessed Theophylact explains that those who kill the body do a small thing, for the body will die anyhow.  Men, he teaches, can direct their rage only against the perishable body.  The last step of their plotting against us is the death of our flesh.  But men have no power whatsoever against destroying the soul.  Only God has the power to cast the soul into hell.

If we serve our Lord and are faithful to live according to His commandments, to repent of our sins, to love our neighbor, and to love our enemy, then the death of our flesh is simply the event that brings our passage to eternal life.

The deranged murderers who plotted this evil against the people of Paris who, having killed others before killing themselves, are not the martyrs in this event.  The martyrs are the innocents whose bodies were slain, but whose souls were sent to their Creator.

May our Lord comfort those suffering tonight.  May He remember in His kingdom those whose bodies were slain, but whose souls now rest with Him.

"(Your Group Here)" Lives Matter!

We've been barraged with news items related to the movement whose motto is "Black Lives Matter," and to the efforts of this group, we offer a hearty, "Yes, they do!"  We pray that your efforts will make a difference!!

But are these the ONLY lives that matter?

We've also been inundated with stories - horror stories - of the atrocities worked by those who claim a medical title (we refuse to dignify such people by referring to them with the righteous title of 'doctor'), people who at times trick vulnerable young women into choosing abortion, who manipulate the unborn to murder them in ways that save precious body parts for resale, who place their abattoirs in locations where the more vulnerable of such people are located - in short, nearest to the poorest neighborhoods.  And we ask ourselves "How can a person sleep at night, having worked such atrocities upon the most helpless?"  In all honesty, as a priest, I've had people ask me exactly this question.  What is my own response?  Again, in all honesty, I tell them, "I have trouble sleeping at night knowing how little I've done to defend those who have and who continue to be slaughtered!"

At our little mission, we dwell upon the lessons taught us by our Lord in Matthew 25 - "Feed the hungry.  Give drink to the thirsty.  Take in those in need of shelter.  Clothe the naked.  Visit and heal the sick and the imprisoned."  These are simple-to-understand commandments from the lips of our Lord that teach us how we are to live our lives.  We are to live selflessly - even though we are in a selfish world.  We are to give from what He has given us, for it is His, not ours.

Why do we dwell on these things?  We do so because of the promise that our Lord makes in giving us these instructions.  What promise?  To those who in fact live according to them, He promises an invitation - "Come, you blessed of My Father, and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."  But our Lord gives a corresponding promise to those who refuse to live according to His instructions.  What promise is this?  "Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."  As in all instances, He gives to us the choice.

And it seems an easy one to make.

But let's dig just a bit deeper into the text of Matthew 25.  For in both the blessing and the curse, our Lord uses the same operative word in His granting grace to the first, and a curse to the second.  To those blessed, He says, "Inasmuch as you have done (or NOT done) this to the least of My brethren you have done (or not done) it to Me." 

So, we should ask, "What does Jesus mean by "the least of His brethren"?

NOW you've got the most important question of this little mini-homily!

The Greek word used for "least" is ἐλάχιστος (el-akh'-is-tos).  It translates to "least, very small, very little, short.  Strong's Greek Concordance lists μικρός (mik'-ros) as an 'equivalent'.

Now, return your thinking to where we started - to the unborn.  The depraved thought and 'instruction' given by those who slaughter the unborn to the young women seeking help from anyone who seems to 'care' is that the "fetus" is not "viable".  If it could not live on its own, it can be eliminated without guilt.  Can a 2 year old child live on its own?  Should it be capable of being terminated at the whim of anyone who "bears" (or bears with) him or her?

Our Lord's words in Matthew 25 focus on those who are the very smallest.  We can interpret these words in any number of very valid and important ways.  "The least" may be those who are the poorest, who have the least influence to gather and garner what they need to exist.  "The least" may be those who have the least physical strength and ability to go and do for themselves.  "The least" may be those who are mentally challenged and cannot function in society without having someone to care for them and provide for their basic needs.

But "the least", the mik'-ros, the "micro" in our world, could have also been 'covered' by our Lord's words, with Him instructing us to do for those who are being slaughtered - by the millions - while still in the womb.  These are ones who fill ALL of the above categories, and more!  They have no voice if we do not provide one for them.  They have no advocate.  There is no 'judge' who decides their fate in a court of law.  That one decision was made in our country once in 1973, and it will remain until such time as our citizenry and our courts awaken to the misery caused since that unrighteous decision and demand a return to preserving life - all life, both born and unborn!

So, what are we to do?  If we honor the words given us by our Lord in Matthew 25, we must become advocates for the unborn.

UNBORN LIVES MATTER!

Get out and stand in a protest line in front of a Planned Parenthood building.  Write your Congressperson or Senator.  Don't ask.  DEMAND that the status quo be changed, reversed.  Take a stand.

Be a follower of Christ.  Desire with your whole heart to be one who on that last day will hear His blessing, and not His curse!  Following our Lord is not always a place of comfort.  But it IS a place to which we are called, if we are going to claim His name and truly be a Christians!

To Those Who Deny That History Repeats Itself

Today, 05Mar on the New Calendar, is the Feast day of the Martyr John of Bulgaria.  For those following the happenings within the world around us now, the following should bring chills to the body, and strength to the spirit.

Pray for peace in the world!!  Pray for persecuted brother and sister Christians!!  Pray for their persecutors!!!

Fr. B

                                                        ------------  +  ------------

The holy New Martyr John was born in Bulgaria in 1775.  Since fanatical Muslims believed that they would be assured of an eternal 'paradise' where they would enjoy beautiful virgins and an abundance of food if they could force Christians to deny Christ and follow Mohammed, they spread no effort to convert Christians through flattery or by threats of death.

When John was still a boy, he fell with Muslim companions.  Through various ways, he was led to renounce Christ and to follow Islam.  He came to his senses when he was about sixteen, and was stricken with grief at his denial of Christ.  He fled to Mount Athos, to the Great Lavra.  There he spent his time in repentance under the guidance of an Elder.

He lived a monastic life of great strictness for three years, yet his conscience continued to trouble him.  With the blessing of his Elder, he decided to travel to Constantinople to wipe out his apostasy by confessing Christ in a public way and by shedding his blood.

The young monk dressed himself as a Turk, which a Christian was not permitted to do.  Arriving in Constantinople, he went directly to the Church of Hagia Sophia, which had been turned into a mosque.  Before the Muslims gathered there, he made the sign of the Cross and began to recite Christian prayers.  Then he said in a loud voice that he had been born a Christian, but had fallen into error and renounced Christ.  Now, he declared, he wished to renounce the false religion of Mohammed in order to follow Christ once more.

The Turks fell into a frenzied rage when they heard his words.  They seized him and began to torture him in various ways.  'Renounce Christ,' they said, 'and return to Islam, or you will be killed.'

Saint John replied, 'Without Christ, there is no salvation!'

The furious crown dragged the Saint out into the courtyard to behead him.  In this way, Saint John received the crown of martyrdom in 1784 at the age of nineteen.

The Expulsion From Paradise

We Liturgically celebrated this event two Sundays ago, on the Sunday of Forgiveness.  But here is the event inside of today's prescribed readings, from Genesis 3:

"Then the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.  And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever' -- therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.  So He drove out the man; and He placed Cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the Tree of Life." (Gen 3:22-24)

For those who deny the Triune nature of God, take note of the first sentence.  To Whom is God speaking?  If He says, "the man has become like one of Us," Who then is part of "Us"?  Is it not God speaking to God in Trinity?

But the true beauty of this passage remains for us to uncover, for God then, in His discourse with Himself, reveals His plan for the eternal nature of man.  It was always His plan for man to be with Him eternally.  It was only Adam's (and Eve's) sin that brought physical death to them.  But sooner or later, God would have shared with them not only of the Tree of Knowledge, but also of the Tree of Life.

It is fascinating that in this passage it is Cherubim who guard the entrance to where the Tree of Life is to be found.  Why is this 'fascinating'?

Consider the Divine Liturgy.  It is the Cherubic Hymn that "guards" the entrance of the gifts we bring so that God can, through the Holy Spirit, effect their change into the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior.  And it is us here on earth, you and me, who share in the guarding of this entrance to this very day.  For we sing, "Let us who mystically represent the Cherubim, and who sing the thrice-Holy hymn to the Life Creating Trinity now lay aside all earthly cares, that we may receive the King of all, Who comes invisibly upborne by the angelic hosts.  Alleluia!"

"Mystically" we represent these very angels, who have guarded the "Tree of Life" since mankind's expulsion from Paradise.  How God allows this is truly a mystery, beyond our human ability to understand.  And if only we can set aside all that ties us, binds us to the cares of this world, then we may be found worthy to receive the King of all, our Lord and Savior, His very Body and Blood.  For the Cross is the Tree of Life, and the fruit of the Cross is the Body and Blood of our Lord.  He came to share the Tree of Life with us, so that we might again receive the promise of dwelling with God in Paradise forever!

What is the 'price' of our entrance, to receive He Who is priceless?  Repentance for our own sins.  Forgiveness of those who have sinned against us.  Caring for the 'least of His brethren.'  Loving neighbor as ourselves.  The requirements are simple, easy.  Loving is so very much easier than hating.  Repentance is so much easier than carrying guilt.  The path may be narrow, but our Lord has made it obvious, not hard to find.

Our bodies are in the world, expelled from Paradise.  But through the Tree of Life, through the Eucharist, our spirits need not dwell there as well.  And where the spirit is, there is the heart.....

On the Sunday of Orthodoxy - 2015

The following was delivered as today's (01Mar15) homily in Hudson.  We pray that you will find it helpful.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Glory to Jesus Christ.

My brothers and sisters in Christ:

Together we’re going to go to a couple of places today that other faithful were taken by two who far exceed the humble abilities of your priest to preach on a topic.  In 1985, Fr. Schmemann gave a sermon on this day that is perhaps one of the most moving we’ve read.  So, in part we’ll go to school today at the lectern of Fr. Alexander.  In 1984, Metropolitan Philip gave a sermon on this day, and it charged the American people with a solemn duty to also carry Orthodoxy forward.  We’ll paraphrase from both of these sources as best the Spirit allows us.  It’s not unworth the investment to find the originals of both, and I’d encourage any to do so if you’re interested.

The Holy Orthodox Church celebrates this day on this Sunday of the Great Fast every year.  It was in 787 at the Seventh Ecumenical Council that the victory of the Church over the iconoclasts occurred.  But it wasn’t until a regional council of the Church was called in Constantinople in 843 that this particular celebration was instituted.  At that time, Empress Theodora, her son Michael III, Patriarch Methodius, and monks and clergy restored to the temple Hagia Sophia the iconography that had been removed.  From that day, on this first Sunday of the Great Fast, the Holy Church has celebrated this victory. 

So in a very special way, today is a feast of the past.  And certainly if we are celebrating it today, it is a feast of the present.  But we, as the faithful of the Church today, need to take our place in the life of the Church to assure that the feast will also be a feast of the future.

While the focus of the Triumph of Orthodoxy which we celebrate today is that of the use of icons, there are many “triumphs” in Holy Orthodoxy.  The first and foremost is the reversal of the ultimate defeat that became the most glorious victory.  This of course is the death of God the Son on the Cross, only to have that defeat become the most glorious victory in the history of the world – the triumphant Resurrection.  This is the foundation of all that we are as Orthodox Christians.

The next victory is not unlike the first.  For our Lord chose twelve simple men, uneducated, unskilled, and He gave to them the Holy Spirit, and the power to preach about that defeat turned into victory.  He sent them to the whole world to preach and baptize and build up this Church.  These men were hated, and all save one martyred.  But even their blood was another victory, for the Church grew, until it filled the universe with the True Faith.  Ultimately, the earthly kingdom that sought to snuff out the fledgling Church was converted to the Church.  It only took 300 years for the Roman Empire to become the Holy Roman Empire.

Throughout this whole time persecutions arose.  As did heresies.  As did enemies of the Church.  There were attempts to change this Faith, to change the truth.  But holy people, men, women, and even children defended the truth.  Martyrs all, the Church is washed in their blood.  All of this happened before the council and the events which instituted today’s celebration.  But since then, there have been more such trials. 

And so we ask ourselves today:  Do all the victories of Orthodoxy lie in the past?  Fr. Schmemann makes this observation:  “My dear friends, if the triumph of Orthodoxy belongs to the past only, if there is nothing else for us to do but commemorate, to repeat to ourselves how glorious was the past, then Orthodoxy is dead. But we are here now to witness to the fact that Orthodoxy not only is not dead but also that it is once more and forever celebrating its own triumph — the triumph of Orthodoxy. We don’t have to fight heresies among ourselves, but we have other things that once more challenge our Orthodox faith.”

The challenges that Fr. Alexander outlined are those from that era – a church united by a core faith and divine services and councils, but otherwise ‘divided’ by ethnicities.  We are now thirty years after this proclamation, and what has changed? 

One change is the movement associated with the Assemblies of Bishops throughout the world.  This is a precursor to a new council, scheduled for 2016 in Constantinople (Istanbul).  And that is a momentous and wonderful development for the Church.

Unfortunately, the challenges that face the Church today are more than those associated with ethnicity and the lack of a unified council for more than 12 centuries.  Christians, and many of them Orthodox Christians, are being slaughtered in the political and religious press of Islam throughout the Middle East.  This is perhaps an even greater issue for the Church than the issues intended to be discussed when the upcoming council was first considered years ago.

Still, a unified Orthodox presence worldwide is a stronger advocate for the faithful of all countries and jurisdictions, and therefore, the dream of Orthodox unity around the world is a dream that we need to bring to fruition.  Metropolitan Philip’s address in 1984 contained a passionate plea along these very lines.  Here are a few words from his address.

“It is indeed astonishing that we have not had an ecumenical council since AD 787, despite the many changes which the Church has encountered during the past 1197 years. I shall mention but a few of these global events which affected the life of the Church directly or indirectly since the last Ecumenical Council: the 1054 schism between East and West; the fall of Constantinople; the European Renaissance with all its implications; the Protestant Reformation; the discovery of the New World; the French Revolution; the Industrial Revolution; the Communist Revolution and its impact on the Orthodox Church; the First and Second World Wars; the dawning of the nuclear age; the exploration of space and all the scientific and technological discoveries which baffle the mind….  You might ask, what is the reason behind this Orthodox stagnation? Did our history freeze after AD 787? There is no doubt that the rise of Islam, the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, and the fall of Tsarist Russia have contributed much to our past and present stagnation. The sad condition of our mother churches across the ocean is indicative of this reality….  Have we then lost all hope for an Orthodox renaissance? Is there not a place on this planet where we can dream of a better Orthodox future? I believe that there is a place, and this place is the North American continent. We have a tremendous opportunity in this land to dream dreams and see visions, only if we can put our house in order. Where in the whole world today can you find seven million free Orthodox except in North America?  We are no longer a church of immigrants; the first Orthodox liturgy was celebrated in this country before the American Revolution. Many of our Orthodox young people have died on the battlefields of various wars, defending American ideals and principles. We have contributed much to the success of this country in the fields of medicine, science, technology, government, education, art, entertainment, and business.  We consider ourselves Americans, and we are proud of it—except when we go to church, we suddenly become Greeks, Russians, Arabs, and Albanians.”

Here today, inside of St. Herman’s, we still suffer from this schizophrenia, in that we are the home of people with Greek, Slavic, Russian, Serbian, and speaking for my wife, even a little hillbilly background, and we worship under a Bulgarian omophorion by the grace of God.  And please, this is not a complaint – rather, it is simply a statement of fact.

This unity needs to be found so that the voice of Holy Orthodoxy becomes meaningful within our society.  You've all watched the news.  When moral issues arise, you'll find news reporters seeking clarification from Catholic and Protestant clergy.  But where are the Orthodox?  Why is the voice of the True Faith silent in these important discussions?  It is this way because we have marginalized ourselves by our ethnic divisions.

Metropolitan Philip ended his homily with his own reference to Fr. Schmemann, using these words.  “One can almost visualize the glorious and blessed day when forty Orthodox bishops of America will open their first synod in New York or Chicago or Pittsburgh with the hymn, ‘Today the grace of the Holy Spirit assembled us together,’ and will appear to us not as ‘representatives’ of Greek, Russian, or any other ‘jurisdictions’ and interests but as the very icon, the very ‘Epiphany’ of our unity within the body of Christ; when each of them and all together will think and deliberate only in terms of the whole, putting aside all particular and national problems, real and important as they may be. On that day, we shall ‘taste and see’ the oneness of the Orthodox Church in America.”

It is a vision not only for America, but for Orthodoxy in the entire world.  Pray that our hierarchs will be moved by the Holy Spirit to achieve this unity in Holy Orthodoxy in these coming years!  That would be the next in a great series of triumphs for the Church!

Glory to Jesus Christ!

How Do I Turn From Sin?

As we enter the fast, we begin to take our spiritual inventory, and we begin to seek out the places in our hearts and souls where we know we fail in our walk towards the Lord.  And so we ask the title's question:  "How do I turn from my sin?"

The following is from St. Theophan the Recluse, and the book "Thoughts for Each Day of the Year."  The answer to the question is contained in the ending phrase;  "Be sober, watch and pray."  In our sobriety, let us root out the secret places in our hearts where sin hides.  In our watchfulness, let us carry our finding to the place of repentance.  And in our prayer, let us ask the Lord to lead us not into temptation, so that we may not again fail as we have before.

The devil approached the God-man with temptations.  Who then among men is free of them?

He who goes according to the will of the evil one does not experience attacks, but is simply turned more and more toward evil. 

As soon as one begins to come to himself and intends to begin a new life according to God’s will, immediately the entire satanic realm enters into action: they hasten to scatter good thoughts and the intentions of the repentant one in any way they can.

If they do not manage to turn him aside, they attempt to hinder his good repentance and confession; if they do not manage to do that, they contrive to sow tares amidst the fruits of repentance and disrupt his labors of cleansing the heart.

If they do not succeed in suggesting evil they attempt to distort the truth; if they are repulsed inwardly they attack outwardly, and so on until the end of one’s life. They do not even let one die in peace; even after death they pursue the soul, until it escapes the aerial space where they hover and congregate.

You ask, “What then should we do? It seems hopeless and terrifying!”

For a believer there is nothing terrifying here, because near a God-fearing person demons only busy themselves, but they do not have any power over him. A sober person of prayer shoots arrows against them, and they stay far away, not daring to approach, and fearing the defeat which they have already experienced.

If they succeed in something, it is due to our blundering. We slacken our attention, or allow ourselves to be distracted by their phantoms, and they immediately come and disturb us more boldly.

If you do not come to your senses in time they will whirl you about; but if a soul does come to its senses they again recoil and spy from afar to see whether it is possible to approach again somehow.

So be sober, watch, and pray—and the enemies will do nothing to you.

Blessing My Enemies

In the world around us, there is always a worldly attempt to define friend and enemy.  The political machinations that surround us seem to try to make one from another with such great regularity that we can't keep track any longer.

The following is wisdom from St. Nikolai Velimirovich (from "Prayers by the Lake") on praying for ones enemies.  It is profound, and we share it with you hoping it will move you as it has us!

     Enemies have driven me into Your embrace more than friends have.

     Friends have bound me to earth; enemies have loosed me from the earth and have demolished all my aspirations of the world.

     Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.

     Bless my enemies, O Lord.  Even I bless them and do not curse them.  

     

     They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.

     They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.

     They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.

     They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself.

     They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

     Bless my enemies, O Lord.  Even I bless them, and do not curse them.

     Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.

     Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.

     Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.

     Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.

     Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.

    Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out.

    Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of Your garment.

     Bless my enemies, O Lord.  Even I bless them and do not curse them.

     Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly set against me,

          so that my fleeing to You may have no return,

          so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs,

          so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul,

          so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins, arrogance and anger,

          so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven,

       and, ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.

     Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows - that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.

     One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends.

     It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends, or enemies.

     Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and my enemies.

     A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand.  But a son blesses them, for he understands.  For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life.  

     Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.  

Sincere Thankfulness - And Fervent Prayer

This is written after penning an article for this week's bulletin, having read 'shallow' responses to on-the-street queries asking, "What are you thankful for?"

The balance of the bulletin was taken up by a plea from His Grace Bishop Daniil, asking for free-will, from the heart donations to be given to His Holiness, Patriarch John X as he comes to America to enthrone Metropolitan Joseph as Primate of the Antiochian Archdiocese.

All one need do is go to the Orthodox news pages on this very day to find how very lucky we remain here in our God-protected (for now) land.  Read the articles here:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/75473.htm

and here:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/72825.htm

and many others like them, and see what other Christians are enduring in the world around us.

And what has been our response as a people?  We can't speak for other parishes, but locally we've added petitions in the litanies to ask for our Lord's intervention to shelter those who are being persecuted for their faith in Iraq, in Syria, in Saudi Arabia, in Gaza, in Jerusalem, and even here in the US.  There are also those who are suffering from the ravages of war in Ukraine.  See the article here:

http://singac.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=326%3Amartyred-ukrainian-m-p-priest-vladimir-kreslyansky&catid=56&Itemid=288

of Archpriest Vladimir Kreslyansky, who died praying for God's deliverance of his people!

It is right and proper for us to give thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us.  But it is even more right and proper for us to offer prayers of intercession for those who are not as fortunate as we are, whose very lives are hanging in the balance in a world seemingly gone mad.

And so this year, let us mingle our sincere thanksgiving to the Lord with an even more sincere plea for His mercy to be poured out in abundance, to stop the terrible attacks against Christians in general, but against Orthodox Christians who by choice or by necessity remain in regions where they live under the threat of warring factions who seek their removal or destruction.

May God have mercy on us all!

The History of the Trisagion

We all know the hymn:

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!

We sing it at every Divine Liturgy.  It is prayed in the context of every Orthodox service.  It serves as the petition to God for those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, for there we even say that "We said a Trisagion for your beloved one" to comfort those who have lost a loved one.

But how many know the origin of the prayer?

To find out, we need to go back to the year 447.  During the reign of Emperor Theophilus, the city of Constantinople was plagued by persistent earthquakes for nearly four months.  The Emperor, and then Patriarch Proclus, called the people together into procession to pray to God for their safety.  While they were so gathered, the shaking of the ground increased dramatically.  The crowds witnessed a young boy ascending into the air, and all cried out with one voice, "Lord, have mercy!"

When the boy descended again, he was taken to the Patriarch.  He told of hearing choirs of angels singing, "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!"  He told the Patriarch that a voice commanded him to tell the Patriarch that the people gathered should make supplication to God in this way.  And so the Patriarch instructed the people to begin to chant the hymn.

And, immediately the ground stopped its shaking.  And, the child died!

The Empress Pulcheria asked the Patriarch to include this hymn thereafter into the Divine Liturgy, and it is for this reason that we find it there today.

Oh - do not weep for the child.  His being called by God was a double blessing.  In the first, he was granted grace to see and hear the glories of heaven.  And, for his purity, his faithfulness, and his obedience, he was again given grace to dwell within those joys immediately!

The only instances in Church use when the prayer is omitted are on Feasts of the Cross, where the precedence of the Cross of Christ itself replaces the hymn with:

Before Your Cross we bow down in worship, O Master, and Your Holy Resurrection we glorify!

The use of the hymn within the Divine Liturgy is accompanied in some traditions by an exhortation from a deacon (when one is available to serve) that occurs after the "Glory... Now and ever" that separates the chanting of hymns three times from its chanting a final time.  That exhortation is a command:

Dynamis!

The Greek word "dynamis" translates to "power" or "force."  It is the root of the English word "dynamic."  In this context, those who are singing the hymn are encouraged to not just "sing" the hymn, but to mean it, to allow the words of the hymn to penetrate to the core, to the "nous" - and thereby to glorify God with these divine words, gifted to us by God!

When one serves the Divine Liturgy with our beloved Metropolitan Joseph, it is a special joy to approach this time in the Liturgy with him.  For it is here that he comes forth to bless the people with dikiri and trikiri.  But it is also the hymn itself which is the focus.  Our Metropolitan becomes not just the main celebrant, but he becomes "choir director of the gathered clergy," urging all who are at the altar to not just sing - but to shout this most excellent of prayers!

Today, we celebrate the prayer''s birthday.....

Seeking God's Will, and Acting in Faith

Those of us at St. Herman's held a Congregational Meeting this past Sunday.  We began the meeting as we do all such meetings, invoking the Holy Spirit to "Come and abide in us" and to thereby guide our hearts and our discussions to follow the will of God.

It was an important prayer, because there lay before us two (2) separate and very different opportunities that could provide for the growth of our little community, and both of which in their own way are answers to our now nearly ten years of prayer for a "permanent home" for our mission.

We need not go into detail about the opportunities, but as the spiritual father to this community, it is very edifying (we'll refrain from any use of words associated with 'pride') to watch between 15 and 20 members of our community honestly engaged in trying to discern God's will.  

As the Building Committee entered the meeting, there were three alternatives that we found present in these two opportunities.  We could make an offer to buy a particular existing building.  We could make an offer to lease that same building.  Or we could make an offer to buy a large plot of land for well under market value.

But as the meeting progressed, it became incredibly clear that we had ignored a fourth option - that of allowing the Lord to say to us, "Do none of these - be patient, and wait."

As the meeting progressed, I believe at the group's combined following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, a decision was postponed.  "Let's re-convene next Sunday again, and give ourselves a week to pray about this."  That was the wisdom of 15 to 20 faithful gathered in a 625 square foot chapel inside the Hudson City cemetery.

And it was a Spirit-inspired decision!

Now, as we find ourselves within this next week, how do we in fact try to discern if any of these opportunities are in fact the will of God?  Or, is the Lord truly attempting to tell us, "Be patient!"?

Here are some things I found to attempt to help myself, as your spiritual father, to reach a point of assuring that my own focus is truly to seek His will, and not my own:

1)  A disciple of St. Joseph the Hesychast said: "We observed that the Elder never embarked on anything without first praying. We would ask him about something in the future or for the next day, and his reply was that he would tell us tomorrow. He would do this so that he could pray first. So, when you want to find out the will of God, abandon your own will completely, together with every other thought or plan, and with great humility ask for this knowledge in prayer. And whatever takes shape or carries weight in your heart, do it and it will be according to God's will.

2)  Saint Silouan of Mt. Athos said, "If you are distressed over anything, it means that you are not fully surrendered to God's will, although it may seem that you are living according to His will."

3) Psalm 55:22 - "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you.  He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."

4)  1Peter 5:6-7 - "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exult you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

5)  Mat 21:22 - "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

6) Saint Barsenuphius said, "Here is the luminous teaching of our Savior: 'Thy will be done!'  Whoever sincerely pronounces this prayer leaves his own will and puts all things in the will of God."

7) Abba Macarius was asked, 'How should we pray?'  The old man said, 'There is no need to make long discourses.  It is enough to stretch out the hands and say, 'Lord, as You will, and as You know, have mercy!'  And if the conflict grows fiercer, say, 'Lord, help!'  For He knows well what we need, and He shows us His mercy.'

8)  Saint John Climacus taught, 'All who ask and to not obtain their requests from God are denied for one of the following reasons:  they ask at the wrong time;  they ask in vanity or unworthily;  if they received they would become conceited;  or after obtaining their request, they would become negligent.

9)  Saint Nilus of Sinai said, 'How many times have I prayed for what seemed to be good for me, not leaving it to God to do as He knows best?  And how often, having received what I prayed for, I found myself in distress because I had not asked for it to be according to God's will.'

10) Abba Agathon said, 'In order to pray, we must struggle until our last breath.  If we do not find prayer difficult, perhaps it is because we have not yet truly started to pray.'

Making a Habit of Prayer

At little St. Herman's, we've spent the last several weeks looking at prayer.  We looked to the New Testament for examples, then to the Old.  We looked to the Holy Fathers.  This past Sunday, we looked to one who has been an inspiration on the topic of prayer to the priest at St. Herman's - Metropolitan Anthony.

In his several books one can learn innumerable lessons on the topic, and all of of great value.  But it is a writing that we found on-line at mitras.ru/eng/ that struck us for this past week's homily.  Here are the words of Metropolitan Anthony:

Life and prayer must be made one.  Get up in the morning, stand before God and say, 'Lord, bless me, and bless this day that is beginning.'  Then treat the whole day as a gift of God and consider yourself as God's envoy in this unknown which is the new day.  This simply means something very difficult:  that nothing which happens today will be alien to the will of God.  Everything without exception is a situation in which God will have placed you in order that you should be His presence, His love, His compassion, His creative intelligence, His courage...  And on the other hand, every time you encounter a situation, you will be the one whom God has put there to perform the office of a Christian, to be a particle of the Body of Christ and an action of God.  

If you do that, you will easily see that at every moment you will have to turn to God and say, 'Lord, clarify my intelligence, strengthen and direct my will, give me a heart of fire, help me!'  At other moments you may say, 'Thank you, Lord!'  And if you are wise and know how to be thankful, you will avoid the folly that is called vanity or pride, which consists of imagining that one has done something that could have been left undone.  It is god who has done it!  It is God who has given us this marvelous gift of having this to do.

And when, in the evening, you present yourself again before God, and make a quick examination of the day, you will be able to sing His praises, glorify Him, thank Him, weep over others and weep over yourself.  If you begin to connect your prayer to life in this way, the two will never again be separated, and life will be like a fuel which at every moment is feeding a fire that becomes richer and richer, more and more burning, and which little by little will transform you yourself into that burning bush that is told about in Scripture.

The above is only the close of the article titled, "Prayer Today."  There's much omitted for the sake of space in this blog posting.  But how often in prayer do we neglect to see ourselves as God's instruments for answering the prayer of others?  How often do we seek His will and mean it - whatever it means for effort or inconvenience in our day?  How often are we focused on His agenda for the day, and not our own?

Can we begin to pray, 'Lord, bless me, and bless this day that is beginning,' and then live up to whatever challenges He gives us, recognizing them not as troubles or trials, but as that which He has appointed to help me find my way to His salvation?  

The Joys of Managing Internet Media

We all use the tools, and we all have had both really wonderful experiences and really horrible ones associated with dealing on-line media and issues.

This past week, as we were searching for potential property for our parish, we found that our parish was not listed on Google Maps.  So, we went on-line searching for exactly HOW we get that listing to be included in their on-line tool.

There were a number of links, and we clicked several of them, only to find that we were repeatedly re-directed to a Google+ page that told us that our account was suspended.  Digging further, we found the following:
1) You need to log into Google+ using an established account to make a request like a change to Google Maps
2) Google+ has "naming conventions", and they apparently either accept you, or if they reject you it is the ether equivalent of having your birth certificate revoked

In our case, the "offensive name" that caused our account to be rejected as "Father Basil" - given as a "First Name" in the account.

Well, this seems like it'll be straightforward to fix.  Let's use Google+'s "standard appeal process".  Quick and painless!  Just provide a link or three that shows that the name you're defending is in fact your common name, and used by you elsewhere, and we'll get this all straightened out post haste.

That was last week.

Today, the good people at Google+ sent us the following (copied from their e-mail to us):

Hello,

After reviewing your appeal, we have determined that your name does not comply with the Google+ Names Policy.

We want users to be able to find each other using the name they already use with their friends, family, and coworkers. For most people this is their legal name, or some variant of it, but we recognize that this isn't always the case, and we allow for other common names in Google+ --- specifically, those that represent an individual with an established online identity with a meaningful following. If you haven't already done so, you can provide us with additional information regarding an established identity by re-submitting an appeal that includes references to where you are known by this name either in online or offline settings.

Note that if you're trying to set up a page for a business, band, group, or other organization, please sign up with your own name and then create a Google+ Page. If you're trying to add an alternate name (such as a nickname, maiden name or name in another script), please sign up with your full name; you can add this alternate name (which will appear alongside your full name) once you've signed up.

You may re-appeal with additional information, if you have not already done so. If you're already using Google+, your current name will continue to be used.

The Google+ team.

So, let us understand.  We're not allowed to be called "Father Basil" - is that what you're saying?

Not to be outdone by Google-'s humor, we offered the following to them, in return:

Dear Google- Team:

After reviewing your response to our appeal on rejected naming, we have determined that your policy does not comply with our faith’s historical means of addressing clergy, now used for roughly 2000 years.

We want parishioners and those searching for the Church to be able to find us using the names they already use to address us as clergy.  For most Orthodox Christians, this is our ecclesiastical name, and no variants are allowed.  But we recognize that some aren't so enlightened as to recognize this means of showing respect to the office ---  specifically those who may have never attended Divine Services.  Let us invite you when you’re in Hudson!  Come and see!  When you arrive, you’ll know who I am by calling out, “Hey, Father Basil!”  I’ll be the one who turns and says, “How can I help you, my child?”

The Church is technically not a business.  We do not use the Internet for non-Church related activities.  It is not a “social media tool” to us – it is a means of evangelizing.  Ergo we have no desire, tendency, need, or inclination to seek some kind of SECOND “personal page” to require us to keep TWO on-line entities managed.  The name we've selected is not an “alternate name” – it is who we are at the core of our being.

We found this on a blog (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/in-a-switch-google-plus-now-allows-pseudonyms/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0): “We want to build a product that is for humanity at large, and we recognize people have many notions around identity and ways to represent themselves,” said Bradley Horowitz, a vice president of product who works on Google Plus. “We want to be as inclusive as possible while still ensuring the integrity of the system and the community.”

Hmmm…..  Sounds counter to your appeal rejection, at least to the uninformed…..   Then there’s:

http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2013/01/im-sorry-your-google-plus-name-does-not.html

If you consider this a “re-appeal”, fine.  If not, know that we’ll not be using the massive might of Google+, Google-, Google^2 or GooglePlex to promote our activities.

Christ did it for 2000 years and He never touched a keyboard…..  I guess we just need to follow His example.

In Christ,

Father Basil Rusen

The Saint Herman of Alaska Eastern Orthodox Church “Team”

(and yes, the REAL church name IS Saint Herman of Alaska…..)

Was Christ Married?

This past week, news reports have been flooded with renewed information about a 'fragment' (text on papyrus the size of the palm of your hand) that says that Jesus was married.

And the world is all aflutter!

Why?  Because here lay yet another opportunity to defame the One whom the Church declares as God in the flesh, a chance to disprove divinity, a means by which people can transform the Holy into the unholy.

Is it coincidence that this occurs during Holy Week?  Not a chance!

In fact, those who are promoting the idea, and those who are reporting it with such joyous fervor are brethren with the Pharisees whom our Lord silenced first two thousand years ago, and who were re-silenced again last evening within the context of the service of Bridegroom Matins.

Yes, I said "Bridegroom".  In the news world, it's called "a teaser".  You'll have to read on, now, won't you?

In the encounter with the Pharisees, these men (like today's 'journalists') were certain that they had the Lord 'cornered' - "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" (Mat 22:17)  You can almost read their minds.  "Now we've got Him!  If He says, "Pay!", the people will turn on Him, for they hate the Romans.  And if He says, "Don't pay!", we'll turn Him over to the Romans for speaking against the government!!!  This is great!!!!

What they didn't see, what they couldn't understand, is that God can't be "boxed in" by human thought.  "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?  Show Me the coin.... Whose image is this?... Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's!"

Whoa!  They didn't see that coming, did they?  Read Matthew 22.  It's better than the front page of any paper, or even the 'religious page'!!!

Those promoting today's news stories are certain that they have "cornered" Christians into a region from which they cannot extricate themselves.  "See - here's proof that Christ had a wife!!"  Proof that comes from a document that was written 6 to 8 centuries after Christ walked the earth, mind you - but PROOF!!  Ignore the fact that those who wrote it neither knew (in the first person) those being written of, NOR was the writing "Divinely inspired", as the Church holds for that which has been set aside as Holy Scripture.

But let's not denigrate the authors without giving ear to that which is written.  Perhaps, in fact, these were Holy men trying to share spiritual wisdom with their brethren.  And please, don't attack based on a sexist perspective with the statement.  It means only monks writing to other monks.

So, what could the words possibly mean, if they're NOT incorrect?  What were the words EXACTLY?  In one part of the fragment, it translates to, "And Jesus said to them, 'My wife,'"  And the text then ends and begins anew in the next segment of the fragment, saying, "She will be able to be My disciple."

Well, what could be more condemning to thinking that God the Son led a virginal life, than these fragmented words?

Let's go back to Bridegroom Matins.  The central theme of the service is this hymn:

Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight.  And blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching.  And again unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless.  Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom, but rouse yourself, crying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy are You, O our God!' Through the prayers of the Theotokos, have mercy on us!

Christ is the Bridegroom.  Who is His bride?  His Church!  This is no strange "new" theology.  Go back to Saint Paul, and the people of Ephesus, in whose Epistle we find the lesson used at every Orthodox wedding, which reads:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the Church, and He is the Savior of the body.  Therefore, just as the Church is subject to Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the Church.  For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.'  This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. (Eph 5:22-32)

Was Christ married?  Absolutely!  To Mary Magdalene (whom the 'reporters' desire with all their hearts to prove)?  Not a chance!  Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church!  He is and every shall be!

Whoa!  They didn't see that coming, did they???

Asking Forgiveness From All!

As we come to the Sunday of Forgiveness, let me offer my request with deepest humility that you forgive me of any and all sins and offenses by which I have angered or offended any.  Know that we write this, having forgiven all!  May this season of the Great Fast fill each of you, and your families, friends, and homes, with the greatest of spiritual blessings, growing ever closer to that perfection to which our Lord calls us all.

To that end, let us offer here some words that may encourage all during this season of the Great Fast.

Wisdom of Sirach 17:20-27  Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins, and pray in His presence and reduce your offense.  Return to the Most High and turn away from wrongdoing, and hate an abomination exceedingly.  Who will praise the Most High in Hades, as do the living and those who give thanks?  Thanksgiving ceases from a dead man since he is no longer alive; only the living and the healthy will praise the Lord.  How great the mercy of the Lord is, and His atonement for those who turn to Him!

Wisdom of Sirach 28:1-7  He who seeks revenge will find it from the Lord, and He will surely punish his sins.  Forgive a wrong done by your neighbor; then your sins will be pardoned when you pray. Can a man preserve wrath against his neighbor and still seek healing from the Lord?  Can he show no mercy toward a man like himself and still beg God for mercy for himself?  If he being flesh keeps his anger continually, who will atone for his sins?  Remember the end of your life and cease from enmity; remember destruction and death and stand fast in the commandments.  Remember the commandments and do not vent your wrath against your neighbor; remember the covenant of the Most High and overlook faults.

From Saint Augustine:  The fact that your enemies have been created is God's doing.  The fact that they hate you and wish to ruin you is their own doing.  What should you then say about them in your mind?  Lord, be merciful to them.  Forgive them their sins.  Put the fear of God in them.  Change them.  Then, you are loving in them not what they are, but what you would have them become.

From Saint John Climacus:  Do not stop praying as long as, by God's grace, the fire and the water [i.e. fervor and tears] have not been exhausted, for it may happen that never again in your whole life will you have such a chance to ask for the forgiveness for your sins.

Saint Mark the Ascetic:  He who seeks forgiveness of his sins loves humility, but if he condemns another he seals his own wickedness.....  The sign of sincere love is to forgive wrongs done to us. It was with such love that the Lord loved the world.

Saint Maximos the Confessor:  A man who has been assiduous in acquiring the fruits of love will not cease loving even if he suffers a thousand calamities. Let Stephen, the disciple of Christ, and others like him persuade you of the truth of this (cf. Acts 7:60). Our Lord Himself prayed for His murderers and asked the Father to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing (cf. Luke 23:34).

Saint John Cassian:  If we remember that thief who, for a single confession, was taken into Paradise, we shall realize that it was not for the merit of the life he lived that he obtained so great blessedness, but that it was his by the gift of God, Who had mercy on him. Or let us think of David, the king, whose two such grievous and awful crimes were wiped away by one word of penitence. Neither here do we see that the merit of what he did was equal to obtaining pardon for such great offense, but the grace of God did the more abound when on the occasion of true penitence He did away with all that weight of sin for one single word of genuine confession.

Saint Nikolai Velimirovich:  Seven brothers were ill in one hospital. One recovered from his illness and got up and rushed to serve his other brothers with brotherly love, to speed their recovery. Be like this brother. Consider all men to be your brothers, and sick brothers at that. And if you come to feel that God has given you better health than others, know that it is given through mercy, so in health you may serve your frailer brothers.

A Prayer

By Alexander Solzhenitsyn

How easy it is to live with you, O Lord!

How easy it is to believe in You.

When my spirit sinks

Or scatters in confusion,

And the very smartest people

Cannot see further than this evening,

And do not know what to do tomorrow,

You send down clear certainty to me

that You exist and that You care

And will ensure that not all the paths of goodness will be blocked.

On the peak of earthly glory

I look back in surprise on the path I have taken

Which I would never have been able

to invent for myself,

An incredible path

Through hopelessness

From which I was yet able

To send humanity a reflection

of Your rays of light.

And for as long as it is necessary that I keep

Reflecting them,

You will let me do so.

And what I do not finish—

well, then,

You have assigned to others the task.

It's Time for Action!

As Orthodox Christians, we have had two of our Hierarchs kidnapped and held by insurgents since April 23, 2013 (as of this writing on 14Jan14, that is 266 days that these holy men have been held captive.  For what?  Recently 'demands' for their release were made by the Turkish sponsored "North Storm Brigade", which include demands by Chechen rebels to release two officials and 70 prisoners held in Russia, French demands to release twelve French people held in Syrian prisons, Turkish demands to release 25 officers held in Syria, and an unidentified state's demands to release twelve others held in Syria.

In addition to these horrors, on December 17th, twelve nuns from the Saint Thecla convent in Maaloula, Syria were also 'detained', 'kidnapped', taken from their monastery.  While conflicting stories about them have emerged (such as "they were removed to protect them from those who seek to attack the monastery), they are nonetheless held in a place unknown by persons unknown against their will.

In response to these atrocities, the US Government, with all of its power and authority, had done exactly nothing.

I am forwarding the message below to all of my elected representatives at the national level.  Let me urge you to pray about this, and then if the Spirit moves you to act as well, please do so.

For those who choose to act, you can find e-mail addresses for your elected senators and representatives here:

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

When you click the link, you will be taken to a page permitting you to select US Senators or US Representatives (among the several choices).  You'll need to go to both if you choose to fully engage all of your elected representatives.  Once on the following page, simply click your state (for Senators) and their e-mail addresses will appear.

For congressmen, it's a little more complicated.  You can find your representatives here:

https://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50872/getLocal.jsp

Once found, our "enlightened" representative system does not allow you to contact them with an e-mail address.  Seems too many e-mails would be generated by "non-constituents", and so they hide behind a federal page that forces you to enter your "ZIP PLUS 4" address.  If you don't know the last four digits of your nine digit ZIP code, you WILL NOT GET INTO THE SYSTEM!!  So, you can send snail mail, or you can find your 9 digit code here:

https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action

Now - to the message.  Copy it, and place your own name at the bottom before sending - if you are so moved.  And I pray that you will be!

-----------------------------------

Dear (Senator/Congressman/Congresswoman):

Glory to Jesus Christ!  Glory forever!

We greet you with this traditional Orthodox greeting that is offered to all who share in the recognition that our Lord is Sovereign, and we are all His servants.  We daily pray for all elected officials, like yourself, with prayers such as this:  "Be mindful, O Lord, of the President of our country, of all civil authorities, and of our armed forces everywhere, especially those serving in battle zones.  Be mindful of our country, of the city in which we dwell, and of every city and countryside.  Grant them all peaceful times, that we may lead calm and peaceful lives in all Godliness and sanctity."

That Godliness and sanctity has been broken by the actions of a few who seek only destruction through terrorism.

On April 23rd 2013, two Orthodox Bishops were kidnapped near Aleppo in the northwest of Syria.  Metropolitan Paul of the Antiochian Archdiocese of Aleppo, and Mar Gregorios Yohanna of the Syriac Archdiocese of Aleppo were taken in a gunfire attack on their car as they traveled in this district.  The deacon cleric who was their driver was shot and killed in that attack.  As of this writing, these two Orthodox hierarchs have been held hostage now for over 266 days!

Then, on December 3rd 2013, twelve nuns and perhaps a few others were kidnapped, or at least forceably removed, from their convent of Saint Thecla in Maaloula, Syria.  Amongst those in the group are said to be one nun who is over 90 years old, and the youngest is apparently in her "mid teens".  These women are being held by unknown people in an unknown location, and the only information to surface is that "they are safe."  From whom?

And in what is now nearly nine months of captivity for the bishops, and one month for the nuns, the total response from our own government has been a deafening silence.

We write to beg you to do anything and everything possible to assure the safety and well being of both groups, and to ultimately secure the release of these people.  In an encyclical from His Holiness Patriarch John of Antioch, we read these words:  "Our appeal to the international community:  Although we are grateful for all the feelings of solidarity, we no longer need denunciation, condemnations, or 'feelings of concern' about the assault on human dignity that is occurring, because all this is engraved in the conscience of every one of us.  Today, however, we need concrete actions, not words.  We do not want voices of condemnation from decision makers, whether regional or international, but rather efforts, pressure and action leading to the release of those whose only fault was their clinging to their monastery and refusing to leave it."

As Orthodox Christians, we find the actions of such people unconscionable.  And we find it equally unconscionable for a society built upon the principle of fighting oppression wherever it may exist to have gone nine months without taking any action whatsoever.

We call on you now, therefore, to act!  You, and all our federal representatives, to stand fearlessly and with one voice declare, "This is far enough!"  We call on you to do that which is right and just, and to secure the freedom of our brothers and sisters who are in such grave danger at the hands of mad men.  We call on you to restore Godliness and sanctity to the lives of these captives, and thereby to our own.

In Christ,

Father Basil Rusen
Pastor,
Saint Herman Eastern Orthodox Church
Hudson, Ohio  44236