I started reading the Gospels to learn what Jesus taught about living a good life and found that He taught much more about His identity as God and the nature of eternal life. I knew that it would be hard to accept one dimension of His teaching while rejecting the others. If I had good reason to believe that the Gospels were reliable eyewitness accounts, I was going to have to deal with the stuff I had always resisted as a skeptic. What about all the miracles that are wedged in there between the remarkable words of Jesus? . . . And why was it that I continued to resist the miraculous elements in the first place?
Author: Fr. John Chagnon
We American Christians…
have to get over ourselves. We seem to complain a lot, muse a lot, and write a lot of how tough we have it and how it seems the Church is in decline and the forces of evil have gathered against us. Woe be to us! Jesus come and save us. Then we wait as we sit on our hands.
First, we seem to have forgotten that the Church is so much larger than us, larger in size, larger in scope, and larger in action. Observant Christians in this country are not the sum of world Christianity we are a “fraction” of it. We belong to a community of brothers and sisters that extends across the globe, a community of which we are neither the apex or the definition. If Christian faith seems to be languishing in the parts of the world inhabited by Western Europeans its thriving elsewhere. Africa? Growing. Asia? Growing. Eastern Europe? Growing. The list could go on. Because your Parish is dwindling doesn’t mean that the Church is and perhaps instead of complaining it would be good for we Americans to humble ourselves a bit and learn from the Christians where the Church is growing about how to grow ourselves.
Next, we are not in persecution. The vast majority of American Christians have never even broken a nail in the cause of Christ. We fret because the election didn’t go our way while in other places of the world buildings are being burned down with the Christians still inside of them. Yes, there are people who dislike us, even hate us in this country, but by and large even our excess hasn’t been threatened. If there were real persecution in this country the truth is that most of us couldn’t take it. Whole denominations of Christians in the US have collapsed just because small groups have complained about something. How do you think it would be if there were, like many places in the world, actual soldiers at our doors? Perhaps the minor inconveniences we experience, again compared to the state of the Faith in the world, are God’s way of gently encouraging us to awake from our contented slumber and face, in a very tiny way, what our brothers and sisters around the world face at levels we can’t even imagine.
And finally, yes, of course we may be in for some tougher times. Who promised that being a Christian would be easy? Certainly not Jesus! Perhaps we need to revisit the actual history of our Faith and realize that as a counter cultural force, even in nominally “christian” societies, a certain amount of struggle is part and parcel of what it means to be faithful. The question seems to be a matter of what we’re going to do about it. Are we going to hunker down, keep the light under the bushel, and mutter as we pick through the end times tea leaves or are we going to realize that as our culture embraces more darkness it’s actually our moment in history to let our lights shine? In the coming days individual Christian people will making such choices, the times are forcing them on us since we seem to have been completely content just going along to get along, and how we choose to respond will make all the difference.
The first choice, though, is to get over ourselves.
Share this:
A Good Word…
All-Merciful Saviour Orthodox Christian Monastery
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives
“Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture. If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like. If our attention is turned to the circumstances in which we live, we are drawn into a whirlpool of thoughts and can have neither peace nor tranquility (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica)”.
Saint Saraphim of Sarov said that if we “acquire peace, a thousand around us will be saved”, for having been created in the image of God, and we are part of the Divine thought that was made material in time and space. We not only influence those around us with our thoughts, but we even influence the cosmos. If we focus on the negative, those negative thoughts impact everyone around us, and even the whole world.
The Elder Thaddeus tells us we can be either very good, or very bad, depending on the thoughts and desires we breed. There is a lot that is wrong with the world, but it begins with us. If there is to be peace in our world, it must begin with me. If hatred, anger, envy, lust, and spite, are to end, it must end with me. When we allow destructive thoughts to destroy our peace, the peace around us is destroyed. We can not blame the world, or even those around us, for that which happens around us, radiates from us. Blame for all that is wrong with the world, can not be placed beyond our own hearts.
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Share this:
Five in the Morning…
and my open window catches the hymns of birds awaiting the sun. If this is their last day they know not. If there will be enough of the stuff of life they are unaware. They live. They trust, even if they don’t understand. They sing to usher in the morning from the night, living as their Creator gave them life. So help me to be now and always.
Share this:
Christians in China…
see and receive a Bible for the first time. Their true joy brings tears to my eyes and conviction to my heart.
Hat tip to Byzantine Texas
Share this:
My Hope Is…
that we would be the kind of Church whose joy, whose love, whose fullness of life would be attractive to people who are searching. May God bless this brave young man who has returned to Christian faith from Islam.
Share this:
A Good Word…
via the Facebook home of “Orthodox Way”
Share this:
On Dr. Gosnell and Grace…
A must read…
I remember one story in particular which always makes me tear up when I think about it. One of the ladies, Karen, that immediately befriended me after I left Planned Parenthood, was asked a question by a reporter. He asked her, “So, what was Abby like before she became pro-life? I mean, how nasty was she?” Karen’s answer was so genuine, and so Christ-like. She simply said, “I don’t remember that person. She is a new creation in Christ. I won’t talk about her past, I only want to talk about her future.” Wow. What grace. What forgiveness. She could have really spilled the beans on me, but she chose not to. Why? Because she truly loved me…and she always had, even while I was working at Planned Parenthood. She always believed the best in me, always believed that my conversion would happen.
Share this:
I Came of Age…
in the 1970’s when many of the old lies we still believe were becoming the mainstream of our society, the stuff of music, culture, and politics. The whole idea was to be free, free of restraint. free of the chains of responsibility, free of the restrictions of morality, free to live a life in the face of convention, free of the past and free of the future. It was all about being liberated from anything but the moment and it was supposed to be the dawn of a new world. If you can’t be, as the song said, with the one you love, honey, love the one you’re with…
And in varying degrees I bought in to it. You don’t need to know the details but there were times when I played the game by the new rules. It felt risky. Sometimes it felt good. Occasionally I felt like the king of the world I had created. Yet I was also wrong.
I hurt myself. Worse than that I hurt other people and brought trouble to their lives. You see you can’t have a world where everyone is doing as they please without somebody having to pay the bill for it all. Nature and nature’s God are never mocked, and garbage in soon and always become garbage out. Looking back I sometimes shake my head at the depth of my foolishness. Yet it seemed right at the time, and that’s the operative word “seemed”. Life is just not a “Cheech and Chong” movie and what was funny then seems sad now.
Yet people still insist on living the way we thought we were supposed to back then. Spend without saving. Hook up without commitment or regrets. Dance the night away and pretend it won’t matter in the morning. Indeed, in the years following my own coming of age people are even more committed to living the fantasy life. If the lie was edgy back then its the mainstream now and for the most part the inmates are in charge of the asylum.
Some day, of course, the whole thing will come crashing down. In fact the collapse is already under way. As a culture our country is financially, morally, spiritually, academically, and politically rushing towards bankruptcy. We’ve ignored the old wisdom at our peril and become barbarians, barbarians with advanced electronics, but barbarians nonetheless. Eventually the cost will be too much and the weight of it will force the house of cards to the ground.
Still, there is hope. There is an alternative way of existing in this world. It’s a difficult way because to live it one must constantly swim against our culture’s currents. Jesus calls us out of the lies, the darkness, and the world of shadows into a new kind of existence, a kingdom in this world but not of it, a reality counter intuitive to the times as truth is to lies and light to the darkness. Those who find it discover the beautiful path in a world of alleys and eternity in the midst of time.
God grant us all to find our way Home.
Share this:
Patriarchal Paschal Message…
With the Mercy of God John X Patriarch of Antioch and all the East
To all our beloved in the Lord the children of the Antiochian See, clergy and laypersons,
On the great day of Resurrection, on which Christ rose and raised us with Him, it pleases me to remember with you the meanings of Resurrection and to explain some of its aspects.
The resurrection of the Lord is the resurrection of each one of us. In the resurrection the power of the devil, our enemy, was brought to naught. Although death terrifies human beings, yet the Lord Jesus has defeated it with his life-giving resurrection. He descended in His death to the abode of death, that is, to Hades, and exploded it from within, abolishing its effects. It is true that death is still there, however it has become a mere passage to true life, a complete liberation from temporal things and a way to eternity. Resurrection gave us grace instead of sin, immortality instead of corruption, life instead of death. The rule of the evil one is gone and the kingdom of God has appeared. Darkness gives way to light.
The resurrection is a new creation, a new man, a new people. It is a proof of the power of life and the energy of renewal. It is the supremacy of light and the everlasting rule of truth “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor 5: 17). The resurrection is the victory of God over the powers of sin and death which distort creation and humankind and seek to destroy them. It is the victory which inspired the Apostle Paul to proclaim: “Oh Death, where is your victory? Oh Death, where is your sting” (1 Cor 15: 55).
In His resurrection Christ has opened to man the way of true life, the life of happiness, light, love and renewal. In His resurrection Christ renewed our old nature, and made it in the beauty of His image, enabling us to become a people of resurrection in word and deed. If we believe and truly desire it then the resurrection of Christ becomes our own personal Pascha. “Christ is buried in us as in a tomb. He unites Himself with us and raises us again in Himself.” (Saint Simeon the New Theologian) When we become pure vessels for the Holy Spirit, our celebration of
Pascha becomes a continuous celebration and “happens in us mysteriously at all times”.
True resurrection is never separated from the Cross. The Cross is the way that leads to it. The resurrection of the Lord cannot be lived without remembering His cross and carrying it. In order for us to participate personally in the resurrection of the Lord we must not forget the Cross which preceded it. Without the cross we cannot have a share in the glory of the risen Christ. If we are not aware of the Cross in our lives, from what will we be risen then? If we remain where we are now, where then are the signs of our resurrection? If the darkness of sin continues to prevail in us, how can the light of resurrection dwell in us? We cannot celebrate the resurrection of Christ if the light of the Saviour does not fully dispel from our souls the darkness of our sins.
Easter visits us now while our concerns increase, our fears grow greater, destruction expands, evil intensifies and killing is everywhere and at all times. How can we celebrate the resurrection while our country is doomed, the number of hungry and displaced people is increasing? How can we live the resurrection when the cross is always present?
This is the mystery of Christ, “Through the cross joy came to the whole world”. There, where the Cross is, true resurrection is to found too. Otherwise Pascha would only be mere poetry and chanting. The world does not like the cross. It seeks to abolish it, while it is surrounded by crosses on all sides. True believers would never have these crosses out of sight; they face them with the spirit of resurrection and take from them the new life and put on them the clothes of the light of life. The energy of the resurrection which is in Christ transforms the cross into a tool of joy, a way of life, a witness of love and a sign of communion and solidarity.
How can we live the resurrection? How can we embody it in our lives? How can we translate it from books to the reality of our life?
We celebrate the resurrection and live it when we do not allow evil to enter us and dwell within us under any circumstances whatsoever. We live the resurrection when we do not answer evil with evil. We live it when we continuously purify ourselves from all traces of hatred and rancour. We live it when we stick with constructive truth which does not separate but gathers, which does not cause grief but happiness, and which does not destroy but builds. Let us behold then the truth to which we were called, (if we know it), the truth which liberates us from all sorts of chains of evil. Let us behold the truth which is in the others and respect it, so we might truly communicate with our fellow citizens and fulfill each other, in order to build both our homeland and humanity.
Beloved, What we are saying about Cross and resurrection takes on today a deeper realistic meaning as some of our brethren have suffered the troubles connected to the painful events we are witnessing. Our brothers, that is a number of Metropolitans,
Priests and lay persons are still being held by their kidnappers. A number of priests and lay persons have been killed here and there, and thousands of believers have been displaced from their homes. We are carrying the cross of what all of them have suffered and are still suffering. We share the grief and the tragedy of the Archdiocese of Aleppo, as well as every parish. However, we should use this grief to make a way to a greater steadfastness and an occasion to proclaim our faith in the Resurrection. We have made until today every effort with international and local authorities, asking them to help in the release of the kidnapped. This is the least of what we could do. We need to work for peace to prevail in our regions and we call for an immediate cessation of violence in actions between fellow citizens. We will not surrender to these circumstances as the Lord did not succumb on the way to Golgotha. We shall continue in our way and we shall always claim the rights of man to a decent and peaceful life, mindful that the resurrection is certainly going to happen. For these reason I call upon you for more unity, more prayer, more steadfastness in your faith, more love for your homeland and more openness toward your fellow citizens. Only then can we be more powerful and more efficient in asking for the removal of oppression, a safe return of the kidnapped and the removal of every tear from the faces of those who are sad.
We become children of the Resurrection when we become bridges of communication and encounter between those who are separated, and between those who are in conflict. Let us be bridges exactly like the Lord who did not ask anything for Himself, but gave the world everything, to such an extent that He offered Himself for the salvation of the world. Let us serve as ways of rapprochement for all. Through love, sacrifice and in deeds and truth we shall build our countries.
We become children of Resurrection when we live our faith in genuineness, depth and meaningfulness. External expressions are bound to change with cultures and ways of living, but the genuine Christian content preserves the trust which has been handed down to the saints under many different circumstances, cases and cultures. Let us imitate the courage of Christ who did not fear anything, even death. Instead He faced the cross with love and brought us to resurrection. Let us face the cross of this crucified East with overwhelming love for all those who are crucified on it, until we reach with them the resurrection we all expect. Let us live these painful days in simplicity, enjoying the bare necessities of life and experiencing the true wealth which is life with God. Let solidarity, cooperation and communion be for us a priority. Needy persons are numerous and the numbers of those affected by troubles are increasing. Let us all be one family and one household. Let us not forget the words of the Gospel, “and whoever… gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water to drink… he shall not lose his reward” (Matt 10:42).
At this stage I address our children in the diaspora wishing them blessed days and praying for their welfare and that they may receive the blessings of God, reminding them of their role and the necessity of expressing their love toward their peoples and countries and in their communion with them. You can extend to us a helpful hand in any way that would be suitable for you.
Last but not least, we do not forget that God is the Lord of history, so we may always hold to patience and hope which do not fade away. Let us remember the words of the prophets and how much they called, in times of distress, for repentance and faith, until God intervenes and removes the distress. In these troubled days we are witnessing, we are in sore need of faithful witnesses. Let us move out of our distress with more faith, more purity and greater loyalty. When we understand that we only need God and no one else, the effects of resurrection will appear in us and in all our humanity. When this happens all around us shall be transfigured.
Christ is risen! Indeed, He is risen!
The Beautiful Path 