The Woman is the Neck

In the now famous scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Mrs Portocalos proudly announces, “The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.” We may laugh at this “truth” of marriage, but the important role of women in the life of the Church should not be underestimated. It was the women who remained faithful until the end at the Tomb of Christ. It was the women who carried the Good News of the Resurrection to the Apostles. And it is the women of the Church that have continued throughout the centuries to “turn our heads” so we could hear the Word of God, and help to keep our hearts pure.

If you doubt the importance of the role of women in the Church in spreading the Gospel of the Resurrection, you only need to return to midnight on Pascha. The Church hears the Good News that Christ is Risen from the Myrrhbearing Women. “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.” (Mark 16.7) Many of us also can remember our mothers and grandmothers bringing us to Church as children. They were “turning our heads” toward a life in Christ. Were we listening?

On the Thirds Sunday of Pascha, the Church reminds us of the important role pious women played in the initial Good News of the Resurrection. They were the first evangelists in the truest sense. It was only because the women “turned the heads” of the Apostles that they gained enough courage to go to Galilee and see the Lord for themselves. They were listening.....are we?

Is Our Lenten Struggle Worth It?

Half-way through Great Lent, we are tired, hungry and a bit grumpy, and the Church encourages us to keep up the struggle if we desire to be with God in Heaven. We are all willing to struggle, sacrifice and work hard for something which we desire. Do you desire to be with God in heaven? The Way of the Christian is the way of the Cross, IF we desire God. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 8.34) Our Great Lenten struggle isn’t forced upon us by God as punishment, but an offering to help us follow Christ. So, is our Lenten struggle worth it? It is, if you desire to be with God in heaven. It’s your choice.

 

The Scriptures and the Sunday of Thomas

A special Bible study on the Scripture readings and themes for the Sunday after Pascha, the Sunday of Thomas, based upon the series "A Year of the Lord, Liturgical Bible Studies" by Father Theodore Stylianopoulos. Recorded live, April 30, 2014, at the Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church in Florence, SC.

Glory Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be

When James and John asked Christ, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory,” Jesus responded with a challenge, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mark 10.37-38) What the disciples were hoping for glory was not quite what Jesus had in mind.

Many of us seek glory in life. We desire to be honored by our family, friends and coworkers. We desire to be recognized for the hard work and accomplishments we collect throughout our adult careers. We expect that our worldly success will gain us influence among our neighbors and fellow citizens of society. We even dare many times to think that God will ring the bells of heaven “just because” we are entering the Holy Gates. But that isn’t the type of glory Jesus had in mind.

Jesus said, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.” (Mark 10.42-44)

The sort of glory Jesus had in mind was serving our fellow human beings, and worrying more about their needs than our own glory. The sort of glory Jesus had in mind was for us to become like Him, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Mark 10.45) The other kinds of glory…..let’s leave that sort of glory for those outside the Kingdom.

The Scriptures and Great Lent - Saint Mary of Egypt

A special study of the themes and Scriptures readings for the fifth Sunday of Great Lent.

Do You Doubt God?

It is common to many who desire to believe in God to doubt His ability to actually accomplish what He says He will accomplish. His invitation for us to believe in Him is accompanied by the words, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” If YOU desire to believe, through prayer and fasting, and the Orthodox Christian way of life, you too can experience the evidence of God’s power.

Is it a Sin to Doubt?

Many sermons are preached from pulpits around the globe about Faith. “Have faith!” “It just requires faith.” “If you have faith….” Faith is a strong and necessary thing for our Christian journey, but is it a sin to doubt?

In the Gospel According to Mark we hear a story of a father struggling with his faith. His son was possessed by demons, but when he was brought by his father to Christ’s disciples, they were unable to heal him. He had nowhere else to turn, but to come to Jesus with his doubt. The young man’s father said to Jesus, “’If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.’” (Mark 9.22-24) And the child was healed by Jesus.

The invitation by Jesus and the Church to have faith is a common struggle to all Christians. We struggle to have faith not always because we refuse to believe, but because sometimes all we know is pain and struggle. Our “real life experience” is filled with examples of the fallen reality of human existence, and we wonder sometimes if God is really listening? We wonder if our faith is strong enough to either convince God to help us, or to accept that He might not help us in our moment of pain.

Having faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and as a gift, must be accepted by us in order for it to have any power in our life. Accepting the gift however sometimes requires a bit of effort on our part for our faith to “come out” in us. This is when Jesus says to us, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9.29) Doubt is not a sin; not trying is.

Your Cross; Your Struggle

When Jesus Christ invites you to take up your cross and follow Him, it is an invitation to embrace the spiritual struggle of subduing your passions. Only you and God know your struggle. It sometimes is good to be reminded that just as others don’t know your whole struggle, neither do you know anyone else’s struggle. This gives us a chance to embrace the Great Lenten journey as we accept that we must give our entire life over to Christ, and that IS a struggle….but it is YOUR struggle.

Christ said Take up YOUR Cross

Half-way through Great and Holy Lent we are brought face-to-face with the Veneration of the Precious and Holy Cross of Christ. In the Gospel read on the Third Sunday of Lent, Jesus calls each of us to discipleship with the words, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 8.34) Many things can be said about taking up our cross, but one thing is for certain. Christ NEVER said, take up someone else’s cross and follow Him.

A constant theme of our Christian journey is the call to humility. Weeks ago the Church reminded us to be like the humble tax collector rather than the prideful Pharisee. We were challenged to humble ourselves in repentance and return to our Father. And this week, we are called by Christ to take up OUR cross, deny ourselves and follow Him. What is the difference between MY cross and YOUR cross? It’s mine with all my strengths and weaknesses. It’s my personal struggle with the passions that are unique to my Christian struggle, or cross. Your cross is yours.

To take up YOUR cross is to accept your Christian struggle as YOUR Christian struggle, rather than comparing your struggle to everyone else’s struggle. Humility isn’t only for the blessings we experience, but for the challenges as well. What might seem like a heavy burden for you may be light for another; but what seems light to you, may seem heavy for another. Only when you focus on YOUR cross, can you fully appreciate the grace that the Precious and Holy Cross of Christ has for you in your life.

A “New” American Heresy

I spend a good amount of time in the car, especially this time of year, going from home to home for house blessings, so I tend to listen to the radio. What I listen to tends to go in cycles, ranging from podcasts and liturgical music to local radio.

For months now I have been intrigued by a commercial for the “Biblical Money Code” and its assurance of guilt-free, God-endorsed, wealth building. The man who discovered this code, according to the radio commercials, used to be a Christian Pastor and “NOW DONATES MORE THAN 50 THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR!” There is no hidden message; follow the code, and become filthy rich. And…..by the way, when you’re rich you can finally give a lot of money away.

I have so many difficulties with this premise; I’m not really sure where to start. We live in a society consumed with money; how to get it, how to spend it, how to save it, and how to get more of it. How any Christian Pastor can endorse a system of wealth building which is rooted in the Sacred Scriptures, seems counter-intuitive to the message of Christ.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6.9-10)

And yet, when a rich man confronted Jesus with the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life,” Jesus said,

"If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19.21-23)

Ultimately, what Jesus desires is our entire love and devotion. He asks us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. (see Mark 8.34) Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom.” (Matthew 6.33) If we seek wealth, we cannot seek Christ and His Kingdom.

So where is the heresy? The most dangerous heresies are those based upon partial truths. (Check out my post on "Partial Truth is More Dangerous") The so-called Prosperity Gospel contends that Jesus actually desires us to be wealthy, comfortable and “enjoy life,” which brings us true happiness. Many I have heard, base this heresy on a short passage in the Old Testament.

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3.10)

It is perpetuated by New Testament quotes such as,

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9.6)

I suspect this is also why the radio commercial makes a point to proclaim how much the former pastor is now “able” to donate. His presumed guilty conscience is soothed by a charitable donation, just as a promised donation is rewarded by God.

But how is this reconciled with God’s commandment for us to be willing to die to the world, and lose everything, just for our love for God? It can’t be, but that is nothing new. 

The Greatest Man Born of a Woman

Today is the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said,

Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11.11)

Today the Church honors this great man of whom the Church sings,

The memory of the righteous one is praiseworthy; but for you it is enough to be the witness of the Lord, O Forerunner; you have been truly revealed as greater than the prophets, for you were also found worthy to baptize in water Him Who was announced; therefore you fought most valiantly for the truth, joyfully proclaiming even to those in Hades that God had appeared in the flesh, taking away the sin of the world, and granting us the great mercy. (Apolytikon of St John the Baptist)

Today the Church honors a man who says of himself,

There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. (Mark 1.7)

Today the Church celebrates the Divine Liturgy in honor of a man who said about God,

He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3.30)

There is so much we can say about John the Baptist that I hesitate other than to say; he is a worthy model for every Christian life. When he was exalted, he lowered himself. When we was praised, he deflected all praise toward God. When he was honored, he humbled himself as not worthy of honor.

And yet…

WE grab all the glory we can get. WE demand to be exalted by our peers at work. WE claim all the credit for any accomplishment in our lives. WE honor ourselves and humble God and His Church with expressions like

• GOD doesn’t need all that Gold……but we sure do enjoy it!
• GOD doesn’t need money…but won’t stop until we have all of it!
• GOD doesn’t want us spend all that money on His Church…but I sure do LOVE spending on me!

If we REALLY wanted to be great, we would become more like John the Baptist. Ironic that he didn’t want to be considered great, and yet he was. Something to think about today.

Why is Theophany So Important?

There is a HUGE difference between God and human beings. He is the creator and we are His creation. It is impossible for us to understand ANYTHING about Him unless He reveals it to us first. It is IMPOSSIBLE, no way, no how, for us to even believe in Him without Him first revealing Himself to us. It is IN NO WAY conceivable that we, mere creatures, can comprehend the purpose of our existence without the Creator first showing Himself to us.

So why is the Theophany so important for the Orthodox to celebrate? For many Christians, Theophany – also called Epiphany – the arrival of the Magi at Christ’s manger, or merely His Baptism in the Jordan River. But for the Orthodox, Theophany is THE APPEARING OF THE UNDIVIDED TRINITY – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – for the first time in human history.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mark 1.9-11)

So while we are indeed celebrating the baptism of Jesus, the greater gift of God is His divinity revealed as Trinity to those standing by and those of us who “love His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4.8) In the baptism of Jesus, it wasn’t Jesus that was changed, but the entire creation by His presence in the water. By entering the water, Jesus reveals the love of God for every living thing on Earth.

In the ancient Church, this revelation was welcomed with great joy and many believers were baptized. But since we only believe in one baptism, many faithful sought a new way to express the joy of the news of God’s appearing. Immediately after the consecration of the baptismal waters, and prior to baptizing the new believers, the faithful would drink from the Font to express their participation in the Feast and receive a blessing from God. As the Church practice developed over the centuries, rather than baptisms taking place on this day, the Church established the Great Blessing of the Waters, in which we all are blessed to participate.

Today, throughout the Orthodox Christian world, Churches are celebrating the appearing of God with the Great Blessing of the Waters. Some even celebrate with an event called a “Cross Dive” where young men, and sometimes women, dive into the water to retrieve the Cross of Christ. Let’s face it, when God reveals Himself to His creation, it’s worthy of great celebrations.

May God be blessed!

What to do with all those Black Friday Bargains?????

2013 New Testament Challenge – Day 15 (Reflections on Mark 12-16)

Every year I participate in a special effort called the New Testament Challenge sponsored by a priest of the Orthodox Church in America. He encourages Christians to spend the Christmas Fast, also known as Advent) reading the entire New Testament as a preparation for Christmas. Each year I have done this, it has been blessing to me and I pray this year will be no different. As part of the New Testament Challenge, I endeavor to blog a bit about the reading for that particular day. I may miss a few, but I pray for those who follow this blog (NOW ALSO ON FACEBOOK) it will be a blessing.

Today is “Black Friday” so I wanted to keep my comments on the readings somewhat connected. If you read me earlier post today, “If you need it, buy it; If you can’t afford it, WAIT FOR IT,” then you already know my feelings about “Black Friday” so I won’t repeat them here. Today I want to reflect on a conversation I had last week, and Mark 14.3-9.

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? "For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. "For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. "She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." (Mark 14.3-9)

The other day, I had a conversation with someone about, as I was told, wasting money in decorating the Church. I’ve had this conversation MANY times before, so it doesn’t faze me, but it ties well into today’s readings. Have you ever noticed when people complain about “wasting money” in decorating the Church, they defend their affront with, “God doesn’t need money!” In my personal experience with this topic, the one with the affront is not at all financially struggling. In fact, they are fairly well off.

Although today’s reading in the Gospel of Mark doesn’t make reference of Judas’ intention in filing HIS affront, other sources do. “This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.” (John 12.6) I’m not suggesting the person with whom I had my conversation last week was a thief, merely that I’m not quite sure the affront was as pure as I was led to believe.

God has directed that His Temple be decorated with the finest materials; gold, fine linens, precious stones, etc. You can read about the construction of the Temple in Exodus 25-31. Why did He command this if He didn’t desire it? The point is the value WE place on those precious items. WE place a value on gold, and therefore we gild items that are of precious value to us, OR to show high social status. When we decorate God’s Church with golden items, it is because we place a value on those items and we wish to honor the highest social status that God deserves. When we pretend to be affronted by the money spent decorating God’s house, and then proceed to spend “Black Friday” filling our shopping baskets with items we don’t even need, how much affront is genuine?

So here is a challenge for you, specifically during this shopping season. How about you take the money saved on GREAT BARGAINS and bring it to the Church? This would be consistent with Saint John Chrysostom’s urging to take money saved during fasting periods and giving it to the poor. It might also help keep things in perspective for the Christmas shopping season. If we focus on spending the savings on ourselves, or worse, MORE SHOPPING, then we really haven’t benefited at all.

Until tomorrow…..You’re right! God doesn’t need money….but you probably don’t need that extra stuff you’re buying on sale either.

2013 New Testament Challenge – Day 13 (Reflections on Mark 1-11)

Every year I participate in a special effort called the New Testament Challenge sponsored by a priest of the Orthodox Church in America. He encourages Christians to spend the Christmas Fast, also known as Advent) reading the entire New Testament as a preparation for Christmas. Each year I have done this, it has been blessing to me and I pray this year will be no different. As part of the New Testament Challenge, I endeavor to blog a bit about the reading for that particular day. I may miss a few, but I pray for those who follow this blog (NOW ALSO ON FACEBOOK) it will be a blessing.

Reading so many chapters of the Gospel of Mark, you can’t really blog on any single theme since so much is covered in eleven chapters. But while I was reading it occurred to me to expand upon my thoughts yesterday about how people understand God differently.

In today’s readings, we see Jesus teaching in the synagogue and many were amazed. “And when the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands?’” (Mark 6.2)

The other day I was reading an article (I can’t remember where or I would link it for you) in which the author was bewailing the teachings of Jesus as nothing more than a collection of teachings from other rabbis, and therefore not enough “credentials” with which to attach grand claims of His Divine Nature.

That’s what hit me today. Since Jesus is God and in complete communion with the Father, also God, and the Holy Spirit, also God, wouldn’t it be EXPECTED that His teachings had also been heard in the Prophets and other righteous men of the Old Testament? THEY all received their wisdom from HIM, right? So we believe as Christians, anyway.

This also helps to interpret today’s astonishment. They had only heard such wisdom from the Prophets before, and they had only been taught by the greatest Rabbis before. NOW, in One Man, Jesus Christ, they heard it all wrapped up into One. I suppose I would be astonished also.

Then I returned to our contemporary reality of more than 25,000 denominations of Christianity, alluded to in my post yesterday. In today’s readings, Jesus said, “For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Mark 9.40-41)

On the surface, every denomination “is the same” as I was told yesterday. But clearly they are NOT the same. Some even speak against the Orthodox Church, declaring us pagans. So there must be a place for other denominations, who proclaim Jesus Christ as the Only Begotten Son and Word of God, at the table, so-to-speak. I NOT talking about the Holy Table, NOR about receiving Holy Communion. The Church wrote the Creed for a reason. It outlines HOW the original Church, founded by Christ and led by the Holy Apostles, understood Jesus Christ. We are able to rationally discuss with our brothers and sister in other denominations how they understand Jesus Christ and how we understand Jesus Christ.

This is where doctrine has a role, but I won’t get into doctrine today. I just wanted to reflect a moment, provided I don’t end up rambling, on how much still is the same in the way people experience God. I suppose if such a discussion helps bring someone closer to understanding Jesus Christ (since He alone reveals Himself to us), it will be a blessing.

Until tomorrow…..

The Vanity Virus

Vanity is the most dangerous of any spiritual illness, and human beings have been inflicted with spiritual virus since the very beginning. Eve, when she saw the “ tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3.6) Ever since that moment, humans have been infected with the vanity virus.

Vanity is at the core of every sin and every bad relationship between people. Whenever we place our needs and desires above others or God, we have an outbreak of vanity. Every time we please ourselves with beautiful clothing and jewelry, we have an outbreak of vanity. WHEN, not if, we find ourselves contemplating how we can benefit, we have an outbreak of vanity. There is no sin that cannot be traced to vanity. You could say sin is the symptom of the vanity virus.

This is why Jesus said, “Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8.34) This Gospel passage is read each year on the Sunday following the Feast of the Holy Cross, this year on September 15, 2013. The Church reminds us we are unable to follow Christ unless we first deny ourselves. We must FIRST put aside vanity before we can know the love of Christ. If we remain focused upon ourselves, we will remain blind to the love Christ has offered us, and that blindness become death and eternal torment.

One of my favorite examples of vanity in the New Testament is the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The rich man is tormented knowing that Lazarus is unable to come and care for HIM and cool HIS tongue, or go and warn HIS family. It is all about HIM, so he cannot see that he is in the embrace of God. His blindness to God’s love has become torment.

So if you want to experience God’s love…..get over yourself. The one thing about the vanity virus…..it has a cure in Jesus.

This post is part of a series of posts for the 40 Days of Blogging Challenge sponsored by the Preachers Institute. You may find other blogs participating in this challenge. I hope you enjoy this year’s Advent journey.