If you won't believe, don't speak

Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."
Luke 1:18-20 (NIV) Read the whole story here: Luke 1:1-25, 57-80

Today the Orthodox Church commemorates the birth of the honorable prophet and forerunner, holy John the Baptizer, and the gospel text appointed was the one cited above.

Last week on Sunday I heard an Orthodox priest say two things in a sermon that astonished me. "If you see evil in the world around you, it's because of the evil inside yourself, that you're projecting into it." This was somehow supported by citing the text, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew 6:22-23 (NIV) The same priest also said, "Evil cannot be defeated. Even God cannot defeat evil. Evil can only be transformed." This saying was not supported by citing any scripture text. It was merely stated matter-of-factly, as a self-evident truth, and it was part of the drift of where this sermon was going. This second saying could possibly make sense only if one redefined the word "evil" in terms different than scriptural and Orthodox understanding. But in that case, it is no longer Christian truth, nor would it have a place in a sermon delivered to the faithful in sýnaxis (assembly). It would only be philosophy. I prayed during the sermon, and especially hard after hearing these words, but I couldn't keep myself from uttering anáthema! after each of them. So much for last Sunday.

Today, as I worshipped and prayed during the divine liturgy, the Lord put this meditation in my heart. How is it that Christians say they believe in Christ and the bible and the teachings of the church fathers and mothers, how is it that they flock to church, sometimes packing it to the doors, and yet… this one hates and despises her husband even though he has remained faithful to her, that one disowns a son because he hasn't fulfilled his ambitions for him, another hates his father because he is willing to tolerate and wait for sinners rather than punish or abandon them? All the while these "believers" are praying loudly in the service, or piously pushing church bulletins into the hands of arriving worshippers, or singing in the church choir. This mystery occupied me for a few moments while I was listening to today's epistle and gospel being read. I was listening to the scriptures, but in the part of my mind that wordlessly watches, this meditation was in my sights.

The epistle reading was Romans 13:11-14:4, the theme summarised thus: "…let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." The gospel reading was the one for the birth of John the Baptist, quoted above. What this turned into at sermon time again astonished me, not for any "radical" pronouncements spoken as last Sunday, but for the blind irony of it—it was a talk on "silence" in the sense of "not speaking", based on what happened to Zechariah, and yet it was excessively wordy, long and convoluted, citing not scripture but quoting from the modern Roman Catholic author Father Henri Nouwen, "Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure." The priest who delivered last week's sermon in some ways outdid himself today. Using Nouwen's quote as the basis for his talk, he recommended to us that we should try to be quiet sometimes, to make a room for silence in our lives, so that our words can heal. I suppose "quietism" is a good thing, but somehow I don't think that it's something you can or should talk about for 20 minutes to a captive audience. Just do it, and maybe your "healing words" will have an effect on us!

I wonder what happened to this convert priest that made him so eloquent? So much for the service and the sermon today, and my meditation.

In the fellowship hall was an older woman and her two grand-daughters who are going through a lot of family problems right now. My wife has been ministering to her for many months, befriending her and helping her materially and by asking the Church for food vouchers when needed to give her (because she is too ashamed to ask for them herself). Today was one of those times when they had no food in the pantry at all. After hearing this, Anastasia went off to look for the priest who preached today and last Sunday, because her usual "helper" Fr. Jerry was away on vacation. I saw my wife and the pastor walking together and talking as he moved towards a conference room where a meeting was about to take place. Then, he excused himself, went into the meeting room (it's walled in glass, so we can see into it), and pulled out a file folder and started speaking to the meeting while he fumbled with some papers. Anastasia rejoined us at the table where we sat with our "little family."

"Father N. says he doesn't have the combination to the church safe and he's made it a point NOT to have it. He says, could you stop by during the week when the church office regular staff is there?"
Well, that was bad news! So, after making some arrangements with the yiayiá (grandma) to make sure she could come tomorrow for some help, Anastasia just gave her whatever cash she had in her purse, so they could buy some groceries, today. Then, with our oldest son Jacob, who was with us at table, we left.

On the way home, we talked about the sermon.

Jacob, who is very well versed in the scriptures and a seminary graduate, commented: "The whole point of the gospel reading is that if you won't believe what the angel says, then you don't speak. The scripture passage could have been explained, using the testimony of the bible itself and the church fathers in less than five minutes."

Thank you, Jacob! May the Lord send you into His vineyard soon. I can't wait to hear a real Orthodox sermon again!