Mix up mix up

The Sunday of Orthodoxy at Aghía Triás, Portland, Oregon this year, a very cool experience. I've already blogged about it a little, but there's a lot more I could say, things both encouraging and disheartening. The fellowship I shared with many friends whom I don't see regularly because we worship at different churches was great.
It was also good to see the sanctuary so full of people, singing in several different languages.

A wonderful thing it was to hear Rashid Kaady (from the Antiochian Christian Orthodox church of Saint George) solo chant three different hymns in Arabic from the balcony. That was a very good experience. Later, after the service, I heard tell from a couple I've known over twenty years, the tragic story of Rashid's family. His son Fouad was wrongfully slain by the police in a bizarre incident about two years ago. One daughter has become mentally ill because of the loss of her brother. Rashid, his wife and daughters are surviving with the loss, and through it all they have continued to trust in God. Thinking back to how Rashid chanted those hymns, I only feel the more awed. The martyrdom of this family has strengthened their bond to Jesus, their crucified Lord.

As I said, the day had its bright moments, but also some darkness. Though the worship was inspiring, the message spoken by our proistámenos pierced us through like a lance. What he delivered, despite the eloquence, was devastating to many people that I spoke to afterwards. One woman was nearly in tears as she told me how his words affected her. What he "preached" was strangely discordant to the theme of the day, the triumph of Orthodoxy…

It's not important to be right, he said, and to insist on what we believe is true. This intolerant attitude only divides people. If we are not part of the solution to world peace, then we're part of the problem. Zeal is a bad thing, and it only makes the people who have it miserable themselves and hateful towards others. Although we think it would be a great thing if we could bring America to the Orthodox faith, our preacher said he doubted that it would be a good thing, because the Orthodox Christians in America by and large do not have a mature attitude, especially towards the non-Orthodox. We can't be trusted to want for others who differ from us the same rights we want for ourselves. Such things as these are what I remember hearing, even though I was reading my bible with my head down during the homily, as usual.

What do I think? Sometimes people accuse others of the very things they're guilty of themselves. It's called projection, isn't it?

My experience at church on Orthodoxy Sunday was indeed a mixed bag. It reminded me of a Bob Marley song, Mix Up Mix Up.
Yes, I like reggae music.

Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, yeah!
Well, it's not easy,
It's not easy
Speak the truth, come on, speak.
Eh, now!
It ever cause it what it will:
He who hide the wrong he did
Surely did the wrong thing still.
Get in the studio of,
Studio of time and experience
Here we experience the good and bad;
What we have, and what we had
This session (session),
Not just another version (version).

Oh Lord, give me a session (session),
Not another version (version)!

They're so much stumbling blocks
right in-a our way:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday;
There's so much wanting,
so much gaining,
so much have done.

Too much little mix-up, in the mix-up, yes!
Too much little mix up!
Too much of this mix up - mix up!

I was born in the country,
right on top of the hill
I still remain, I know I still, I will,
But through your f...in' respect
and through your false pride
Someone wanna take
Jah - Jah - Jah children for a ride!
Shut up! Open the gate,
and let the saints through.

Please make it a session (session);
Not another version (version);
Ooh, please make it a session (session);
Not another version (version)!

Hey, you been talkin' all your mouth full of lies,
Sitting there toppling and, Lord, they criticize.
So through the eyes of the fool the deaf is wise,
And through the eyes of the wise the fool is size.
Saying is too much mix up - mix up!
Saying is too much mix up - mix up!
…

If you don't like reggae lyrics, please forgive me for posting them. But they do speak to me, especially the refrain in this song, asking the Lord for a session, and not another version.

A session means to be seated at the Lord's feet, as Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus sat at Jesus' feet, drinking in His words. A session happens when you go to a church service or a bible study, and you hear the Master's voice, you know you're in His presence, you're at a session.

A version, on the other hand, means to be a captive audience before a purveyor of mere human wisdom, someone who knows how to say true things but never comes close to the Truth, never having known Him, and you don't hear the Master's voice, just the blandishments of the hireling, someone turned inside out, becoming depthless not deathless, you just know you're getting fed a version.

Sarakostí is a time of struggle, a tincture of the battle that rages in the world every day, a concentrated, high-risk venture into the wilderness of our flesh.

Let's ask the Lord for mercy, and He who endured those forty days, being tempted of satan, will come to our help. Meanwhile, brothers, let's keep praying for each other.