Orthodox Churchianity

Even Orthodoxy has its punks.

I received a link to this cartoon from a dear friend of mine, who sent it with the humble quip, "Who doesn't struggle like this?" but I know she is not like the character in the cartoon, nor am I, nor are anyone in my paréa that I've noticed, but...

I've come close, and so have some others I know, especially at the beginning of our walk with Christ. If you keep following Him, He has a way of cutting this sort of stuff out of you without you even noticing that He's doing it.

The cartoon is called Morning Routine. During Lent we try harder than at other times to keep from judging our neighbor "…keep me from judging the things that other people do…" and here am I posting this critical look at an imaginary Orthodox hypocrite. Sorry!

Wearing the komboskini (a knotted cord supposedly used to keep track of prayer) on the wrist, our Orthodox parent is shown chewing out his or her children, even using expletives.
What an example for the kids!

Driving a car that has that prideful bumper sticker Orthodox Christianity–Founded 33 AD on it, (I used to have one on my car 20 years ago) our Orthodox subject blasts the horn at another motorist that is somehow in his or her way or not using their turn signals. What a testimony!

At the office in his or her cubicle decorated with an ikon (so that others will notice that I'm Orthodox, just in case they can't tell by what I do at work), our Orthodox internet communicator leaves a scathing blog post or comment vilifying a fellow human as if he or she were shredding cole slaw. What a way to keep the Great Fast!

And finally, as the ultimate testament to the triumph of Orthodoxy, here is our Orthodox brother or sister being careful to keep from breaking the dietary rules that hedge the path to Pascha, by subtly letting the barista know that he or she is fasting.
What a witness for the true faith!

One of the desert fathers—I can't remember who—said something like this, "During the Great Fast, you may eat anything; just don't eat people." That's probably a modern paraphrase of what he really said, but it cuts through all our excuses and spiritual materialism right away.

But then, all of this comes back to the Word of God Himself, who teaches us even more simply, "When you fast…" (Matthew 6:16-18).

O Lord and Master of my life,
take away from me the will to be lazy and to be sad,
the desire to get ahead of other people
and to boast and brag.
Give me instead a pure and humble spirit,
the will to be patient with other people
and to love them.
Help me to see my own mistakes,
and keep me from judging the things
that other people do,
for You are blessed,
now and to the ages.
Amen.