Am I missing something?

I suppose the young man who wrote the paragraph I'm about to quote will tell me, "Yep! You're missing something! You need to have that close, personal relationship with Jesus that I have! Then you can get all the great gifts I get, and find out what an awesome God we serve!" Of course, I'm putting words in his mouth, and maybe he wouldn't one-up-man me like this, but if he did, it wouldn't surprise me. I probably deserve it.

The God who called me, who saved me, whom I meet in the pages of His written Word, in the mysterion of the Eucharist, and in the love of the Brethren, His Body, the God who (Scripture says) is the Holy One who makes His home in the praises of Israel (cf. Psalm 22:3), who lives in a High and Holy place, yet is also with the contrite and humble spirit (cf. Isaiah 57:15)—This is the God whom I approach, at all times, with faith, fear (awe) and love. I call the Father, "Abba" as I make my metanoia before Him, thanking Him for creating me, forgiving me, and redeeming me through the sacrifice of His Only-Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, "by Whom all things were made" (cf. Symbol of Nicaea), "the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world" (cf. 1 Peter 1:20), and for sealing me into His Kingdom by "the Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit" (cf. Orthodox baptismal service). "What great a god as our God, who alone performs wonders!" (Greek hymn, Tis Theos megas). How can anyone address YHWH Sabaoth, the Holy One of Israel, the King of kings of kings (blessed be He!), as "Dude"? But someone does. I will quote only the beginning of his post. Click here to read the whole post.

Hanging with the Most Holy

I am starting to realize (it's being revealed to me?) that to have that close, intimate "Abba" relationship Jesus wants with me, I need to draw closer — to talk and think more closely... not like a bond-servant, but as a friend, as an intimate. John (the apostle) was, perhaps, Jesus's best friend here on earth, (the one that Jesus loved). We need to be like that, too. So what I realized was that the "traditional" way of thinking about and talking about Jesus was limiting me. I should be able to say, "Dude, you are just so awesome! All this stuff you made, cool beyond compare. I just LOVE what you do!" And you know what? I DO feel closer to Him when I start to think and talk like that, because that artificial wall between us that makes me feel "He's TOO great and TOO big for me to talk to completely free and honestly" disappears…

Am I just being stuffy and old-fashioned? Honestly, I don't know. But I've never felt closer to the Lord than when I draw near to Him in faith, fear (awe) and love. He is an awesome God, really awesome, not "awesome" like just about every other thing is "awesome" to some people, "That's awesome, man!"

No. Our God is not like that. Our God is the Almighty, and as we say in Greek, Ο Παντοκρατωρ ζη (o Pándokrator zi, "the Almighty lives"). He is the One who says of Himself, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, who was, who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).

Yes, someone is missing something…

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Thinking about baptism

Thanks to Presbytera Candace for these words from the church fathers…

Noah's Ark marked out by its course the sign of its Preserver. The Cross of its Stearsman and the Wood of its Sailor Who has come to fashion for us a Church in the waters of baptism: with the three-fold name He rescues those who reside in her, and in place of the dove, the Spirit administers her anointing and the mystery of her salvation. Praise to her Savior.
—Ephraim the Syrian

Did you see how baptism is a cross? Learn that even Christ called baptism the cross when He used the name of baptism interchangeably [with that of the cross]. He called your baptism a cross. 'I call my baptism a cross,' he says. Where does He say this? 'I have a baptism to be baptized with, of which you do not know.' And how is it clear that He is speaking of the cross? The sons of Zebedee came up to Him - rather, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, saying 'Command that these my two sons may sit, one at thy right and and one at thy left hand, in thy kingdom.' A mother's request, even if it was an inconsiderate one! How then did Christ answer? 'Can you drink of the cup of which I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?' You see that He called the cross a baptism.
—John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions

Sober for God

A famous evangelical, Frankie Shaeffer, has written a number of books as he transitioned out of evangelicalism and into Orthodox Christianity, as have many others making the same journey. I can't say that I've read any of his, but I have read one or two others, most recently One Flew Over the Onion Dome, which isn't so much a book about one person's journey "home" to the Orthodox Church, but rather a somewhat light-hearted look at the experiences of many people coming to canonical Orthodoxy in a number of different jurisdictions (Greek, OCA, Antiochian, etc.). I guess Frankie Shaeffer has a new book out, Crazy for God, which has been reviewed on the blog of my Greek Orthodox community. I took the idea for the title of my post from the title of the church's post, Crazy for God, which is of course, the book's title. I'm just tired of being crazy for God.
Now it's time to just be sober.

What I mean is, even I used to describe myself as being "crazy for God," though I never wrote a book about it. In my case, what I meant was that the pursuit of God was my number One priority, that my whole life revolved around this pursuit. Other people thought of me as excessive and even obsessed, and many still do. That used to worry me a lot, and it altered my behavior to the point where I tried to "fit in" and act as though "nothing was going on."

More than thirty years into it, looking back I see what a mistake that was. On the evening of Yom Kippur of 2005, as I sat alone in my arbor meditating and praying, I had a conversation with the Lord that placed me back on the way of the Cross. I described it in a blog post written a year later. I hoped that things would improve in my daily life and in my relationships with others, but I was ready to accept whatever God would send me. As it turns out, from an earthly point of view, things have gone from bad to worse. This is why I would rather describe my life in Christ as "sober for God." It's a sobering experience to have everything you lived and worked for just melt away in a matter of a couple of years. Everything earthly, that is.

My life in Christ certainly doesn't fit the picture of that happy couple examining their bank account statement in my previous post, Shameless.

I started this post this morning before going to the Divine Liturgy. I'm finishing it in the afternoon. Every Sunday we're handed a bulletin that has an icon on the cover, and usually some mediocre or sanctimonious verbiage on the back, not always related to either the icon, or the Sunday theme. Occasionally a real gem turns up on the back, or at least something that speaks to me where I am right now. Today that happened. I'm going to close this post by just quoting the message on the back of the Orthodox Weekly Bulletin…

The Consequences of Our Commitment to Christ

When we choose to follow Jesus Christ, it should be understood that this will not be a journey free from trials and tribulations. Throughout the history of the Church, a countless number of men and women have suffered greatly for choosing His ways over the ways of the world, which are inherently sinful and evil. The final beatitudes remind us of the possible consequences to our Christian commitment:
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake… Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake."

It should be noted that our Lord never painted a "rosy picture" for His Apostles and disciples concerning what may lie ahead for them. He knew that He had many enemies and, therefore, so would they. "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." (John 15:20) Jesus proclaimed that He was the "Light of the world," maintaining that "everyone practicing evil hates the light." Persecution is almost inevitable for Christians striving to live in accordance with the righteousness required by the Gospel, for evil people will always detest those who speak out against their wicked deeds. Therefore, a Christian must be willing to patiently bear insults, mockery, disgrace, slander, defamation of character and yes, even death. Such must be the depth of our devotion to the One Whom we promised to love and serve on the day of our baptism.

But we are mere mortals! How can we endure all the fearful aspects of persecution? By never losing sight of the "prize" at the end of our arduous "race" — the Kingdom of Heaven. Finding a place there will, indeed, be a source of joy beyond our wildest dreams! Remember, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Shameless

In the distant past, I'm ashamed to say that I was taken in by Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and particularly by Benny Hinn. This man is an ethnic Palestinian Greek Orthodox who left the Orthodox Church to build his own following, and he's in the spiritual succession of such New Age "pentecostal giants" as Kathryn Kuhlman. In spite of the fact that I have done nothing to support this man financially, somehow I'm still on his mailing list. The images below are a photo essay of what this man is perpetrating in the Body of Christ. Hence, the title of this post.

Please click on the images to view them large and read what they say.

Discipleship means the Cross

Why bother blogging?

I've asked myself that question every time I go to my computer and work on my blog or visit others. I also ask myself that question in the presence of God in my prayer room. It seems like a worthless project, sometimes. I've never wanted it to be a way of "hanging out my shingle," though I suppose any time you give your opinion on anything to others, that's what it is. It's not as though I think I am going to save the world or anything, but I hope that something I might express will help someone. I get that help sometimes from reading other people's blogs. But there's a lot of tush talked out there in blogdom, probably even on my blog. If so, brothers, please forgive me. As Peter cried out to Jesus in the film Jesus of Nazareth, "I'm just a stupid man!"

This morning I received a gaggle of short quotes from Presbytera Candace that woke me up and stood me back on my feet. If nothing else, then, at least my blog, Cost of Discipleship, is a place to post reminders of what discipleship consists of, and that primarily is the Cross. As holy apostle Paul wrote, "I want to know nothing other than Christ crucified" (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:2). This is what discipleship in this strange world means, as you will see from these sayings of the fathers…

The knowledge of the Cross is concealed in the sufferings of the Cross.
— Gregory the Great

The Cross is the door to mysteries. Through this door the intellect makes entrance in to the knowledge of heavenly mysteries. The knowledge of the Cross is concealed in the sufferings of the Cross. And the more our participation in its sufferings, the greater the perception we gain through the Cross. For, as the Apostle says, "As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ."
— Isaac of Syria

God does not create a cross for man. No matter how heavy a cross a man may carry in life, it is still just wood, from which man himself made, and it always grows from the soil of his heart.
— Ambrose of Optina

The way of God from the beginning of time and from the creation of the human race has been the way of the cross and death. How did you get your idea that everything is just the opposite? You must realize that you are outside the way of God, that you are far from Him, that you do not wish to walk in the steps of the Saints, but want to make some special way for yourself and travel by it without sufferings. The way of God is a daily cross. No one has climbed to heaven by living a life of pleasure.
— Ignatios Brianchaninov

A postscript comment:

What is this "knowledge of heavenly mysteries" that Abba Isaac speaks of? Well, all I can say it's not what most religious people think, as can be seen in many religious paintings (not icons). The heavenly mysteries are written on earth in pages of blood, in the martyrs' endurance of suffering to the end, even knowing that all things lead them to the Cross.

If we are not drawing near to the Cross,
we should ask ourselves, why?

Albert and Helen

A while back I discovered a youth ministries blog that comes out of Denver First Church of the Nazarene, and I visit it from time to time. This evening I read an interesting story in their Mid-High Student ministries blog, and I left a comment there. Writing that comment reminded me that I wanted to blog a little about my friends Albert and Helen, who were instrumental in leading me to Christ and back to Orthodoxy.

Helen was my wife's best friend, and they shared a common Ukrainian background, their ancestors even coming from the same region (Bukovina), and having put down roots in the same parts of rural Alberta (Bellis / Smoky Lake). Helen's brother Ihor (the Ukrainian pronunciation of Igor) was and is an Orthodox presbyter, as well as a musician and writer.


The wedding photo shows Albert and Helen being crowned during their marriage blessing, the priests being Fr Lavrenty (left) and Fr Ihor (right), the church being All Saints, Bellis, Alberta (photo above).


In another photo, we see the window in the front door of the house in which Anastasia and I lived with Albert and Helen in the Edmonton "flats" (the river bottom neighborhood, along the North Saskatchewan banks). Numerous windows in their little house were decorated with window paint to emulate stained glass. The designs were like this example, of heavenly beings and things.

The other three photos were taken later, after our first son Jacob was born, and we returned to visit Albert and Helen and their son Damian. You can tell from their wedding photo who is who in the other photos, except for the picture of the two boys.

Our son Jacob is on the left, sitting with Damian, his godbrother on the right. (I am Damian's godfather.)



In another post I think I'll write about my life as a dairy farmer's only farm hand, and post some interesting photos—like me milking a cow into a wine bottle, so I can feed colostrum to a newborn calf!

You'll have to wait for that story!

You can link back to the original blog post on the Nazarene church's ministry page, but this is the title, and how it starts out…

Fire, Pain, Fear, Eternity, HELL
And, let's just say that you're in line with millions of other people, to find your name in The Book Of Life, to determine...whether you'll go to Heaven.....OR Hell. Let's pretend....that today....you DIED. Yep, you DIED. The line is moving along steadily....and you can see the faces of many you knew on earth. Then, all of a sudden you see your best friend Emily.....and instead of rejoicing.....you hide yourself behind the person in front of you…

Here's my comment…

I visit this blog once in awhile and have sometimes commented, even tho I'm not in your age group or in your community or denomination. I guess I just don't believe in borders and labels.

This story reminded me a lot of the Chick tracts I used to look at when I was still an unsaved person in my early twenties, living for awhile with some Orthodox Christian friends of my wife's. We had just come to live in town after quitting my job as the hired man on a dairy farm near Wetaskiwin, Alberta, my wife five months pregnant, and without money to even rent a small apartment. Albert and Helen took us in, and let us stay with them that winter until we could get a place of our own, literally days before our first son was born.

This couple was people like us, in our early 20's. They shared Christ with us, reading to us parts of the Bible, and leaving tracts and spiritual books lying around the house. It was the Chick tracts that really got to me. I've never forgotten them, gruesome and graphic as they are.

It wasn't the Chick tracts, though. It wasn't believing in what they conveyed literally and graphically.

What won me to Christ was the patient, consistent witnessing of one poor, young couple to another that they took in and helped get on their feet over the course of four months of dark, icy Alberta winter. They witnessed in words, in deeds, and in love. There was almost nothing argumentative about their witness, except that they insisted and wouldn't budge on issues that I questioned at that time. They simply let me have it my way, but they didn't have an "I'm OK you're OK" attitude. They very definitely and unashamedly defended all the truths of the Christian faith as they came up.

I didn't actually accept Christ for another two years, but those four months I spent with this couple formed in me the very same attitudes they had. That's the way I've witnessed for Christ since I was born again, and joined the Greek Orthodox Church. It is Christ, not the church I belong to, that I witness for, and just the same, I know that having your name in the Lamb's book of life is really all that matters.

Oh, and one more thing matters. Getting your friends and neighbors to have their names written there too.

Mystery Driver

The Bible is not a science or even a history textbook. It reports things sometimes with the same naiveté and unselfconscious enthusiasm as a grandmother telling someone about what her little Danny did this morning. The Bible is about Truth, and especially the practical Truth of "how to enter the Kingdom of God, and live forever". The vehicle of this Truth is human language and the flow of human history, but it's the Driver of the vehicle that matters, not the car or even the scenery, and it's the Destination. Mystery Driver…

Mystery Driver

Thinking your thoughts in my head
does it ever get too dense in there for… you… to see
and what do you do with mine
when yours are sitting in the seat where mine… ought… to be
right behind my steering will
Do you really understand this car that… you’ve… hot-wired
Do you find you’ve got the feel
of the brakes, did you hear the motor when… it… backfired?

But Babe, don’t you know that you can’t drive me?
You’ve gotta trust that Mystery Driver
He knows how fast he can take a corner
He ain’t afraid, he’s in charge when he swerves
He’s got a map, that Mystery Driver
and he won’t nap, because he don’t tire
that Mister… … …Oh, my!
that Mister… … …Ah, me!
that Mystery Driver… Who can he be?

Bringing your worries instead
can you set them down beside that sha… dow… boaster
and listen to him define
his make and model, how to ride that roll… er… coaster?
He’ll show you his make-up mirror
and how to tune in if and when you want… some… sweet song
and when you need to go nearer
his right will take your left, and then you can… come… ay-long

But Babe, don’t you know that you can’t drive me?
You’ve gotta trust that Mystery Driver
He won’t be passed, but he can and does fly
and he goes fast, if he knows that we won’t die
He’s in control, that Mystery Driver
He knows our goal, but he’ll drive us higher
that Mister… … …Oh, Man!
that Mister… … …Oh, He!
that Mystery Driver… Who can he be?

— Romanós

Celebrating wrong ideas

A good many people nowadays say, 'I believe in a God, but not in a personal God.' They feel that the mysterious something which is behind all other things must be more than a person.

Now the Christians quite agree. But the Christians are the only people who offer any idea of what a being that is beyond personality could be like. All the other people, though they say that God is beyond personality, really think of Him as something impersonal: that is, as something less than personal. If you are looking for something super-personal, something more than a person, then it is not a question of choosing between the Christian idea and the other ideas. The Christian idea is the only one on the market.

Again, some people think that after this life, or perhaps after several lives, human souls will be 'absorbed' into God. But when they try to explain what they mean, they seem to be thinking of our being absorbed into God as one material thing is absorbed into another. They say it is like a drop of water slipping into the sea. But of course that is the end of the drop. If that is what happens to us, then being absorbed is the same as ceasing to exist. It is only the Christians who have any idea of how human souls can be taken into the life of God and yet remain themselves—in fact, be very much more themselves than they were before.

I warned you that Theology is practical. The whole purpose for which we exist is to be thus taken into the life of God. Wrong ideas about what that life is will make it harder.

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Ch. 24, "The Three-Personal God"

After work today I met my best friend Brock at Common Grounds, a cozy little coffeehouse in the Hawthorne district of Portland. He was there working on some details of a screenplay, sitting at a granite bar in the sunny front window. There was a magazine of some kind at the end of the bar, and I took a look at it. It turned out to be a booklet advertising the Body, Mind & Spirit Expo to be held in Portland, Oregon the weekend of April 19/20, that is, the first day of the Jewish Passover. Hmm, interesting, I thought. Also, the Saturday of Lazarus, and Palm Sunday (of the Greek Orthodox).

"Well, what have we here," I thought to myself, as I took a look at the booklet. On the cover a gloriously happy, liberated-looking woman was throwing herself up into the air in a grassy meadow. Four of the featured guests at this expo were also pictured on the cover, all smiling broadly to advertise their proficiencies… Magic of the Tarot… Move Through Life's Crossroads… The Science of Anti-Aging… and Learn to Talk to Animals.

Turning the booklet over, the back cover had four more smiling savants and their specialties… Attract Your Dreams… Become a Psychic Medium… Expand Your Consciousness… and (what I thought said "Potato Spirit 2012" but which actually said) Portal to Spirit: Transition 2012.

It was a long, boring day at the office, and my eyes must be playing tricks on me, I thought to myself. Was I seeing things?

Well, yes, I'm afraid I was. This expo, with 125 exhibitors and 75 "free lectures", acclaimed as the "Northwest's Largest Holistic Expo," is coming to Portland.

Looking inside the booklet, here are some of the other presentations that were advertised…

Fear & Self Sabotage
Fairy Forum
Fishing Guide to the Stars
Are You Toxic?
Direct Past Life Readings
Bliss 101: The Basics
One-2-One with your Angels
How to Embody Shambala Now
Opening the Conduit
Vibrational Awakening
The New Crystal Temple
Seeing Auras
Why Emotions Hurt
Make the Most of Planet Energy
Finding Your Soul's Purpose

"Duh… Too bad I'm gonna have to miss this great expo," I yawned pathetically, remembering I'll be out of town that weekend. And there was even this great offer… Volunteer at the Expo! with a phone number, 541-482-3722. This event comes out of Ashland, Oregon. It makes you wonder, what really goes on down there. Yeah, too bad we'll be out of town. Brock and I could've volunteered at the event… hand out Chick tracts or something!

All this reminded me of yet another saying of C. S. Lewis…

"…Theology is practical: especially now. In the old days, when there was less education and discussion, perhaps it was possible to get on with a very few simple ideas about God. But it is not so now. Everyone reads, everyone hears things discussed. Consequently, if you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones—bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas. For a great many of the ideas about God which are trotted out as novelties to-day are simply the ones which real Theologians tried centuries ago and rejected. To believe in the popular religion of modern England is retrogression—like believing the earth is flat."

What he said of "modern England" can certainly be said of "modern America." Sorry to have to repeat myself, but "Lord, have mercy on us!" We certainly need it!

Facing facts

Most people are not evil, nor are most people complete fools. We are, however, a very selfish race, and ungrateful. Some of us have met with circumstances in our lives that have halted us in our tracks, making us look at and think about the world around us a little more deeply. There is, after all, a lot to ponder. The deeper we live our personal stories, the more we can begin to understand the stories of others, and empathy grows in us. The human mind seeks patterns in its experience of the world and of the self. There are plenty of patterns out there too, and it seems the more we look for, the more we find. Sometimes we try so hard, we even find patterns that aren’t really there. Hence, the humanist atheist’s criticism of “religion” and God, which sometimes comes close to the truth. So much for the human world and our experiences there.

Still, some of us, as flawed as we are, and as damaged, insist on the reality of a Being we call God. Most of us are also not evil, nor are we complete fools either. We find ourselves to be, in spite of our “belief” in the existence of the Being we call God, very selfish and, yes, ungrateful too, just as selfish and ungrateful as the rest of humanity. That doesn’t stop us from believing and insisting that this God exists, whatever else we do or say about Him. This fact gives the majority of people a very sour taste in their mouths when it comes to the subject of “religion” and God, or as we have it in America, a “Christian” country, the subject of church. Most people are not evil, nor are most people complete fools. They can tell when people are “playing church,” and being sensible (except for a universal blindspot—personal sin) they want no part in the “game,” and can you blame them?

Most people will only play games that they’ve made up and whose rules they’ve accepted, games that are “fun,” and which they think they can win, that is, that’ll put them ahead of others. Hmm, what does that remind me of?

Back to my statement that most people are not evil, at least they don’t think they are. They haven’t yet encountered sin, or else they’ve refused to acknowledge it, being tutored by a world system that actually glorifies it under other names. So not meeting sin in themselves, or hiding from it, thus being unaware of the bad news about themselves, they have no ears for the good news. If they have heard the bad news preached at them somewhere, that only hardens their hearts against the good news even more. “First they tell me I’m broken, so they can fix me, but if you ask me, it’s them that are broken and need fixing! They can keep their Jesus!” I wonder why they would think that?

Can it be true that most people aren’t complete fools? Even if they were able to see their brokenness or whatever they might call it—though sin is its real name—how should they respond if the “repairers of the breach” are easily seen to be just playing a game, pretending to be healers, helpers, heralds of good news, but in fact, only playing?

“Where do you fellowship, brother?” a twinkly, heavily-bearded middle aged man asks a young man sitting in a coffeehouse, wearing a tallit [Jewish prayer scarf] and studying a Hebrew interlinear Old Testament. Without waiting for a response, “Tallit is rabbinical; I follow only Torah.” Then, as the young man begins to respond, and giving some testimony of his life in Christ, the other continues to promote his “messianic synagogue” and boasts of “following the commandments” because Y’shua [Jesus] was a Torah observant Jew. Then he goes on to say that living your life as “a living sacrifice” is impossible unless you know and understand the book of Vayikra [Leviticus] and what sacrifice is all about.

My mind is trailing off into silence and my eyes glazing over, while I wait for this blast of hot wind to pass. Ah, but his wife is a real Jew, who teaches Hebrew, and who was saved and is now a tongue-speaking, born-again believer in Mashiach. “Good,” I mutter softly and nod, while I half-listen patiently. Finally—I knew it was coming—the business card. After all, he’s on his Father’s business. He knows his lines well, though his Hebrew knowledge is spotty at best, enough to corral the biblically illiterate whom he usually meets here.

So why don’t they come to church and be Christians? What’s wrong with the people of the world? We’ve certainly given them enough time and plenty of free literature and televangelism to round them up. Don’t they feel welcome? We say on our church marquees, “Everyone welcome.” Look, we even have a prayer request box in the parking lot, if somebody needs to be prayed for. What more can they want? They don’t even have to tithe, at least not at first. After all, “the church doesn’t need” our money, “we need to give it.” As they say, "You can't outgive God!" And as for expecting miracles, like living a transformed life, well, don't worry… that’ll gradually happen. All they have to do is hang out with us, and they’ll be infected with Christianity. It’ll just rub off on them. See, we’ve made the way to God absolutely appealing, fun and easy. Got nothing to do, no where to hang out? Don’t worry! You can volunteer in one of our great ministry opportunities. What? What did you say? What do you mean “What does all this have to do with Jesus?” Why, it has everything to do with Him! After all, Christ is all things, and in all things, especially at our church! Don’t worry, we’ll put you to wo… I mean, we’ll give you plenty of opportunities for Christian growth. And remember, “grow where you’re planted!” We love you, and Jesus does too!

Christ, our Lord, have mercy on us!

Making the world love us

"I long for a ‘third way’ in the way the church can engage culture, perhaps it is being the kind of polis that the Scripture describes–a holy and loving people."

Not judging the non-Christian society around them, letting their praxis be taken as their logo, uncompromising in matters that cannot be compromised, undemanding in matters indifferent, avoiding argumentation, promoting the bare Word of God without comment, inviting to and helping those abandoned or helpless, intolerant of deliberate immorality, but pardoning and overlooking human weakness, and showing patience and forbearance with all—this is not a third way, as if there were options—this is the way of the true Church, in whatever time, place or denomination it can be found.

"A people who love God, neighbor, and each other. A people who are attractive to the culture because of their holiness, wholeness, and love."

A people who live love but do not preach it in words and proclamations, even so, that Church will only ever be attractive to those who are already part of her without knowing it, as for the rest of the "culture," it will never find the true Church attractive, but will always find fault, always find reason to try to drive it out of the world. If Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, perfect Man (and to us true God) could not be found attractive by the "culture," how can we poor copies of His nature do anything that will make us attractive to the culture of sin and death? For what else can "culture" be, despite its false beauty, fame and fragrance?

Reflecting on the prophets

Some people read the Bible as a historical document, taking note of context, criticizing the Word of God from a humanistic perspective. Perhaps this kind of study has value, but does it shed light on our lives and our times, bringing redemption, and producing fruits that feed us?

I believe what C. S. Lewis wrote in his children’s book, The Silver Chair, can be applied to the holy scriptures, the written Word of God. When the children in the story are mocked for believing in one of the signs that Aslan [the Lord] provided, and told that their interpretation of it was mistaken because they weren’t putting it in the context in which it was written, that they were unhappily victims of an historical accident, their faithful guardian rebukes the mocker with these words, “Don’t you mind him. There are no accidents. Our guide is Aslan, and he was there when the giant king caused the letters to be cut, and he knew already all things that would come of them, including this.” The mocker was a prince under an enchantment, being prepared to rule a land by force in subjection to an evil sorceress, a land that was his to rule by right, because he was himself its legal sovereign. This is so much like what we find in the “real” world. We can fall under satan’s spell and, denying God’s infallible signs, we can find ourselves paying dearly for that which is already ours by right. Jesus Christ has paid the price in advance for us, yet we would rather pay for it ourselves. Pursuing our thoughts, we abandon the Holy Spirit’s gift to us of the mind of Christ. We give up thinking His thoughts, so we can think our own. What’s so liberating about that?

The prophets of Israel still speak to our condition today, even today more than ever. Though originally spoken to God’s hereditary people Israel, we who are in Christ have been grafted into them. Their Tanakh is our Old Testament. Though prophecies specific to the nation Israel in past, present and future mustn’t be applied wrongly to just anyone, as many sectarians do, the other words of the prophets that reveal God’s will not only to Israel but to the human race, can be read and taken to heart for our correction. It’s this kind of reading that the learned and clerical establishment regard with contempt, as being childish and backward. But the holy apostle Paul is not one of them, for he quotes in his first letter to the church at Corinth, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate,” (Isaiah 29:14) and he goes on to lay down the relationship of the wisdom of men to God’s Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-31).

The prophets of Israel still have much to say to us, much to instruct, much to warn. Here are just a few verses that I’d like to share from my much marked up study bible (the one pictured in my side panel under Books I’m working through), verses to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” (BCP, proper 28). Kali sarakostí to all who are observing the great fast, and God’s blessing.

Seek Yahweh while He is still to be found,
Call to Him while He is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way,
The evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to Yahweh who will take pity on him,
To our God who is rich in forgiving;
For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
My ways not your ways—it is Yahweh who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as high above the earth
as My ways are above your ways,
My thoughts above your thoughts.
Yes, as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the Word that goes forth from My mouth does not return to Me empty, without carrying out My will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.
Isaiah 55:6-11 Jerusalem Bible

Thus says Yahweh,
“Let the sage boast no more of his wisdom,
nor the valiant of his valor,
nor the rich man of his riches!
But if anyone wants to boast, let him boast of this:
Of understanding and knowing Me.
For I am Yahweh, I rule with kindness,
Justice and integrity on earth;
Yes, these are what please Me—
It is Yahweh who speaks.”
Jeremiah 9:22-23 JB

Come, let us return to Yahweh.
He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us;
He has struck us down, but He will bandage our wounds;
After a day or two He will bring us back to life,
On the third day He will raise us
And we shall live in His presence.
Let us set ourselves to know Yahweh;
That He will come is as certain as the dawn;
His judgment will rise like the light,
He will come to us as showers come,
Like spring rains watering the earth.
Hosea 6:1-3 JB

What god can compare with You:
Taking fault away, pardoning crime,
Not cherishing anger for ever
But delighting in showing mercy?
Once more have pity on us,
Tread down our faults,
To the bottom of the sea throw all our sins.
Micah 7:18-19 JB

There is much, much more in the prophets than these encouragements. There are words of judgment also, but I haven’t quoted these, lest I seem to casting stones at others. Yet it is the prophets’ words of God’s judgment that should fall on our ears and convert our hearts, preparing us for the Day of the Lord.
Keep yourselves in the Word, brothers, watch and pray. For the time is close (cf. Revelation 1:3).

The light of Israel will become a fire
And its Holy One a flame
Burning and devouring thorns
And briars in a single day.
Isaiah 10:17 JB

Will He find faith on the earth?

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ ” For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:1-8 NIV

We give to God absolutely no more than we have to, than is expected of us, than what will make us look and feel good to ourselves and each other. The Divine Liturgy was particularly beautiful this morning, the chanting and singing strong and bright, all the details of ceremonial were, like the Cross exhibited today for our veneration, in flower. The little, brass hand cross propped up on a tray mounded with daffodils went its round about the perimeter of the church at a brisk trot, held aloft by the hands of the priest. Of course, we all knelt as it went by. At the end of the service, we were handed a daffodil but, strangely, I don’t remember kissing the hand cross held in the priest’s hand while receiving the flower.
Where was the Cross in all this?

Father Marín, our Romanian priest, dropped a whole handful of antídoron into my open palms, while smiling broadly and naming me “Roman” as he did it. And I kissed the hand of Jesus in the hand of His living icon, Marín the presbyter. More than the handful of bread passed between us.

The danger is great that surrounds us, the City of God. The enemy, it seems, has never been stronger or more threatening. With faith I hoped we were singing the feast-day hymn of the Cross of Christ,

“Sóson, Kýrie, ton laón Sou,
kai evlógison tin klirónomían Sou.
Níkas tis vasiléfsi
katá varváron dhoroúmenos,
kai to Son filátton,
dhía tou Stavroú Sou polítevma.”

“Save, O Lord, Your people,
and bless Your inheritance.
Give victory to our princes
against the barbarians,
and protect the commonwealth
through Your Cross.”

We give to God absolutely no more than we have to, than is expected of us, than what will make us look and feel good to ourselves and each other. We fill the church, we even pack it to the doors, but as a people that claims to be the people of God, whom do we really serve? Where is our treasure? What song do our hearts sing inwardly day and night?

“Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God, the Almighty;
He was, He is, He is to come.”
Revelation 4:8 JB

When the worst happens, who will stand? Will it be those who gave their tithe of mint, dill and cumin, but neglected the more important matters of the law, justice, mercy and faithfulness? (cf. Matthew 23:23) Do we build our houses on the Rock, the cornerstone of our lives being Christ, not just listening to His Word, but putting it into practice (cf. Matthew 7:24)? Or is the Word an object for our veneration, too high and holy for us to reach with anything but our lips?

“…when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:8 NIV

This is the challenge and the threat that comes against the Church in every age, and especially ours. Faith doesn’t just happen to us as if by magic. Faith isn’t a gift given to just a few. We have to make place for it. We have to sell all that we own (our free time), and go and buy that field where the treasure lies hid (cf. Matthew 13:44). We can fool each other, for a time, but we can’t deceive God, who knows the secrets of our hearts, and where our treasure lies.

Like others before us, we can be led away into captivity for honoring Him only with our lips while our hearts are far from Him (cf. Isaiah 29:13). He cannot “give victory to our princes against the barbarians” unless we have the real faith that arms us for the battle, for every attack of the evil one, against the City of God.

Don't leave it on the desk…

A very big and heartfelt "thank you" to my dear sister in Christ, Presbytera Candace of Holy Transfiguration Church, Anchorage, Alaska, for sending me this story in her daily email message. It's long, and not the kind of thing I usually read or post, but if I was patient enough to read it through to the end, I hope you will be too. It's worth it—Axios!
(The professor in this story reminds me of my old Presbyterian professor of philosophy and religion, "Doc" Dana, at Blackburn College, Carlinville, Illinois, where I went to school. This parenthesis is just to honor him publicly—He helped me find my way out of student radicalism and back to Jesus. May his memory be eternal.)

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man, who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his freshman year, regardless of his or her major. Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going on to seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class. One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him.

"How many push-ups can you do?" Steve said, "I do about 200 every night." "200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?" Steve replied, "I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time." "Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson . "Well, I can try," said Steve . "Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me if you can do it," said the professor. Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it." Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia , do you want to have one of these donuts?" Cynthia said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?" "Sure." Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?" Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve, would you do tenpush-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When the professor asked, "Scott, do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?" Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them." Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then." Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?" With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" Dr. Christianson said, "Look! This is my classroom, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott 's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?" Sternly, Jenny said, "No." Then, Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut she doesn't want?" Steve did ten.... Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved. Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set, because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was, so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person, and the next, and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?" Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in, when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!" Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come." Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in, you will have to do ten push-ups for him?" Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut." Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?" Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut." " Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time, sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a donut?" Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you." Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve , would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda .

Then, Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan . "Susan, do you want a donut?" Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"

Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone, I have given him this task, and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not.

"When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up, he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."

"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?" As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior Jesus Christ, on the Cross pleaded to the Father, 'into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, Uneaten."

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile. "Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words." Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His Only-Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid."

"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"

Categorical evils & social injustice

My good friend and brother in Christ, Kenny Ching, always has good things to say and challenge others to think about, and so I visit his blog every day. His latest post doesn't have a title, but it concerns, on the less important side, Barack Hussein Obama, and on the more important side, the issue of abortion and other social sicknesses of our society. I want to share my comments to Kenny with you, readers of my blog, and also recommend that you visit and read some of his other musings.

Very clear, if very hard, thinking on your part, Kenny. Abortion is a categorical evil; low taxes on the rich is a detail of social injustice. Can we do anything about either?

It’s clear that the advocates of abortion rights can only be people who lie to their consciences. Regardless of religious or cultural upbringing, everyone knows in their knower that to kill an unborn human child is evil. Some just don’t think it’s an evil that will be punished at some point; they think they can get away with it. Even a 'Christian' can be an unrepentant shoplifter, “I'm only taking what's owed me, this is only plundering the Egyptians,” if he thinks that God stretches the law in his favor because he’s been so oppressed. This reminds me of Mrs Obama, who feels that the country owes it to her to elect her husband the next President of the United States, because (as I heard her say in a newscast yesterday evening) “to be a black man in America is horrible—you can even get shot stopping at a gas station to fill up because you’re black.”

Back to abortion. As I said in my blog post The Border awhile back, referring to the historic Church, “They would not contribute any more than was exacted from them for the maintenance of the world system. They didn’t stand up for their own rights. They didn’t agitate for social reforms or strive for the betterment of any society except their own. Only among themselves, by common and unwritten consent, did they abolish customs that the world regarded normal, but which they abhorred—infanticide, sexual license, slavery, the “festivals.” In this regard, the world felt justified in labeling them “haters of humanity,” in segregating and controlling them by an elaborate system of “tests,” such as the performance of acts of public worship to the state deities.”

Christians cannot and should not try to be ‘Mr Nice Guy’ on social issues, but neither should we try to coerce the amoral to follow us in our values. I wish we could, but unless history lies, it didn’t work whenever tried by “Christian” societies, at least not for long, and maybe never for everyone. Only if we are willing to class abortion-providers and their customers with murderers and their accomplices (and maybe so they are) can we be logically justified in preventing their crime and prosecuting them for committing it.

I doubt seriously that any of the presidential candidates currently running can be considered a Christian in the sense of being a disciple as you are and, hopefully, I am. The world system, even in America, has made it very difficult for a Christian to serve in high public office, because to do so almost condemns him to commit a breach of conscience—he has to allow, because of the perversion of our laws, atrocities that dishonor God, obviate commonsense and biblical morality, and injure the helpless citizens that he will have been elected to serve and defend. Now, it’s only a matter of choosing a régime locally and nationally, that roughly lines up with that commonsense morality, and locally on our own to live moral lives, following our Lord, obeying His commandment (to love one another, as He has loved us), and planting the seed of the Word of salvation, redemption, and liberation in Him, to those around us who will hear.

Why does everything always turn into a “religious” discussion with you, Romanós?
No, my friends, not religion, only honest discussion.
“Welcome to the world of the real.”

Evangelismós

Just as the year can be conceived as beginning on various days—January 1st (civil), September 1st (religious), March 21st (spring begins)—so can various days in the Church calendar be conceived as the beginning of the Gospel.

I like to think of September 1st, “Indiction,” commemorating the Christ’s inauguration of His earthly ministry by reading the prophecy of Isaiah in the synagogue service, as the “beginning” of the Gospel.

Holy evangelist Mark is much simpler and more direct, The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God—It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins…

But another “beginning” of the Gospel, the Good News, is today’s feast-day, commemorating the annunciation to Mary the virgin, of God’s will that she become the mother of His Son, the Messiah. This feast is called in Greek, Ευαγγελισμος, Evangelismós, ‘announcing the Good News.’ And for Mary, just as for us, it was God’s Word coming to her, personally. His Word could have been met with deaf ears or ears hearing but not receiving. She, just as we, could have said, can say, “No thanks!” to God. That would have gotten her, and us, “off the hook.” Instead, she said “No” to her fears and doubts, and “Yes” to what God had chosen her for from before the foundation of the world. And it’s always just the same for us.

God has foreknown us from before the foundation of the world, and ever since we were born into it by His will (and it’s the only act He has done to us without asking our permission, creating us), He has been announcing to us, personally, the Good News, at every moment asking us to say “Yes” to His decrees concerning us.

His Word is clearly written large and small, in the Bible, in the universe He created, and in the intangibles and indescribables of our personal being. As for Mary saying “Yes,” what He has in store for us will give us cause to say, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.”

Evangelismós. Announcing the Good News. Called since before the foundation of the world. Brethren, let us rejoice with the Theotokos, for “He that is mighty hath magnified me, and Holy is His Name,” will be the song of each one of us, if we only say “Yes”.

Encountering the Mystery

It seems that His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomaios has been busy lately. He's written another book, this time with a piercing and enigmatic title. To read an excellent review of his new book, along with a realistic assessment of Patriarch Bart's position and influence in the Orthodox Church, click here. Here are a couple of excerpts from the review.

First, let’s begin with the person of the Patriarch and why some readers, especially Orthodox Christians, might be reluctant to pick up Encountering the Mystery. Although the mainstream press – even the dust jacket of this book – claims the Ecumenical Patriarch is the “spiritual leader for the world’s over 200 million Orthodox Christians,” many Orthodox Christians view this as no more than a convenient label employed by the media, and encouraged by the Ecumenical throne, to add gravitas to his position among Church and world leaders from within a once-Christian-now-Muslim land.

Secondly, most times the Ecumenical Patriarch is found in the news it is because he’s fraternizing with someone who is not Christian, much less Orthodox. When he makes news it’s usually controversial. Especially when viewed through the lens of American Orthodox converts – many of whom have chosen, after great struggle, to leave Anglicanism or Roman Catholicism, even Islam – such encounters may seem unnecessarily compromising. If you’re going to allow yourself to be called the “spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians,” at least follow the tried and true script. For instance, again from the book’s dust jacket: “He is dedicated to advancing reconciliation among Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities, and is an active proponent of environmental causes.”

“Yes, but is he Orthodox?” comes the question.

For example, closer to home, what is he doing to help unite the Orthodox Christians in the United States? Is he a help or a hindrance to jurisdictional unity in America? If he is a help, let’s see some encouragement and action! If he is a hindrance, he need do nothing more than he is already doing.

If the answer is “Yes, of course the Ecumenical Patriarch is Orthodox!” then that’s good news. Would that His All Holiness would struggle to bring his own house into order before inviting us to a group hug with those outside the Faith, especially those who have for centuries tried to destroy it. However, Encountering the Mystery will do little to further the True Faith. I can’t think of a single Seeker to whom I’d recommend the book. There are certain chapters, well written, that pertain to the Faith. But what a pity that the whole book, from the “spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians” is not fitting for seeking souls.

I guess I'm not the only one who questions the motives of this patriarch, and I'm glad that I now have someone besides myself who publicly writes, In my opinion, to truly lead the Orthodox, he needs to get out of Turkey and speak the Truth or be willing to lose his own life for speaking the Truth in Turkey.

I've read an earlier book by this patriarch, though it's not exactly by him, entitled, Conversations with Patriarch Bartholomew. Reading it was what started me noticing his ambivalence and the poetic licence he takes with things uncompromisable, though he does it in such an entertaining way that you almost believe what he's saying. Aside from his books, watching how he operates his business, settled it for me that here was a man who must be carefully watched. Just as Pope Benny is a throw back to an earlier age of the papacy, so is Patriarch Bart a throw back to an age when "Byzantine" meant "duplicitous." I'm not likely to read his latest book, but I wanted to notice it, in case others should be forewarned.

Straight teaching on authority

“…….how should the church hold authority?”

“How did it ever? This will lead us into Church history, and the fact that Christ gave the Church His authority, after He had ascended to the Father. It held this authority exclusively until the rebellion in the 1500’s. Then it became (and still is today), every man for himself….however he interprates scripture, that what it says..that’s what it means, with no one (on earth) to approve or disapprove.”

The words quoted above are from a comment left on the same blog as my previous post, by yet another brother. It sparked me to respond with the following thoughts, which I'd also like to share here…

This is a rather simplistic look at what the freedom of a Christian means, and it seems to me, a little scornful.

How should the Church hold authority?
I’ll tell you how.
In all meekness and humility, insisting on the truth of the gospel, adding nothing, taking nothing away, being answerable in all things to the Lord who is also the Word of God, to the same Jesus whom we meet in the four gospels, in the book of Revelation, and in the apostolic kerygma of the epistles. When the Church holds authority in any other way, it is bending the truth to fit its requirements, or worse.
My former pastor taught, on the basis of the church fathers, this truth, when asked ‘What does the Orthodox Church teach about…?’

“The Church has no teachings, it only hands over (the meaning of παραδωσις) what it has received from Christ and the apostles.”

This is straight teaching.

Christ gave the Church authority to do what?
To forgive sins, to reconcile enemies, to baptise all nations into His Body, to preach the good news, that He is risen from the dead, by death trampling down death, and to those in the tombs granting life.

It didn’t hold this authority exclusively until the 1500’s, unless by that you mean that that the Papal church of the West (Roman Catholicism) was in full “control” of the whole Church—which it was not, and never had been.

The excesses of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation did nothing to harm the purity of the truth contained in the Holy Scriptures.
For everyone who seeks to be a disciple, there isn’t any cause for schism or heresy, because the Word of God, contrary to former and current opinion, is not difficult to understand, nor is the way of the gospel life impossible to live.

When the churchly institutions dogmatize apart from the Word, fantasy creeps in and takes hold, producing in the rebellious opposite fantasies, and the devil rejoices.

Everyone who knows Jesus’ voice knows when He is speaking, in or out of “church.”

Every disciple in church knows when true authority is being wielded, and when it is false that is being foisted on us. It’s always still our choice, it’s always up to us, to witness for Jesus, for the Truth, wherever we are.