The beginning of the Good News

Αρχη του ευαγγελιου Ιησου Χριστου Υιου του θεου…

The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am going to send My messenger before You; he will prepare Your way. A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord, make His paths straight, and so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. John wore a garment of camel-skin, and he lived on locusts and wild honey. In the course of his preaching he said, ‘Someone is following me, Someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the straps of His sandals. I have baptised you with water, but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’
Mark 1:1-8 Jerusalem Bible

This was the gospel reading for today, the first Sunday of the new year, and hearing it was, for me, like being changed back into a child again. I have always loved this passage and the gospel of Mark because of it. ‘The beginning of the Good News...’ This has always been the rekindling of my heart's fire when it was about to go out. Just to hear these words gives new life to my old bones. I am supremely thankful. God's faithfulness surpasses all things. He is there for me, for us, even now at this moment, to receive us, to accept our repentance, and to lead us into the paths of His Kingdom and His Righteousness even now. It is never too late.

I thank the Lord and rejoice that He has come to rescue His people. Once again we have faithful priests to minister to us—old Father John of short stature, who humbly and meekly but with great joy of spirit calls us, ‘dear fellow Christians and friends,’ and young Father Dimosthenis deep-rooted and broad-spreading like the oak, gently shading us, who exhorts us ‘to give way to Christ, since He is our life.’ Like the apostle Paul and his young co-worker Timothy perhaps—this combination of old and young in tandem seems to be a most effective witness—may our two new presbyters ‘continue bearing fruit in old age’ and ‘make many disciples, and flourish like the palm tree.’

By divine appointment, so it was that the 3rd day of January is also the commemoration of Malachi the prophet, so that the last of the Old Testament prophets is remembered along with the one he prophesied, Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before My Day comes (Malachi 3:23 JB), of whom Jesus said, ‘he, if you will believe Me, is the Elijah who was to return’ (Matthew 11:14), and ‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen’ (Matthew 11:11).

‘Give way to Christ, since He is our life.’ The message of this gospel is simple, the gospel itself is simple, when we accept it as it is, God's words addressed personally to us, and when believing its truth, we just do what it says. Father Dimosthenis read his homily on the gospel because he is freshly arrived from Kavala, Macedonia (Greece) and he still doesn't trust himself to speak spontaneously. His pronunciation of our English vowels is perfect but he has a heavy Greek accent on the consonants. This, however, doesn't make him hard to understand. In fact, his speech in both Greek and English comes across manfully and clearly, and when he chants the gospels and prayers, the words are amplified rather than obscured. May God grant him many years with us. He is worthy. Axios!

Today I heard some distressing news, however, and that from my dear friend Anna, who is the first Orthodox Christian in Bali, Indonesia. She and her husband, an American, live here with us, but her family and relatives live in Bali. She and her husband devote most of their expendable income to building an Orthodox temple in her hometown in Bali, and the building has gone very far with excellent results. Since the Balinese prefer to worship outdoors, there is no roof on the temple, just very high walls and gateways, all carved in bas-relief with Orthodox ikonography in Balinese style. The distressing news is that even in Bali, a Hindu-majority island, the Islamists are demanding that the cross be taken down and other ikonography on the temple be effaced. This demand has been in force for about two months. The Orthodox have not given in, but there is threat of violence. Please pray for the Balinese Christian Orthodox, and for all the Christians of Indonesia.

Indonesian Orthodox (on the island of Java)
I do not have any photos of the temple in Bali.