Let no man seek his own…

…but every man another’s.
(1 Corinthians 10:24)

That is the principle of the saints of God, both in times past and at the present time, from all ages to the end of the world. That is the principle of all true social structure. On that principle can be founded a human society that is the most perfect, the most pleasing to God and the happiest. It is a saving principle in every kind of difficulty that people today encounter, against which they struggle without victory and without hope.


A holy soul cares for his neighbor, either close at hand or far away.

He cares where the homeless will spend the night, how the hungry will be fed, with what the naked will be clothed.

He cares and he prays for the salvation of his neighbors; that their hearts may be filled with love towards God, that their minds may be directed towards God, that the wicked may turn from the paths of wickedness, that the hesitant may be confirmed in the Faith, that the firm may persevere, that the departed may behold the Face of God, that the living may be written in the book of Life in the Kingdom of Light.

Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic

Three Mysteries…

…One Answer—Mashíach

A profound essay on what I call

"the triple mystery of the pairs"…

Christ as God-Man,
Marriage as Man-Woman,
Church as Jew-Gentile.

I invite anyone who visits my blog to click on the link and read it.
I have never read anything as comprehensive yet brief in modern writers, only in the early Church fathers.

Can it be that when one accepts nothing but the Word of God for Truth, the Holy Spirit steps in with teaching that unifies all minds in the Mind of Christ?

How could I have forgotten…

…to bring to remembrance this event
of Forty Years ago?

Follow the link to a post I just put up today but pre-dated to the anniversary, even to the minute.

Walking

What follows is nothing of my own, except that I’m offering it as an example of a good Orthodox sermon. When I returned to Orthodoxy at the age of 37, there were many good Orthodox sermons like this one—we heard them almost all the time.
They were fervent, faithful and spoken as from one loving heart to another. They did not excel in eloquence. They were simply true.
This sermon was preached by Fr Gerasimos ‘Jerry’ Markopoulos a week ago today. If you aren't an Orthodox Christian, but want to learn what Orthodoxy is at its best, Fr Jerry tells it in brief and challenges the ‘Orthodox’ to practice it. This is a ‘good Orthodox sermon’ as we used to hear before the world got hold of us. After the service, I blessed Fr Jerry, kissed him and thanked him for speaking to us what the Lord spoke to him, for passing on ‘the message’ exactly as he heard it. Whatever community has him for their pastor will have a treasure.

Matthew 9:1-8

Our Gospel reading this morning is about a man who couldn't walk at all until he had an encounter with Christ God. As I reflected on this, I wondered what the man's first steps looked like after Jesus had healed him with a word. I pictured a small child learning to walk but couldn't really connect the two images. It sounds like the man just rose and went home. In but an instant, God had transformed this man's life as well as the lives of the multitude who witnessed the restoration of the paralytic. God transformed the man's life when He saw their faith. There was something about their collective “walk” that touched Jesus.

The Holy Prophet Micah wrote, “…He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

Just as when a child is born, and that child must grow and eventually learn to walk, the Christian must also learn to walk humbly with God. Now, just the mention of the words “walk with God” emphasizes to us that the Christian faith is about having a relationship with God. Orthodox Christianity is not about a list of do's and don'ts, but rather it's about growing in a loving relationship between the Creator and His creation, a Father and His child. And the term “walking” implies also that this is to be a relationship that is constantly moving forward. As we continue down the path, we should be walking closer and closer to God and maturing spiritually as a result. We wouldn't call a two-year-old immature when he plays with his food—that's what toddlers do! However, by the time that youngster becomes an adult his behavior should have changed as dramatically as his body. He should have made continual progress toward maturity.

And God wants to transform our life. The more we walk with God, the more our hearts will change. A person cannot walk with God, be growing in communion with God, and remain unchanged.

But in reality, walking with God requires a choice. A lot of people are not better spiritually because they don't want to make the choice required to get better. They don't want to choose to repent of their sin because they're enjoying it too much. They don't want to let go of that grudge against someone, even though they know it's hurting them more than it's hurting the other person. They want to get well, but they don't want to take the steps that would bring about healing.

A lot of people are hurting spiritually. They don't feel close to God, they don't feel like praying, they feel empty. They say that they want to be closer to God, they want to be growing in union with God, but if we want to walk closer and closer with Jesus Christ, then it means that we need to change. We need to lay down the things that hinder our walk with Christ.

It also means that we have to choose to walk with God instead of doing our own thing. That's a difficult choice because we don't like for others to tell us where to go or what to do. We don't like for others to have authority over us, but the Christian life is one of complete submission to the lordship of Christ God. And it's only when we can say, “Not my will, but Yours, be done,” that we will find peace and joy in Christ.

Now, this choice to follow Christ also involves getting rid of any excuses we may have.

Do we want to walk with God, or not? There's nothing prohibiting our growing in union with God except our own choices.

Now, the second thing here about walking with Christ God is that in order to walk with Him, it requires obedience on our part. If our walk with God is going to be productive, if we're going to grow closer to Him and in union with Him, then we need to do what He tells us to do.

Isn't it interesting how many times the working of God is linked to obedience?
Christ told the man with the withered hand to stretch forth his hand, and when he did, he was healed. (Matthew 12:9-14)
He told the blind man to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and when he did, he received his sight. (John, ch. 9)
He told the disciples to feed the crowd of 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and two fish, and when they did, the miracle happened. (Matthew 14:13-21)
He told the lepers to go and show themselves to the priest, and when they went, they were healed. (Luke 17:11-19)

Many people want God to work in their lives, but He's waiting on them to start acting in obedience to what He's already told them to do. God has told us to forgive those who have hurt us, but have we been obedient, or are we still holding a grudge? God has told us to love one another and to even love our enemies, so why is it that we're filled with hate? We cannot walk with God and experience His working in our life unless we place our trust in Him and are obedient to Him. God wants what is best for us, and He wants to walk with us, but He asks us to walk obediently with Him.
How does our collective walk appear to Christ?
Have we made that choice?

Let love be genuine. Hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, and practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
(Romans 12:9-14)

…Whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
(1 John 2:5-6)

Now, let me ask this question.
What if, for one day, Christ became YOU?
Nothing changed about you. You still lived in the same house, same job, same family, same health. The only difference is THIS:
His heart becomes YOUR heart.
What would it be like? Do you think people would notice a change? Do you think He would keep the same schedule you would keep?
the same commitments?
and the same priorities?
How do you think you would feel?
Would you still be stressed out over the things in your life?
Would you still hold that grudge against that person?
What would change?

As Orthodox Christians we have within us the heart of Christ God.
So we need to ask ourselves: Is that heart showing?
Are we truly “walking the walk” or are we paralyzed?
As we walk with God, can others tell?
Will God see us and be touched by our faith?

How is your walk with Christ this morning?
Have you made that choice?

What's important about church?

I was visiting the blog of a Christian brother in Australia, and I left a comment on his post entitled Expositional preaching, why I prefer it. You can follow the link to read his post. The comment I left was my response to his questions: In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of your church? Is it the style of worship, the music, preaching on current social issues, or something else?
I decided to post my comment on my blog (slightly edited) for your consideration. I didn't exactly respond to his question, because this is how I think things should be, not how they are. This is where my thinking is right now. Excuse the folksy style please; this is not a formal piece of writing, just some scratches on the wall…

Hey brother, here's a possibly off-the-wall comment, but I hope you won't consider it un-intelligent.

In your post you asked what we thought was the most important focus of the service in our home churches. Your own answer seems to be "the pulpit." Of course, in a "Bible church" or in any congregation which finds its roots in the evangelical (Protestant Reformation) faith, I would agree… to a point.

My home church is an Orthodox Christian congregation… Aghia Trias (Holy Trinity) Greek Orthodox church. Officially, the focus of our church is on worship, namely the Divine Liturgy. The pulpit in an Orthodox church normally does not take center stage. In my congregation it's starting to try, because our proistamenos (head pastor) is a former Baptist. His preaching, however, is so full of worldly and trendy "New Age" allusions, that when he preaches (actually just talks) I generally either pray or pray and read my Bible (which I never go anywhere without), so as to avoid hearing his "message." (God save us from his preaching as soon as possible, the sooner the better!)

Anyway, what I want to say is what I think of preaching in church, and also what I think the main focus of "church" should be.

I don't mind the Orthodox services at all. They're almost entirely sung a capella, and consist almost entirely of Bible texts strung together by the ancient fathers. That's why a non-Biblical sermon stands out so awkwardly. Anyway, I don't mind the long services. They keep filling you up with the Word of God, without human manipulation or interpretation. They leave it to the individual worshipper to take in and digest. That's the "temple service" for you.

But what I really think the prime focus should be in any congregation, even among the Orthodox Christians, is constant, consistent, intense scripture STUDY combined with prayer. This is what it is like in the Jewish synagogues, especially in the conservative, the Orthodox, and the Hasidic ones. The Jews really know the Word of God, at least in the Tanakh (Old Testament part), and the average synagogue-going Jewish male puts most Christian church-going men to shame. And they don't even know the identity of the Messiah!

So, that's what I think should be the focus. And also, the men should study together (no women allowed), with male elders. And women should study together (no men allowed), with female elders. The usual Christian Bible study night, with men and women together, does not allow for real study to take place, because of female competition against males. It wears us down with wrong concerns. Women study for one set of reasons, and men for another. This was always the procedure of the ancient Church, used to be the way the Orthodox Christians were until the last 30 or 40 years (in America), and this is the way the Jews do it.

So there you have it.

I'm not saying the church should not do other things, but you asked about what the main focus should be. The church building (sanctuary) for liturgical (temple) worship. The parish halls for Bible study (every evening, not just on one or two evenings). The other parish facilities for poor relief and neighborhood outreach. This is for the church to do as a group.

What about evangelism? This should be the primary focus of the INDIVIDUAL Christian (working two by two, ideally), and NOT something the church does as a whole. You can have a revival or preaching crusade once or twice a year (or in the case of the Orthodox, four times, each correlating to our four yearly fasting periods), but most spiritual outreach is the responsibility of the people of a parish as individuals and as families. I don't believe that "church roundups" and expensive, flashy evangelism services do anything except build up the egos of the church "leaders" who put them on. Very few people get saved that way. Many do find real salvation in Jesus just by the lovingkindness of a Christian neighbor, friend or relative. That's how ancient Christianity spread. That's how Orthodoxy works. That's how the church should be today. Anyway, that's my take on a few things.

The Lord is coming back soon. Amen.

Why do we love the fathers?

Because the fathers of the Church love the Word of God, receive everything they have from it, give everything they give from it. Because they live in it, making the Word their home. Because they feed on it, becoming what they eat. Because they know and believe that the words of Jesus are Truth and Life. That's why we love and honor the fathers of the Church, because they love and honor the Word, and keep reminding us of it in their every encounter with us. Here's an example sent me this morning by Presbytera Candace.

What does it mean to take up your cross? It means the willing acceptance, at the hand of Providence, of every means of healing, bitter though it may be, that is offered. Do great catastrophies fall on you? Be obedient to God's will, as Noah was. Is sacrifice demanded of you? Give yourself into God's hands with the same faith as Abram had when he went to sacrifice his son. Is your property ruined? Do your children die suddenly? Suffer it all with patience, cleaving to God in your heart, as Job did. Do your friends forsake you, and you find yourself surrounded by enemies? Bear it all without grumbling, and with faith that God's help is at hand, as the apostles did.
—Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich

We are not alone…

…but in fact, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (cf. Hebrews 12:1-2), the invisible Church, that extends throughout time and space, in the past as well as in the present moment, that bends no knee to Baals (cf. Romans 11:4), no matter what form they take, church, state, class or family, and knowing the one unchanging Truth of the Gospel, Jesus Christ risen from the dead, we can do nothing other than witness to it, against all the proud, man-centered doctrines which have infected the visible church in this final period of history (cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 4:3-4).

As I began to read the reply of the Orthodox patriarchs to the solicitations of Pope Pius IX which they wrote him in 1848 and which is linked in my previous post, I remembered how good it always is to feel their brave words falling on my mind. In case my warning that the letter is long deterred any of you from following the link to its target and reading the letter, I just want to provide an excerpt to whet your appetite and encourage you, especially the Christ-loving evangelical brethren whom the pope say are "not a church," to read what the spokesmen of our ancient faith took upon themselves to patiently but firmly explain to him and to the whole world. Here's how they start their letter…

“The holy, evangelical and divine Gospel of Salvation should be set forth by all in its original simplicity, and should evermore be believed in its unadulterated purity, even the same as it was revealed to His holy Apostles by our Savior, who for this very cause, descending from the bosom of God the Father, made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant (Phil. ii. 7)…”

“But the Prince of Evil, that spiritual enemy of man's salvation, as formerly in Eden, craftily assuming the pretext of profitable counsel, he made man to become a transgressor of the divinely-spoken command. So in the spiritual Eden, the Church of God, he has from time to time beguiled many; and, mixing the deleterious drugs of heresy with the clear streams of orthodox doctrine, gives of the potion to drink to many of the innocent who live unguardedly, not giving earnest heed to the things they have heard (Heb. ii. 10), and to what they have been told by their fathers (Deut. xxxii. 7), in accordance with the Gospel and in agreement with the ancient Doctors; and who, imagining that the preached and written Word of the LORD and the perpetual witness of His Church are not sufficient for their souls' salvation, impiously seek out novelties, as we change the fashion of our garments, embracing a counterfeit of the evangelical doctrine.”

—Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs, 1848 — A Reply to the Epistle of Pope Pius IX, "to the Easterns".

Be on your guard against false gods

I posted this briefly last August but then withdrew it as possibly too polemical. While doing some upkeep work on my blog, I ran across it and decided to publish it again, at the risk of offending many folks by my collage as well as my words. My intentions are not to offend but only to warn. These are perilous times…

Totalitarianism is always an attempt by an outside power to subvert the purpose for which God created Man, to have free and full communion with the Father.

The human world is always and from every angle being accosted by an outside power which daily invents new forms of totalitarianism. These can have a multitude of names, depending on the context of the attack. When most people hear the word totalitarian, they think political, they think of Naziism, Fascism and Communism. Now that these have been replaced by better ideologies for the most part, some believe that humanity is finally at the threshhold of "peace at last," and they dreamily subscribe to the words of John Lennon's new world hymn, "Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky, imagine all the people, living for today... "

But no, unfortunately, as we are beginning to realise, even in the political context, a new totalitarianism has arisen, and it's worse than all others of modern times, because it combines its aim of enslaving humanity to an ideology with a form of piety—Islám. Even the Lennonists have to wake up from their dream. Too bad! …and just when they thought that we were "home free," though not as a modern apostle cried out, quoting an old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Last night my wife Anastasía went to an orientation meeting presented by a health product company that operates on the classic pyramid scheme model—you get people enrolled under you, they do the same, and gradually you get elevated higher and higher, richer and richer, happier and happier… A friend, Irína, whose family are recent immigrants from the same Carpathian village that my wife's ancestors came from over a century ago, and who is like us Orthodox in faith, invited her. Irína is a beautiful, flashy woman, who really can make use of her natural communication talents (she mainly markets the product within the Russian community) and also her natural empathy with others, to achieve success. Anastasía says that this company has brought out all of Irína's best personal features. The downside, of course, is that the product, the company, has completely taken over Irína's life. She knows that, but seems to be happy with it. Though she is a Christian, believing the truths of faith, she has become, as Anastasía says, "an evangelist for [product name withheld]". We do see her in church occasionally, and considering she grew up in a militantly anti-Christian environment, Soviet Russia, she has preserved her faith remarkably well. She's never understood that a life of discipleship is a possibility for her—she thinks, that's what the monastic life is for—and she sees her new job with all its perks as a reward for her dedication to family and faith. Anastasía's final take on it, though she is herself now in sales, and though the product seems good, it's not for her. This is an example of economic totalitarianism that most of us have encountered. In terms of the damage it does to the individual (without them realising it), it's every bit as bad as political totalitarianism, because you must give it your entire life.

"Wait a minute!" you say, "no one is forcing people like Irína to do this!"

True, that's part of the deception, part of the angle. Satan is a "shape shifter", as the church fathers teach. Within the context of political freedom we enjoy in America, a host of "lesser evils" arise, "closed circuit" totalitarianisms, like pyramid schemes. Opening the door to economic slavery is nothing new in any human society, so pervasive that it comes up in the gospels many times: "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24 NIV)

I exhort the brethren to continue living in the Word of God, to make the Word your home, and escape the world system, that imaginary world Lennon sang about so sweetly. Don't be "caught like birds in the fowler's net" (Psalm 124:7 JB).

"Be on your guard against false gods." (1 John 5:21 JB)

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Only Christ Saves

Here is a brief, innocent account taken from the life of Elder Ieronymos of Ægina (+1966), which was emailed to me this morning by Presbytera Candace Schefe of Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Anchorage, Alaska. I'd like to share it with my readers, to let them know I'm still alive, though myself, I have nothing much to say right now.

One time a Turk visited the Elder in his humble cell. He said that his master, a judge, invited him to his house. The Elder was somewhat worried. He was not used to invitations for social visits, and he thought that something bad must have happened, a new test. He prayed to God however, and then he followed the servant.

When they arrived at the Turkish Judge’s mansion, the judge himself received him with great cordiality. They sat in the living room and the judge began the conversation:

‘Your Reverence, I am a Turk, a Moslem. But from the salary I take, I keep what is necessary for me and my family, and the rest I spend in charities. I help widows, orphans and the poor, I give dowries to destitute girls who are ready to get married, I assist the sick. I keep strictly the fasts, I pray, and generally I try to be conscientious in my faith. Also when I judge, I try to be impartial. I am not bought by anyone, no matter how high of a position one might have. Do you think that these things that I do, are sufficient to gain for me paradise, as you Christians call it?’

Fr. Vasilios was impressed by what the Turkish judge had told him, and his mind went immediately to the Centurion Cornelius (Acts 10). He discerned in them both parallel lives. He understood that he had before him a righteous and good-willing man, and perhaps his mission was the same with that of the Apostle Peter toward the Centurion. He therefore decided to give testimony to his faith.

‘Tell me, your Honor, do you have children?’
‘Yes I do.’
‘Do you have servants?’
‘Yes, I have servants also.’
‘Who obeys better your commands, your children or your servants?’
‘For sure my servants, because my children sometimes, with the confidence they have, disobey me and do whatever they want, but my servants do always whatever I tell them.’
‘Tell me, your Honor, when you will die, who is going to inherit you: Your servants, who obey faithfully your commands, or your children, who disobey you?’
‘My children of course. Only they have inheritance rights, not my servants.’
‘Well then, whatever you do, your Honor, is good, but it only puts you into the category of the good servant. If you want to inherit paradise, the kingdom of heaven, you must become a son. And this is accomplished only through baptism.’

The Turkish judge was impressed by the example that Fr. Vasilios related to him. They talked about many other things, and in the end he asked him to instruct him in the faith and to baptize him. Some time later the Turkish judge was baptized and became a Christian.

The Work

This post is not connected to the previous one, in spite of the word "work" in both, and no comparison is intended. The following are merely excerpts from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, The Cost of Discipleship, which I happened to be reading this evening. You all must know that this book has been pivotal in my life, second only to the Bible itself. Hence, the name of my blog.

All the activity of the disciples is subject to the clear precept of their Lord. They are not left free to choose their own methods or adopt their own conception of their task. Their work is to be Christ-work, and therefore they are absolutely dependent on the will of Jesus. Happy are they whose duty is fixed by such a precept, and who are therefore free from the tyranny of their own ideas and calculations.

The choice of field for their labours does not depend on their own impulses or inclinations, but on where they are sent. This makes it quite clear that it is not their own work they are doing, but God's.

The love of Jesus is something very different from our own zeal and enthusiasms because it adheres to its mission. What is the urge that drives us to proclaim the saving truths of the gospel? It is not just love for our fellow-countrymen or for the heathen in foreign lands: it is the Lord's commission as He delivered it in His missionary charge. It is only that commission which can show us the place where the promise lies.

The proclamation and activity of the messengers are identical with that of Christ Himself. To them has been granted a portion of His power. They are charged to proclaim the advent of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to confirm their message by performing signs. They must heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and drive out devils. The message becomes an event, and the event confirms the message.

Since the authorization and equipment of the messengers is absolutely dependent on the word of Jesus, it is essential that nothing should obscure their royal mission or make it incredible. The messengers are to deliver their testimony to the riches of their Lord in royal poverty. The gifts they have received are no personal possessions which they could trade for other goods.

'Freely ye have received' (Matthew 10:8).
To be a messenger of Jesus confers no personal privileges, no title to power or renown. This is true, even where the free messengers of Jesus have turned into a regular ministry in the Church. The rights of a university education and social standing mean nothing to those who have become messengers of Jesus. 'Freely ye have received.' Or was there something else in addition to the call of Jesus which drew us into His service without any merit of our own?

'Freely give,' He says, moreover: 'Show men that you have plenty of riches to give away, but desire nothing for yourselves, neither possessions, nor admiration, nor regard, and least of all, their gratitude.' Whence could you have any claim on it?

The poverty of Christ's messengers is the proof of their freedom.

The above comes from The Cost of Discipleship, Book 3, The Messengers, Chapter 23, The Work. These words written by a modern evangelical Church father are foundational in their importance, yet the modern Church doesn't hear them or want to hear them. Both the Bible, the Word of God, and the "other books" from ancient to modern Church fathers as well as the plethora of egocentric Christomaniac publications, all are there to serve us, to give us something to inspire us, whet our appetites, mull over and discuss till they are falling apart in our brains, but never to act upon, never to let them convict us and drive us to repentance, to pity, to authentic following of Jesus, to serving the brethren, to fulfilling the 'great commission.'

What is the matter, visible Church? Are you deaf, blind, crippled? You're obviously not dumb, since you do practically nothing but blab. But for me, it's not enough to sit around in a religious kaffeeklatsch and let a deacon smitten with the glory of a descendant of the Paleologi dynasty possibly joining his church tickle my brain.

I just now thought of this verse, opened my Jerusalem Bible randomly to Psalms to find it, and the Book opened to the exact page!

Yahweh Sabaoth, bring us back,
let Your face smile on us and we shall be safe.
Psalm 80:19

Yes, Lord, bring us back, take us to You.
Come, Lord Jesus.

The work of Muhammad

I found this essay on the internet, but I couldn't discover its author, other than that it appeared on a Lutheran publication. It seems to me to be a good analysis of the difference between (authentic) Christianity and Islam.

The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery. If Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation: This was His saving work: to be insulted and die to rescue sinners.

Already in the Psalms the path of mockery was promised. "All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads". (Psalm, 22:7). "He was despised and rejected by men ... as one from whom men hide their faces . . . and we esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3). When it actually happened it was worse than expected. "They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head.... And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' And they spit on him" (Matthew 27:28-30). His response to all this was patient endurance. This was the work He came to do. "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).

This was not true of Muhammad, and Muslims do not believe it is true of Jesus. Most Muslims have been taught that Jesus was not crucified. One Sunni Muslim writes, "Muslims believe that Allah saved the Messiah from the ignominy of crucifixion." Another adds, "We honor [Jesus] more than you [Christians] do...We refuse to believe that God would permit him to suffer death on the cross." An essential Muslim impulse is to avoid the "ignominy" of the cross. That's the most basic difference between Christ and Muhammad and between a Muslim and a follower of Christ.

For Christ, enduring the mockery of the cross was the essence of His mission. And for a true follower of Christ enduring suffering patiently for the glory of Christ is the essence of obedience. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matthew 5:11).

During His life on earth Jesus was called a bastard (John 8:41), a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), a blasphemer (Matthew 26:65), a devil (Matthew 10:25); and He promised His followers the same: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Matthew 10:25).

The caricature and mockery of Christ has continued to this day. Martin Scorsese portrayed Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ as wracked with doubt and beset with sexual lust. Andres Serrano was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to portray Jesus on a cross sunk in a bottle of urine. The Da Vinci Code portrays Jesus as a mere mortal who married and fathered children. How should His followers respond?

On the one hand, we are grieved and angered: On the other hand, we identify with Christ, and embrace His suffering, and rejoice in our afflictions, and say with the apostle Paul that vengeance belongs to the Lord, let us love our enemies and win them with the gospel. If Christ did His work by being insulted we must do ours likewise.

Jesus Christ is still the only hope of reconciliation. And it means that His followers must be willing to "share His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death" (Philippians 3:10).

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!

Waiting for a judge…

…to show up. That’s what these times are like, as Jacob, my oldest son, remarked to me last Sunday after services, while we stood alone in a crowded fellowship hall, coffee cups in hand. We’re like the people of Israel in the biblical book of Judges. We don’t move on the Lord’s command, we just go about our business, being oppressed and pillaged by our enemies, the devil, the flesh and the world, while waiting for a judge to show up, but they rarely do. Instead we have shepherds that are afraid of their sheep who not only don’t go after the lost, but isolate themselves from the sheep who do! The saying of Jesus contrasting the shepherd and the hired man is very true of these times.

"But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them."
John 10:12 (NKJV)

After reading yet another long, dreary blog post of a local pastor who is on his way back to earth, analyzing the causes and sharing out the blame for why his evangelical church is losing members, I myself wonder if there’s anything one can say to him. He carefully describes the symptoms of spiritual and moral decay, yet beyond this, he seems to know nothing but what he reads in trendy “Christian” books and reviews. “The boat is sinking, brothers! But let’s not bother Jesus, He looks so peaceful napping there in the stern…”

He's there, in the true Mysteries of His Word, His Body and Blood, His Bride, the New Birth by Water and the Spirit, the Unity and the longsuffering Love of His Messengers. Truly knowing Him makes one Orthodox in the only sense that matters, gives our Orthodox faith its only reason for being. Without Him all is lost, even the great Ship laden with the precious cargo of ageless Holy Tradition. Patriarch Bartholomaios writes, we are to "wake up the Christ that is sleeping in the night of the non-Christian religions." Rather, let's wake up the Christ, asleep within us in the stern of our own Ship, that "built in an ancient pattern that journeys far," before we are capsized by the waves of the storm of this vile age.

"And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?' And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, 'Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?'"
Mark 4:37-40 (ESV)

Forty Years

Sometime around 10:15 on the morning of June 7, 1967, the first reservist paratroopers of Brigade 55 broke through the Lion’s Gate leading into the Old City of Jerusalem and reached the narrow enclave of the Western Wall. Having just fought a fierce two-day battle in the streets of east Jerusalem, they grieved for lost friends, and grieved as well for their own lost innocence in what for many was their first experience of combat. They leaned against the Wall, some in exhaustion, some in prayer. Several wept, instinctively connecting to the Wall’s tradition of mourning the destruction of the Temple and the loss of Jewish sovereignty—precisely at the moment when Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem had been restored.

Yitzhak Yifat stands in front of the Western Wall moments after its capture on the morning of June 7, 1967

Several hours later, Yitzhak Yifat, a twenty-four-year-old reservist about to begin medical school, reached the Wall. As part of the brigade’s 66th Battalion, he and his friends had fought in the Six Day War’s toughest battle: Intimate combat against elite Jordanian Legionnaires in the trenches of Ammunition Hill, on the road to Mount Scopus. Something in their faces—perhaps a combination of exhaustion and uplift—caught the eye of a news photographer, David Rubinger.

Yifat is the centerpoint of the photograph, and not only because he is physically positioned there. Among his friends, only Yifat’s face is truly memorable; the faces around him seem to blur into his. Partly that is because he alone has removed his helmet, revealing the civilian beneath the soldier. Yifat also allows himself to appear vulnerable: While the men around him are tight-lipped, suppressing emotion, his mouth is open, as if trying to express the ineffable. For all of Rubinger’s staging, the emotions on Yifat’s face--grief, bewilderment, relief, awe, hope--could not have been coaxed or rehearsed.

Forty years later, the picture of the paratroopers at the Wall has become, arguably, the most beloved Jewish photographic image of our time—appearing in Passover Hagadas and on computer screen savers and posters in college dorm rooms. When Israel recently marked forty years to the Six Day War, the photograph at the Wall served as the media logo. Despite attempts to transform the picture into political parody and commercial kitsch—it has been co-opted for a protest poster by an artist opposed to the occupation, painted in rainbow colors by a gay group, and featured in a cigarette advertisement—its power to inspire hasn’t diminished.

From ancient times…

…wicked demons in human form defiled women, corrupted boys, and showed men such terrifying sights that whoever did not have the insight to discern what was happening became confused. Obsessed by fear, they failed to recognize them as evil demons. They called them "gods" and gave to each the name which each demon had given himself.

Socrates tried by true reason and exact inquiry to bring these things to light and to draw men away from these demons. That is why the demons, working through men who delighted in evil, knew how to bring about his execution as an atheist and sacrilegious person. They accused him of having introduced new gods. And now they try to do the very same thing to us.

For it happened not only among the Greeks that these things were brought to light through Socrates, but also among the barbarians. It happened through the same Logos [Word] who took form and became man and was called Jesus Christ. Him we follow, and we deny that the spirits who have done these things are true deities, but assert that they are wicked and infamous demons, in no way even capable of such actions as men are, who strive for goodness and merit.

Justin Martyr († AD 166), from his First Apology

This brief excerpt from the writings of one of the earliest Church fathers was printed on the front of our Sunday bulletin at Holy Trinity, along with the icon of the saint. When I first started reading it, I thought for sure the description was of the modern-day pornographic media industry that has dragged down popular culture to the low moral level we now find it. But as I read on, and being a historian, I quickly grasped that this was the classic argument against the pagan gods of the Greco-Roman world. Still, something about it impressed me as still being timely. Could these "demons" still be at work, exalting themselves in persons such as Maitreya who claims to be the World Teacher and Savior (though he is still hidden from us), José Luís de Jesus Miranda "The Man Christ Jesus" who simultaneously declares that he is Christ AND Antichrist, and Vissarion of the Last Testament Church in Russia who claims to be a reincarnation of Jesus? Could these same demons also be behind most or all of the UFO phenomena? Many people have noticed similarities between this activity and ancient "divine theophanies."

The drift of my blog is not to explore or discuss controversies, but to share Christian spiritual testimonies. Perhaps many of my visitors are unaware that such things as I've mentioned above even exist, but it's only the tip of the iceberg. God grant us followers of Jesus discernment to avoid not just the obvious but also the hidden perils set to ambush us in this last age.

Longsuffering is perseverance…

…in adversity, endurance of evils, to abide to the end of temptation, not to let one's anger out by chance, not to speak a word in folly, not to suspect or to think anything that does not become a God-fearing man, as Scripture says, 'A long-suffering man shall bear for a time, and afterwards joy shall be restored to him. He will hide his words for a time, and the lips of many shall declare his understanding.'

Maximos the Confessor

No one can hurt you…

…if you are determined to do only what is right; if you do have to suffer for being good, you will count it a blessing. There is no need to be afraid or to worry about them. Simply reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and a clear conscience, so that those who slander you when you are living a good life in Christ may be proved wrong in the accusations that they bring. And if it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

1 Peter 3:13-17 Jerusalem Bible

Are we there yet?

With the increase of lawlessness, love in most men will grow cold.
Matthew 24:12 Jerusalem Bible

People will be self-centered and grasping; boastful, arrogant and rude; disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, irreligious; heartless and unappeasable; they will be slanderers, profligates, savages and enemies of everything that is good; they will be treacherous and reckless and demented by pride, preferring their own pleasure to God. They will keep up the outward appearance of religion but will have rejected the inner power of it.
2 Timothy 3:2-5a JB

There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamor of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
Luke 22:25-28 JB

And if we're there, or getting close, then it's time to keep reminding ourselves of this…

It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left. So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your Master is coming.
Matthew 24:39b-42 JB

At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord Himself will come down from heaven: those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 JB

Eurabia Vaticana

For those who are even slightly interested in what's going down in Europe, I direct you to the Éllopos Blog link in my side panel. An article posted there on May 31, entitled Eurabia Vaticana, is particularly interesting. When you first link to this article, you'll see two links in the first paragraph which I recommend you to follow: Papal Chrislamism, and Patriarch Bartholomew. The first details the current pope's dealings with the Islamic community, and the second does the same for the ecumenical patriarch. I cannot comment on the pope's dealings except to say it's consistent with the papist approach to strong adversaries throughout history. Nothing new there. But it is disappointing to see how the Greek-Turkish patriarch is behaving. What else should we expect from a man who has been persecuting the monks of Esphigmenou Monastery on Mount Athos this many a year because they are defiant in their defense of Orthodoxy. The true Orthodox way has NEVER been to persecute those who disagree with us but, if we cannot see eye to eye, to live and let live. Or as patriarch Jeremiah responded to the Lutheran theologians who kept pressing him to join the Reformation, "Please don't write us anymore, except for love's sake." You see, love is still possible, especially among disciples of the Master, even when they don't see exactly eye to eye.

Anyway, check this out, brothers:
http://www.ellopos.net/blog/index.php

Occupied territory

"Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage."
—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book II, Chapter 2, "The Invasion"

I'm afraid I've "let the cat out of the bag" on a number of levels.
First, the image of my copy of Mere Christianity both dates and places me in geographical context—an old mended paperback bought for "three bob six" (about 49¢) in London, 1966.

Second, as my son Jacob was once called by his Orthodox opponent in a "friendly" online debate, I may be labelled a "crypto-Protestant" for quoting C.S. Lewis and other "non-Orthodox" authors on my blog, and for (seeming to be) saying that "Orthodox Christianity" is not that important. I hope my friends, though, know me well enough to understand my meaning to be not to say what is un-important, but Who is important, thereby giving "Orthodoxy" and everything else, its true value, for nothing stands except for Him, and on Him.
"Apart from Me, all is nothing." (Isaiah 45:6 Jerusalem Bible)

Third, I also must be no less than a Christian jihadist to have quoted the above and to believe it. As a former friend and reader of my blog wrote me, "I'm glad your true colors have come out," when I publicly took a stand for the truthfulness of the Bible on who Jesus Christ is versus the Islamic concept of Jesus, some people may write me off as a bigoted hypocrite who writes about love on the one hand and on the other dogmatizes that there is a real battle going on, and real sides, right versus wrong. So I'm a sheep in wolf's clothing after all!

Well, I admit that I'm probably a bad person on a number of other levels as well, but let's turn now to the topic I wanted to write about… "occupied territory."

If you type these words into an internet search engine, I guarantee you, most of the results will be something about Palestinian issues, but this is not what C.S. Lewis is writing about, nor am I.

It's the world, that world of which Morpheus speaks when he says to Neo that the matrix is "the world pulled over your eyes," punning on "the wool pulled over your eyes."
Clever, my brothers Wachowski, worthy of your Chicago-Polishness.

I've been mulling over the events of the last few days since the Friday before Pentecost, how Brock and I went downtown thinking we were to read the Word of God publicly and instead were sent on a kind of rescue mission or rendezvous by our heavenly Father.
"Baah!" some people would say, as in the film Luther, when Martin's father abruptly leaves the church after witnessing his priested son's first mass. Luther defends himself to his angry father, "God sent me here [to the monastic life]…" and his father responds, "A bolt of lightning burns your arse, and you say that God sent you! The devil more likely!" and gallops off.

Sometimes in a lonely moment my flesh cries out to my mind for sympathy in its bewilderment over God's incredible work in the Spirit. "How can you do such things? Are you crazy? How can you start what you don't know you can finish? What will people think now? Don't you care about your family and your reputation? Get back in line! Don't be a fool! Nobody's worth that much! There now, wouldn't you rather find a comfy corner and read some nice Christian book? Or history? Or work on your hobbies? Who do you think you are? Remember, you're not worthy! Let those whom God has called do His work! That's what the priests are for! Leave well enough alone!"

My response is to get quiet, and wait it out. [Yawn…] No matter how hard or long the tempter speaks, I can always sleep.
"…and in the night my inmost self instructs me."
(Psalm 16:7 Jerusalem Bible)

Another memory rises up.
During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the family ten Boom, watchmakers in Haarlem, forgot themselves and started helping their Jewish neighbors by hiding them and using their house as a way station in a kind of underground railroad to get Jews out of Holland to safety.
When asked by an agent of the underground why they were taking the risk of helping those in danger, Betsy ten Boom replied, "No, not for excitement or adventure. I would rather just close that door, and stay inside and wait until this whole dreadful affair is over. But that is not what my Jesus wants. He wants us to open our door to all who knock and ask for help. And that's what we will do."

In my flesh, I feel the same way, I'd like to just stay comfortable and safe. But then, there's Jesus. It's not a question of "what would Jesus do" that I can play with as I sit in my favorite chair. It's "what does Jesus do," and do I dare follow Him out into the world where He is constantly seeking that which is lost? That's the question we all have to ask ourselves, today.

Holland was under Nazi occupation from May 10, 1940 to May 5, 1945.
This world has been enemy-occupied territory since the time of Adam and Eve.
The battle lines are drawn,
and though we can't always see it
with our fleshly eyes
the victory has been won.


Thank you, Lord, for Your great mercy
in revealing everything to us in Your Word.
Thank you for giving us yet one more day
to serve you "in peace and repentance."