Cheap Grace

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Fr. Peter

This week I have started to read the book, “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I have only read the introduction and the first chapter, but already I think I am going to want to read these pages again, there is just too much to try and digest in one sitting.

Bonhoeffer begins by contrasting Cheap Grace and Costly Grace. He defines Cheap Grace with the following words:

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

In other words, what he is saying is, Cheap Grace requires nothing of the person. No rules, no regulations, make it up as you go along, everyone is okay, there is no sin in the world etc. “Cheap grace means the justification of the sin without the justification of the sinner.”

Some have taken sin right out of the world. The common mantra of the Moral Relativists is that sin does not exist unless someone else gets harmed in the process. Abortion has become okay because we have a legal definition that says the child in the mother’s womb is not a child at all it is just a collection of cells, and other such “stuff” therefore, we can terminate it.

If sin does not exist then there is no reason for people to be sorry for the transgressions of the law. Cheap Grace says there is no law, only the law that we humans define and come up with. “Cheap Grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap Grace is the grace we bestow upon ourselves.”

This stands in contrast to Costly Grace, the Grace that we are called to as authentic followers of Jesus Christ.

Costly grace is the gospel which much be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

This is the Grace of True Discipleship it has to cost us something, not in an economic sense, but in a spiritual sense. It is a call to a radical kind of life where we cease to live solely for ourselves, and we live for someone else, and that someone is Jesus Christ. And the following of Jesus Christ requires perfect obedience to the commandments Jesus to love God and to love one’s neighbor.

Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son… and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.

Costly Grace will cost us our lives, but it is Grace because it gives us our lives. We are called to follow Christ and His Gospel, and that means that we condemn sin and seek reconciliation and absolution for the times when we transgress. We do not change the law to fit our lifestyle, we change our lifestyle to fit the law!

It is interesting to read these words, written at another time, and find that truth still exists in them today. Bonhoffer was advocating a life that turned from the world. He saw those who called themselves Christians as not being any different from those who lived in the world. Writing of Christians who follow the wide open way of Cheap Grace he said, “The upshot of all is that my only duty as a Christian is to leave the world for an hour or so on Sunday morning and go to Church to be assured that my sins are all forgiven.”

It’s as if all we need is the weekly “check in” and the rest of the week we can go about our lives. True discipleship requires a change, a change of mind and a change of heart. We cannot continue to live our lives as if nothing should be changed. We cannot have one life inside the church and one life outside the Church. Discipleship requires that we transform our lives and that we come to the realization that we need to be different, and that difference requires change.

Cheap Grace has done nothing but closed us off to the cost of true discipleship. We think we can have it all, that we can be true followers of Jesus Christ but not change the way we interact in the world. We are called to follow the narrow road that is Jesus Christ, that road of transformation and change, and we cannot do that if we want to remain the same people we are.

We need churches to heed this call and get back to the mission of Jesus Christ. We need churches whose leaders are not afraid to preach the truth of the Gospel and who are not afraid to call sin, sin. We need churches where people are being called to repentance and reconciliation and who are being called to a radical form of life in the Church. We need churches that teach authentic discipleship as has been taught in the church for more than 2,000 years.

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Orthodox Thoughts on the 2012 Election

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Fr. Peter

V. Rev. Paul Jannakos

As Orthodox Christians we bear witness to Christ in all dimensions of life. This includes participation in civic life, where as citizens of this country we elect into office those who aspire towards the work of public service on both the local and federal levels.

We do not deny that the democratic electoral process is a wonderful gift given to us as citizens of the United States. We thereby vote for those whom we feel would best govern our lands according to the values and principles we esteem as believers.

As we approach the upcoming Election Day, it is beneficial to be reminded about several key issues regarding the Orthodox Church and its role in the social and political life of its faithful.

1) The starting point of our political involvement as Orthodox believers is a paradoxical one, which is that in relationship to the gospel of Christ, we have no absolute political “affiliation.” The true home of every Orthodox Christian is the Kingdom of Heaven, which in this age, stands over and above every earthly state. That the Kingdom of Christ is the only Kingdom that truly “reigns,” even in this fallen age, is why we pledge to it the totality of our lives. For as long as we live in this age, we are sojourners while on this earth and the only city (“polis”) that we can thus claim as our truest home is the Jerusalem from above – the “Heavenly Jerusalem.” “But the Jerusalem that is from above is free, and she is our mother.” (Galatians 4:26). The lives – and deaths – of all the Holy Martyrs testify to this fundamental teaching regarding the true nature of Christian citizenship.

2) In light of this, we should also refrain from permitting our worldview to be shaped or compromised by any social or political ideology, be it “conservatism,” or “capitalism,” or “liberalism,” or “libertarianism,” or “progressivism,” or “socialism,” or “feminism,” or “pluralism,” or “egalitarianism,” or “or any other “ism” whatsoever. Instead, the core beliefs, values, and morals that govern how we envision the “way things should be” in this world are shaped uniquely by the life and witness and teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church, which according to St. Paul is the “pillar and foundation of truth.” (1 Timonty 3:15). Again, St. Paul writes, “See to it, brethren, that no one takes you captive through philosophy or empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Colossians, 2:8).

3) Even so, this does not infer nor does it suggest that we as Orthodox Christians must completely divorce ourselves from participation in the civic life of the countries in which we live. We are in the world, yes, but we are not “of” the world. This means that we no longer belong to the world (i.e. the “society of men”), nor do we adhere to its fallen values and ideals. [For] I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:14,15).

Yet as long as we each are living in our own country and place, we do whatever we can in order to bear witness to the saving truth of the gospel. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16). Understood from this perspective, as Orthodox believers we are entitled to participate as fully as we possibly can in the social and political life of our country, especially when it comes to the work of the Church’s philanthropy. Members of the Body of Christ are likewise commanded to show our respect and give honor to those in political office, (See 1 Peter 2:17), and to pray for them during the Divine Liturgy – whether we agree with their political policies or not.

4) Here in America, the idea of separation between Church and State as envisioned in the Constitution does not mean that those of us who profess faith are to be excluded from political discourse simply because our societal sentiments are explicitly religious – as some currently assert. Separation of Church and state simply means that there will be no official “state church” that functions as a spiritual and moral guide of its people, as is the case in many European countries. (E.g., as the Anglican Church is in England).

As such, we are responsible for bearing witness to the truth of Christ in the public sphere, no matter how unpopular such a truth may be. We must not be silent in the face of injustice. We must never be afraid to speak against any disruption or violation of the public good. The Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in North America recently expressed the same by saying, “We call for responsibility by individuals, institutions and governments to ensure the welfare of every citizen. We must safeguard the sacrament of marriage in accordance with God’s will for the sacred union between man and woman and the sanctity of family as the fundamental nucleus of a healthy society. In this regard, we emphasize regular family worship, particularly at Sunday liturgy. We must strive to eliminate the violence proliferated against innocents of every kind, particularly of women and the unborn. Likewise, we must resist the wastefulness and greed that dominate our consumer society, confessing that our spiritual citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3.20) in order that our witness be characterized by the compassion and mercy as well as the generosity and philanthropy that distinguishes our God who loves humankind.”

In short, it is our duty to work towards the “leavening” of our American culture by promoting all that is holy, true, righteous, noble, beautiful, and life-giving. Orthodox Christians have engaged in this kind of positive witness in whatever lands they have dwelt for almost 2000 years, which is the legacy of St. Constantine and Helen, St. Vladimir of Russia, St. Sava of Serbia, St. Kosmos Aetolos of Greece, and St. Herman of Alaska, just to name a few.

5) Finally, as Orthodox Christians we should resist the fanaticism that some display in their politicking, whether it is on the “right” of the “left.” The Orthodox Church deplores those who use extremist language in order to advance any type of hateful, racist, or xenophobic ideologies. St. Paul writes, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer one another.” (Colossians 4:6). As American citizens we have the right to free speech, but this should never give us the leeway to vilify or slander ones neighbor simply because he or she may stand for a differing political view. Dialogue between political parties concerning social issues, mores and laws should remain open, forthright, and considerate.

As Orthodox believers we strive to do what we pray: to work for the peace and reconciliation of all human beings, beginning with our own families and in our own homes.

May God bless our nation with His peace and righteousness.

Source

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I have been Crucified with Christ

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Fr. Peter

The Reading is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 2:16-20

BRETHREN, you know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Today, in the Epistle reading from St. Paul, we come face to face with the prescription for life in the Church. St. Paul is telling his readers that it is not works it is not following all of the rules that justify you, it is your faith that does that. It is not enough that you know and understand all of the rules and regulations of the faith, and we sure do have them, but you need to have true faith, the faith that will move mountains, that is what is required. But it does not end there.

If we take this passage on face value, some might say that since we think we don’t have to do anything else. Some believe that if I come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as my “personal savior” I am saved, and that is it that is all I have to do. Salvation does not happen in an instant, as Metropolitan Kalistos Ware is fond of saying, we are not saved we are in the process of BEING saved.

It is not simply enough we have to do something with it. St. Paul is right that we are not justified by the works that we do we cannot earn this or purchase our way in, it does not work that way. The faith that St. Paul is writing about is the faith of Christ and that is the Gospel, and not just the parts that we like. It is the faith of Christ, His beliefs, His trust, His obedience that makes all of this possible. Christ’s faith is seen in His entire life on earth, not in just a few isolated incidents. It needs to be that way with us as well.

St. Paul is not saying that works are not required. We read in the Letter of St. James that faith without works is a dead faith, and some have added to that to say that works without faith is dead. Our faith requires us to put that faith into action. Jesus did not just sit around and preach to people, Jesus not seek the high place of honor at banquets and other meetings, Jesus rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He healed people He fed them, He listened to their stories, He genuinely cared for all He came into contact with, even those who were trying to kill Him. This is what faith is all about! When St. Paul and others speak of the faith of Christ this is what he means. Jesus says it himself, Love God and love your neighbor and we love them by helping them.

St. John Chrysostom, whose liturgy we celebrate on most Sundays, is known as the golden mouth. He gets this title, not because of his great dental work, but because of his ability to speak the truth in love and make the faith alive in the people who listened to him. St. John was an orator of the first caliber. In his writings on faith, he has many nuggets of wisdom that it would be appropriate for us to hear today, one of those nuggets is

“Help me Lord to lead a holy life and to do good works, so that those who see me may praise Your Name”

What St. John is reminding us is that we do these things, not for our own benefit, we do not do these things, so we can say, “look at what I have done,” we do these things to bring honor to God and so they will know we are Christians. If we do anything for our own benefit, we are not fulfilling the mission of Christ. Jesus did not do what He did for himself, He did what He did for others, He healed people so that they could be whole, but also that others might believe, and that is what we need to do.

Years ago, I lead a team of people on a work trip to Romania. We went to work in a neighborhood that was not the best of places to work in Bucharest. We worked alongside Romanians who had been beaten down by the Communist system for far too long. They system provided for most of their needs, and they had lost enthusiasm. We worked alongside them, we did not do the work for them, but we helped them and showed them how to get things done. The program was called, “work and witness.” We were there to work, but we were also there to witness, witness to the love of Christ and to our faith. We were not standing on the corner telling them they were going to hell unless they repented of their wicked ways; no we rolled up our sleeves and helped them to make a difference in their own lives. That is the essence of the Gospel. That is what it means to be a Christian.

But this is not easy especially in a world that is all about the individual and not the community. During the summer when I was a kid, and I am sure this is the same for most of you, I would leave the house in the morning and go out and play in the neighborhood. My mother was not worried about what would happen because people watched out for others and ensured that we were doing what we were supposed to be doing. My mother knew, as did I, that if I did anything wrong one of the neighbors would call and let her know. In this day and age if you do that you might get sued, that is if the kids even go out of the house! We have lost that sense of community; we have lost that sense of helping others and keeping an eye out for the wellbeing of others. We are becoming a society of individuals that are only concerned with what is good for the individual.

In order for us to truly live the Christian life we have to die to self. St. Paul says towards the end of this letter today that he has been “crucified with Christ, it is no long I who lives but Christ who lives in me.” This is not the crucifixion of human nature that is what Christ was crucified for; this is the crucifixion of our flesh of our passions and of our desires. Just as Christ willing accepted His crucifixion we have to do the same. We crucify the self, we die to the self, and we begin to live a life that is centered on someone else.

Life in the Church is what helps us to live this life that we are called to live through our baptism. On the day we were baptized we were marked with the “sign of faith” and set apart for a holy work. And the life in the Church is what helps us with that.

The faith that we have, the faith that we practice is not for punishment but for edification. All of the fasting and other such things are designed not to punish us or make us miserable, but to awaken in us that desire to follow Christ closer than we are. And it is this close walk that we have that will cause us to love those around us and to care for all.

Mother Maria of Paris, a nun in the Russian Orthodox Church and a convert to the faith, had a monastery with an open door to anyone who needed help. Times were difficult for people in her neighborhood, and even though she had little she shared what she had with others. I have used this quote of hers before, but I think it fits with the reading today,

“At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, how many bows and prostrations I made [in the course of prayer]. I shall be asked, Did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners. That is all I shall be asked. About every poor, hungry and imprisoned person the Savior says ‘I’: ‘I was hungry and thirsty, I was sick and in prison’. To think that He puts an equal sign between Himself and anyone in need…”

This is the very essence of the Gospel to live for someone else, and we have Christ as the example of this. But in order for us to do this we need to die to self, we need to get out of the way and let the love of Christ shine through us to the world.

That is our mission, and it is the most important thing we can do.

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Physician Assisted Suicide And The Orthodox Church

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Fr. Peter

Below is a letter from Metropolitan Methodios concerning physician assisted suicide and the upcoming ballot question no. 2 here in Massachusetts. We thank his Eminence for his leadership on this issue!

imgMetropolitan — His Eminence Methodios, Metropolitan of Boston

To the Faithful of the Metropolis of Boston

Brethren,

On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, the residents of Massachusetts will go to the polls to vote for not only the next President of the United States, Senator and other elected officials, but there will also be three ballot questions for your consideration. Ballot question number 2 is entitled, “Prescribing Medication to End Life” or Physician Assisted Suicide.

This past week, I hosted at the Metropolis Center together with Cardinal Sean O’Malley a meeting of the Inter-Faith Religious Community of Massachusetts. Over 60 religious leaders representing a great diversity of brethren, not only from the Christian community but from the greater ecumenical community including the Islamic, were present and actively participated in the discussion which focused on this proposed legislation concerning physician assisted suicide. (Our Jewish brethren were not present because they were celebrating a High Holy Day.) If this legislation is passed, beginning on January 1, 2013, patients diagnosed with a terminal illness and given a prognosis of less than 6 months to live would have the ability to request a lethal prescription to end their lives.

For centuries now, all doctors take the Hippocratic Oath promising to practice medicine ethically and honestly, never doing harm to a patient. This proposed law would be impossible to control, and would have serious societal ramifications.

As Fr. Stanley Harakas has written, “The Orthodox Church believes that to elevate euthanasia to a right or an obligation would bring it into direct conflict with the fundamental ethical affirmation that as human beings we are custodians of life which comes from a source other than ourselves. Furthermore, the immense possibilities, not only for error but also for decision making based on self-serving ends which may disregard the fundamental principle of the sanctity of human life, argue against euthanasia.

Generally speaking, the Orthodox Church teaches that it is the duty of both physician and family to make the patient as comfortable as possible and to provide the opportunity for the exercise of patience, courage, repentance and prayer. The Church has always rejected inflicted and unnecessary voluntary suffering and pain as immoral; but at the same time, the Church also has perceived in suffering a positive value that often goes unrecognized in the logic of the world in which we live, a world characterized by secularism, materialism, and individualism.

Euthanasia is a Greek word meaning ‘a good death’. The only ‘euthanasia’ recognized in Orthodox ethics is that death in which the human person accepts the end of his or her life in the spirit of moral and spiritual purity, in hope and trust in God, and as a member of His kingdom.”

The Orthodox Church joins our brethren in the Ecumenical community, the American Medical Association, the Mass Medical Society and all people of good will in opposing question two on Election Day. I ask you to prayerfully consider this vital Ballot Question carefully, discuss it fully with your Parish Priest, family and friends, and vote NO on Question 2 in order to preserve the sanctity and dignity of human life.

With Archpastoral love,

M E T H O D I O S

Metropolitan of Boston

Source: Fr. Greg’s Blog

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Getting to the Heart

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Fr. Peter

Prayer Rope (1) — “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

At the very heart of the Jesus Prayer lies the actual experience of the body as the temple of the Spirit; in other words, the Spirit dwells in our body (see 1 Corinthians 6:19). The concept of the heart that we find in the mysticism of the Jesus Prayer is closely related to the biblical understanding of the heart as the seat and center of various functions of the spirit.

Spiritual masters of nearly all religions often refer to the heart as the seat of wisdom. It is from the heart that wisdom emanates, not from the intellect. Theophan observed, “If the heart is the center of the human person, then it is by the heart that man enters into relation with all that exists.” Later he added, “There is a particular way that leads to harmony among men that is the heart” (The Jesus Prayer in Eastern Spirituality).

Theophan insisted, “You must descend from your head into your heart. At present your thoughts of God are in your head. And God Himself is, as it were, outside you, and so your prayer and other spiritual exercises remain exterior. While you are still in your head, thoughts will … always be whirling about like snow in winter or clouds of mosquitoes in the summer.”

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

From Listening to the Heartbeat of God

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Dying to Self

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Fr. Peter

My guess would be that, for the vast majority of people, their experience with the Orthodox Church would have to do with encountering the Orthodox at a Liturgical service. We often say to people who are interested in Orthodox to “come and see” it is in seeing us that you come to know us. By being in the presence of God in the Temple and letting the sights, sounds, and smells of Orthodox liturgy wash over you that you truly get to know what it means to be Orthodox.

Spirituality needs to be much deeper than just the surface. I often use the image of the iceberg when I describe the spirituality of the Orthodox Church. What you see, what you encounter, is just the beginning, the very beginning of our spirituality. If you choose, you need to descend the depths of the water to see what it is all about. Orthodoxy is not a religion of the surface, as so many of the world religions are today, but it is deep and abiding faith that will transform from the inside out.

From our very creation, we were intended for a close, personal relationship with God. The writer of the Book of Genesis uses the image of Adam and Eve, our first parents, walking with God. They were in the very presence of the creator and had fellowship with Him is a way that we humans can never experience in this life. The fall of humanity was due to humanities disobedience toward God’s command. Humanity wanted to do what it wanted to do, and that led to a separation or a severing of that relationship with God.

In the third chapter, of St. John’s Gospel, John the Baptist, speaking to his followers, tells them “He must increase, but I must decrease.” On the surface, this can be taken two ways. One way is that John must personally decrease; he told his followers that he is not the Christ, and so the role of John as the forerunner needs to end so Christ’s role can begin. Another way is that we, all of us, need to decrease we need to die to self to make room for Christ in our lives.

Listening is the key that opens the door to our transformation. Earlier this year I wrote a little book called “Listening the Heartbeat of God.” I used as an inspiration for the title of this book, the image of St. John leaning on the chest of Jesus during the Last Supper. We see how John reclined against Christ he pressed his ear against the chest of the God Man Christ and could feel the warmth of His body, but he could also hear, and feel, the very heartbeat of God.

“He listened to the very center of creation and the center of life. The ancients believed that the heart was the center of our being—our very essence resided there they thought—so in this sense St. John was listening to the very essence of the Creator of all.” Listening the Heartbeat of God

Imagine what that must have been like for St. John! St. John was listening to the heartbeat of Him who created his own heart. This is the relationship we are called to have, but in order to obtain this relationship we have to set aside, as we say in the Divine Liturgy, “all the earthly cares of life” we must decrease so He can increase.

The transformation of our life involves becoming a new person, a new creation, one that no longer lives for the worldly pleasures is life, but one that lives for what comes next. We read in Scripture of the man who was continuously building larger barns to store his stuff. He would bring down one barn and build a larger one. He was more concerned with this life and paid little or no attention to the next life. This is easy to do; we want to ensure that our physical needs are taken care of, but what of our spiritual needs?

Jesus was always concerned with those around Him. He was concerned for their material as well as their spiritual needs. He always fed those who came out to hear Him speak and He calmed to storm that was raging around His apostles, but after all of this He always took time for prayer.

We see many examples of Jesus going off alone to pray, to recharge His batteries if you will, to center Himself where He needed to be and to have a conversation with God. That is what prayer is, conversation with God. Prayer is what transforms us prayer allows us time to be alone, just us and our creator. Prayer is that time when we put our ear against the chest of the Creator and listen; listen to the very essence of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Recently someone asked me how I am able to find the strength to do what priests are asked to do. The answer is straightforward, the only way I can do what I am called to do is with prayer. I need to spend that time each, and every day sitting in God presence and just listening to Him speak through the prayers of the Church and His Scriptures. The more time I spend in prayer, the more time I sit and listen, the longer I rest my head and listen to His heartbeat, the more I realize that I need to continue my transformation of my life, and that is what draws me back. My own desire to continue the conversation is what brings me back into the presence. My own desire to, walk in the presence of God, is what brings me back to prayer each time.

Dying to self takes a life time, but every journey beings with that first step why not take that first step today.

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Halloween: A Few Spiritual Pointers for Orthodox Parents

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Fr. Peter

Fr. George Morelli

But whosoever shall cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be to his advantage that a millstone turned by an ass were hung upon his neck, and he were drowned in the deep of the sea (Mt. 18:6).

In the United States and many European countries as well, we are coming up to the annual festival of the celebration of “All Hallows’ Evening.” Its roots go back to ancient pagan Celtic tradition Samhain (pronounced: Sah-ween) when villagers would light large outdoor fires and put on costumes to hide from and ward off roaming ghosts of spirits and the dead. The Research Center of the Library of Congress reports:

“It was the biggest and most significant holiday of the Celtic year. The Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living.ⁱ

The Celtic region included the area that is now modern Great Britain, France and Ireland. Also part of the pagan banquet was that animals and crops were placed in the bonfires as a sacrifice to the pagan gods. The conquest of the majority of Celtic lands by the Romans in 43 AD added additional pagan elements to the feast. One was Feralia, a late October festival wherein the Romans memorialized their dead. Second, was a day to sacrifice to the Roman goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees.

Pomona’s symbol is the apple. To this day, apples are common in modern celebrations of this festival. The name of this festival has also been changed. It is no longer referred to as “All Hallows’ Evening.” All know it by the name ‘Halloween.’

The Divine Instruction regarding paganism

It should be immediately obvious that the members of the Eastern Church that then and now that make up the original Patriarchates in Africa, Eastern Europe, India and the Middle East would know nothing of this festival. Not so for the Church in the West. The Church could not stand by idly. In Old Testament Sacred Scripture we read the instructions God gave to His people through the mouth of Moses:

When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee, beware lest thou have a mind to imitate the abominations of those nations. Neither let there be found among you any one that shall expiate his son or daughter, making them to pass through the fire: or that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens, neither let there be any wizard, Nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these abominations he will destroy them at thy coming. (Deut 18: 9-12)

One of the fundamental teachings of Christ about salvation is in His words to Thomas during the priestly discourse at the Last Supper: “Jesus saith to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one cometh to the Father, except by Me.” (Jn. 14:6) The Apostles themselves would go on to adapt Christ’s teaching to the cultures and traditions they encountered as they evangelized in different parts of the world. St. Paul, for example would tell the pagan Athenians that the “unknown God” they worshiped was the God of the Christians. St Luke tells us St. Paul’s words:

“Men, Athenians, I perceive how in all things ye are most religious. “For passing through and carefully observing the objects of your veneration, I also found an altar on which it had been written: ‘To an unknown God.’ Therefore since ye know not Whom ye reverence, I proclaim this One to you. “The God Who made the world and all things in it, this same One, being Lord of heaven and of earth, dwelleth not in temples made by hand; “neither is He being serviced to by the hands of men, as though in need of anything, because He Himself giveth to all life, and breath, in all respects” (Acts 17:22-25).

In emulation of the missionary ethos of St. Paul and the Apostles, a transition from the pagan festival of Samhain to a Christian feast started in 609 AD. Boniface IV, Patriarch of the West and Pope of Rome who inaugurated a Feast called All Martyrs Day. Pope Gregory III (731-741) added all saints of the Church to the martyrs and fixed the date to 01 Nov.

Origins of the English word Halloween

The name of this feast in Middle English was Alholowmesse. Imbedded in this word is the modern word ‘hallow,’ which means holy. Thus, the meaning of the Feast is its name: the Feast of all the holy ones – all the saints. The evening before the Feast would be ‘all-hollows eve’ which in modern English becomes Halloween. The tie to the saints or souls that have fallenl asleep in the Lord, became further strengthened by the day after All-Saints Day, which in the West came to be called All-Souls’ day.

The Diaspora of the Eastern Church

In the 19th Century, immigration of Eastern Christians from the traditional areas they had long occupied into the geographic areas of the Western Church, intensified. Obviously, they did not find the Celtic pagan practices that had confronted the Church in the 7th Century, but they did find the residue of pagan practices as they have been transformed over time —-such as the modern Halloween Festival. So the question for Orthodox Christians is: how should they respond to the Halloween as it exists today?

Halloween Today

The Library of Congress Research Center [see Endnote i] beautifully summarizes current practice:

Virtually all present Halloween traditions can be traced to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Halloween is a holiday of many mysterious customs, but each one has a history, or at least a story behind it. The wearing of costumes, for instance, and roaming from door to door demanding treats can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and around, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these dreadful creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This practice is called mumming, from which the practice of trick-or-treating evolved. To this day, witches, ghosts, and skeleton figures of the dead are among the favorite disguises. Halloween also retains some features that harken back to the original harvest holiday of Samhain, such as the customs of bobbing for apples and carving vegetables, as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices cider associated with the day.

Today Halloween is becoming once again and adult holiday or masquerade, like Mardi Gras. Men and women in every disguise imaginable are taking to the streets of big American cities and parading past grinningly carved, candlelit jack o’lanterns, re- enacting customs with a lengthy pedigree. Their masked antics challenge, mock, tease, and appease the dread forces of the night, of the soul, and of the otherworld that becomes our world on this night of reversible possibilities, inverted roles, and transcendency. In so doing, they are reaffirming death and its place as a part of life in an exhilarating celebration of a holy and magic evening.

How should Eastern Christians respond to modern Halloween?

The beautiful words of the commemoration of the Theotokos at the end of most of the Ektenias (Litanies) of the Church should be the ethos of our response: “… let us commend ourselves and each other, and all our life unto Christ our God.” We can take a step toward the healing of society, our families and our children by taking what is at the core of our Orthodox Faith to transform Halloween from evil and superstition to the care of Our Ever-present God who opens us to His sanctification.

To accomplish this means removing anything ungodly from the celebration. This means unhealthy focusing and emphasis on cemeteries, devils, ghouls (a grave robber, an evil spirit or ghost), goblins, (a grotesque supernatural creature that makes trouble for living people), skeletons and alternative sexual lifestyles. If any Halloween practice contains as its spirit, as the Library report above states, “antics [that] challenge, mock, tease, and appease the dread forces of the night, of the soul. . . .” then they can clearly be seen as un-Godly. Some practices not only are an affront to God but dishonor our bodies that we are to care for and the love we must have for others. For example, wearing a costume that is pornographic, that is to say arouses lust and sexual desire, surely is disrespect to ourselves and those around us.

Psychological Caveats

Let me suggest a few guiding principles. Do not outright dismiss Halloween as many children become oppositional when given a stern, uncompromising, not understood, dictatorial: “No.” Ask the children what they think Halloween means. Parents may then engage their children in conversation to suggest how they want to celebrate the festival. Children could be prompted to describe what they think are the true values of God: God is love and Goodness. Then, they could be asked what they think are the values of the evil one and his spirits.

The conversation with the child can move on to the question: “Can you love God and be on His side and with celebrating the evil spirits at the same time. Whose side do you want to be on?” If a family loved one has fallen asleep in the Lord, would they want to think of them as a ghoul, spirit in league with the evil one as depicted in Halloween costumes, or to be in God’s bosom. As the Christians of the first millennium transformed the pagan festivals to Christ-centered celebrations, parents can transform pagan Halloween into Christ-like joyous Halloween.

Keep Christ in Halloween

Any Halloween practice by Eastern (or any Christians), then, should contain Christ. A few suggestions are: Harvest Festival thanking God for the fruits of the Harvest (instead of appeasing evil forces). Offer age-appropriate “treats” to neighbors when Trick or Treating: offers to rake leaves, or pick up fly-away trash.

Icons or other Symbols placed on Pumpkins
Carving a Christian symbol on Pumpkins, especially the Cross.
Animal Cookies—-(Referencing the Creation narrative and the story of Noah in the Old Testament Book of Genesis, instead of sacrificing to the evil one)
Have a parish Halloween party or play. Especially featuring martyr saints and the holy monks who struggled against demonic aggravation. Both conquered by their adherence to Christ.
Psalm or Proverb Quotes Cards for Trick or Treaters
Sacred Scripture, patron saint or morally neutral costumes
Finally, let us meditate on Christ, who is the center of all things.

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in Him were all things created, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or authorities. All things through Him and to Him have been created. And He is before all things, and in Him all things have come into existence. (Col. 1:15-17)

ENDNOTES

ⁱ http://www.loc.gov/folklife/halloween.html

V. Rev. Fr. George Morelli Ph.D. is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Marriage and Family Therapist.

He is the Coordinator of the Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling Ministry of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese and Religion Coordinator (and Antiochian Archdiocesan Liaison) of the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion.

Fr. Morelli is also Assistant Pastor of St. George’s Antiochian Orthodox Church, San Diego, California.

Source: Orthodoxy Today

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Extremist Language is not Christian

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Fr. Peter

Statement of the Holy Eparchial Synod
of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in its Fall 2012 session expresses once again its deep concern over extremist language used in all spheres of public and private life. We exhort all the people with the admonition of the Holy Apostle Paul: Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one (Colossians 4:6). We deplore the use of any racist, xenophobic, fascistic, hateful speech, imagery and behavior. Noting that the one of the great gifts of living in a democracy is the right to free speech, we nevertheless commend responsibility, civility, and indeed love in choosing our words and modes of expression. The people of Greece said “NO” to fascism in World War II and consequently suffered tremendously under the Nazi occupation. We call upon all people to say “NO” to the hatefulness of all forms of totalitarianism and embrace the true philanthropy and philoxenia (love of the stranger) that is the message of the Gospel. As a leader in Interfaith and Inter-Cultural Dialogue, the Greek Orthodox Church, by the grace of God, prays and works for peace, respect, and reconciliation among all people.

Source

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Sermon ~ Not my Gospel, but God’s

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Fr. Peter

The Reading is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 1:11-19

BRETHREN, I would have you know that the gospel which was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.

Brethren, I would have you know that the gospel which was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

It is with these words that Paul begins to tell his story to the Gentiles in his letter that he has written to them. The entire message of this letter that Paul has written is to inform them of the false Gospel, and those who would proclaim it, that is around. Paul clearly states what the Orthodox Church teaches, the words that I speak, the theology that I teach, are not my personal ideas these are the ideas of the Church.

These past few weeks, in our weekly study on Monday night’s, we have been spending time studying the 7 Ecumenical Councils of the Church. These councils were held many years ago called specifically to reject certain heresies that had sprouted up in the Church. There were those who denied the Divinity of Christ, those who thought the Holy Theotokos was just another woman, and those who thought the Holy Icons were idols. All of these doctrines were discussed and agreed upon at these councils. The very Creed that we will recite at this Liturgy today is a product of those councils and we Orthodox pride ourselves when we say that our theology has not changed since those days. We can say that because we do not have the authority to change what the Church teaches.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is taught by His true apostles, many will and have declared that they are his apostles from the time of Saint Paul right down to today so how are we to know who is the right and who is the false apostle of Jesus Christ?

According to Saint Paul, true Apostles are called by God. They learn the Gospel by revelation, either directly from the Risen Son of God as did the first Apostles and Saint Paul or they learn it by the Apostolic Tradition as found in the Church. God speaks to us through the Church, her history, her liturgy, her traditions, this is how we come to know and understand the great mystery of the Church. When we study Scripture or the doctrines of the Church we look back, back through the lens of Holy Tradition, to see what the Church has said and continues to speak about this. The Church needs to stay current, but we keep current by looking at the past. We need to know where we have come from in order to know where we are going.

When I or any Orthodox priest or bishop, stands here and preaches the Gospel, these are not our own ideas that we have come up with. Sure the way we present the message and the style might be ours, but the message is the same message that has been preached since the days of the Apostles, since the days of the writing of the creed by the Fathers of the councils, this has been our message. Our message does not change with every opinion poll, we do not decide that what the church has celebrated or condemned for thousands of years is now okay because the majority of people say it is, no, we hold fast to what the Church has always taught that is what it means to be Orthodox.

St. Paul continues and says that true apostles are called by grace, not according to any works or the “proper” background, a true apostle brings glory to God and not himself. St. Paul was the great persecutor of the Church. Early on the Book of Acts we read that he was present at the Stoning of the Great Protomartyr Stephen. He was relentless in his persecution of the Church. He tell the Galatians in the passage today that when it pleased God, he was called by grace to preach the Gospel.

For many years in my own life, I dodged the call. I guess I can say that I had my first conscious thought of becoming a priest when I was in the third grade. I was an altar boy and very involved in my church, so it was natural, they say, for a young boy to think this way. The call stayed with me all those years until I finally gave in and went to seminary and was ordained. As St. Paul tells us we are called before we are even born, and in God’s time, He will make you ready. None of us a worthy to stand here and do what we do, but we are made worthy by God’s grace. There is nothing I can do to earn this, I am a sinner like everyone else, but through the grace of God, it is made possible.

St. Paul continues that true Apostles form one Church and govern it with one mind and heart, they hold the same doctrine and work by consensus working in council. This we see time and time again in the Church. Again, in the Book of Acts we read of the first Council that was held in Jerusalem, at the behest of St. Paul, to answer a question about how the Gentiles were to be treated. We have many councils throughout the history of the Church called to answer questions and provide guidance. The Bishops and others come together to discuss and come to consensus about issues. This is done, we hope, in a spirit of charity and love, and we believe that it is accomplished by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. One needs to remember that these are not the doctrines of man, but the teaching of the Church handed down to the Apostles and fathers and mothers of the Church, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Again, we do not make it up as we go along, God forbid, but we hope and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us. This is why we pray O Heavenly King, O comforter, O Spirit of Truth, before any meeting that we have in the Church. We are asking that the Holy Spirit come and abide in us and guide us as we discuss Church matters.

True apostles, St. Paul says, stand firm in matters of conscience and are correctable when mistaken. We are to hold fast in what we believe; we are to be the rock the firm foundation of what the Church has taught since the beginning of the Church. Many of the “so called” Christian Churches today have very little in common with the beliefs of the Apostles, and this is what St. Paul is warning us about today. There are many false prophets out there preaching man’s Gospel and not God’s Gospel that we need to be ever vigilant.

True apostles submit to the authority of the Church and do not go off on their own doing their own thing. When Jesus encounters the Roman Soldier who asks him to heal his daughter, the soldier tells Jesus that we are all under authority, and that is true in the Church as well, the Church is under the authority of the Church, not the local church as we see it manifested here, but the universal Church. We belong to something much larger than us, and when we speak we speak for the Church. We need to stand unified as the Church as that beacon of hope in a world gone wild.

Our Church is grounded in the Apostolic Tradition; it has come down to us directly from Jesus Christ through His Apostles. By tradition, I am speaking of theology and practice, not an ethnic identity but an identity as Orthodox. We are inheritors of that tradition as we sit here today, and we need to defend that tradition against those who want to destroy it.

Each week, here at the Divine Liturgy, we recite the Creed. We begin with the words, “I believe” this is a personal statement of belief and we have to mean it. Many have died to protect the words that follow, and we have to be willing to do the same.

In a few moments, we will read those words again. As we recite them together think about the words, about what it is that we say we believe in, commit today to truly believe those words and taken them in your heart.

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Mending Fences

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Fr. Peter

Many times in Scripture, Jesus uses images of a pastoral nature. He is called the good shepherd, he asks Peter to feed his lambs, and we have the parable of the sower of the seed. There are many parallels to the pastoral life of the church and her ministers.

About a year ago I purchased six chickens and rooster. I was a little nervous when they arrived, and I am not sure I slept much that first week I had them. Every day, as soon as it was light, I ran out to the coop to check on them and make sure they were okay. These little creatures depended on me for everything, food, water, and safety. About a month ago I lost two of them. One just disappeared in some sort of chicken rapture thing, and the other one was killed by a predator. I have tried not to get emotional about them as they are functionary and not pets, but it did hurt a little. After all, I am the one who has been given care of them, and I neglected to keep them safe.

I spent the next week mending the fence in the parts where it looked like critters could get in. The problem here is the land as a lot of rocks so trying to bury the fence is not always easy or possible. So I wrapped the fence in some wood and nailed it to the ground with six inch spikes. This worked well except for the part of the fence that I did not do this too.

The chicken coop backs up to the garden fence, so I did not think I needed to secure that part of the fence, well I was wrong. All week I have been tracking some critter that has been finding the weak spots in the fence and digging under it. It seemed not matter what I did to secure it that little critter would tunnel under it. Today I bought a new digging tool and worked to bury the fence as best I could. I also put more fence between the garden bed and the coop fence to block the digging. Let’s see how that works.

While I was working I was thinking about my life as a priest. On the day of my ordination I was given the consecrated bread, now the body of Christ, to hold with the words similar to receive this and protect it until I return for it. It is symbolic of the trust that the Church, and the bishop, were placing in me to care for and protect the flock, the parishioners that I was soon to lead. Priesthood is more than a job, it is more than a nine to five , and we are never, ever, off duty. We are held to a much higher standard than most people, and, at times, it is difficult to live up to that responsibility. We are shepherds, with everything that means, of the people we have been given, and we will have to answer for every sheep that we lose.

Our mission is to build a fence, the faith, around God’s family and protect them. No matter how safe we think we have made the fence the evil one seeks out the weak spots and digs under and invades our lives. We have to be ever vigilant to protect those we have been given responsibility for. We have to monitor that fence constantly and fix the holes, and we have to be willing to lay down our lives for those we lead. If you are not willing to do that then I suggest you call your bishop and resign! This is too important, and we need people who are going to be serious about it!

So there I was, mending the fence around the chicken coop working to keep my girls safe, and I thought about all the fences we have to mend as priests. We mend fences between family members in some cases between family members who have not spoken to each other in years. We mend fences between friends who for whatever reason had a falling out. And, we mend the fence between people and God. We do all of this to keep the evil one out and those on the inside safe.

Being a priest, or for that matter a bishop, is to stop living for yourself and truly live for others. We have to put others needs in front of ours and that is a sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice that we do because we love those we have been given responsibility for.

Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. When Peter said yes Jesus told him to feed his lambs, to care for the people of God, to care for them and to love them, and when the time comes, to lay down your life for them.