Rev. Peter M Preble – Page 125 – Open-Minded, Open-Hearted Minister & Soul Friend

Sermon ~ Take up your Cross

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Fr. Peter

The Reading is from John 3:13-17

The Lord said, “No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

This weekend on the Church calendar has been a busy one. On Saturday, we commemorated the birth of the Theotokos and today we commemorate not only her parents, Joachim and Anna, but we also remember the Holy Cross. This coming Friday we celebrate the great feast of the elevation of the Holy Cross. These feasts are all tied together with a single purpose, and that is hope!

When Joachim and Anna were aged, we are not sure how old they were, but they were beyond childbearing days, God fulfilled His promise to them, and Anna gave birth to a baby girl, and they named her Mary. They dedicated this child to God, and she grew up in the Temple and was prepared by God for the awesome task that she was to be called upon for latter in her life.

All of us are called by God, to do something in our life for Him. We all have our roles to play in this drama that we call our lives, and it is essential for each of us that we learn what that is. Over the past few weeks, we have been discussing the interior life and how we are to grow in that life. You see our spiritual life is a journey that takes a life time to complete, and there are all sorts of things along the way that we see and do, but the biggest of all of the is the transformation of our very lives. When we were baptized, we were placed under the water and brought back out again. This is to declare that we are dying to the old and becoming new creations.

On most feast days of Christ, we change some of the words of the Divine Liturgy. We do not sing the Thrice Holy Hymn of Holy God; we change those words for As many who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. When we make the commitment to follow Him we cast off the old man and put on the new. This is not just a nice theological concept, but it is a spiritual imperative that we change the old for the new.

We have to conform our lives to that of Christ and to His Church. Our thoughts have to be His thoughts, and our actions have to be His actions. I have said this before, our faith is not just simply a religion or a denomination, but it is a lifestyle.

I had this conversation with someone recently. In Romania and other Orthodox countries, the Churches are relatively small, and each village has but one Orthodox Church. Upon entering the Church, you feel as though you have left this mortal world and ascended into another place. The smells of incense, and the burning candles attacks your sense of smell. All of the walls are covered with Icons of various feasts and each place you look your eyes try and take it all in. If you are there for a Liturgical service, you notice the lack of seats except a few that are against the wall. There is a lot of activity around the sanctuary as the faithful are reverencing the Icons and lighting candles. On one side, there might be a priest hearing confessions, and on the other side one who is praying for people, all the time Liturgy is going on. Liturgy is designed to reach us and affect us on a sensory level. It is not theater where we come and sit and watch a performance, but it is our opportunity to get close to God and to try and fee our minds from all of the worldly distractions, even for a short period of time. This is why when the emissaries of the Great Prince Vladimir returned from the East they described the Orthodox Liturgy as heaven on earth! We do not come and sit here like we would the movie theater, we come and sit in the very presence of God!

Our faith is internal and not just external. Yes we have external expressions of our faith, the sign of the cross, the metanias, the reverencing of the Icons, standing and kneeling, these are all outward expressions of our faith, but similar to an iceberg, the majority of our faith s never seen by anyone, it is internal and is designed to affect us on that level. Our faith is a deep and abiding faith that requires much effort on our part. We must conform our inner lives and mind to that of Christ. In every situation, we find ourselves in we should be asking what would Jesus do in this or that situation. What does our Holy Church teach about this or that issue and our interactions with each other? Our lives need to be transfigured as was Jesus on Mount Tabor! Transfigured away from the world and transfigured toward Christ.

The Theotokos had a total devotion to God. So devoted to God was she that when the Angel came and asked her to take on this role, a role that she could not possibly understand, she said yes. Not a, well let me think about it and consult this person or that person, no she just said yes! She was able to say yes because her life had been transfigured, her entire life was pointed in the direction of God and no place else. Her desire was to do what God was asking of her regardless of the consequences.

Many of you knew Fr. Vasilachi. He was priest here for many years and to listen to you speak of him, I am of the belief that one day he will be called saint. There is a painting of him in the museum hanging on the wall. I used to think it was eerie because the eyes follow you around the room. Lately, I have been spending some time just sitting in front of that image and thinking about his life. As you know, he was arrested and spent 18 years in a Romanian jail for preaching what the Gospel of Jesus Christ was about. This of course is counter to what the government was preaching. You see in the 1940’s, and 50’s in Romania the Church had been replaced by the state as the salvation of the world. Political leaders were looked up to more than the saints of the Church, and the government had become the religion of the day. Part of the socialist plan is to remove, what was called, the opium of people, and replace it with the opium of the state.

Father Vasliachi saw where things were headed; he was able to read the signs of the time and would preach publicly against what the government was preaching. He was telling the young people that the government will not save you only God can do that. God sent Jesus, as Scripture tells us today, “so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” No mortal human being can do this no matter what position they hold be they prince or president, “put no trust in princes in mortal men where there is no help.” Call upon the name of the Lord and He will strengthen you for the battle that is about to commence. Not a battle of earthly proportions but a spiritual battle for your very soul!

This is the message of the Church, and this is the message that Fr. Vasilachi was preaching, and this is the message that saw his thrown into prison like so many others who we will never know. He watched countless prisoners die in prison as his own brother did, and he ministered to them and to his captors, by the way, just as Jesus commands us to do.

Each time Father Vasilachi climbed into that pulpit, or stood on that street corner to preach he knew what was at stake, and he took the chance, the chance with his life, but he needed to preach the truth, because dear ones, the truth will set us free! We can only find freedom in God, if we look for freedom in other places we will delude ourselves.

We celebrate the great feast of the elevation of the Holy Cross on Friday. One of the 12 great feats of the Church and is a commemoration of the finding of the true from by the mother of the Emperor Constantine. St. Helena found the cross whilst on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and she brought is out for the world to see. The cross was a tool. A tool used by their Roman captors to create fear into the lives of the people. The Cross was used as an instrument of hatred and misery, but one man came along and changed all of that. Through a tree man was led into sin, the sin of Adam, and through the wood of another tree, the Cross, man was led to redemption.

This is the transfiguration life, a life that thinks with the mind of Christ and with the mind of the Church. This was the life of the Theotokos, forgetting what could have been done to her by society, she said yes. Father Vaslichai, knowing full well the fate that would come to him if he kept preaching what he was preaching, sure he could have just rolled over like so many of the clergy of the day had done to save their own skin, but in the end he stood when he needed to be counted and forgetting the danger, he lived his life, not for himself, but for God.

These are but a few examples of how we should live our lives. Many of us will never be called upon in such extraordinary ways, but it is in the ordinary ways that we might never know, where we can make a difference.

The spiritual journey takes a life time, but it starts with one step, with one decision and that decision has to be that we will begin to conform our lives to Christ. We simply have no other option.

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The problem with political prayer

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Fr. Peter

2012-08-31T124918Z_01_RNC990_RTRIDSP_3_USA-CAMPAIGN — New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan (REUTERS)

By Mathew N. Schmalz

When New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan accepted a belated invitation to give the blessing at the Democratic National Convention, I wondered whether he would give the same benediction as he did for Republicans or tailor his presentation to his audience.

In Charlotte, we got the answer—the cardinal did some tailoring. While he drew upon the same general template for both conventions, the specific design for Democrats was fuller and more detailed.

When a religious leader gives a blessing in a political context there is a range of content choices from most general to most specific. On one end of the range is the choice to pray for general virtues necessary for public service such as fidelity and truthfulness. On the other end of the range is the choice to pray for specific issues such as the resolution of a war or the breaking of a drought. Lying in the middle is the choice to pray for the recognition of values that connect those personal virtues to specific issues addressed in the political realm.

Dolan chose to emphasize values. But while he did not mention specific policy choices by name, the connections with contentious political issues were clear to anyone who cared to reflect on the substance of his remarks.

Thematically, there was much shared between Dolan’s blessing for Republican delegates in Tampa and his blessing for the Democratic delegates in Charlotte. Both blessings were explicitly Christian: Christ was invoked, but God was identified as “the father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” perhaps to affirm the monotheistic tradition that Christians, Jews, and Muslims share. In both speeches, the cardinal emphasized divine origins of life, liberty, and truth as well as the importance of the common good.

But within these broad themes, there were elaborations and connections that challenged audiences in Tampa and Charlotte to reflect differently about their values and their connection to particular policy choices.

In Tampa, Dolan prayed for the unborn and those at the end of life. But he elaborated and connected this to the issue of immigration, by asking God to “bless…those families that have come recently, to build a better future while weaving their lives into the rich tapestry of America.” Those Republican delegates who listened would have been called to reflect on their party’s position regarding immigration, especially because the cardinal did not single out “legal immigrants” as the only worthy recipients of divine protection. Dolan made mention of poverty as well when he prayed: “May we strive to include your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, in the production and prosperity of a people so richly blessed.” At this, reflective Republican delegates might have paused to consider the GOP’s positions on economic policy, especially since Dolan did not mention the concept of “subsidiarity,” which has often been used as cover for the Ryan budget.

The connections and elaborations were more extensive in Dolan’s blessing at the Democratic convention. Dolan prayed that those present realize that society’s greatness lies in its “respect for the weakest and neediest among us.” When he moved to praise God for “the gift of life,” “without which no other right is secure,” no one present could fail to think of abortion and consider how respect for the born and protection of the unborn are inextricably linked. Dolan seemed to implicitly call Democratic delegates to reflect on same-sex marriage as well when he prayed that we “resist the temptation…to remake those institutions you have given us for the nurturing of life and community.” Interlaced throughout was consistent references to religious liberty, which might have moved some in Charlotte to consider the full complexity of issues surrounding the Health and Human Services mandate.

Taken together, the blessings Dolan offered could be read as an overview of a contemporary Catholic political philosophy. His blessings were thoughtful and well-crafted.

But they do raise an overall question about what prayer in a political context should be about.

By being more specific about the values that influence policy, Dolan was affirming that religion and religious motivations are not simply private matters but have broad ranging implications for how we think about the political life. But by being so specific, the cardinal did open up the question of whether he was privileging one side or the other. House Speaker John Boehner, for his part, seemed to frame Dolan’s appearance in partisan political terms by introducing the cardinal as someone who knows the “preferential option for the poor does not translate into a preferential option for big government.” I don’t think many Democrats will move to identify Dolan as a supporter of their basic policy positions in a similar way.

And therein lies the problem with prayer in political contexts. It very well may be that a particular political party better reflects Catholic ideals at a certain time. But that’s a complex question that cannot be settled by a quantitative enumeration of points of agreement and disagreement. Ideally, prayer offers the means for a more nuanced discernment of the relationship between religious commitments and political affiliation. But there needs to be a space of silence in order for such a discernment to happen. In the clamor of both conventions, I wonder whether anyone had the space to listen to Dolan, let alone to God.

Mathew N. Schmalz is a professor and director of the College Honors Program at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

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Prayer and Politics

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Fr. Peter

260108_506305473610_433430249_n — His Eminence Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Detroit

As you may know, if you read these pages often, I sometimes comment on politics. I Tweeted last night that I am a Bipartisan criticizer as I am critical of politics on both side of the ideological spectrum. I have not been drinking the Kool-aide, as they say, of either party as I believe that, as a Christian, I cannot be a democrat or a republican.

I believe that religion has a role to play in America and in American politics and was pleased to see that the Orthodox Church was represented at both conventions. However, prayer is not a time to make political statements!

I am extremely surprised by the comments that were left on my Facebook page under the link I posted to both prayers. People commented that the bishops should have prayed for this or that and should have used this time to chastise people for what they believe. I would agree that one of the roles of the clergy is to call people to faithfulness and to; in the case of Christian clergy, follow Christ, but prayer is not the time to chastise people.

We have many examples in Scripture of Jesus telling people that they need to get their life right with God. One of the more famous exchanges is with the woman at the well, but in prayer Jesus never did this. Jesus simply prayed for those around Him for their well-being and their lives. He never used the opportunity to tell this one or that one that they were wrong. One of the sure ways to not get invited back is to start yelling at people during prayer.

Prayer is a time to ask for God’s blessing and guidance in all things. It is a time to be thankful that we live in a country where people can disagree in a peaceful way and where we have elections and peaceful transition of government whether we agree with that government or not. It is a time to pray for the poor and for those who have no voice, and as we pray in the liturgy when we pray for civil authorities that, by their faithful service we may lead quiet and peaceful lives. Simply said, that is it.

Clergy should never use the pulpit to promote one candidate or political party; we need to use the pulpit to teach people how to love God and to love our neighbor. We need to use the pulpit to teach people how to love the poor, the hungry, the homeless and all those in need. But most importantly we need to use the pulpit to teach people about the love of God and His Son Jesus Christ.

As I wrote about yesterday, we are called to transform our lives and our actions and adapt them to what Christ is calling us too, and that is holiness. We need to be the example to all by our life and our actions that we have the love of God shining not only in us but from us just as the light shone forth from Christ on Mount Tabor at His Transfiguration. We need, no we are commanded, to love all, even those we disagree with and we need to show them the love of Christ not beat them over the head during prayer to see things our way.

With that said we have an obligation to speak, to teach, to write, and most especially to vote the way our conscious dictates and my hope is that our conscious is in accord with the teachings of our Church. We are all, including clergy, citizens on this nation and have just as much right to speak on issues as others do. We have a right to make our voice heard and to influence the debate but during prayer is not a time to do that.

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Orthodox at the Democratic National Convention

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Fr. Peter

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Blessed are the Pure in Heart…

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Fr. Peter

… For they shall see God!

The title of the article is drawn from the fifth chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew. The verse is part of what is known as the Beatitudes of Jesus or the Sermon on the Mount. In His writings, St. Ambrose wrote of these not simply as a listing of the various attitudes that Christians should have but rather a systematic approach to develop a deeper spiritual life given by Jesus Himself. St. Ambrose taught, as did others, that following this approach would lead to the life that Christ has in mind of all of us so that, in the words of St. Irenaeus, “”If the Word became a man, It was so men may become gods.”

Purity of Heart is a cleaning or an emptying a “Kenosis” a self-emptying of our passions, our desires, of our self and filling that space with God. This happens along the journey of Theosis where we find a synergy or cooperation between us and the uncreated energies of God. The transformation of our hearts from their current position to that of purification is what makes it possible to “see God” as Jesus says in Matthew’s Gospel.

In his most recent book, “Fellow Workers with God: Orthodox Thinking of Theosis” Normal Russell speaks of the heart as the “spiritual expression of the embodied person.” He continues, “it is the meeting place of God within us. It is where we find freedom of speech before God.” Russell contends that it is through thanksgiving that we become truly liberated from the body and subjugate the will and only then will we be able to see God. When we are filled with thanksgiving, our ego disappears, we are freed from the passions, and “we share in the self-emptying of Christ.”

The best example of this self-emptying is the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor. Christ emptied Himself, not of His divinity, but took on our humanity in everything but sin. This was an example to us of the fullness of humanity not just a restoration of the humanity of Adam and Eve in the Garden before sin, but our ability to obtain a much closer relationship with God, and complete fullness of humanity, as Irenaeus said, “that we may become gods.” In the book, “The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church” Vladimir Lossky argues that this is the basis for the incarnation and that Jesus would have become human even if Adam and Eve had not sinned.

This purity of heart comes about through faith, the right faith, and obedience to what God the Father is asking of each of us. We need to begin to change our lives, and that includes the way we think and act. We begin to transform our lives to the Church of Christ and away from the world, and all of its empty promises. The ways of the world and its philosophy of death and destruction are shown for what they truly are, lies and deceit. We begin to realize that freedom only comes with a life in Christ, and we cannot have a foot in both worlds.

This transfiguration of our lives is an ongoing process, but it begins with our desire to begin the process, to climb Mount Tabor if you will and ask in the words of the Psalmist, “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit in me.” (Ps 50:12)

This Psalm is a twofold request. We are asking God to create in us a clean heart but then we ask Him to renew a right spirit in us. A right spirit is a spirit that is not controlled by the passions but is inspired by the Holy Spirit who makes this transfiguration of life possible. “It may be that you find it hard to purify your heart. Call upon Him, and he will not disdain to make there a clean abode for himself, and come to dwell with you.” Blessed Augustine

It has been said that the Orthodox faith is not an intellectual faith but it is an experiential faith. One must simply experience Orthodoxy in order to understand what we mean by Theosis. When the emissaries that Holy Prince Vladimir sent out, in search of a faith for his people returned, they remarked that Orthodox worship was like heaven on earth. Orthodoxy also is not a religion or just another denomination it is a lifestyle that by living it to its fullest, will transform even the hardest of hearts.

The Orthodox Church is open and inclusive, and by that, I mean we are open all who seek to be transformed. The Church is a hospital for those who are sick and filled with those who are on the road to recovery. Orthodoxy challenges the belief of modernity and points out its failings. Orthodoxy does not preach the “I’m okay you’re okay” theology that has become popular. We are all sinners, but we have not lost the love of God. We can transfigure our hearts and experience the uncreated light of the creator if we are just willing to do so.

If you come to Orthodoxy expecting to meet perfect people you will be disappointed, but if you come to Holy Orthodoxy with an open and sincere mind and a willingness to be transformed, you will be just that, transformed.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

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The Parable of the Vineyard ~ Sermon for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Fr. Peter

The Reading is from Matthew 21:33-42

The Lord said this parable, “There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord’s doing, and it was marvelous in our eyes?'”

At first glance, this parable that we hear today from the Gospel of Saint Matthew is as straightforward as any of the parables of Jesus can be.

The owner of a vineyard rents it out. He repeatedly sends messengers to collect the rent money from the tenants. After all of the tries, he sends his son, because he says, “They will respect him,” and they kill him so they can get the inheritance. All pretty straightforward, or is it?

The vineyard is the Jewish nation. The owner who carefully tended to this vineyard and made it nice is God, who chose the Jewish nation, protected them from their enemies, gave them his word and trained them. The ones who rented the vineyard is the Jewish leaders down through the ages. The messengers that were sent were the Old Testament Prophets, who were stoned and killed by the people. They were sent to remind them of God’s words and promise and also what was to be their destiny. Finally, the vineyard owner’s son is Jesus Himself.

Tradition tells us that this parable was spoken on Tuesday of Holy Week to remind the Pharisees and the scribes and priests of serious sins that they had committed against God’s people, so terrible were these sins that God has to send His only Son to tell them about them. We know that most parables have another meaning to them and this one is no exception to that rule.

This is a parable first about God and the love that He has for His creation. You would think that after sending all of those messengers that ultimately God would have put His foot down and just destroyed them. But that is not what He does, he keeps sending His messengers one by one like lambs to the slaughter, and in the end, He sends His only Son. This is how much God cares for His creation.

As Hurricane Isaac was rumbling toward to shores of our country last week, there was much discussion about God’s wrath on our nation for the multitude of sins that we have committed. That is a complete misunderstanding of Scripture and tradition. First, if you remember the story of Noah, God makes a covenant with Noah and his descendants that God will never do this again! God will never again destroy His creation. And now we have this parable that shows just how much God loves His creation, He loves it so much that He is willing to sacrifice His only Son to show just how much he does love it.

But what role do we play in all of this? How do we treat the messengers that God is sending? We don’t stone them, well here in the United States anyway, but in other parts of the world, God messengers are being martyred every day. In 2010, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago made a statement that shocked the world. He said, “I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison, and his successor will die a martyr.” This is not a Cardinal of some African Nation or some far off Muslim country, this is Cardinal George of Chicago! Our world is changing, and God’s messengers are being put to death or thrown in prison each and every day. It is time that we are Christians prepare for the battle that is about to come.

We see in this parable God’s generosity to His creation. The vineyard that he planted was not some crazy overgrown wilderness, it was ready to go, it had all of the equipment that the tenants needed. God is the same way with us. He not only calls us to a task, but He equips us for that task. He gave us the gift of life, He entrusts His creation to our care, He endows our mind with the capacity to solve complex problems and to make our life here a little better than those who came before us. Who could be more generous than God?

God’s shows His trust in this parable as well. God created the world and left it to us to care for. God is not standing over His creation like some overlord pushing His creation in this direction or that direction. God gave us the gift of freedom in our life, but that freedom comes with an immense amount of responsibility. We have to care for the creation He gave us to make it profitable and to sustain life. We need to care for those who are marginalized in society by society. We have to be the voice of those who have no voice, the unborn, the poor, the elderly, the homeless, the hungry, the sick, and those in prison. God give us the gifts that we need to do so much not only for ourselves but for other.

God is patient as displayed by this parable. Time and time again God extends the loan and the time that His tenants have to pay Him what they owe. When the first messenger was sent, and they treated him badly God did not exact His revenge on them, no He sent another, and another, and another. God has a tremendous amount of patience with His creation. He gives us what we need and lets us make our own decisions. When we sin He does not cast us off, as some would have you believe, He waits for us to come around and He is standing there with His arms wide open when we do.

But what happens in the end? Jesus asks those who were listening this question and they respond that the owner of the vineyard will exact his revenge on the tenants. Jesus responds with telling them about the stone rejected by the builders has become the corner stone. The Jews should have been the people that brought the salvific message to the world but the rejected the messenger of God so the task of evangelizing the world was transferred to the Gentiles whom the Jews despised.

God is merciful, patient, generous, trusting and with all of this God is also just. The tenants believed they could kill the son because the owner was too far away. Many people today believe that God is dead if He even ever existed. There are more people today to do not believe then believe. For the first time in our history, those who believe are being marginalized and our rights are being stripped away one by one. God has placed all of us here in positions of trust, confidence that we will care for all of His creation. One day He will return, and like the messengers sent to collect the rent, God will require something from us.

We see in this parable the stoning of the messengers and finally the crucifixion of God’s Son. The tenants believed that if they killed the son they would inherit it all they could be the masters of all they saw, they would take the inheritance. With this attitude, we claim for ourselves the role of the creator, we don’t own anything, not even our own lives. Every success that we have ever had in our lives has come through the blessings of God and sometimes we forget to show his the praise that is due. How often do we try and take over the vineyard and forget all about the owner and creator? We receive gifts each and every day, and we forget the one who gave us these gifts.

In the end, we see Jesus talking about Himself. He is not just another messenger who has come to collect what is owed the owner. He is the Son, He is God who has come to bring the good news. In this parable, Jesus claims for Himself a position of superiority he tells them that He is greater than those who have come before Him. The prophets brought God’s message, Jesus brings God Himself! The prophets spoke of God’s plan for them, Jesus opens God’s heart to them. The prophets told the people how God wanted them to live, Jesus showed us and continues to show us, how we are to live.

This is the last word, the final call from God to change our way of life. In the clearest way, Jesus has used he tells the leaders of the time who He is and what He is here for!

God is not absent from our lives sitting on some far off cloud in the sky. He did not create this world and then forgot about it! God is always present in and to His creation. He cares for it, and for us, and the best example of this is that He sent His only Son, why? “So that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life!”

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Encyclical of His All-Holiness for the Church New Year

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Fr. Peter

Prot. No. 718

+ BARTHOLOMEW
By the Mercy of God
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome And Ecumenical Patriarch

To the Fullness of the Church
Grace and Peace from the Creator and Sustainer of All Creation
Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ

* * *

Beloved brothers and children in the Lord,

Our God, who created the universe and formed the earth as a perfect dwelling place for humanity, granted us the commandment and possibility to increase, multiply and fulfill creation, with dominion over all animals and plants.

The world that surrounds us was thus offered to us as a gift by our Creator as an arena of social activity but also of spiritual sanctification in order that we might inherit the creation to be renewed in the future age. Such has always been the theological position of the Holy Great Church of Christ, which is the reason why we have pioneered an ecological effort on behalf of the sacred Ecumenical Throne for the protection of our planet, which has long suffered from us both knowingly and unknowingly.

Of course, biodiversity is the work of divine wisdom and was not granted to humanity for its unruly control. By the same token, dominion over the earth and its environs implies rational use and enjoyment of its benefits, and not destructive acquisition of its resources out of a sense of greed. Nevertheless, especially in our times, we observe an excessive abuse of natural resources, resulting in the destruction of the environmental balance of the planet’s ecosystems and generally of ecological conditions, so that the divinely-ordained regulations of human existence on earth are increasingly transgressed. For instance, all of us – scientists, as well as religious and political leaders, indeed all people – are witnessing a rise in the atmosphere’s temperature, extreme weather conditions, the pollution of ecosystems both on land and in the sea, and an overall disturbance – sometimes to the point of utter destruction – of the potential for life in some regions of the world.

Inasmuch as the Mother Church perceives and evaluates the ensuing dangers of such ecological conditions for humanity, already from the time of our blessed predecessor, Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios, established September 1^st of each year as a day of prayer for the natural environment. Yet, we are obliged to admit that the causes of the aforementioned ecological changes are not inspired by God but initiated by humans. Thus, the invocation and supplication of the Church and us all to God as the Lord of lords and Ruler of all for the restoration of creation are essentially a petition of repentance for our sinfulness in destroying the world instead of working to preserve and sustain its ever-flourishing resources reasonably and carefully.

When we pray to and entreat God for the preservation of the natural environment, we are ultimately imploring God to change with mindset of the powerful in the world, enlightening them not to destroy the planet’s ecosystem for reasons of financial profit and ephemeral interest. This in turn, however, also concerns each one of us inasmuch as we all generate small ecological damage in our individual capacity and ignorance. Therefore, in praying for the natural environment, we are praying for personal repentance for our contribution – smaller or greater – to the disfigurement and destruction of creation, which we collectively experience regionally and occasionally through the immense phenomena of our time.

In addressing this appeal, petition and exhortation from the sacred Center of Orthodoxy to all people throughout the world, we pray that our gracious Lord, who granted this earthly paradise to all people dwelling on our planet, will speak to the hearts of everyone so that we may respect the ecological balance that He offered in His wisdom and goodness, so that both we and future generations will enjoy His gifts with thanksgiving and glorification.

May this divine wisdom, peace and power, which created and sustains and guides all creation in its hope for salvation in the kingdom, always maintain the beauty of the world and the welfare of humanity, leading all people of good will to produce fruitful works toward this purpose. And we invoke His grace and mercy on all of you, particularly those who respect and protect creation. Amen.

September 1, 2012

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Orthodox at the Republican Convention

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Fr. Peter

imgMetropolitan — His Eminence Methodios, Metropolitan of Boston

His Eminence Methodious, Metropolitan of Boston for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese led the prayer at the end of Wednesday night’s formal session at the Republican Nation Convention in Tampa, Florida.

Below is the text of the prayer:

Let us pray,

“O Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth Who is ever present and fills all things, the Treasure of all blessings and source of life, we beseech you to dwell in our hearts” (1) as we hold in prayer our brethren who suffer the ravages of Hurricane Isaac. Embrace them in your love and keep them safe. Enable us to reach out to them in acts of philanthropy and generosity.

As we close this evening’s program, we pray that You bless and inspire the delegates of this Republican Convention to be your devoted servants and dedicated citizens of our great country. They have nominated two of your faithful sons, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, to serve the highest offices of this beloved land, a nation which has always opened its embrace to welcome “the tired, the poor and the huddled masses, all the tempest tossed to breathe free” (2) a nation that has always been a model of peace, justice and the rule of law. Shine in the hearts of the nominees of this convention the radiant light of Your divine will. Imbue them and Chairman Reince Priebus, Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with insight, wisdom, and boldness, with courage, compassion and competence.

Tonight, we remember the intrepid members of our armed forces who place themselves in harm’s way in defense of our freedom, and like our Founding Fathers, are steadfast in keeping America the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

May every American be more sensitive:

To the neglected and forgotten
To those who have been victims of discrimination and crime
To those who are hungry and homeless
To those with no jobs and little hope

Help us, Lord, to break down the walls of enmity and distrust, and show us the way to a new era of peace, equality and opportunity. Strengthen the hand of America as it reaches out to clasp the hands of our brethren throughout the world to build bridges of understanding. May we rediscover the path that leads one to another, and all to You. Amen.

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New Missionary Commissioned

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Fr. Peter

Kurt_Commissioning — OCMC Long-Term Missionary Kurt Bringerud, with OCMC Associate Director Fr. David Rucker, following his commissioning for Service in Mongolia.

As the son of missionaries, Kurt Bringerud heard the call to missions at a young age. His studies and acceptance of the Orthodox faith continued to lead him toward missionary service. During the summer of 2010, following his involvement in a Project Mexico trip with a team from central Indiana, God’s call to international missions field became even stronger. After completing his training at the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), Kurt was commissioned to serve as an OCMC long-term missionary in Mongolia.

Kurt Bringerud was a team member on OCMC’s first-ever mission team to Mongolia this past June, where they began to plant the seeds of Orthodoxy and faced the challenges of helping those seeds begin to grow. Now, he’ll be continuing that ministry through his service as a long-term missionary. There is extensive work to be done in Mongolia. First and foremost, though, as with all missionaries, his initial effort will involve the basics of learning the language, learning the culture, and building relationships through love. He will be teaching Japanese and English as well.

His commissioning took place on August 19^th, 2012, at St. John the Forerunner Orthodox Church in Indianapolis, where Kurt has been an active member for many years. OCMC Associate Director Fr. David Rucker was in Indianapolis this past weekend to participate in the commissioning and offer his prayers and support. Of the commissioning, which took place during the Divine Liturgy, Father David said, “It was one of the most beautiful commissionings that I’ve ever seen. Kurt is such a huge part of the parish community that when it came time to offer the prayers, they were all there with us. It was really wonderful.” After liturgy, the parish hosted a reception to bid him farewell. He is the parish’s first long-term missionary.

Mr. Bringerud left for Mongolia on August 23^rd to begin his missionary service. OCMC is excited for this new step in Mongolia, and we are all looking forward to the work that will be done in sharing the Orthodox Faith. The foundation has been laid, and now we begin together to build on that foundation.

OCMC and Mr. Bringerud ask for your thoughts and prayers as this exciting journey in long-term missions in Mongolia begins.

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