This is by far the best I have ever heard this performed. Soprano Renée Fleming singing the National Anthem at Super Bowl 48 February 2, 2014
You are a Priest Forever
In the 1st Letter of St. Peter chapter 2 and verse 9 we read these words, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” This passage is making reference not only to those of us who have been called out of the community and ordained to serve at the altar, but the community as a whole, all of us, we are all priests.
When we were baptized we were anointed with the grace of the kingdom of God, a spiritual kingdom and a spiritual priesthood. This is different from the grace of the ministerial priesthood in many ways but at the same time it is the same. As the body of Christ, we have a priestly ministry to the world that is fulfilling the very intercession and priesthood of the Lord Himself; we are to be the ones to bring light into the world.
The ordained priest is called from the community and ordained for a special ministry with the community. The ordained priest is to offer prayers along with and for the people. It is not his Liturgy but the Liturgy of the people, there is no such thing as a private Liturgy in Orthodoxy since the very nature of Liturgy is communal, the community must be present.
It is not the sacrifice of the ordained priest but he is simply the one who brings the sacrifice, he stands In Persona Christi at the altar and bring the sacrificial offering before the eternal High Priest, the simple elements of bread and wine that will be sanctified and become the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, not by anything that the priest does, but by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
I mentioned in my sermon yesterday that the priest faces the same direction as the people to show that we are all worshiping together, we, the entire community, brings these gifts together. During the Great Entrance, the gifts are brought out amongst the people and then the priest return them to the altar. In a way he is gathering up the prayers of the people and placing them all on the altar of sacrifice, not a bloody sacrifice, but a perfect sacrifice not only for himself but for all the people present, and those, as the Liturgy of St. Basil makes clear, those absent with good cause.
Pay close attention also to the words “a holy nation.” No longer is the kingdom of God here on earth, the chosen people are those who follow Jesus Christ, not an earthly kingdom but a spiritual one all of, are the members if you will, of this nation that knows no boundaries. In the kingdom of God there will be no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female. The new nation of God, the Commonwealth that we pray for during the service of the matins and in the Troparion of the Feast of the Holy Cross, is the spiritual kingdom that reigns inside of each of us.
There is a shift that takes place from the priestly ministry of the Tribe of Levi to the priesthood of all believers. No longer is this ministry just for a select few but it is for all, and with that comes a tremendous responsibility that we must take serious. We are all called to be witnesses of the light in a word of darkness. We are called bring that light into the darkened world by our actions and by our words. How we live our lives should be an example to this fallen world that because we are a holy nation we have risen above the darkness and are sons and daughters of the light.
Let us be attentive to the important work that needs to be done.
March for Life
Today, January 22nd, is the Annual March for life in Washington DC. As I write this thousands of pilgrims are descending from all over the United States to join their voices and their prayers in the hopes that the landmark Roe v Wade case will be reversed here in the United States. I had planned to attend this year but I was not able to go but I join my prayers with theirs from a distance.
Although I believe abortion is an abomination I do not want to lose sight of what life is all about. As an Orthodox Christian I hold to the belief that life starts with conception and continues until its natural end therefore we need to be concerned with life all along the spectrum.
If we are indeed supporters of life then we need to be concerned about poverty in American and around the world. We need to be concerned about violence, war, intolerance and all of the other issues that cost people their lives. We need to be concerned about hunger, education, health care in all phases of life. What of the death penalty? I am constantly surprised by the number of anti-abortion folks who support the death penalty, in my mind you cannot call yourself prolife is you support the state sanctioned end to it. Sure one is an innocent life, but have we not progressed as a society passed the barbaric action of taking one’s life and blindly go along believing that this is somehow a deterrent to future murders?
What of mental health care in America? In the last week there have been several reported school shootings. When are we, as a society, going to have a conversation around improving mental health treatment in America?
Poverty is an ever growing problem in the richest country in the world. We send troops all around the world in a vain attempt to force our sense of democracy on countries that have never, in their history, been a democracy. We hope to bring freedom for all to these places while at home more and more people are becoming slaves to a broken system and are used by both parties as political pawns and punching bags.
If we as a church and a nation are truly concerned about life then we need to focus on life all along its spectrum. Abortion is an abomination but so are children going to bed hungry and people not being able to find work or housing, or US Veterans waiting months for appointments at a Veterans Hospital. All of these are an abomination and need to end.
At the conclusion of the 2012 meeting of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops, a statement was released with three bullet points in the hopes that our Orthopraxy would attend to our Orthodoxy. Two of these points directly related to the sanctity of life:
We must strive to eliminate the violence proliferated against innocents of every kind, particularly of women and the unborn. We call for responsibility by individuals, institutions and governments to ensure the welfare of every citizen.
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.
Let us pray that this will be the case.
My prayer today is for sanctity of life, all life.
Making Fun of People
I used to be a fan of talk radio. I would listen constantly to what was going on as I wanted to stay on top of the news and be informed. Then I came to the realization that all they were doing was making fun of people so I no longer listen. What now passes for news is nothing more than entertainment, and in my opinion bad entertainment.
Recently a local blogger has made a big splash with comments that were made on his blog regarding the size of one of the politicians in our town. I am not going to link to the story or the many stories on the Boston TV stations that followed because I do not want to bring any more attention to childish behavior then necessary. I guess it started out innocent enough, and if you are at all familiar with this particular blog then you are familiar with the vitriol, but it took a nasty turn.
(FWIW I have come under fire from this particular blogger in the past)
When one is a public figure, and yes local politicians are public figures, then you are open to a certain level of criticism for your policies and things that you say and position you take, but, in my belief, your family and your personal life should be just that personal unless it has a direct influence on your public performance. I believe that public officials at all levels are role models for the citizens they represent, so your public and private behavior can be brought into play but if it has nothing to do with your ability to perform your job representing the people then back off.
Part of this stems from allowing anonymous comments on the blog. When I started this blog I decided that I would not allow anonymous comments for the main reason that if you are not willing to sign your name to it then perhaps you should not say it. Hiding behind anonymous or a false name is the coward’s way out. Sure, we have a long tradition of this sort of thing, Benjamin Franklin wrote many of his essays under a false name as did many of the patriots, but they were in fear of their life!
I do realize that making fun of people is an age old political tactic. Read some of the things written about John Adams before, during, and after his presidency for some examples. But, again in my opinion, these types of childish behavior distracts from the real issues and trust me, Southbridge has many issues, but deep down this is a good community with many caring people. I do not always agree with decisions being made or by the way our elected officials act but, I appreciate the fact that they have done, what others will not do, and that is step out to serve their community.
Because of this blog attention has been taken away from the real issues in town and public officials have had to waste time on this. Keep in mind they are all volunteers, none of the local elected officials in Southbridge get paid for their service to the town.
At issue if our inability to have a discussion, about anything, without it getting public. Why can’t we simply have a discussion about issue without the race, religion, weight, gender or whatever being used in the argument. Once you stoop to personal attacks you have lost the argument.
We have real issues in our community and in our country and it is time for serious people to step up and for those of you who only want to make fun of those who have stepped out and serve their community to take a seat your, 15 minutes is over!
On Monday, January 20th, we will celebrate the life of Martin Luther King and I will close with a quote that I came across the other day, “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
Fear not Little Flock
The Gospel passage selected in the lectionary for today is from the Gospel of St. Luke Chapter 12. In the Orthodox Study Bible this passage comes under the heading Against Greed and Anxiety and lays out for out how we are to live our lives. I have written before that Jesus did not, regardless of what some claim, hate rich people. Jesus was concerned that our possessions would hold us back, in other words that we cared more about our possessions than anything else. Although I do not believe in the Prosperity Gospel as preached by some Evangelicals like Joel Olsteen, we need to be mindful of our possessions.
In verse 32 we come across the title of this essay, “fear not little flock.” We find that fear comes up again and again in Scripture and we are counseled not to hold on to fear for anything, about food, about clothing, about the future, that if we have total trust in God all will be well. The interesting words for me are “little flock” what does this mean to us? According to some who comment on this passage we, and by that I mean Christians, are called little because we are insignificant in the eyes of the world. There seems to be this desire to get the world’s attention and its approval of all that we do. Some Christians are locked in this constant battle with society on some kind of crusade to reform it when we should be concentrating on forming and transforming our own lives. Jesus clearly told us that the world would hate us. I am not interested what the world thinks of me, I am more interested in what my Heavenly Father thinks of me since He has, and always will, love me whilst the world has, and always will, hate me.
This passage is also a call to be vigilant, not in a doomsday preppers sort of way, but in a spiritual way. Again, some Christians spend for too much time worrying about their earthly existence and store up all sorts of things for what they perceive to be a massive government attack on them. What not spend that time and energy storing up spiritual things for the constant attack by the evil one that goes on around us all the time?
We are called to be virtuous at all times and to keep the lamps of spiritual discernment burning brightly and in order to do that we have to be like the wise virgins who had enough fuel for the long haul. The government cannot and will not make you virtuous nor can it make anyone else virtuous, only God can do that and it take time, energy, and much preparation to make it happen.
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.” It is easy to be a follower of Christ in the daylight when all is going wrong but blessed are those who follow in the darkest hours of the night and they stand fast to what they believe.
Let us spend less time worrying about what the world thinks of us, we have already lost that fight, and spend time getting our lamps ready and living the virtuous life in Christ.
Downton Abbey ~ Anna and Bates
***SPOILER ALERT***
Like millions of Americans I am absolutely captivated by the PBS period drama Downton Abbey. Now in its 4th season the program follows the happenings of the well to do British family in the 1920’s and their servants. A modern version of Upstairs Downstairs if you will.
The show has not been afraid of tackling all of the difficult questions that would have arisen in the day. Why is it that a woman cannot inherit her family’s fortune? This was the question in season one of the program. Also in that season we saw the ladies maid O’Brien put a piece of soap on the floor so her Mistress would slip and fall. The resulting fall triggered the loss of her unborn child. The First World War was also dealt with and the resulting injuries and the changes that would follow in British Society.
But last night the program took on a situation that one would not have expected on this particular program. A large group of visitors had come to the Abbey for a few days and they, as always, brought their servants with them. This is always an interesting time on the program as servants from other “grand houses” come and there is usually a clash of some kind. One the Valets took a shine to Ladies Maid Anna May Bates to the point where he rapes Anna downstairs whilst the servants are treated to a concert upstairs. I had an inkling that something was going to take place as there was a warning about adult content at the start of the program.
Reaction to this has been mixed. When the program originally aired in Britain late last year people wrote to the network to complain about the topic but I did not find it offensive in anyway. In a shift away from most modern TV dramas the scene was not specifically about the violence, you knew something was happening, and you even knew what that something was, but just as it was about to begin the scene changed. It left the viewer to determine what was happening.
In an October 2013 interview with the BBC Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes said, “The whole point of the way we do things on Downton is we don’t do them gratuitously.” The rape was not done for the sake of the rape itself but to show how Anna and her husband John Bates, will now have to deal with this issue.
We got a bit of a glimpse of that last night when Housekeeper Mrs. Hughs came into the room and found Anna in the dark and sitting in the corner crying and obviously shaken up. She did not want anyone but Mrs. Hughs to know what had happened, and based on her reaction one could tell she knew exactly what had happened to Anna. The covered it up so no one would know.
The Actress who plays Anna, Joanne Froggatt spoke to the BBC in 2013 about the scene and where it was going to go, “I think it’s a really brave thing to do… I believe that Julian has written it in a way that is not gratuitous at all.” She said she was “proud” that this was being tackled and, “We all felt a big responsibility to get it right.”
For me the problem lies not in what was and is being portrayed but the reaction to it. Americans, by and large, like to watch TV for the entertainment value they do not like programs that make one think about anything. Just look at some of the programs like Jersey Shore and the Real Housewives nonsense that is all the rage. Smart and engaging programing is not popular, or is it?
Dowton Abbey has not been afraid to take the viewers to the very brink, hey they killed off one of the main characters right at the height of his popularity and that is exactly what they are doing here. Set in a time when a woman had no voice in society, especially a servant woman, this will set the stage for the rest of the season.
It is my hope that the program will take this head on and show the effects of this type of trauma on a person not only of the last century but of the present one. How Anna will deal with the mental trauma will be a great direction to explore. Anna is a strong character but will she be able to bounce back from this? Will she open up to her husband and perhaps to Lady Mary? I guess we will just have to watch and see.
Chaplain John Rosbrugh Martyr for the Cause
On the 29th of July 1775 General George Washington authorized clergy to serve with the troops and thus was born the Chaplain Corps of the United States Army. Since that day, chaplains have served with distinction in peace time as well as in war. Men and women of all faiths have answered not only the call of God, but the call of their country to serve alongside soldiers, sailors, and marines in all situations. This is the story of one such chaplain.
John Rosbrugh was born in 1714 in Northern Ireland and came to America with several members of his family and settled in New Jersey. He attended the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, and in 1762 he was licensed to preach by the New Brunswick Presbytery. Two years later he was called to pastor congregations in Greenwich, Oxford, and Mansfield Woodhouse in Western New Jersey and was ordained to the ministry in the Presbyterian Church.
The main source of information to the residence of communities in the Colonies was from the pulpit. Many preachers used the time to stir up their congregations to fight for their rights that were being reduced each day by Parliament. There were fiery sermons delivered from pulpits up and down the coast by what became known as the “Black Robed Regiment.” American patriotism and theology were woven together to show that Liberty and Freedom were gifts given to people by God and, in the words of the Declaration of Independence these rights were “unalienable.”
So moved were the members of Rev. Rosbrugh’s congregations they formed a regiment and asked him to lead them. The thought he would go to war with them as their chaplain but they asked him to in fact, be their commander. He took the head of regiment, slung his musket over his shoulder, and led them to join up with General Washington and the Continental Army in Philadelphia.
After their arrival in Philadelphia it was decided that Rev. Rosbrugh was better suited to the role of chaplain and he was replaced by Captain John Hays. At this time in the history of the Chaplain Corps the Army Chaplain was not provided a uniform, he would have worn the common black clothing of a preacher, he did however hold the rank of major and received pay of thirty-three and half dollars per month for his service.
It is important to note that at this point in time in history, Presbyterian minsters were especially hated by the British troops and if they were captured they would suffer the cruelest treatment.
On the afternoon of January 2 1777 General Washington decided to take Trenton for the second time, the battle is known as the Battle of Assunpink Creek, and Rev Rosbrugh’s company was involved in this battle. When the attack began he was dining at a public house when he heard the alarm sound. Leaving the building he found that his horse had been taken and he was suddenly confronted by a company of Hessian Troops. He raised his arms in surrender but he was recognized as a Presbyterian minister and he was bayonetted to death on the spot. He was stripped of all of his clothes and left naked in the snow.
William Dwyer, in his book The Day is Ours! An Inside View of the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, November 1776-January 1777 [1] he suggests that Rev. Rosbrugh was so brutally killed because he was mistaken for the Rev. John Witherspoon whom the British troops had burned in effigy not long before this attack took place.
Captain Hayes herded of the death of his chaplain went to find his body. He found him in the spot where he had been killed and quickly buried him there. The next day his body was moved by fellow Presbyterian minister George Duffield and was buried in the Presbyterian Church graveyard in Trenton.
Although it is believed he still lies in the grave he was placed in after his death there is some uncertainty to the exact location. His wife, who died in 1809, is buried in a cemetery in East Allen Township and the inscription on her stone indicates that he is buried alongside her.
Was he a victim of mistaken identity? Was he in the wrong place at the wrong time? No one knows for certain. What is known is that Chaplain Rosbrugh was the first US Chaplain to be killed in battle. He died, as so many others did, a martyr for the cause of freedom.
Chaplains continue to serve today in all branches of the US military and bring comfort to all in some of the most difficult situations. One of those was Chaplain (MAJ) Henry Timothy “Tim” Vakoc a Roman Catholic priest who died of wounds received when his Humvee was struck by an IED. Chaplain Vakoc is the only US Chaplain to die from wounds received in the Iraq war.
[1] William M. Dwyer, The Day is Ours! An Inside View of the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, November 1776-January 1777 (Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ, 1998) p. 323
The Legend of Handkerchief Moody
I have been engaged in family research for many years. My brothers and I set out on this time of discovery and it has turned into an on again off again affair for more than 30 years. We have encountered many interesting facts along the way like my 9th Great Grandfather Abraham Preble was one of the founders of the Town of Scituate Massachusetts and my 2nd cousin 8 times removed was the first Captain of the USS Constitution and made his fame fighting the Barbary Pirates off of Tripoli. But there are also many average folks like my Great Grandfather who fought in the Spanish American War and my Grand Aunt who became Superintendent of Schools in Japan after the Second World War. But there is one fascinating story that has made it from family lore to full blown history and that is the Legend of Handkerchief Moody.
There are two stories that go along with this legend.
In a letter dated January 15, 1851 written to Rear Admiral George Henry Preble, the Preble Family Historian, Mr. Alexander McIntire recounts the tail. [1]
In 1710 my 8th Great Grand Uncle Ebenezer Preble was a boy of 12 and was preparing to enter college at Harvard. His friend, Joseph Moody, who was 10 and was also preparing for college were playing with an old rusty horse pistol that they had found in the trash. The gun had been charged with powder and a ball years before it was thrown into the trash by someone in the family. Taking a break from their studies they found more powder and decided to amuse themselves by putting powder in the pan of the pistol and causing it to flash. Several hours passed and each boy took his turn with the pistol. At some point, the pistol fired whilst being held by young Joseph Moody and the ball struck Ebenezer Preble in the heart killing him immediately.
Ebenezer’s Father, Judge Abraham Preble tells the story a little differently. In his account, the boys were in the woods hunting deer and other wild animals. The two boys had been separated from each other at some time during the day and Joseph Moody heard a sound and saw movement from under the leaves and without hesitation he shot. When he moved the leaves he found his friend, Ebenezer Preble, mortally wounded.
Whichever story is true only history will know, but what took place after is what the amazing part of the story is.
Joseph Moody graduated from Harvard College in 1718 where he studied Divinity and the law. In 1725 he was elected Town Clerk of the Town of York Maine and served in that capacity until 1732 when he became minister of Second Parish in York it was during his tenure as pastor that things took on a decidedly different turn. Joseph Moody began wearing a black veil, tied in a knot above his head, and covering his face at all times.
In an essay from the Book, Mysterious New England Gail M. Potter writes: [2]
For six years he got along tolerably well with the saving of souls, while his wife took charge of temporal things. But when she died, the care of two worlds proved too much for him, and he fell into a state of deep melancholy. In this clouded condition, his once brilliant mind developed a pronounced phobia: no one must see his face. And so he presented himself to his congregation with his features masked in a black silk handkerchief. For weeks, wonder, speculation, and rumor churned with whirlwind intensity through the village. Was he demented? His sermons were too logical for that. Had he been scarred by an accident? If so, no chirurgeon knew of it. Had his eyes been weakened by working far into the night on his sermons? With no other plausible explanation, his parishioners convinced themselves that this was the true one.
Joseph Moody could never forgive himself for the killing of his friend, in both stories it was an accident, but nevertheless he could not bring himself to find forgiveness. Perhaps it was his grief over the loss of his friend come back to haunt him after all of those years.
This eventually proved too much for him and he abandoned the pulpit and move in with another family. He would supply his father’s pulpit from time to time bur for the most part he had withdrawn from public life.
In 1770, at the time of his death he revealed to a fellow clergyman why he wore the veil, it was in fact because of the guilt he felt about the killing of his friend, according to the story written by Gail Potter I quoted above, “during a hunting accident.” He hid the fact that he had done this and the town’s folk believed that Ebenezer had been killed by Indians. Not an uncommon occurrence in those days. For years the face of young Ebenezer had haunted Joseph until he could not take it anymore and he, as he said in his dying breath, “put a veil between myself and the world.”
His request was granted and the veil was over his face as he lies in the coffin that would take him to his final resting place.
The Poet Nathaniel Hawthorne would write a short story called the Minister’s Black Veil based on the story of Handkerchief Moody.
[1] Preble, George Henry, The First Three Generations of Prebles in America, David Clapp & Son 1868
[2] Potter, Gail M., The Legend of Handkerchief Moody, Mysterious New England, Yankee Books, 1971
We are asking the Wrong Question
“Theologians today, Orthodox, Catholic and others, want to get out of the confusion, but they do so by the wrong method. They start with the wrong problems, which are posed by contemporary thought, and they adjust the Christian message to these wrong questions, and nothing good can come out of these. But the true theological methodology starts with the message and tries to understand the queries of today in light of the message. My impression is that many theologians ask ‘how can we adjust the method to the hippies’ mentality,’ and my question is ‘how can the hippy be impressed by the message, how do you present the message to the hippy to impress him with it.’ This is a methodological problem. It is true that the physician must start with the illness, but he regards the illness as illness, and if he does not regard as illness, but just as brute fact, he will never heal the illness. People are so impressed by the confusion of today, that they try to adjust the Gospel to it. Well, it is impossible.”
– Fr. Georges Florovsky
Unpublished remarks noted by his secretary Maria Vorobiova
Late 1960’s