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Some years ago, I happened to be with some Orthodox friends when we entered a sanctuary belonging to the Church of Christ. The sanctuary was bare and stark. There wasn’t a symbol of the Faith anywhere to be seen. There were only chairs and a lectern and a projection screen. Being a clown, I said with  emotion, “OH NO!” Startled, my friends asked me what was wrong. I replied, “We’ve been left behind.”  They asked what I meant by that. I replied, “The Rapture has come. The Saints have all left and I’m still here!”  :D

Since that time, I’ve wondered what it would be like to live in a faith with no icons.

On the first Sunday of each Lent, we celebrate the Victory of Orthodoxy (or The Sunday of Orthodoxy). This marks a time when the use and verneration of icons had been restored to  the Orthodox Church. For 127 years, this heresy had been a trial and terror to many of the faithful. In the beginning of this controversy, some felt that since the Old Testament prohibited the making of images, icons were to be forbidden. From the Old Testament point of view, this position had merit. If God is invisible, unattainable, and incomprehensible, then He could not be depicted. What these people did not realize was that this was true until the Incarnation. In Jesus, God had taken on form and this form could be depicted. Furthermore, since God is glorified in His Saints, they too could be depicted.

Please note that this Sunday is not called the Victory of Icons. It is called the Victory of Orthodoxy and that is a distinction worth noting.

What the Victory of Orthodoxy means is that the truth of our Faith had been affirmed. This truth shows that our God is an Incarnational God and  Orthodoxy takes the Incarnation with absolute seriousness. Our Father, though wholly other than the physical universe, is completely immanent within it. He is “every where present and fills all things.”  Being so present, He is pleased to bear His Grace to us on physical things. Certainly His Grace comes to us by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, but since we are creatures living in time and space with physical senses, He bears His Grace to us on the things that we can see and hear and touch and taste and smell.  The prime example of this is the Lord Jesus Himself who being God, took on flesh and dwelt among us. We can, as St. Paul said, see him and hear him and touch him. If God is not incarnational, then we had best become Muslims.

God uses flesh to dwell among us. He also uses water to baptise us and make His Spirit present to us. He uses oil to anoint us and incense to remind us of his omnipresence. He uses bread and wine, and transforms it to commune with us.  He uses paper and ink to bear His Grace to us in the Holy Scriptures, and he uses paint and wood and the skill of an iconographer to bear His Grace to us as well. With icons, we find ourselves surrounded with “a great cloud of witnesses,” and we see real men and women, sinners just like us, transformed by the Grace of God into Christ-likeness.

When some enter an Orthodox Church, especially if they come from a stark sanctuary devoid of imagery, they think that an Orthodox sanctuary is a riot of colour. Some even think that its a bit gaudy. They don’t understand that it displays our fundamental belief in the Incarnation, a belief that tells us that what ever the Divine touches or enters into is transformed by that Presence. If this is not so, then having “Jesus in our heart” may not transform us either.

The burning bush is an example of this truth. It is said that the miracle was  that the bush burned but was not consumed. Actually, this wasn’t the primary miracle at all. Since the Glory of God fills the earth,  the miracle was that Moses could see it. In that moment, Moses saw the universe as it truly is, aflame with the presence of God, transformed but not consumed. We believe that we see the universe as it is, but sadly, because of our sin, we do not see it at all.  Of course, Moses only saw it in the bush because at that point, it was all that he could tolerate.

The Church teaches us this incarnational truth in the Sacraments. Certainly, the Seven Sacraments are special to the Grace of God in His Church, but this does not mean to imply that it is only in Church that we should experience this. Trained by the Sacraments, we are to become sacramental beings. Such a being sees  all of creation as sacrament, all of creation  aflame with God’s glory. If we could begin to see this or even understand it, how blessed we would be. The saints were so aware of this that they could even see Christ in those who tortured and crucified them. Lord, will I ever reach such blessedness?

This has been a lot of theology, so does it any any “practical” application? In fact, it does. Some years ago when I worked as a janitor, I was listening to the radio when the G. Gordon Liddy Show came on. Now, I’m not a fan of G. Gordon, but I thought I would listen for a while. G. Gordon said that someone had asked him a question. If he could sit down and talk with any historical figure, who would it be? Knowing something of Mr. Gordon’s past, my mind raced with the possible candidates. To my surprise, G. Gordon said that he would want sit down and talk with Jesus Christ. I must say I was shocked, but I gained a little better attitude about G. Gordon Liddy. (but I still don’t listen to his show)

If we had the chance to actually sit with Jesus, I am sure that all of us would serve him anything he wanted. We would anoint His head and wash His feet and be very attentive to his every need. Here is a practical application of Orthodox Theology- if God is everywhere present, then He is present in my wife. If I have the eyes to see this, then I will serve her every need, and love her, and anoint her head and wash her feet. I will serve her and die for her as Christ loves and serves the Church. If she sees Jesus in me, she will do the same for me.

Here is the answer to the crisis of divorce in our Church. Many enter marriage because they are in love, but they also have a reason- they want to be happy, to be served, for companionship, for a better sex life, for children, to have someone make us happy.  Few enter marriage  to serve. When our needs are not met, we grow resentful and angry, and believe that we have made a mistake. We will not forgive the shortcomings of our spouse. We don’t see God in our spouse, and we find little in them to be happy about.

But if we have the eyes to see Him, we will see Him in the beauty of nature,  in the radiant smile of our spouses, in the joy of a well cooked meal, in the power and beauty of good music; but even more, we will see him in our fellow Church members, in our priest, in our Bishop, in our co-workers, in our boss, in our teacher, in our students, in the Jehovah’s Witnesses at the door,  in the poor and even in the rude guy who just cut us off in traffic. St. Seraphim of Sarov used to greet everyone with the words, “My Dearest.” Everyone.  His eyes were open.

King David says that even in hell, God will be there.

Was God in the stark and empty sanctuary? Yes, but I had no eyes to see. It would have helped me if there had been an icon or two, or at least a Cross.

Thank God for the Victory of Orthodoxy!!!

I’d like to introduce you to a former member of our church. His name is Darnel. I remember when he first came to visit. He had been to several churches but each one had its problems and eventually he found it necessary to look for another Church. I explained that All Saints had its problems as well, but Darnel assured me that he had grown from his past experiences and now wanted a quiet life of prayer and fellowship in a “more traditional church.” I must admit that for a period of time, Darnel seemed like a pillar of Orthodoxy and I invited him to help serve in the altar.

Then the trouble began. Darnel, although he had only been Orthodox for two years, began to question the way I did things in the altar. Being a convert priest, I had much to learn (and I still have much to learn), and so I would listen to Darnel’s advice. After all, Darnel had spent a lot of time studying liturgical books and could quote chapter and verse. Then, when my Bishop would visit, he would often correct what Darnel had advised. This caused Darnel a lot of embarrassment and later he would tell me how he didn’t like Bishop X because he was “cold.” I did tell him that he should not correct me during the service and that we could talk afterwards, but he seemed to bristle at the admonition.

The thing about Darnel is that he made friends easily. There’s nothing wrong about being friendly, but during one parish meeting, Darnel got up to oppose a motion on what I thought was a minor matter. In the end, He did not prevail but his passion made the discussion difficult. Later, I noticed that a group seemed to be angry. When I inquired as to the reason, they told me that Darnel had been hurt by the way he was treated in the meeting. I reviewed the meeting and while Darnel spoke, most people had sat quietly offering no objection. He lost by a simple vote. How had he been mistreated? The point was that Darnel had successfully created a faction in what had once been a harmonious Church family.

Many other things happened and soon I realized that Darnel was a real threat to the life of the Church. Yet, what could I do because he was an Orthodox Christian, and many people considered him to be a pious and friendly man? I talked to him several times but he always assured me that he was my greatest supporter and he would do whatever he could to help heal any situation. Church members began to come and complain about Darnel, and some wanted me to get him out of our Church. I knew that it would cause a lot of damage due to his circle of supporters. If I tried to pull Darnel out, I would lose other members as well. So, it seemed that all I could do was damage control.

My wife and I prayed often for Darnel and we did our best to soothe hurt feelings. Then the time came when God took Darnel from All Saints. News came that our jurisdiction was about to rejoin with the Moscow Patriarchate. Darnel made it his mission to speak often and long against this reunion. Yet as time passed, it became clear that this would be accomplished and Darnel became ever more adamant that we should leave our jurisdiction. When the final documents of union were signed, Darnel left our Church in a great huff. Happily, few of his supporters went with him. What followed was a time of peace, unity, and loving fellowship. The factions disappeared, but I realized then what the Lord meant when he said “The zeal of my house has eaten me up.”

I wonder when and if another Darnel will be planted in our fellowship. That’s up to the Lord because it is His Church. In a sense, Darnel was both a gift and a burden. When prospective members would come and stay, they would learn of the division in the Church, and some left. I will admit that I was glad when he left, but I also know that Darnel challenged us to exercise patience, forbearance, and forgiveness. It also taught us to trust that the Lord knows when to prune his Vine. Maybe this is why our fellowship is as strong as it is.

Do you have a Darnel in your Church? He/she looks like true Orthodox wheat in the garden of the Lord. In fact, they are weeds and not wheat. Pray to the Lord of the harvest and be patient.

Darnel, I’m glad you’re gone, but I wish you well. I hope that where ever you have gone, you have truly learned something from your time with us. I hope that you have become wheat in the Kingdom of God.

(Matthew 13:24-30 – KJV)

Orthodoxy has no “cult of the saints.” We don’t “put them on a pedestal” and treat them like some kind of spiritual anomaly, or super hero. If the saints are some special class of being, then we feel justified to believe that we can never be anything like them. On the contrary, we know that the saints were sinful men and women just like the rest of us. Yet, they were friends of God, and their love moved them to gain the Holy Spirit and to be transformed into the image of Christ. Therefore, we see what is possible for all of us. Also, we know as the Bible says that “the prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Therefore, we can ask the saints to pray for us just as we can ask any member of our local congregation to pray for us.

The saints are important to the Orthodox for another reason. Isaac Newton said that we can see farther than the previous generation, only because we stand on the shoulders of giants. You and I can see far indeed if we stand on the shoulders of the saints. On the Sunday of the Saints of Russia, we find new shoulders to stand upon. The new martyrs and confessors of Russia are our contemporaries. They lived in the modern world with all of its appeal and demands, materialism, and hedonism. Even so, they confessed Christ and millions gave witness to the point of their physical death.

With the fall of the Soviet Union, the files of the former KGB were opened. The story there is a grim one. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church have been able to begin the process of listing these men and women so that they can be glorified. Sadly, many of them just disappeared with no record of what happened to them. Even more, the numbers are so great that the work will outlast the lifetime of the committee members. Hitler was a horror, but compared to Stalin and those who followed him, Hitler was a choir boy. The Holocaust did not end with the defeat of Germany.

Perhaps this very fact makes us feel some distance from these new martyrs. After all, living in America with our guaranteed freedoms and mighty military forces, such a death would never be a possibility for us. We know that there are faithful men and women being martyred for the Faith even as we read this blog, but we are secure that such a thing will not come near to us.

Though we may not be called to join the ranks of the martyrs, we can join the ranks of the confessors. A confessor is someone who survived persecution without denying Christ. You may object that you have never been persecuted for the Faith. Really? Was there ever a moment when you failed to cross yourself because you thought that someone would make fun of you? Was there ever a moment when you knew that you should stop the gossip or refuse to join, but you stayed and listened and laughed because you don’t want to be shunned or marked as a religious nut? These kinds of things are subtle, but it is persecution none the less.

To be a confessor is to be a friend of God. St. Paul spoke about this friendship when he said that it is “written on the heart.” What is written on the heart can never be denied. Denying the Lord would be like denying a beloved spouse. If I can deny my wife, then in fact, while I may have affection or even fondness for her, but she is not written on my heart.

I am sure that we do not mean to deny Christ, but something prevents us from giving witness to Him. This something is shame or fear. We don’t fear physical death in these compromising situations, but we fear being ostracized or shunned. We fear being alone. We fear what our confession will do to our business contacts. We fear that we will be labeled as a fanatic or even as a Pharisee and no one will want to have coffee with us. Maybe, it’s even simpler than that. Maybe we are afraid if our religion spills out of its Sunday slot into our weekday life, things might get tough. Well, life is tough enough already and we’ve seen those religious fanatics with their hyper-piety and arrogance.

(By the way, what is the difference between a fan and a fanatic? A fan roots for Duke Basketball, and a fanatic roots for UNC!)

We are worldly people and by that I don’t mean that we are committing major sins. I mean that the pace, cares, joys, entertainments, and concerns of life have consumed us. We are slaves to the attitudes and expectations of our peers. It is the subtle modern spirit of anti-Christ. I think the devil has learned that outright physical persecution only makes the Church stronger. After all, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. So, he has taken another line of attack. Faith is compromised by slow attrition – a little compromise here, a little there- until it is so weak it disturbs no one. King David said it so well when he spoke of how the Lord built a thick and powerful hedge around his vineyard (we are his vineyard). This hedge keeps out the big animals (I’m glad to say that in many confessions, the “big” sins have disappeared), but it is the little foxes who slip in underneath the hedge, and eat away at the vines, little by little, until the garden is devastated (sadly, so many in confession are devastated and laid to waste even though they know that compared to past, many of the big sins have passed away”.

Take the time to make friends with the New Martyrs and Confessors of the present age. They know how to fight this modern and subtle spirit of anti-Christ, and they know how to become the friends of God in the face of it. Seek their intercessory prayers and assistance. We stand can stand on the shoulders of the giants of Russia- the New Martyrs and Confessors- and we will see farther and with greater clarity.

Holy Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, pray to God for us.

Latest news reports are that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches. They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin.

Their leader,Lucifer Bin Workin, trained these groups to destroy the Body of Christ. The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy.

However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell known by the name Bin Prayin is actually the only effective counter terrorism force in the church. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whoever and whatever comes along.

Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ.. We have noticed that the Bin Prayin cell group is made up of members with different characteristics. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin for their Master, Jesus Christ to return. (However, you can spot them if you bin lookin and bin goin.)  No Church is exempt!

I’m not a big fan of baseball. I rarely watch a game on television. However, I did have the chance to attend two live games, one in Atlanta and one in Baltimore. I have to admit that I did enjoy the live games. I suppose that if I lived in a big city and could afford it, I would go to live games. I did learn another important truth – how much you enjoy the game depends upon where you sit. In Atlanta, we sat in the cheap seats, but in Baltimore, we had better seats. Still, as I looked up at the VIP boxes around the stadium, I knew that they had the best seats in the house.

St. Paul said that we are in the VIP box and have the best seats in the house. “[God]…has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”(Ephesians 2:6) In all my years of reading this passage, I never quite understood it. I understand that St. Paul is filling out the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ. We are buried with Him in baptism, and with Christ we are raised to a new life. Since Christ ascended to the Father and sits at His right hand, we too have been taken up to sit in heavenly places. The problem for me is that St. Paul talks as if this is supposed to be a present reality and not something that will happen when we die. Well I don’t think that I’ve ever felt like I was sitting that high. It would be wonderful to sit in a heavenly place and see life from a different point of view, but most of time I see life from the cheap seats.

Here’s how life looks from the cheap seats: I don’t deserve this; why am I sick; this is not right; this is not fair; I deserve better; I can’t believe that this is happening to me; why did my loved one die; and so on. In the cheap seats you find people filled with anger, fear, resentment, and there is little peace there. “But the man who is discontent with his lot and murmurs against his fate, or against those who cause him offence, should realize that his spirit is in a state of pride, which has taken from him his sense of gratitude towards God.”

St. Silouan tells us what it is like to sit in the best seats: “Life is much easier for the man who is given over to the will of God, since in illness, in poverty, in persecution he reflects thus: “Such is God’s pleasure, and I must endure on account of my sins.” So, sitting in a heavenly place doesn’t mean that you are free from suffering; it means that you see it from a different angle. “The proud man does not want to live according to God’s will: he likes to be his own master and does not see that man has not wisdom enough to guide himself without God.” Because we do not submit to the will of God in much and rely on our own understanding, we see life from the cheap seats and it’s hard to enjoy the game.

We might be tempted to think that St. Silouan is being a bit cavalier about this. Listen to his witness: “Thus for many years have I suffered violent headaches, which are hard to bear but salutary because the soul is humbled through sickness. My soul longs to pray and keep vigil, but sickness hinders me because of my body’s demand for rest and quiet; and I besought the Lord to heal me, and the Lord hearkened not unto me. So, therefore, it would not have been salutary for me to have been cured.” We find it hard to understand how having migraine headaches could be salutary. Lest you think that Silouan is just resigned to his affliction because he lacks faith, he tells of many times when the Lord healed him. He did not doubt the healing power of God. If some ailment remained, he believed that God deemed it necessary for the ailment to remain for the sake of his salvation. This is seeing life from a heavenly place.

Imagine what it would be like if we submitted to the will of God and could sit in the VIP seats. “The soul that has come to … submit to His will, will live before Him in awe and love: in love, because the Lord is love; in awe, because we must go in fear of grieving God by some evil thought.” I get this, but how do you know if you are submitted to the will of God?

“Here is a sign: if you are distressed over anything it means that you have not fully surrendered to God’s will, although it may seem to you that you live according to His will. He who lives according to God’s will has no cares. If he has need of something, he offers himself and the thing he wants to God, and if he does not receive it, he remains as tranquil as if he had got what he wanted. The soul that is given over to the will of God fears nothing, neither thunder nor thieves nor any other thing. Whatever may come, ‘Such is God’s pleasure,’ she says. If she falls sick she thinks, ‘This means that I need sickness, or God would not have sent it…and in this wise is peace preserved in soul and body…The best thing of all is to surrender to God’s will and bear affliction having confidence in God. The Lord, seeing our affliction, will never give us too much to bear. If we seem to ourselves to be greatly afflicted, it means that we have not surrendered to the will of God.”

Sometimes you can tolerate the game of life from the cheap seats, but it’s better to sit in the VIP box. Christ has prepared a seat there for you and for me and He invites us to come and sit with Him in His Kingdom. It’s a matter of surrender and submission to the will of God. What was it that the Master said? “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” How did St. Silouan say it? “Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not.” Obviously, St. Siloan is sitting in the VIP box.

What a view from up here! Batter Up and Play Ball!

The sayings of St. Silouan were taken from the website http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/willofgod.aspx