Beauty

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Armodoxy for Today
Beauty

There is superficial beauty and there is intrinsic beauty. In a life lived in Faith, these two types intersect, and not necessarily at only one point. Outer beauty shines and is pleasant to look at, while inner beauty shines bright through the outer layers, radiating. In this pandemic era, more than ever, we are learning that outer beauty must never be so thick as to not let the inner shine through.

Jesus warns, “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.” (Matthew 7:6)

Armodoxy attests to the reality that the Armenian Church, small in outward size and yet rich in inner magnificence, has found that balance of beauty. Seek and find your inner beauty and witness the outer counterpart as part of the same equation that God has created in you.

Pray with the Psalmist (34), “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”

IHS Proaction

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Next Step #752 : What does it take to move from a reactionary mode to a proactive one. We do it every day with dental hygiene, how about expanding the field? An explanation of the Three-O’s and the model they present… in this week’s episode.
Activist Post on Dr. Oz
Look Back: Jesus’ concern for Human Rights
Nahapet Kuchak
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Triggers

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Armodoxy for Today

Triggers

In the parable of the “Prodigal Son” (Luke 15), there is a point at which the wayward boy comes to his senses. He is heard saying, “How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father…’”

Life may be compared to a roller coaster ride, with ups and downs. Some ups are high enough to bring us down quickly. From the depths of our low spots the climb up might be slow, but steady. On the track there are switches that trigger the coaster car to journey up, or to naturally fall. There are, also, points of no-return, most notably when we first sit in the coaster-car and the attendant releases the break for our journey through the twists and turns.

One of the goals of religion is regain control over life, so that we can be more than a car gliding on a track. What triggers us to say “enough” of the down-spots? What triggers us to turn back to safety? to home? to God? We all have those triggers, what are yours?

We pray Shnorali’s 12th hour prayer, “Lord, who has willed all that is good, and who is the director of the will, allow me not to follow the inclinations of my heart; but lead me to always walk according to your good pleasure. Amen.

Completeness

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Armodoxy for Today
Completeness

In the parable of the “Prodigal Son” (Luke 15), when the wayward boy is reconciled with his father, the servants of the house hear the voice of the father command, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.” In this action, the son would be reconciled completely with his father.

Returning back to physical and/or emotional health – whether following an attack by a virus or after a broken relationship – is a difficult proposition and often, a more difficult process. Along the way, both physical and emotional health may be compromised making full recovery next to impossible.

The recovery granted to us by God is complete and full. By looking inward, we discover our weaknesses and count our strengths. The delicate balance between the two is defined by our perception, attitude, and our ability to communicate with God.

Begin with prayer, “Christ, you are the growing fire, inflame my soul with the fire of your love, which you have shed on the earth, that it may consume the stains of my soul, clear my conscience, purify my body from sin, and kindle in my heart the light of your knowledge. Amen.” (Shnorhali #10)

Always

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Armodoxy for Today
Always

The Evangelist St. Luke records a most remarkable parable of our Lord Jesus Christ, popularly known as “The Prodigal Son.” You may read the story in its entirety in the 15th chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke.  At the end of the story, the father, in justifying his action to love, says, “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.” (Luke 15:31)

Part of the process of self-improvement and the process of introspection is to inventory our assets against our liabilities. Liabilities sometimes overwhelm us to the point that we fail to properly access the assets that we have. One of the greatest discoveries that we can make in our lives is the knowledge that we are always in God’s care and always live in God’s grace. Once this discovery is made, the knowledge of always must be assigned to the top position on the asset column of our life-inventory.

The Psalmist writes today’s prayer, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” (27)

Masks

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Armodoxy for Today

Masks

After trick-or-treating the neighborhood and snapping enough pictures to keep the memories going beyond the evening and season, the custom of opening the bag, inspecting and sampling the treasure takes place. The first step, though, is removing the mask off of your face, to better enjoy the goodies.

The masks we wear in life come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The masks we wear at Halloween are celebratory, they are part of the fun and excitement of the evening. The most beautiful young face can be distorted into something so old and hideous, and vice versa. The masks we wear after Halloween are the ones that we need to examine for they are easy hiding places for our true nature. We wear one mask at home and another at work. The mask we wear as a husband or wife might be different from the mask of a friend. The one we wear as parent speaking with our children might be different than the mask we wear speaking with our parents. One mask may be that of the boss and the other of the faithful employee. We wear masks to fit the occasion.

At the end of the day, we remove our masks, and usually do so in front of a mirror. What we see is the maskless self – the one that looks back at us and the one who’s stare we cannot escape.

When we talk about an all-knowing and all-seeing God, we understand He has the unique vantage point of seeing through our masks, no matter how many and how layered they may be. In this sense, it’s like the mirror-stare, in that we can’t escape His view. To open the bag of “goodies of life” and enjoy the treats within, that view – unhindered, unobscured, is the God view that is the same view from a clean and receptive heart.

The prayer of St. Nersess says (#9) “Lord, Protector of all, instill Your holy fear in me that my eyes may not look lustfully, that my ears may not delight in hearing evil, that my mouth may not speak lies, that my heart may not think evil, that my hands may not do injustice, that my feet may not walk in the paths of iniquity. But direct all my actions that I do your will in everything. Amen.”