The Forgotten, part 1: Why?

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Armodoxy for Today: Part 1 – The Forgotten, Why?

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 7, we read that as Jesus was passing by the gate of the city of Nain, a funeral procession was taking place. The Gospel narrative gives us these details, the dead man was “the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.  When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.” (12-15)

The details in this story are not randomly placed here. When reading the Gospels in general, you’ll find that Jesus has a special concern and care for widows. In this story, these details – that the dead man was the only son of a widow – are essential to understanding Jesus’ compassion and why Jesus reacted the way he did. In the society of that day and age, women were identified by their fathers, their husbands, and in the event that they were widowed, by their male sons. In this story, we find the widow has lost her only son, and therefore, she will be an outcast, betrayed to a life of indigence.

Jesus paid attention to the forgotten, to those who slip through the cracks become shadows.

In my personal library I have a large selection of books related to genocide, more specifically, about the Armenian Genocide. One book stands out. Its name in large block letters on the binding call out “The FORGOTTEN GENOCIDE.” As the grandson of Armenian Genocide (1915-23) survivors, I am very sensitive to the plight of the forgotten. As a priest, committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the forgotten are part of my mission.

In this miniseries of daily messages, I’ll be sharing with you a few stories of forgotten people, from Sudan to a prison which has housed a victim of domestic violence for 18 years. Yes, you heard right a victim, a survivor, of domestic violence, who is forgotten in a prison cell. These stories, I will present over the next days, as today’s widows, today’s only son’s mothers, who have God’s attention and deserve ours.

Lord Jesus Christ. You did not turn away from the forgotten children of the world. With your actions, you taught us to extend ourselves to hurting, to the forgotten, as a reminder that before God, there is no one who is forgotten. We are all His children. Fill my heart with compassion to extend myself beyond my reach. Amen.

Family Affair

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Armodoxy for Today: Family Ties

The reading for this Sunday came from the eight chapter of the Gospel of Luke. While Jesus is actively engaged in His ministry, by teaching and sharing profound parables, his mother and brothers come to him, but, Scripture records that they “could not approach Him because of the crowd.” (19) He’s told that his mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see him.

Jesus, changes the conversation, taking the emphasis off of the actual characters of his family, including the Blessed Mother by saying, “My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” (21)

With this statement Jesus has opened the doors to God, the Kingdom and to all of Eternity to everyone. Hearing the word of God and doing it, is a formula that is simple and doable. It implies that the word of God is action. It has to be done. “A new commandment I give to you,” says Jesus, “that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Being a member of Jesus’ family, that is, being a Christian, comes down to doing, loving, sharing, caring, reaching, hugging, consoling, praying, comforting, listening, sacrificing, extending yourself to others.

Accordingly, todays  prayer asks for the essentials to be a member of Christ’s family. Lord, open my soul to the courage and strength to be a member of your family. Amen.

All Saints – A Need for Today

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Armodoxy for Today: Child’s Play

I often wonder why we complicate things. Why is it that children are flexible and bounce back from difficulties? Why does Jesus point to a child, challenging us to understand that Kingdom of God it belongs such like the little children?

Halloween is one such time when I can’t help but think about the innocence that is lost when adults jump into children’s lives. Halloween is a church feast. It is the night before “All Saints Day” or “All Hallow’s Eve” slurred to the sound of Halloween. Yes, the roots are pagan, but so are the roots of just about everything else. Christians have taken the tradition of remembering the saints – the hallows – and celebrating them. All Saints Day is celebrated on November 1st in the West, and so October 31st is the Eve of All Hallow’s Day. In the Armenian Church, All Saints Day is celebrated on the Saturday closest to November 1st and so the eve is on Friday night. In Armenian we refer to the evening celebration as nakhatonak or “before the feast.”

Saints are very special people in our lives. They are not gods, that is, they are people just like us, with their frailties and imperfections. They have sinned, doubted, betrayed and have been found to be insincere. Yet, despite their imperfections, they have risen from their humanity to touch the divine. In other words, because they are like us, the door is opened to the possibility for all of us to excel and strive for perfection.

Because we believe in the continuity of life, we believe saints live beyond their earthly existence. The practice of intercessory prayer is merely asking the saints to remember us in their prayers, much like you would ask any of your friends or your priest or pastor to pray for you. Because saints have passed on, the notion of connecting with someone in the grave conjures up spooky thoughts and expressions. Add to this the money motive, and you have the formula for what takes place today at Halloween, with scary movies, zombies, bloody masks, and disfigured disguises.

Here’s a challenge that comes straight out of the Armodoxy playbook, take back Halloween. What a beautiful way to share the traditions of the Church with your children, but to have them dressed up as the saints of the Church! Each saint brings a story of devotion, dedication and challenges us to overcome. Halloween can be a means of learning and celebrating your religious heritage.

As you dress up in the costume of your favorite saint, listen to the intercessory prayer made to our saints.

O Christ our God, you crown your saints with triumph, and you do the will of all who fear you, looking after your creatures with love and kindness. Hear us from your holy and heavenly realm by the intercession of the Holy Mother of God and by the prayers of all your saints. Hear us Lord, and show us your mercy. Forgive, redeem and pardon our sins. Make us worthy thankfully to glorify you with the Father, and with the Holy Spirit. Now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

 

Seemingly makes the difference

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Armodoxy for Today: Seemingly

In the eight chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus makes a pronouncement that, had he been concerned about ratings as would a politician, he would have certainly be abandoned by the crowd. After sharing a few parables he warns the listener, “Take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.” It’s the words that political opponents accused each other with: The rich get richer and the poor get poor. “…Whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

But Jesus does not allow for a debate on this statement, and so he adds a qualifier, “seems to have” makes all the difference.

Material wealth is and always has been an illusion because it is not permanent. The intrinsic value of an object or an amount of money is the dependent on the circumstances in which it exists. A million dollars in the bank is a “1” with six zeros behind it. There is no intrinsic value to it, until it is spent. It can buy an object, a house, a car, an education, health care, all things that give that 1+six 0’s its value.

Today we are challenged to look within and at our lives. What are the things that we truly possess? And things that we seem to possess? Are they things that can be taken away? And what are the things that are impossible to take away from us? An education? Faith? Belief?

Because of the constant displacement of the Armenian people, along with the ransacking of their homes, churches and institutions, Armodoxy arrives today with an understanding of are the true treasures? As Jesus directs us,  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.1 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

From the Book of Hours, we pray, “O Lord, do not turn Your face from us. Benevolent Lord, we ask You, be our helper. Send us Your angel of peace who will come and protect us from temptations. Almighty Lord our God, save and have mercy upon us.”

Humility as the Separator

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Armodoxy for Today: Humility as the Separator

In this week following the feast of Discovery of the Holy Cross of Christ, there is a common thread tying together all the messages we have presented. The thread, in fact, makes up the fabric of what we refer to as Armodoxy, namely, understanding ourselves as people and God as God. This may sound odd, but as humanity take more and more control over the elements of life, the line between the Creator and creation becomes more blurred. We succumb to the illusion that everything is subjected to the will of man. And along comes the unexplainable. The mysterious.  

Death is inevitable, we know and we can prepare for it, but the painful hurt of parting with a loved one catches us off guard as we scramble to contain our emotions. We see evil manifest in the forms of intolerance and even greater, in the form of war, and we ask the question, why can’t we live together? We can create weapons of mass destruction but have yet to find a way of producing even the simplest expressions of life, such as a single paper-thin fingernail of a newborn which is packed with the DNA code that will guide her through a lifetime. And of course, on the larger scale we look into the depths of space, and expand our mind into the thought of multiple universes, and all the while learn that most of our own planet’s surface – over 75% of it – is unexplored.

The Discovery of the Cross is to search, find and absorb humility. That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, sacrificed himself, is an open invitation to all of us to find the definition of Love in that sacrifice. In the Armenian Church Tradition we have a saying: God became man so that man can become god. It is a simple meditation to understand ourselves as people, on a journey, together as humanity and our only salvation is loving and caring for one another.

From the Book of Hours we pray, Peace and life, our Lord and Savior, the Only-Begotten Son of God, give us Your peace, that You grant to Your holy apostles by breathing into them Your life-giving and all powerful Holy Spirit, so that having found our peace from all worldly commotions we may become a temple and a habitation of Your grace. Amen.

Crushed thorns don’t hurt

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Armodoxy for Today: Crushed Thorns

Fear breeds worry. Worry, like a can of carbonated soda which is shaken over and over, will push through the weakest point, to find relief. The can of soda explodes when the top is pulled, and even worse, if the top isn’t pulled, will burst at the seams. In the case of humans, the body has many points that are not meant to be put under such stress. Pressure builds up and something has to give, sooner or later. The sooner you abandon the worry, the less chance of catastrophic effects on the body.

God speaks to us through His Holy Church. His Voice is heard through the Scriptures and Teachings, and often in ways that our dull faculties find it difficult to sense.

A few days ago, a friend sent me a picture of the interior of a Catholic church in Rome. The message accompanying the picture asked if I could decipher the writing under one of the arches. I zoomed in on the picture and found Armenian letters ոչ եղիցին փուշ ցաւոց staring at me. I looked at the words and translated the words respectively, “no be thorn pain.” I didn’t understand much else beyond the individual words, and my mind, which is usually up to the challenge of deciphering codes, was preoccupied with worries over recent health issues affecting a loved one.

The worry caused by those concerns kept me up that night and the following day I went into church with the baggage of these worries weighing me down. I happened to run into a priest that morning, one who had spent many years at the Vatican. Just the right person to ask, I thought. I showed him the picture and asked if he was aware of this writing and he too had not seen it, but he went beyond a word-for-word translation and gave me the gist of the message: Not even a thorn will hurt you!*

It was a message that came to me loud and clear. My worries were to no avail. Not even a thorn could hurt us.

If this was only one example in my life, I would not bring it up, but God’s promise has been reiterated to me. Ask and you shall receive, says the Lord. Why do we continue to doubt? Or in the words of our Lord, “…Do not worry…  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.”

I leave you with this important adage which I never tire from reminding myself: If you’re going to pray, don’t worry. And if you’re going to worry, don’t pray.

*cf. Ezekiel 28:24

First Discovery is Enough to Celebrate

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Armodoxy for Today: First Discovery is Enough

One of the celebrations of the Holy Cross takes place this week. It commemorates the discovery of the Cross of Christ. It comes from the fourth century. The mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, having converted to Christianity, sets out to find the Cross of Christ. She travels from the Roman Empire to Jerusalem and there finds the True Cross of Christ.

It is a story that is laced with beauty, wonder and what is often described as miracles. It points to one of the most precious objects of our faith, the Holy Cross, and of course, its discovery is a reason for joy and celebration.

But there is a very special message that is woven into the Scriptural passage of the Day. The Church Fathers have assigned to this day a passage from Matthew chapter 24 (verses 27 to 36). In it, Jesus speaks about the Second Coming of Christ, and likens it to “the lightning [which] comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be… the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” At the end of the description Jesus reveals, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”

Discovering this “second Cross” of the Jesus has turned into an obsession with so many people, with books, seminars, sects and denominations that have sprouted in particular over the last century. Some churches have even published timelines and dates for the Second Coming. Dare I say, the Second Coming of Christ has turned into big business, bringing in millions of dollars for access to this information. Tragically, these groups and sects even confuse people by using titles such as “church” and have misinformed people about Scripture. The real tragedy is that many have abandoned the opportunity to live, in hopes of deciphering God’s will.

Plainly, Jesus says, dates and times are in God’s domain. Trust God. Don’t miss the opportunity to live and celebrate the day has God has given you. Live your life today. Or as Jesus so eloquently stated, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness… do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6)

Politics, Religions & Connections

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Armodoxy for Today: It’s all connected

If you want to keep the peace in the family or among friends, you’ve been told from an early age to steer clear of discussing politics and religion. Even Peanuts character, Linus Van Pelt, with security blanket in hand, knows, “There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people – Religion, Politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”

It’s all connected

It was the 18th century satirist, Jonathan Swift who put his finger on the reason for this unfriendly mix when he wrote, “You cannot reason someone out of something he or she was not reasoned into.” Yes, most of the time we’re “born into” our persuasions, be they religious or political, we adopt them from our family and friends.

But the basic understanding in Armodoxy is that all things are connected in a universal network of life. Economics gives us the resources to buy the Bible, which defines sin, which psychology attempts to diminish. Physics explains the movement of the building blocks which chemistry and biology exploit into physical realities, that art presents in forms that express ideas that form ideologies that philosophy dissects and analyses. Politics creates systems that organize those ideologies, and religion is there to ensure the equity of distribution, claiming to have a connection to a higher understanding of fairness.

We get into trouble when we claim one system of distribution is better than another. An old Hindu proverb claims, “There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading to the same place, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only person wasting time is the one who runs around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.”

Jesus avoids the discussion by turning the responsibility onto the individual. Equity is achieved by sacrifice – by giving of yourself. He teaches this, and then demonstrates with his own life. There is no argument here, for when we give, the giving is between us and God. We do not give to prove a system better than another, nor do we give to the justify the system. We give, because it is the expression of love, which is the expression of God. It is not up for discussion nor debate. If you want to practice Christianity, then love, then sacrifice yourself. Plainly, religion is not to be debated but is to be lived.

The Armenian Church saint, Hovhaness Voskeberan (= St. John Chrysostom) 4th century writes, “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice.”

We end with one of his prayers, Almighty God, you have promised through your Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Cover: WordArt

Dog and Pigs: a Warning of the Sacred and Profane

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Armodoxy for Today: Severity of the Dogs and Pigs

The Armenian Church refers to Holy Scripture reverently as Asdvadzashunch, that is, “The Breath of God.” During this week dedicated to translation and the Feast of the Holy Translators, we conclude this series of messages and meditations by looking at the passage ascribed to the Feast, by the Fathers of the Church. It comes to us from the Sermon on the Mount where our Lord warns the people, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7) Indeed, severe punishment for putting the sacred before the profane!

The Holy Fathers assigned this reading on the Church Calendar to speak to the sacredness of Holy Scripture. “Be careful!”, cautions our Lord, not to give what is sacred to the dogs!” But the warning doesn’t end there and Jesus continues with, as we heard, some rather gruesome expressions.

In the 16th century, what became to be called the Protestant Reformation in the West, had as one of its selling points the interpretation of Scriptures. Scripture was not understood as the Breath of God but as a Book delivered to us by God. As such, people were free to read and interpret it as they wish. As a result, the same words of Scripture had different meanings to different people. Nationalism, intolerance, wars and killings were justified by Scripture.

In the East and especially in Armenia, Protestantism didn’t come by way of a Reformation but slipped in during the 19th century and spread during the 20th century. Tragically, the place of Scripture as the Breath of God was lost and the currents in the West have convinced people that the Bible is a book of rules and regulations.

Author Rachel Held Evans notes that the same book can justify both sides of the same matter or argument. She writes, “If you are looking for verses with which to support slavery, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to abolish slavery, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to oppress women, you will find them. If you are looking for verses with which to liberate or honor women, you will find them. If you are looking for reasons to wage war, you will find them. If you are looking for reasons to promote peace, you will find them. If you are looking for an out-dated, irrelevant ancient text, you will find it. If you are looking for truth, believe me, you will find it. This is why there are times when the most instructive question to bring to the text is not “what does it say?”, but “what am I looking for?” I suspect Jesus knew this when he said, “ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened.” If you want to do violence in this world, you will always find the weapons. If you want to heal, you will always find the balm.”

It is with this thought that we leave you today and the experience of Asdvadzashunch – the Breath of God.

Science and Religion Intersecting at Awe

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Armodoxy for Today: Intersecting at Awe

The theory of evolution is often thought of as anathema to people of faith, and vice versa. Evolution appeals to science, to facts and experience to explain process, while religion is based on belief systems that do not necessarily have to pass tests or experimentation.

Armodoxy has no problem melding science and religion together because it points to the moment of awe that is at the intersection of both. The awe that inspires man to look up at the stars, or to the depths of the oceans, to ask, what? where? and why? These questions are the same ones that move a mother and father to tears at the first sight of the miracle of life in a birthing room. They are the same questions that moved the pen of thinkers, philosophers and theologians who saw the futility of war in solving disagreement and wrote about peace. And ultimately, they are the same questions that arose when looking at the Love that Christ brought in his example and his rejection by humanity. What? Where? Why? Both science and religion attempt to answer these questions and the others that are tethered to them.

Awe is what moves men to think, ponder, reflect, discuss, build and create. Evolution is the descriptor of that movement. Everything that is living evolves. And that which is dead, decays. Living or dead, the physical changes – evolves or decays. The spirit breathes on. The list of scientists and theologians intersect where the human mind is not intimidated by the awe of life. Life is awesome, and life is awful, that is full of moments of awe.

Albert Einstein reflects “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead —his eyes are closed. The insight into the mystery of life, coupled though it be with fear, has also given rise to religion. To know what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms—this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness.”

We end today with a simple prayer of acknowledgement by the mystic of the Armenian Church, a man who only recently (2015) was named a Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church, St. Gregory of Narek.

Lord, my Lord, grantor of gifts, root of goodness, ruler of all equally, creator of all from nothing, glorified, awesome, awe inspiring, beyond understanding… through you, O merciful Lord, all things, in all ways, for all people, are possible. To you glory here, now and forever and in the eternity to come on the great day of revelation. Amen.