Aging Vision

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Armodoxy for Today: Aging Vision

Today’s message is prompted by a radio news caster who reported, “The two presidential candidates are campaigning this weekend, sharing their vision for the future.”

Here in the United States it is election year. The candidates from the two major parties are well seasoned, in their golden years, or plainly, up in years. One is over 80 years old and the other is not too far behind. And they’re out about the country, “sharing their vision for the future.”

You must wonder, and at least I did, what vision? And what future? These octogenarians might have wisdom from living their lives, but are they entitled to set a vision for the future of the children?

Most casualties during war – battle-time fatalities – are to kids between the ages of 17 and 25. In Armenia, one of the most sobering moments you’ll experience is at Yrablur, near Yerevan, where tri-colored flags fly over the graves of soldiers of the 44 day war of 2020 and the battles with Azeris since then.

We may call them soldiers, but they are young kids who will never get older, kids who were called up to fight because of someone’s vision to fight fire with fire.

Here in the United States, we have a day set aside every year, in May, to remember those who paid the ultimate price for freedom. We call that day Memorial Day. For the parents and families of these children thrown into war, every day is a recurring nightmare called Memorial Day.

The future belongs to the young. With all due respect for our matured senior citizens and the wisdom they have acquired during their lifetime, I have to ask, have we created a world so great that we have the audacity to set a vision for the future of these children? How about asking them? What is their “vision of the future”? What are we afraid of? That they may say they’d like to enjoy life? That they may want to live without the fear of violence? That they may want a world that is free of the pollutant of hate and intolerance? That they may find a way to negotiate understanding?

We remember the sacrifice made by all those who laid their life down for something greater, whether for the ideal of freedom or the safety of their loved ones. May God rest their souls. We also take time to articulate a new vision, one for peace. In the words of His Holiness Pope Francis, “Please. Countries at war, all of them, stop the war. Look to negotiate. Look for peace.” (CBS 60 Minutes 5/19/24)

We end with a simple prayer, one which articulates the vision of God expressed on the night of our Lord Jesus’ birth: Peace on Earth, good will toward one another. Amen.

Cover: Yrablur by Luna & Gregory Beylerian, 2023

Greater Love: Memorial Day

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Armodoxy for Today: Memorial Day

There is a park that I pass by occasionally on my morning rides. It has a sizable monument dedicated to the veterans of US wars. On the center plaque there are the insignias of the different branches of the military hovering around a lone statement that reads, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

I happen to know that this quote is from Jesus. In the Gospel of John (15), Jesus proclaims this truth in final discourse with his disciples before being betrayed and handed over to trial and crucifixion. But for others who had not read the Bible passage or had no reference to Jesus, the quote seems like a basic truth. And that’s how it is presented to the visitors of the park and this monument. The quote is without reference, neither to Jesus, nor to the Gospel in which it appears.

One of the most beautiful traditions we have in the United States is expressed in the Memorial Day holiday. It is an expression of appreciation for one of the greatest gifts, namely freedom, and the price that has been paid for it.

A value can be ascribed to everything, except to human life. Life is a gift given only once by God and therefore it is priceless. When someone loses their life for a cause, we say they have paid the ultimate price, again, emphasizing its pricelessness.

We have heard that freedom is not free, and interestingly enough, the price of freedom is measured by life, that is, the value of freedom is so great that it can only be measured, or given value, in terms of human life.

Stephen Stills writes,
Do we find the cost of freedom
Buried in the ground
Mother Earth will swallow you
Lay your body down

Whether the words of Jesus are referenced to him or not, the words “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” stands as an axiom. As Christians, however, we are consoled in knowing that our Lord, Jesus Christ, said these words as a statement about his offering, his love for his friends, for his children.

Memorial Day gives us a beautiful opportunity and a chance to reflect on something that should be reflected upon regularly, that is, the value of life and those things that are measured by life itself. Are there things that you love more than life itself? Freedom? Family? Love? Country? A close inventory can reveal much. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King has said, “If a man has not found something worth dying for, he is not fit to live.”

Jesus made it clear, that he loved us so much that he laid his life down for us, his friends. In return he asks that we lay our lives down, not to the grave but to surrender to loving one another. It is the greatest testimony to Memorial Day, to respect the price others have paid and understand that in living, and living fully, we honor their sacrifice.

Let us pray, On this Memorial Day, we pray for those who courageously laid down their lives for the cause of freedom. May the examples of their sacrifice inspire in us the selfless love of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless the families of our fallen troops, and fill their homes and their lives with Your strength and peace. Amen. (from Common Prayers)

Language to Communicate

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Armodoxy for Today: Language to Communicate

At the Pentecost the Holy Spirit bestowed gifts upon the Apostles, the necessary tools with which to do their missionary work. In Armenian, the feast of Pentecost is called hokegalust, which means “Coming of the Spirit.” In the Book of Acts (2), the event is recorded, “The Holy Spirit gave the gift of utterance to the Apostles.”

The gift of God is communication. We are not created as robots, but entities with the ability to process thoughts and communicate those thoughts to others. In the most intimate of positions and circumstances, the human being has the opportunity to communicate at all levels with thoughts, speech, glances and touch. Language is the skill to communicate with others.

Armodoxy rejects the idea that at Pentecost the gift of utterance was a secret sound-code that was understood by only a select few. Scripture says that the people who heard the Apostles talking said, “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? … we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” The sounds that people heard were languages, not non-sensical words or sounds. The gifts of God are always practical; they have a function.

Words express our thoughts and teach, that is, they pass along knowledge. The object of those teaching-lessons is harmony among people. The idea that God would give people confusing sounds or would want to confound people’s attempts to understand one another is foreign to Christian thought. The gift of the Holy Spirit brings us together, not draws us apart. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. With the Holy Spirit, the Church would now move to continue the work of Christ.

Language is the perfect vehicle for this group of people, the Apostles. They communicated the message that was given to them through Christ: Peace on Earth, good will toward one another.

We conclude today with a reading from Acts chapter 2, regarding the first Christian community after Pentecost:

Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Holy Spirit Then and Now

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Armodoxy for Today: Holy Spirit then and now

Something happened this year on the feast of Pentecost that connected us the event 2000 years ago when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles. Sticking to our charter of bringing apostolic evangelism to an electronic universe, Epostle.net facilitated a conversation with a gentleman named Malkon who lives in Jerusalem. Malkon is an Armenian Palestinian who lives by the Christian credo of not resisting evil and praying for the enemy. His family has been exiled several times from their homes and land throughout the decades. He finds himself in a country filled with animosity toward him and his people.

We connected with him because of our background as Armenians who attest to the Christian faith as expressed and demonstrated by Jesus Christ. Having experienced Genocide in 1915, and then having lived through the totalitarian communist regime for 70 years, while it spewed its atheistic propaganda, we found independence in a world that ignored us. In 2020 and 2023, we were forced out of our historic homelands, in a broader scheme that targeted the existential destruction of a nation. The world looked on in the pose of the three monkeys blocking their eyes, ears, and mouth: “See no evil,” “Hear no evil,” and “Speak no evil.” We had to meet with Malkon, because even more than exonerating ourselves from the evil of apathy and being accused of monkey-see/monkey-do, we had to connect with a person for whom the tenants of Christianity were part of his daily ritual of overcoming evil with love!

At Epostle.net, every day we preach a message of Christianity from our ancient roots as the first Christian nation. What we call Armodoxy is the application of that ancient Christianity in the world today. Often it gets assigned to a category of idealism and its application is assumed to be impossible, and therefore, not even tried. Malkon presents a model we need to identify with. He moves from theoretical Christianity to the practical side of faith, and it works! Here we witnessed the expressions of a man who lives in and with war, facing every day an enemy that is consumed with killing him and erasing the existence of his people off the pages of history.

We were encouraged by the number of people who attended this event virtually as well as on our new Metaverse platform. In the weeks to come we will be releasing excerpts from the discussions that manifested at the event. For today, we announce it with the excitement that must have surrounded the Apostles who were touched by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The Risen Lord is speaking in what the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, has brought to us this day.

We end with the words of our Lord, who spoke then, and speaks now:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

Doing Business

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Armodoxy for Today: The Business Model

Many clergymen cringe when they hear someone mention the word business next to their church. It is insulting, they think, to refer to the church as a business. Understandably, if the Church is ordained by Christ, and is the dwelling place of God, it should not be tainted with models from the college MBA textbook. God should take care of His Church and speaking of a business model which brings tangible returns can be seen as anathema.

When I was growing up, as I was contemplating the priesthood, I had a conversation with my parish priest, Fr. Krikor Hairabedian (of blessed memory), who shared his understanding of the Church. He said, if Christ is the head of the Church, then he is the “boss.” Why would I worry about any of the tangible matters? God will take care of His Church. And Fr. Krikor proceeded to tell me how throughout his own lifetime, God had always taken care of every one of his needs. Needless to say, Fr. Krikor was a man of great faith. Now, 40+ years into my priesthood, I often think about that conversation with the good priest and can attest the same with my experience in the Church. “The Lord is my shepherd,” says the psalmist (23) and follows up with a declaration, “I shall not want.”

There is a mystical dimension to the Church that overlaps the material Body of Christ. And certainly, it is the formula by which the Armenian Church has “worked” for the last 2000 years. God is in charge, and everything falls into place and is taken care of.

The material Body of Christ is what functions on Earth. It is the legs, the arms, the mouth, the voice of Christ in the here and now. As such, it needs material support. The word “business” refers to the actual mechanism by which the work gets accomplished. Yes, we shy away and cringe at the statement that the church is a business, but in fact it is. It’s goal, however, is not the physical wealth, but the spiritual soul that resides in every human being.

A business – say a restaurant, insurance company or a department store – has as its ultimate goal the creation of more wealth. It has an obligation to its investors to make a profit, however, along the way, it accomplishes other tasks, which we can call overt goals: the restaurant feeds hungry people, the insurance company provides security for families, and the department store furnishes clothing and goods for people. The Church follows the same model but the ultimate goals and the overt goals are swapped. That is the Church has as its goal the salvation of the soul and accomplishes this by the teaching the message of love that Christ demonstrated. Along the way, needs to take care of electric bills, property maintenance and pay for supplies. Calling it a business does not discount the participation of God, it merely establishes an order, a system by which things get accomplished.

During this period, between Ascension and the Pentecost in the post-Resurrection era, the Church was being formed. The order and the systems were being put into place to accomplish the greatest work of all, functioning as the Body of Christ.

We conclude today and these thoughts with the reading of the first Psalm:

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. (Psalm 1)

Pentecost: Beyond History

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Armodoxy for Today: From History to Sermon

The sermon begins “Today is Pentecost” followed by a story from the pages of the Book of Acts. We hear the story of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples, turning them into the evangelists for Christ’s Holy Church. What’s our take-away from this sermon? There was an event, on the 50th day after the Resurrection – pente, 50 – and with the reception of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles embarked on their sacred mission to evangelize the world.

This is what’s known as a history lesson in the guise of a sermon. The purpose of a sermon, unlike a history lesson, is to preach a lesson to the listener, a lesson which applies to their lives today. It was for this reason that Jesus promised the Disciples to send the Holy Spirit, so that they would not merely present Jesus as a figure of history, but as the Living God that affects and interacts with His children in their lives today, as He did 2000 years ago. Pentecost is the event that invites us to the holiness of the Church. It is in His Sacred Church, where that message is revealed.

When Jesus began his ministry, he invited the Disciple to “Come and follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) At the end of his ministry on Earth he said to them, “Go and make disciple of all…” (Matthew 28:16-20) “Come” says Jesus to learn as my Disciples, “Go” says Christ to teach as my Apostles.

A simple but powerful prayer by St. Nersess Shnorhali reminds that the Holy Spirit has touched the Disciples and purified us by working and acting within us all. Today is a day to be receptive to the joy that fills our lives with godliness.

Spirit of God, true God, who descended on the river Jordan, and into the Upper Room; who enlightened me by the baptism of the Holy Font, I have sinned against heaven and before you. Purify me again with your divine fire, as the fiery tongues purified the Holy Apostles.
Have mercy upon your creatures, and on me, a sinner. Amen.

Pentecost: Non Denominationalism Up Close

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Pentecost, Non Denominational, Bible & Church

As a kid I remember a commercial on television featuring a nice looking building. A voice asks, “Nice building, huh?” Then the camera zooms in to reveal cracks and chips that were painted over, and without skipping a beat the voice would divulge the truth, “…until you look up closely!” The body of the voice would then come on screen to plug some kind of texture coating that hid the scars of the building.

Usually things look nice from a distance, but upon a closer look the cracks start showing. The same holds true for religion. We will confine our discussion today to the Christian religion. One of the popular designations of Christianity that needs to receive a closer look is the term “non-denomination.” It is fairly popular these days because it is presented as a free-spirited version of Christianity. “Generally, non-denominational churches believe that the Bible is the sole authority that dictates every aspect of the church, with scripture shaping their beliefs and philosophies.” (source: christianministryedu.org)

Now, before taking a closer look, let’s remember the course we have travelled to get to this point. We went through a period of preparation called Lent. We celebrated the Resurrection, and then continued with the formation of the first Christian communities. Currently we are in that period between Ascension (40 days after Easter) and the Pentecost (50 days after Easter).

There is a reason the Church asks you to take this journey. When Jesus was crucified, there was no Bible. When he resurrected, there was no Bible. When he ascended, there was no Bible. In fact, there was no formal Bible for a few hundred years! However, at all those same events – crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and on into the formation of the communities –there was the Church!

Those who claim to be non-denominational say that they accept the Bible as the sole authority in matters of their faith. By their own admission, they have excluded themselves from major events of Christian history and development. History shows that everything we know about Jesus Christ has arrived to us because of His Holy Church.

God’s greatest gift to humanity was not the Bible. Much more important than the Bible is Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God the Father. Jesus’ gift to humanity was not the Bible, rather it was his holy and precious Body, namely the Church. And it was the Church that compiled the books together to give us what we refer to as the Bible.

The Armenian word for the Bible is Asdvadzashunch, which literally means the Breath of God. The Armenian Church refers to it as the “breath” because it guides us as spirit, not as a book of laws and regulations, along the path of Truth, Hope and Love.

The appeal of non-denominationalism is understandable in our world today, where everyone is given a platform to interpret. Often those interpretations create a derivative of Christ’s holy and sacred message. In other words, within the non-denominational category, you can have several hundred or thousand derivatives of the faith, which means, there is no such thing as non-denominational. Everyone’s reading creates a new denomination.  This is why when we speak of the Armenian Apostolic Church, we are grounding ourselves in a Tradition that dates back to the time of Jesus Christ himself, that is, before there was a Bible.

At this feast of Pentecost – the Coming of the Holy Spirit and therefore the birthday of the Church – it is important to understand that the Armenian Church is not a Bible-centered community of believers; we are Christ centered.  We make this proclamation unapologetically. Non-denominationalism is very nice looking, and appealing, but when you look up closely you notice the chips and the holes. Jesus set up his Church and it is guided by the Holy Spirit. In his unfailing words Jesus says, “The gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church!” (Matthew 16:18)

We conclude with a prayer from the Holy Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church: We thank you, Father almighty, who did prepare for us the holy Church as a haven, a temple of holiness, where the name of the holy Trinity is glorified. Alleluia. We thank you, Spirit of Truth, who renewed the holy Church. Keep her without blemish through the faith in the Trinity forevermore. Amen.

Want something more? Try: Pentecost: Language after Asphyxiation

Cover Photo: Luna & Gregory Beylerian, 2023

Coming of the Spirit

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Armodoxy for Today: Pentecost

A young girl in a parking lot
Was preaching to a crowd
Singing sacred songs and reading from the Bible
Well, I told her I was lost
And she told me all about the Pentecost
And I seen that girl as the road to my survival…
~Paul Simon (Duncan)

The Pentecost is a turning point event in the life of the post-Resurrection Christian Community. While the word Pentecost alludes to the 50th day after Easter, let us refer to it by its Armenian names Hokegalust as it is more descriptive and, therefore, more meaningful for the Christian. Translated, Hokegalust means the coming of the Spirit. Jesus promised the Great Comforter. On this day, the promise is fulfilled. We read the story in the Book of Acts, chapter 2.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they [the Disciples] were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? …we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

The first and most important take-away from this story is that the Uncreated Essence, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the One that was floating above the Earth before time, the Holy Spirit, had landed upon this group of individuals – each from a different background – and was transforming them into a Community, which would eventually change the world. This is a sacred mission of the Church. It transforms the world because it has an understanding of peace, harmony among people, and the golden key that turns the locks to every door, namely, love. And it learned this from Love Incarnate, namely, Jesus Christ.

The Disciples were ordered to go to the world and spread the message of faith, hope and love. Thus, the Disciples turned into Apostles, meaning one who is sent. In Armenian, the word Arakyal (apostle = one who is sent) comes from the verb Arakel (to send).

The revolution starts now. Jesus came and he touched the Disciples and the people with his message, but it was on this day that his message was given the feet with which to walk and change the world.

From the 5th hour of St. Nersess Shnorhali’s prayer, we pray, Spirit of God, true God Who descended on the river Jordan and the Upper Room. Cleanse me once more with your divine fire, as the tongues of flame cleansed the Holy Apostles. Have mercy upon your creation, and on me, a sinner. Amen.

A Grain for Today

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Armodoxy for Today: A Grain for Today

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,” says Jesus, “It remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much harvest.”

This short proclamation could be a lesson directly out of a Botany 101 textbook. Jesus expresses metaphorically, the power of sacrifice. He alludes to himself and his death, which yielded the harvest of the church – a great harvest with churches and monasteries, the spreading of the message of love and light, schools, innovation, hospitals, artwork, music, and countless outreach programs during the last two millennia.

However, the axiomatic definition of a seed’s death yielding harvest is not confined to afterlife events. Think of a parent’s love, how sacrificial it can be. A mother or father, who sacrifices her or himself is the dying seed, and the harvest is great in the lives of their children.

Sacrificial love is Agape love, that is, it is defined by Christ in his action at the cross but can be found in the sacrifices made by others, with their lives and their talents. Parents, teachers, artists, physicians, caretakers are the obvious nominees for those who sacrifice, but caution, it’s not the action that defines sacrifice, but the spirit in which that action is performed.

Today we meditate on the sacrifices we make in our lives by heeding the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

Honoring Mom

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Armodoxy for Today: Honoring Mayrig

While candy and flowers seem to be the fare for honoring mothers, undoubtedly a visit – spending quality time – with mother, is always the best choice.

With mothers and motherhood fresh on our minds, and after yesterday’s lesson on the birth we experience through the womb of the Church, the following meditation seems most appropriate. Written by Hratch Tchilingirian, professor at Oxford College, it speaks to honoring this special mother in a most poetic and sensitive manner.

MAYRIG – in Armenian mom or grandma — is one of the sweetest words in the Armenian language. For a moment picture your grandma, look at her face and you see the story of life. Look at her face closely and you see wrinkles, furrows sculpted by tears and struggles; furrows where seeds of smile and blessings have grown; furrows where – through the blessings of Faith in God – miracles have happened in our lives. For a moment picture your grandma…

Our grandma, our Mayrig, was born a hundred years ago in America, to a humble immigrant family, who had seen suffering, genocide, blood and destruction… Yet, in her determination to pass her Faith to the children of her nation, she stood strong and gave life, spiritual strength to us all.

Despite her age, she is always young and living – but only through us and for our children’s sake. She prepares banquet and fellowship every Sunday… but today so few of her children come home to see her. So few come and pray with her for all the good things that God has blessed us with.

Her children have grown, some have forgotten her Faith and the values she passed on and many have disowned her. Yet, many have never forgotten her and love her dearly.
This lonely Mayrig is praying unceasingly for us, waiting for us, keeping the lamp light of our faith shining for us. She needs our hand and humility, she needs our love and sobriety. She is our Church, our Mother Church, our Mayrig. She is the bride of Christ and it is up to us to participate in the wedding celebration.

Don’t wait for a committee. Don’t wait for another meeting. Don’t wait to discuss her problems next month or next year. She needs you now. She is home waiting for you. She wants to pray with you, for her and together for all of us, for all her children. – Hratch Tchilingirian  1993

Cover photo: Envato Elements