Mystery Too Deep – Apb. Tiran, more

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Armodoxy for Today: Mystery too Deep

The first hymn which is sung at the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church is  Khorhourt khorin. It sets the tone of entire Liturgy. I remember the first time I read the translation of those words, “Mystery, deep, inscrutable, without beginning…”

The words to the hymn as well as the entire Divine Liturgy were translated by Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan, of blessed memory. He was one of the brilliant minds of the Armenian Church in the 20th century. His accolades are many, but among the top was his vision for having an Armenian seminary in the United States. He founded the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. He was elected Patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and served as Primate of the Eastern Diocese.

1978 was a special time in my life. I had just returned from the Seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin and entered the Seminary at Claremont. As an Armenian student in this Methodist Seminary, I relied heavily on Archbishop’s Divine Liturgy translation for research comparisons and thesis development. 1978 also happened to be the centennial celebration of Albert Einstein’s birth. Not far from Claremont was Cal Poly Pomona, and I was able to enroll in a class simultaneously about Einstein, tailored for the non-scientist. It was there that I found this most meaningful quote by Einstein. “The most beautiful thing that we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.” He pointed to mystery and the awe awakened by that mystery. In essence, Einstein was uncovering a truth expressed by the Armenian Church for centuries.

In 1989 I received a letter from Archbishop Tiran, while I was pastoring at the St. Andrew Armenian Church in Cupertino, California. We had met only casually, but to receive a letter by the revered archbishop, the “Encyclopedia of the Armenian Church,” for me, was like being called out at a concert by the superstar on the stage because he recognized me! Me? Yes, you!

Yesterday I gave you the background of that letter. Today, as promised, I continue the story of our exchange. The letter was an invitation to edit a theological journal for the St. Nersess Seminary. His generous letter was flattering, and his offer to edit the journal was more than I could have imagined at that point in my ministry. He invited me to come to New York to meet with him to discuss the detail. I went there and spent three of the most memorable days in my life, just being around and living around this giant of the Armenian Church.

I visited the archbishop in his New York City apartment, in the Washington Heights area. It was next to the Holy Cross Armenian Church on 187th Street, a church which was infamously the site of the 1933 Assassination of the Archbishop Levon Tourian.

During my stay with the Archbishop Tiran, I want to say we discussed many topics, but it was more like he talked, and I listened. I was in awe of his intellect, and how he organized his thoughts. Indeed, what we knew from a distance, was even more pronounced in person, he was the Enclopedia of Christianity and a specialized volume of that encyclopedia focused on the Armenian Church.

On the second day of my visit Archbishop Tiran took me into the Holy Cross Armenian Church. It was the Lenten season and the curtain was closed. We came up the center isle and he pointed to the spot where Archbishop Ghevont was assassinated on Christmas day 1933. With his killings began the ugly divisions among the Armenian people and the Armenian Church in America. (Journalist Terry Phillips writes about the assassination in his book, Murder at the Altar.) He had the vestments of the murdered archbishop, with blood stains still uncleaned, pointing to where he was brutally stabbed during the service that day. Against this reality, the esoteric and spiritual discussion of mystery was going to be hard-find.

Archbishop Tiran took me up to the altar. With the curtain closed behind us, we stood in this narrow space in front of the main altar of Holy Cross. I began the conversation, citing the beautiful words with which he translated, Khorhourt Khorin…. Each of his words were selected perfectly for his translations. The word, “inscrutable” intrigued me. So with that admission, we began a conversation on mystery.

In Armenian Orthodoxy, you understand that God is beyond explanation. If you can describe God, then He isn’t God. Mystery – khorhourt – is the catch-all term for the Divine realm. With the groundwork laid, Archbishop Tiran asked me if I knew why there were 12 candles on the altar? “The 12 disciples,” I answered, “the twelve points of light.” He laughed. He had a very kind laugh that let you know he was amused. “No, the candles are in reference to the twelve signs of the zodiac.” I thought he was putting me on. The Zodiac? Isn’t that what Nancy Regan was being ridiculed for? Then, I looked in the Armenian Church calendar (Oratzuyts) published annually in Holy Etchmiadzin and there they were – the twelve signs, printed on the pages of the calendar. Mystery was fairly deep, in fact maybe too deep, until he asked me one more question, one which sent me over the top in its simplicity and explained Mystery in what we now refer to as in Armodox manner.

Until then, the prayer, Khorhourt khorin as translated by Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan, O mystery deep, inscrutable, without beginning. Thou that hast decked thy supernal realm as a chamber unto the light unapproachable and hast adorned with splendid glory the ranks of the fiery spirits…

Christian Courage – Archbishop Tiran

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Armodoxy for Today: Christian Courage

Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan, of blessed memory, was one of the brilliant minds of the Armenian Church in the 20th century. His accolades are many, but among the top was his vision for having an Armenian seminary in the United States. He founded the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary. Intellectually, his translation of the Holy Divine Liturgy (1950) is still the foundation upon which other translations are offered. He was elected Patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and served as Primate of the Eastern Diocese.

He was brilliant and sharp. In his senior years he would attend Summer Conferences at the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, where young students would have the chance of a lifetime to engage in conversation with him. To many of us, he was a walking encyclopedia of the Christian Church, and the special volume on the Armenian Church. He was a pioneer in many respects. As a bishop he courageously challenged some of the rules of the Church. For instance, as a Primate he saw the tremendous need for clergy in the post-Genocide diasporan church and so he ordained a group of priests before they were married. One of the laws of the church is that if a candidate for the priesthood is to marry, marriage must take place before ordination. But as a primate he made the decision that the need for priests outweighed the respect of the rule. The Church refers to this as economia which allows for discretionary deviation from the letter of the law in order to adhere to the spirit of the law and charity. It takes clear vision and courage to takes these bold steps and Archbishop Tiran’s choice to ordain the priests were truly an act of economia.

In 1989, I was pastoring the St. Andrew Armenian Church in Cupertino, California. We published a small newsletter called The Nakhagoch (meaning the “First Call” a play off of St. Andrew the Disciples nickname of being the Nakhagoch, that is, the first called disciple of Jesus Christ. Each edition of the paper would include my pastoral message and commentary about social events. Archbishop Tiran wrote me that year. I had met him only casually, but to receive a letter by the revered archbishop, for me, was like being called out at a concert by the superstar on the stage because he said he recognized you! Me? Yes, you!

The letter was an invitation to edit a theological journal for the St. Nersess Seminary. Archbishop Tiran had read my articles and wanted to place me in charge of a journal for religious thought at the Seminary. In particular, he had read a piece I had written for the San Jose Mercury News about the 1988 film, “The Last Temptation of Christ.” The film was based on Nicholas Kazantzakis’s book by the same name. Kazantzakis was better known as author of “Zorba the Greek.” I had read the “Last Temptation” in college and it helped me form much of my expressions of theology. The epic movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, hit the theaters that year and was causing a stir. Christian groups and churches were protesting the movie – threatening to close down theaters and sponsors – because the film dared to present Jesus in human light. The last temptation of Christ, Kazantzakis imagined, was Jesus on the Cross, being approached by the Tempter, who offers him a “normal” life, with wife and kids, if he abandons the Cross. Spoiler alert: he doesn’t. But that didn’t seem to matter with the movie-going public of the time.

Kazantzakis’s story flirts with Christology, a topic which divided the Christian Church, particularly in the early centuries. In seminary we studied the Council of Chalcedon (451AD) and the variations of Christological expressions extensively. I was not about to touch any of these points in a newspaper article, rather I questioned our fear and doubt. Why would we be afraid to think and struggle with our Faith?  And especially with the main character of our Faith, namely Jesus Christ? Receiving Archbishop Tiran’s letter – the foremost authority on our Church’s Christology – and his approval of the article and my positioning, was a boost of confidence that I needed at that early point in my ministry. Even more, his encouragement emphasized the need the bridge the gap between theoretical and practical theology.

Jesus came to us. Jesus lived in a real world and spoke to the issues and problems of this world. He made the Divine Realm accessible to everyone. As a Church, we pray, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It takes Christian courage to be the instrument to bring thy will from heaven to earth.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at what happened when I accepted Archbishop Tiran’s invitation.  and found myself in a place that was too deep. Join me.

Changes from a Mouse

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Armodoxy for Today: Change

This Summer Disney is asking, “What if a Mouse Could Change the World”? Alluding to the little black and white cartoon character that debuted almost a century ago, the multibillion dollar company is using the mouse to point to their resorts, theme parks, songs, movies, and everything that is part of magic of Disney. It is interesting that the ad campaign does not refer to the mouse by name. The Disney mouse is so well known that there is no mistaking him with any of the other pop mouses, whether his girlfriend Mini, or Jerry of Tom and Jerry, or Mighty Mouse. Mickey is so well branded that thousands of children line up at Disney theme parks every day to get their mouse-ears. The shape of the cap is enough to make the connection. Yes, indeed, the little mouse could and has changed the world.

There is another mouse that we adopted about 40 years ago. It too has changed the world, primarily in the way we interact with the world. It is the electronic device that resembled more of a mouse when it had a wire connecting it to the computer, but even today in its tailless/wireless evolved form, allows us to change our world with words, graphics and videos in a manner that was incomprehensible only a 50 years ago.

In both cases – Disney’s Mickey and the computer’s pointing device – change has been embraced. The question, What if a mouse could change our world? is rhetorical. Of course, the mouse has changed our world, just as so many other things have changed our world.

In a few days we will remember a time when the terrifying power of the atomic bomb was unleashed on human populations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It brought an end to the Second World War, but it also instilled in our collective memory the scene of mass destruction. We saw an entire city destroyed in the blink of an eye. We saw beyond that blink, at the years and decades of disease and psychological trauma, the fear and anxiety with which subsequent generations lived, with take-cover drills and the Friday-morning bomb drills. Today, nuclear arsenals can destroy not only cities but the world and civilization itself. They are so destructive that there is no preparing for them. We have abandoned the drills and perhaps even some hope.

Change is inevitable. Change is happening. If we live, we change. When we die, we decay. A mouse brought change a century ago. A bomb brought change in a more existential manner.

The Armenian experience has been one of constant change. Living under different regimes, being invaded by barbarians and having to leave house and home, has left its scars on the people and the collective psyche. The Armenian church, with its centralized theology on the person of Jesus Christ, has offered the stability in stark reaction and in contrast to the changes that drive anxiety and fear. Ironically, Jesus Christ brought about a revolution, a change in the way we understand ourselves in relationship to God. The cornerstones of that revolution are faith, hope and love. These are the three elements of stability that counter act the anxiety of change in our lives.

Jesus Christ is the change that brings change toward peace and harmony. The centerpiece of the Armenian Church, and therefore Armenian Orthodoxy, is peace and harmony.

Let us pray, O Lord of hosts, commit my soul to the angel of peace, who will come and keep us tranquil by day and by night, while awake and resting. Increase in me faith, hope and love, so that I may walk with courage and strength as I journey through this life. And at all times I give thanks and glory to you. Amen.

Cognition

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Armodoxy for Today: Cognition

One of the greatest gifts given to us by God is the ability to think, to reason, to wonder and ponder, to question and then arrive at a conclusion. In fact, the idea of thinking is tied in intimately with the Christian understanding of life, that is, because we think we have the ability to make decisions, good or bad. God calls us to exercise our free will and make decisions from the most mundane, such as getting out of bed on the right or left side, to the most extreme limits of life, such as deciding whether to drive recklessly while intoxicated. Accordingly, our actions have consequences – rewards and punishments – because we have the ability to think and make decisions. If we didn’t have a choice in decisions, we would be living according to fate and therefore not accountable for any of our actions.

As children, we learn early that our actions have consequences. Our learning is assisted by memory. The first time we place our hand near a hot stove, we feel the heat, perhaps we burn ourselves, and we learn that stoves are hot. Imagine if we didn’t learn and every time we saw a stove we stuck our hand into an open flame, our safety and long term chances of survival would be severely diminished. Thinking is good. Reasoning is good.

Often, religions call on their followers to blindly accept doctrine without putting it to the test, hence the expression, check your brain in at the door. This develops from a misunderstanding of Jesus’ words to trust. He asks us to trust and to have faith. Actually, to truly trust and have faith one needs to fully engage with the powers of reason and rationality. Jesus used parables to explain some of the most complicated and complex concepts in human understanding. The use of parables presupposes the use of intelligence to decipher, to make connections with metaphors and to understand.

There are, of course, many concepts and ideas that are difficult to decipher, for instance the origins of the universe or the extent of time and eternity. When we designate these to the great “mysteries” we are not advocating for an abstention from brain usage. Quite the opposite, we’re saying through the cognitive process, we have exhausted the possibilities of our humanity, but do not discount the possibility of more beyond our sensory perception. Here, we confront God. These are the primal instincts that draw humanity to religious understanding.

Armodoxy begins with a challenge to allow God to be God and us to be human. When we relinquish what we cannot understand or comprehend to the divine realm, we are taking a very real and practical approach to life. Eternity can wait! We have faith that Christ will lead us there. We then focus our attention to the world at hand and how we can become the instruments of peace, the workers for righteousness, the Children of God who by living for peace (Matthew 6:9). Armodoxy is about the here and now. It’s following Jesus’ words, that God’s will must be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We end today with the words of our Lord Jesus, who proclaims, (Matthew 5:3-10)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
 Blessed are the meek, or they shall inherit the earth.
 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Original Message

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Armodoxy for Today: Original Message

For the last 15 years I have been sharing a podcast called “The Next Step.” It is a weekly show, approximately one-hour long, that looks at trends in life through the lens of Armenian Orthodoxy. While I comment about different issues of faith and life, I always try to leave the audience with something to ponder, to stimulate thought and introspection.

One of our listeners once reviewed our show and wrote, “You don’t have to check your brain in at the door to follow Armodoxy.” This became a catch phrase in our intro and our promos. I was honored and flattered that the listener had expressed himself in this manner.

The Christian Church, and in particular the Armenian Church, has a rich Tradition with a message that is timeless and universal, that is it speaks to everyone. And as our population is becoming more learned and expressive, the Church has to keep up and share the message of Christ as an essential calling to the world.

In her book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, Rachel Held Evans writes of the Bible, 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.”

The Bible is one book, from beginning to end, of God’s love for His creation. The Bible was not written with the intention of skipping around from verse-to-verse, quoting one statement and justifying it with another passage. Indeed, the Bible can be used to promote a wide variety of ideologies, and for this reason alone, it is important to seek and find the oldest of all traditions, namely, the Armenian Church, to hear and find the original message.

The oldest and most essential message of the Bible comes to us from Christ. While portions of the Bible predate the Birth of Jesus, the oldest message is revealed at His Nativity. It is the message conveyed by the angels, who proclaim the presence of Christ in the World. “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14) This message does not need qualifiers. It does not need to be explained or justified. It is the object of Thy Kingdom Come. It is the Will that needs to be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we find our purpose within the Kingdom as those who make His Will happen on this earth.

We end today with the prayer our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray, Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Editor

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Roots of Armodoxy: Editor

Jesus’ words are very harsh and frankly, very scary, “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.” (Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:6)

The Church has assigned this reading to the feast of the Holy Translators, among which are also the translators of the Holy Scriptures. The passage is strategically placed on the church calendar on this day to remind us of sanctity of Scripture and as a caution against those who might take the Scriptures and render a translation or explanation of these holy words.

It has always amazed me how people would never, in a million years, consider having their car brakes repaired by someone who read a book about brakes. Or watched a video explaining brake repair. You’d be a fool to trust your car’s braking system and your safety to someone with minimum to no knowledge of car repair. Or even worse, you can’t imagine someone suffering from heart disease or cancer, trusting their medical care to someone who read an article about staying healthy in AARP magazine. Yet, when it comes to spiritual care, the wellness of your immortal soul… many people are not only fine but will argue for the thoughts of someone who’s knowledge comes from a casual read of the book, even if that book may be the Bible.

The Bible is the product of the Church. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, it was the one, universal, apostolic and holy Church that put together the different books that constitute the Bible. Think of the Church as the editor – the one who goes through the material and decides what stays in and what is left out. Each of the Evangelists – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were the original editors of the life of Christ. In fact, St. John final words to his gospel are, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (21:25)

The books of the Bible were written in ancient Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew. So everyone who encounters the Scriptures is forced to read a translated, i.e., an edited version. Furthermore, among the Protestant branch of Christianity, Scripture is the only authority, yet everyone is free to interpret as they wish. This is why there are hundreds of Protestant denominations. (For clarity we should mention that most of those denomination can be categorized under a few headings, such as Adventists, Anabaptists, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Baptists, Calvinist/Reformed, Lutherans, Methodists, Moravians, Plymouth Brethren, Presbyterians, and Quakers.)

To get to the original intent of Scriptures you have to appeal to the oldest of all traditions, namely the one, universal, apostolic Church. Herein lies the strength of the message of Armodoxy, it comes from the most ancient of all Christian traditions, namely the Armenian Apostolic Church, a body that was there at the Time of Christ, in the person of the Apostles. The Apostles and the generations that came after them made up the Church. The Church was there at the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, at the Ascension and received the tools to evangelize at the Pentecost. The Church speaks from Holy Tradition, which includes the Scriptures, but is so much more.

This is why St. John Chrysostom says that children “Should be a diligent hearer of the divine Scriptures.” The Word of God is not the black text on a white page, but it is the expression that comes from Christ’s Sacred Body, the Church. Remember, God gave us something much more sacred and precious than the Bible. He gave us His Only Begotten, and in turn Jesus gave us His Holy Body, the Church, which, inspired by the Holy Spirit, gave us the Bible. So when the Church speaks of and from Holy Scripture, it is talking from a Tradition that includes the Bible, but is not comprised only of it. The Church gives equal access to the Divine realm and doesn’t limit it only the literate.

Today’s prayer is prayed by Jesus himself, to His Father (John 17:20-26)

“I pray for those who will believe in Me through their word;  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Historical Context

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Roots of Armodoxy: Historical Context

Recently I read a post on social media which said, “Don’t ever say, ‘Bible-reading is for monks; am I making my child a monk?’ No! It isn’t necessary to make him a monk. Make him a Christian!” The quote was placed atop a graphic of St. John Chrysostom, a giant of the Christian Church who lived in 4th century. (347-407AD).

Like many pronouncements made by the beloved saint, the statement is simple and profound. But something bothered me about it. Of course, it is the admonishment we expect, especially parents or anyone concerned with the Christian upbringing of a child. But something was off, and it was as simple as the date of the quote.

The Bible wasn’t put together until the 5th century? Even more, Bibles weren’t readily accessible by the people until the advent of the printing press in the 15th century. What did the words, “Bible-reading” mean in this case? Here is a saint of the Church, of the 4th century, admonishing people to have their children read the Bible, before the Bible was put together in the form we refer to as Bible and during a time when literacy was not common.

When I was first ordained a priest, an elderly parishioner of mine brought a hand-written letter for me read to her. This was 1982. I did. It was personal in nature. She thanked me and went off. She was a survivor of the Genocide and had traveled through refugee camps and made her way to America where she formed her family. I wondered why did she bring this letter to me? It was sometime after this reading that I learned that the in the old-country, priests would be the learned members of a village. It was common for people to bring written documents to the priest for reading, knowing that they would have confidentiality and a fair interpretation of the words. This episode was just a few years back, and literacy was not common. And so, I had to find out what was the source of the quote attributed to St. John Chrysostom? What did he mean when he said, have your children “read the Bible”?

I found an article, “Eight Quotes from St. John Chrysostom on How to Raise Children” and the original to the quote in question was there: “Never deem it an unnecessary thing that he should be a diligent hearer of the divine Scriptures.”

“Bible-reading” was loosely translated in that post from the words, “diligent hearer of the divine Scriptures.” And while this may seem like a mere 21st century upgrade to the words, Chrysostom’s words mean so much more than reading the Bible. Holy and Divine Scripture have a place in the Church. The Scriptures are a tool of the Church. The words of the saint are a call to attend the Body – the church – the Community, the Corporate Worship of the Church, where the “diligent hearing of divine Scriptures” becomes possible.

Historical context is essential to understanding instruction in all walks of life, especially in the spiritual instruction in the Christian Church.

Since the Protestant reformation we have deviated from the original intention of Holy Scriptures in the Church. Granted that the abuse of those Scriptures was cited as one of many reasons for the reform, still the outcome of the reformation, some 500+ years later is that the free reign on translating and interpreting the words of Holy Scripture has led to much anguish among those who are oppressed in the name of an interpretation, or excluded because of the intolerance which has been justified by a personal understanding of the Scriptures.

In the Armenian Church, Holy Scriptures are referred to as the Breath of God. It is sacred. The Church shares the Gospel through that Breath. It is in a historical context – the long history of the Christian Church – that the Scriptures come alive.

We end today with a meditation on this topic which comes from the Sermon on the Mount. It is the lectionary reading for the feast of the Holy Translator (the Translators of the Bible) and Jesus instructs us, “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.”

We continue with more roots of Armodoxy tomorrow. Join us at epostle.net

Here, There, Everywhere

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Roots of Armodoxy: Here, There, Everywhere

Four icons hang on Pushkin Street in the middle of Yerevan. For all the breath-taking, amazing, architecturally groundbreaking edifices from antiquity that we have highlighted, these icons are the only one that are internationally recognized. On the corner of Pushkin St. and an obscure alley way is the sign in Armenian letters, “Beatles Pub,” the photos of the Fab Four, John, Paul, George and Ringo, cover the front windows and a sign that says “coming soon.” No explanation necessary – everyone know, the “soon” is in reference to the pub and not the group.

The Beatles Pub, in many ways, is the best explanation of Armodoxy that we can give. The faith of the Armenian Church – Armenian Orthodoxy – does not exist in a vacuum. Just as Jesus came to the world – the tangible real world – Armenian Orthodoxy has a voice in the real world, the world we live in.

One of the greatest human expressions is music. It is a language that speaks to the soul. This is why all religious traditions incorporate music into their rituals and we in the Armenian Church have a treasure house of hymns, based on eight modalities, that connect human existence to the divine sphere. They speak of the manner in which people have perceived or understood the Divine. The hymns, which we refer to as sharagan, are expressions of our theology.

As people, we naturally search for meaning, and connect dots to things greater than ourselves. Music gives us a forum to do so, whether sacred music or pop song. For instance, when Paul McCartney sings “Mother Mary comes to me,” he is speaking of his own mother, whose name was Mary, but millions who have heard Let it Be made a connection to the blessed virgin. When John Lennon sings, “Imagine there’s no heaven,” it forces us to think about the divisions that are caused because of belief systems. Elanor Rigby’s priest, Father McKenzie writes words to a sermon that no one hears the Inner Light asks us see without looking. Most importantly, we all can buy into “All you need is Love” and “Give Peace a Chance.”

When the Beatles “invaded” the world in the early 1960’s, life changed. The Beatles’ influence on pop culture is undeniable, but their influence is much farther reaching and affects just about every arena primarily because their music – melodies and words – have been absorbed by such a diverse population for the last 60+ years. As a young boy, I remember my grandmother humming the tune, “Yesterday” as she went about daily chores. She was a genocide survivor and was in her 60’s when the Beatles were a hit. I was never sure what about the song attracted her ear. Could it have been that yesterday, all her troubles were far away? or was it simply the eloquent music that had already touched millions deep in the soul? On the other end of the age spectrum, my niece, in her 20s, who upon moving to New York paid homage to John Lennon by visiting the Strawberry Fields Memorial. The span of years between my grandmother and my niece is over 100 years; the Beatles touched across generations, how can their influence be discounted?

Armodoxy is the recognition that our faith exists in a world that is living and breathing. Because it is living, it is evolving. The alternative to life is death, in which case matter does not evolve but decays. Armodoxy is about pushing ourselves to understand our faith within the context of life. When Jesus offered parables using a grain of wheat or the mustard seed or grapes and the vineyard, he was speaking to the people in a language which they all understood. The people of the time lived in an agrarian society; they were people of the land. They knew what a mustard seed was, much like a child of today knows what an app is.

Armodoxy is the realistic admission that culture and the life-forces around us, impact and influence us. It is the recognition that Christianity evolved in a pocket of the world, among a group of people, inside of the Armenian Church, and those people survived and thrived against the odds. Armodoxy is the secret formula, so to speak, of how faith and life intertwine and give us meaning. It is the recognition that God did not create us as robots but gave us the gift of thought to interact, to discuss, to arrive at the point of understanding and harmony with our fellow human being. Coupled with our prayer life, we share the unchanging Truth of God that has reached us today. We are the custodians of that Tradition for the time that we are allotted in this world.

The Beatles pub was opening soon. Unfortunately, we were unable to see it in action, but a few weeks after we left, it was Ringo Starr’s birthday (7/7) and they celebrated there, and accented his motto phrase, Peace and Love – khaghootiun yev ser – which is the bottom line, whether sung or said, in English or Armenian, classical or contemporary.

From the Armenian 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 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, and may give you thanks and glorify you together with the Father and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Overturning

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Armodoxy for Today: Overturning

At the first Palm Sunday, that is, when Jesus entered Jerusalem to meet his appointment with the Cross, he saw a scene in the temple which infuriated him. We read in Matthew 21:12-13: Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” This event is sometimes referred to as “Jesus cleansing the temple” because he “cleaned out” all that did not belong there.

Considering that marketing professionals are now selling products under the “Christmas in July” banner, I didn’t hesitate to draw from another period on the Church calendar, namely Palm Sunday, to point to what doesn’t belong on our shopping list. We have been conditioned by what used to be called Madison Avenue, a street in New York City where many advertising agencies have offices and, today, by more elite methods that melt us down to mathematical formulas governed by algorithms. And we react. Christmas, we know is a season for shopping. It’s a season where sales are permissible. And so, if they tell us it’s Christmas in July, much like Pavlov’s dogs, we begin salivating at the chance to bite off some bargains.

Armodoxy is the study of ancient Orthodoxy as it pertains to our lives today. And just as much as the ancient traditions influence us, the methods and practices of today turn our head and direct our feet to follow our glance.

As much as Jesus’s actions in the temple were about cleansing the house of God, his action of overturning the tables, is also memorialized in this story. The phrase “cleansing the temple” is a description someone gave the story. Turning the tables, is the action Jesus took. As Christians, we may draw from these actions and make them metaphors for Christian living. For instance, let us begin with this popular sales pitch we came face-to-face with this year: Christmas in July. One option would have been to resist it, call if for what it is, a ploy to put cash into the economy at the expense of Christ’s name. That would be akin to “cleansing the temple.” But in his action to turn the tables, Jesus brought attention to the seriousness of the temple itself – a house of prayer. In opting for the overturn metaphor, we are turning the table on what is presented to us. In Christ’s words, “Do not resist evil.” We’re not resisting it, rather giving it a chance to work for our goals.

Here’s what happened this week on our “Path to Armodoxy.” We learned that we were being sold “Christmas in July.” We did not resist what was given, rather we took the concept and presented Christmas as a Christian. We spoke about Jesus being born – Christmas – to a world that did not want to be bothered – no room at the inn. We connected to the story of the Down Syndrome children – Fr. Gregor’s Arev Children – in Armenia. We saw the difference one man can make in the lives of so many. In essence, we turned the tables on the advertisers and sold Christmas – Christian Love – in July, rather than the made-in-China products the others were peddling.

Armodoxy is not a rejection of this life, but an understanding to allow us to work in harmony within this life. Jesus did not reject the life of this world. He pointed to something higher that could be attained in the here-and-now. The stories about which we reflect are all stories from our lives today. They are stories to inspire us to work out our Christianity in this world.

Throughout our travels in Armenia, the ever-looming threat of another unexpected attack by the enemy was present. The blockade and destruction of a portion of Armenia, namely Artsakh, was a daily reality we confronted, and the people of Artsakh are enduring it. The temple-cleansing model seems appropriate and efficient, but is it realistic?  The overturning model is an approach which takes the reality and uses it to channel a better outcome. Just as we did, Christmas in July became a sale where the work of a good priest in Armenia and the Arev Children became the “sale items” for us.

We live in a world that has issues which some define as problems and others refer to them as challenges. Cleansing the Temple – cleaning everything out – sounds good, but is it possible? Remember, the phrase “cleansing the temple” is what people called what Jesus did. Jesus was more strategic. He turned over the tables and in so doing, the temple remained while the insides were cleaned up and set in order.

Let us pray, Lord Jesus, enter my holy temple and turn over the tables that have set up shop. Turn over misunderstanding to understanding, judgement to tolerance, and hatred to love. Guide and direct my actions to so that your will of peace and harmony become my goals. Amen.

Sincerity and Purity

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Armodoxy for Today: Sincerity & Purity

Throughout his ministry, Jesus associated with a wide variety of people. You could say that his circle of acquaintances – friends, associates – was diverse. Jesus was often criticized by the religious community of the day for this association with sinners. We read in scripture, (Luke 5) that the Pharisee rebuked Jesus for eating with sinners, to which Jesus responds, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

In fact, Jesus tolerated and associated with everyone. Most notably many remember that he forgave the adulterous (John 8) and included the tax collector (Matthew 9) in his inner circle. The tax collector, we should remember, was considered among the lowest of the low because he was a Jew collecting taxes for the oppressive Roman government. Yes, he accepted them all, but for one. The one person for whom Jesus showed contempt and criticized was the hypocrite. The hypocrite was the one who said one thing with his mouth and lived another way with his life. The Pharisees were the teachers and keepers of the law. They knew scriptures backwards and forward, they gave a tenth of their income to the Temple, but Jesus called them out as “blind guides.” (Matthew 23) He said, 27 “You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

For Jesus, sincerity and the pureness of heart is central to being in the Kingdom of God. His invitation to become as children (Matthew 18) was an invitation to sincerity and purity of heart.

(For the last couple of days we’ve been looking at the phenomena of Arev Children in Yerevan.) Fr. Gregor, who founded the Arev Children after his child was diagnosed with Down Syndrome, works with these children daily. He has formed a theatre, where the Arev Children perform by reciting poetry, playing music and dancing. But their greatest asset is their sincerity.

According to Fr. Gregor, “It is not possible to be next to the Arev-children and not learn from them to love and see only the good in people.”

As we spent time with the Arev children, Fr. Gregor’s words resonated with more and more meaning. The children are pure and sincere. They laugh, they smile and they hug, and there is nothing insincere about any of their expressions. Every bit of the love they share comes for the deepest depth of their soul.

In these children we see only good. We realize how superficial our lives have become because we identify people by what we observe on the outside. God, looks into the depth of our heart and sees what is real. We refer to a child as having Down Syndrome while God identifies them as the ones who love, laugh, smile and hug with complete sincerity. Fr. Gregor’s Arev Children give us a chance to see beauty that comes from the soul. We understand the value of sincerity and how it is missing in the world. We now understand the words of our Lord Jesus as we read in Matthew chapter 18:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.… See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”

Learn more about the Arev Children at their Facebook page