Lenten Journey Day 13 – Foundation

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Day 13: Foundation

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 13: Stir -Fried Asparagus 

Lenten Journey Day 13: Foundation

The Saturdays of Lent give us a chance to contemplate faith in action by celebrating the lives of the saints. As we learned last week, Orthodox tradition, and therefore the Armenian Church, looks to the saints as examples of living life with purpose and in the path of Christ. Saints are never worship. Each of them are people just like us. In their humanity, they were able to rise to the occasion, usually through selfless sacrifice, and they express their love in unique ways.
 
A group of saints are remembered as the Armenian Church remembers the Church Fathers of the Council of Constantinople. Modern day Istanbul was once named after the great Emperor Constantine who had convened the original council of Nicea, known for the formulation of the Creed which formalized and gave a foundation to the Christian Faith. During the early centuries, the exact definition of Christianity was under dispute.  Groups were raising questions about the Nature of Christ and Person of Jesus. The Council of Constantinople was called in the year 381 to address these issues. At this Council the definition of the Holy Spirit as preceding from the Father and being equal to the Father was articulated.
 
The early Church Councils gave structure to the Church and the Christian Faith. We are mindful that today we are in this Lenten Journey. While the history and the teachings of these Councils fill volumes and speak to generations, today we will look at the Councils by way of reflection. How do they talk to us today? What do they tell us that fills another footstep in our Lenten Journey?  Remembering the Councils reminds us that there needs to be a solid foundation on which to build life and that life itself has structure. Our life is made up of our actions and those actions are triggered and motivated by our faith. The stronger the foundation, the more structure we find in our life.
 
The Apostle James writes that faith without works is useless. So many times we are challenged to really put our faith into action. At those moments we realize that only by virtue of our actions does our faith have meaning. That is, our faith has value and structure by because of our actions. Conversely, works without faith lead to a nebulous understanding of our purpose within the entire framework of life.
 
This balancing act between faith and works is usually defined in logical terms. Now, let us understand the same by grasping it with our heart.  St. Neress Shnorhali in the 9th hour of his prayer, “In Confess with Faith” places the center of our thought in the heart and nowhere else. When we think and act according to the principles set forth in our brain, we are acting by reason, based on the wisdom that we have acquired through life. While this is very important in practical life, the Christian needs to excel in the area of dreaming – to dream of the impossible dreams.
 
When you think and act according to your heart, then and  there you understand that your movements and actions are based on the passions you have inside of you. This is the faith that can move mountains. Think with your heart and not with your brain when it comes to doing the impossible.
 
On Calvary Jesus did the impossible. He forgave of people who had betrayed and handed Him over to death. He forgave the people who were nailing Him to the tree. He forgave the generations of people that had ignored the pleas for peace, disregarded the expressions of love and were paying back love with hatred. Jesus did the impossible. He forgave with His Heart. Likewise, when we think of all the actions that are demanded of us as Christians, rise to the higher occasion. Push yourself, particularly during this Lenten Season, to look for those opportunities to find the truth that is beyond reason.  Pay back everyone with love. To offer kindness to those who are kind to you, is only human. To pay back evil and hatred with kindness and love is surely divine. In this state, we come to find that our actions are built on a solid and strong foundation.
 
Our Faith is built on the same Foundation on which the Early Church structured itself. The Foundation is Jesus Christ, that is Love incarnate. When faith is based on love, we  have the ability to open our heart to impossible possibilities. They are all around us.
 
God is calling you during this Lenten Season to do the impossible and build your actions on Christ. Pay back hatred with kindness and evil with love. If you think about it, whatever your goals may be you can reach those goals – you can make impossible goals possible – when you put love as the center piece of your heart, your life and all of the actions that you take.
 
Let us now offer a prayer from St. Nerses Shnorhali:(Dedicated to the Holy Spirit)
Spirit of God, true God, who descended into the Jordan and into the upper chamber and who enlightened me by baptism in the Holy font, I have sinned before Heaven and before You. Cleanse me with Your Divine Fire as You purified the Holy Apostle with fiery tongues. Have mercy upon me and a great sinner. Amen.

Self Elimination

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Next Step #768 – March 2, 2023 – Self eliminating jobs, e.g., psychologists, therapists, and comparisons in religious life. Lenten Primer. MLK after the Civil Rights battle and the Vietnam War. Defining moments in our lives and personal history. The boundaries for religion. History: when do we remember and when do we let go? The foundation within religion.
Lenten Primer
Martin Luther King Jr. & Vietnam War
1927 – 95 year after a picnic
Cover: Spy System Tracking in a Crowd, Envato
Armen Chakmakian
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for http://Epostle.net
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Lenten Journey Day 12 – Sin, Missing the Mark

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Day 12: Sin

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 12: Portobello Seitan Hash

Lenten Journey Day 12 – Sin
You have made it to the 12th day of Lent. Today is an opportunity to look back and say, Yes, I have done it and to look forward and say, Yes, it is possible to complete! Today is also a day not to get caught up in the foolish pride of accomplishment, and instead understanding that there is a purpose for the Journey. Lent is for the betterment of the self. By improving the self, we will be better able and equipped to affect others, society, our community and ultimately our world.

Today we will look at the problem of sin. Perhaps one of the most misunderstood concepts or themes in the Christian faith is sin. Our understanding, or misunderstanding, of sin stems from models that have been set up for us and have conditioned us since childhood. We associate sin with the bad or evil in our life because evil is punished, or at the very least, it produces unfavorable consequences. Even more, in religion, particularly in the traditional Judeo-Christian system of thought, the punishment for evil is augmented by concepts of condemnation and damnation. These models creep into our adult life and skew our perception of life. They distort our view of what life is what life can be.
The truth is, all of our actions  – not just evil, but everything we do – has consequences.  Actions are made up of emotional thoughts and they are acted out by physical means. Newton’s laws of motion tell us that to every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. This applies to the physical world as well as the spiritual world.
So let’s begin by saying that all evil is sin, but not all sin is evil.
Sin means missing the mark. Imagine a large target and in this target is the center circle. That large black circle is called the bull’s eye. Now imagine a bow and arrow in your hands. You pull back on the bow and let the arrow go. The arrow travels through space, through time and eventually it hits its destination. You have aimed for the bull’s eye, you have aimed for perfection, but somehow it didn’t make it. You missed the mark. You may hit quite a ways off of the mark, you might have hit close by. In fact, you may not have hit the target at all! No matter what the case –close or far from the bull’s eye – you  missed the mark! That’s sin. Close or far from the targeted area, it’s a sin. Sin is sin. You aimed for perfection but came short of it. You missed the mark.
Each of us strives for perfection. We all want to hit that mark, we want the best for ourselves, for our families, for our children; but we journey through space and time, much like the arrow and are influenced by many factors including the wind, freak occurrences, lack of focus or unnoticed obstacles, and we do not hit the mark.
When we hit elsewhere, what is our reaction? We go back and try again. We pull the arrow out, put it on the bow one more time and shoot again. In our lives we have opportunities to recreate ourselves and strive for the perfection no matter how many times we miss the goal. When we fail it doesn’t mean anything more than that we are human.
Let’s imagine that same bow and arrow with God being the Archer. Can you imagine what we would see? Every time that God pulls and lets go of the arrow, the arrow hits the bulls eye. It hits the center each and every time. That’s perfection. Now imagine you or I coming and standing in the same spot that God stood. We try, but miss the target. Does that mean we are evil? No. It simply means we are bad shots. It means we hit the wrong place and so we go back and we try again.
With this basic understanding of sin we can understand ourselves, and humanity, not as evil, wicked or worthy of damnation. Rather, we are striving for perfection and fall short. We are in sin.
Life gives us an opportunity try again. Certainly this Lenten Journey is an opportunity to give us a chance to look at the marks that we have missed. We must first pull out the arrows and try again, to fix relationships that have gone sour, to fix perceptions and prejudices, to try again at failed attempts of business, to improve our outlook and attitude, to try again at love. By understanding the nature of sin in this manner, we understand that the improvement we make on our self will have ramifications on the world we live in and the people we touch.
Next week we will take a closer look at what we call the “7 deadly sins” but as a prelude to that I wish to offer you a small little excerpt from a Cherokee diary. Interestingly enough, you will find an lesson that is appropriate for today.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, deception, false pride, superiority and ego. The other wolf is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, righteousness, compassion and faith.”  
The grandson thought about it for a moment and replied, “But Grandfather, which one wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Let us pray the prayer of St. Nerses Shnorhali:
Searcher of secrets I have sinned against you willingly and unwillingly, knowingly and unknowingly, grant me, a great sinner forgiveness for since I was born of the holy font until this day I have sinned before you, by my senses and all the members of my body. Have mercy upon your creatures and upon me a great sinner. Amen  (I Confess with Faith 8/24)

Lenten Journey, Day 11: More Important than God

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Day 11: More Important than God

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 11: Roasted Potato Fans!

Lenten Journey Day 11 – More Important than God
The eleventh day of Lent is a special one in the journey. Eleven is the first and only prime number of equal proportions. It reminds us of the delicate balance between body, soul and mind. It reminds us of the uniqueness of the primes as well as the uniqueness of our lives. Finding that balance in our lives, of course, is one of the reasons we are taking this journey.

Today’s message comes to us from the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 5. Here Jesus is addressing a large crowd in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. In the Sermon Jesus outlines a way of life and living. His message is very clear. He speaks of our relationships with one another. In so doing, he mentions that there is something more important than God.
Matthew 5:21, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said of men of old, you shall not kill and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment, but I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment and whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council and whoever says you fool shall be liable to the Hell of fire.”
Christianity is really a very difficult religion to practice, in fact it has been argued that Christianity has never really been practiced because of statements such as what we read. Jesus tells us that it is not enough to say that murder is bad, but when you have evil in your heart, when you harbor that anger towards your brother, you are committing those acts of evil, those acts of murder. He is saying, “If you have anger and act upon that anger and insult your brother, or if you are angry and talk down to your sister you are already committing murder,”
If we’d like to wipe out hatred and anger from our life, then we have to pay attention to this message. It is so necessary to understanding the revolution Jesus brought. And now, if we read further, we find something even more important. In fact, it’s what Jesus says is even more important than God! As hard as that might be to believe, the Holy Scriptures points to Jesus’ words, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you leave your gift, leave your offering, and go! First be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift.”
Reconciling with our brothers! Jesus is telling us it is more important than the worship of God, that is, the celebration of God. Leave your gifts at the altar. Leave God! Go reconcile with your brother and then come back to the altar! He demands that we love one another. To be able to love others is the expression that God demands of us. In that love we begin to understand the unique relationship between us and our heavenly Father.
The Christian message is about people. It’s about harmony and that peaceful existence comes about when we become part of the solution. It’s not about looking up to heaven, but reaching out to one another here on Earth. If there is going to be harmony in our lives, if there is going to be peace in this world, it’s not because I am offering a prayer upwards, but because I am offering a prayer sideways. I am reaching out to my brothers and my sisters and I am going to be the vehicle of love. I’m going to be the one who reaches out and becomes that means of reconciliation. True peace, true harmony, true existence is about us loving with one another.
“You cannot say,” say’s the evangelist John, “that you love God who you do not see when first you do not love the brother who you do see.” It is so critical in the life of the Christian that we understand this very clearly and plainly. God is Love. So let’s repeat that, “You cannot say that you love God who you do not see when first you do not love the brother that you do see.”
Our first obligation is to love one another. By this Jesus tells us we become Christian. By loving, people will know that we are truly His children.
On this eleventh day of Lent as we find harmony and balance, as body soul and mind come together, keep in mind where God wants us to be. The relationships that need to be nurtured, that need to be mended in our lives, this is a perfect time take action on them. The Lenten period is some time to go out and reach out sideways, not only vertically with God, but horizontally with God inside each of us. Reach out to the people around you to say that yes I have faltered, I have sinned. We all make mistakes, but I’m willing to rise above that imperfection and become a child of God.  
By loving one another, put away old habits and problems. Begin each day as a new creation and find that new creation in the loved ones all around me.
Let us conclude with the prayer of St. Nerses Shnorhali:

Uncreated Essence I have sinned against you in mind, soul and body. Do not remember my former sins, for the sake of Your Holy name, have mercy upon your creatures and upon me a great sinner. Amen (I Confess with Faith 6/24)

Lenten Journey Day 10 – Forgiveness

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Day 10: Forgiveness

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 10: Red Cabbage Slaw

Lenten Journey Day 10 – Forgiveness

Jesus instructs us to pray the “Our Father” prayer. We say, “Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy name…” Along with the request to give us this day our daily bread, there is another request that is uniquely qualified. That is, the fulfillment of the request is dependent on our actions.

We pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This is a conditional request. Very plainly, we are saying that forgiveness from God is dependent on our willingness to forgive. Additionally, we ask for forgiveness by the same standard by which we forgive. “Forgive us our trespasses aswe forgive those who trespass against up.”
In the “Our Father,” (sometimes referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer”), Jesus has us focus on many different concepts… “Thy kingdom come thy will be done.” Or, regarding temptation, “Deliver us from evil.” Now consider this, that all of the ideas that he introduces in the prayer – heaven, God’s Will, His Holy name, deliverance from evil, temptation, and so on – and consider the complexities involved in these concepts, there is only one area of the prayer that he amplifies. After teaching the prayer (Matthew 6) Jesus continues his instruction about forgiveness. He says, “For if you forgive men of their trespasses your heavenly Father also will forgive you, but if you do not forgive men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.” It is conditional. It is the one request we make of God on which there is a condition – put upon us by God (by virtue of Jesus’ instruction) and confirmed by us (by virtue of us reciting the prayer). What we are saying is that I expect to be forgiven by the same standard by which I forgive others.  This is a rather difficult one to understand and requires a more mature approach to our faith. In fact, we’ve been taught that God gives, God gives abundantly. We’ve been taught that God forgives. We’ve forgotten, however, that His forgiveness is dependent on our forgiving all those around us as well as forgiving ourselves.
Sometimes the word “debt” is used in place of the word “trespasses” and it offers a better metaphor for understanding the dynamics of forgiveness.  “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors…”  Let’s move from the spiritual to the secular. For the sake of this example let us think of it in terms of banking. Who can forgive a debt? Only the one who holds the note. Since the bank holds the note, only the bank can forgive the debt. How?
There are two ways of wiping the slate clean. Either, you have to pay off the debt (we call that a “mortgage” or a “ransom”) or the bank decides on different terms – renegotiating, adjusting, or completely forgiving.  That’s what God has done with us. God says, I hold the note on life. You are indebted to me for this beautiful thing that you have and enjoy. You have the smile of your children, the air that you breathe, the mountains around you and the spray of the seas. You owe Me! But I know it seems overwhelming and you feel you can’t pay Me back. So, I will work out a payment schedule so that you can pay off your debt. Here’s the deal: Love people.  Forgive people. That’s it. Love each other and We’ll call it even.
That’s it.
How will God forgive us our sins? By the same standard we use on other people. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” We’re driving the bargain. If we forgive, God forgives.  If we do not forgive others neither will He forgive us. Thus, we begin to understand that if we really want peace and if we want harmony, if we want to find the happiness in life, it is dependent on us and does not come about from some outside force. Many times, we think of peace coming from above. We pray for peace, failing to understand that real peace begins with each and every one us resolving to living in harmony.
God has already given us all of the ingredients for peace.  The recipe for that harmony is in the breath that we take. It is a blessing from God. And all of God’s blessings are the ingredients for peace. That includes the love that we see in the eyes of our children, the majesty of the mountains, the delicate nature of a flower or the crashing waves at the ocean. They all signal the presence of something Great, Awesome and Creative. That tells us that everything has been given to us. All of the universe is there to be enjoyed and to exist with in harmony. Therefore, the only direction where we must look for love and for peace is within each other. We need to reconcile with brothers and sisters, share the love that God has given. And this road to harmony and reconciliation begins by forgiving.
During the Lenten journey we’ve been asked to inventory different aspects of our life. Today we are asked to look at the ones that have hurt us. Who are they? Remember to look within and include yourself if necessary. Once identified, begin to forgive. Forgive yourself. Forgive others their trespasses, now with the certainty that once we do so, God has forgiven us.
Let us pray the prayer of St. Nerses Shnorhali:
Beholder of all I have sinned against you in thought word and deed erase the record of my offenses and write my name in the book of life. Have mercy upon your creatures and upon me a great sinner. (I Confess with Faith 7/24)
 
To learn more about Forgiveness visit us at http://7×77.org

Lenten Journey Day 9 – Listening

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Day 9: Listening

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 9: Stuffed Egglplants

Lenten Journey Day 9 – Listening

Day 9 is a turning point in your Lenten Journey. Many of the toxins in your system have been eliminated by this point. Be sure to nourish your organs with plenty of water.

Day 9 is also an appropriate time to begin taking inventory of the your Lenten Journey itself. Up until now, we have been inventorying habits, emotions, relationships and those things related to the journey. Now turn your attention to the journey itself – to these days we have spent together. Even though we are still toward the beginning of the journey we are realizing that it is a trip that will change us powerfully. Inventorying will create a map of the journey and remind you of the details, of the turns and twists in the road.
As we reflect on the Lenten Journey, we find that the changes we experiencing, physically, emotionally and in our relationships are good changes. They are patterns and habits that we’d like to carry with us beyond the 40 day period of Lent.
Because we know there is light at the end of the tunnel, we know this journey has a purpose and a goal. The destination is the goal, but we’re beginning to figure out that this Lenten journey prescribed to us by our forefathers, is not about a 40 day expedition. Rather, it is about a lifetime of being connected with the One, with the Ultimate which brings us happiness, peace and the true meaning of life.
The Psalmist reminds us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” In that stillness our hearing abilities are sharpened. In that stillness we hear sounds with our ears and also with our hearts.
Hearing with your heart? What does that mean? Today, you might understand it only as a possibility, but it’s exactly for that reason that I ask you take a Lenten inventory. Just think how strange “listening with your heart” would have sounded ten days ago. But today you understand that it is a possibility. You understand that there is a possibility to see with your heart and to sense with your heart. You know that the heart is not merely a pump or a mechanical device, but it is something which has receiving and giving capabilities. The heart is a receptor, it responds to outside stimuli and at the same time it is provider, that is, a place from which our feelings sprout.
Hearing from the heart, implies listening. Begin with the receptor called the ear. Do we listen? Do we listen enough? Do we listen too much? Are there things that we should not listen to? What about times to listen? Are there times when we should shut down and not listen to anything? And in shutting down, will that allow the soul or the heart to listen?
In the Gospels we read of Jesus the incredible orator. He always has the right words. He is never at a loss for words in and at any occasion. He is always speaking to the times and events. He is bringing people together, charismatically drawing them to his message of love, his message of hope and his message of faith.  He is never at a loss for words and even finds words where no one could have been imaged.
In the Gospel of John, Nicodemus says to Jesus, “Teacher, we know you are sent from God because no one can do the things that you do unless God is with him.”  What a nice statement. You or I would have either blushed or thanked Nicodemus for the compliment. But Jesus, rather than acknowledging the compliment or thanking him, turns it around. He pulls, from what may seem like nowhere, the reply, “Unless one is born from above – born again – he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3) Jesus heard with his heart and answered accordingly. Nicodemus’ statement was not one for the ear, but had underlying meaning which Jesus perceived with his heart.
Jesus was never at a loss for words. In fact, the people of the time marveled and acknowledged that no one had ever spoken the way he had.  And when we listen from the heart, we too will marvel that no one can capture us the way Christ can.
Yet, when the time came when it was necessary for Jesus to speak, he didn’t. He shut down. During his trial, Jesus is silent. The Evangelist Matthew writes, “… he gave no answer, not even to a single charge.” (27:14).
There are times to listen, times to talk, times when we shouldn’t talk, and times when we should not listen. Much of the difficulty that we endure in life is because we place importance on things that do not matter. We are hurt by words that should not matter in our lives. An insult or a put-down can devastate us, but only if we allow it.
Jesus, standing in front of his accusers, heard many things with his ears. But he was listening with his heart, and that type of listening allowed him to understandthe people around him.  He looked at his accusers and saw his children. Likewise, when we listen with our heart, we begin to understand others.
Although we aren’t God and find it very difficult to stand in the way of these insults, through understanding we will not allow those verbal abuses and hurtful cursing to devastate us, nor will we allow them to destroy us. We understand those sounds as coming from places where there is no harmony. And in so doing we pray, for those who persecute us, and for those who are out of harmony. We pray that they may find the fullness of God, the love that He gives each of us, that same love that is in our heart.  
We pray the prayer of St. Nersess Shnorhali,
O Christ, True Light, make my soul worthy to behold with joy the light of Your glory, in that day when You call me and to rest in the hope of good things in the mansions of the just until the day of Your glorious coming. Have mercy upon Your Creatures and upon me, a great sinner. (I Confess with Faith 21/24)

Lenten Journey Day 8 – Judgment

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Day 8: Judgment

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 8: Almond French Toast

 
As we begin the second week of the Lenten Season we explore our emotions and the actions they produce. We begin this week by looking at the instruction pertaining to judgment given to us by Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. We read Jesus’ words,
Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others you will be judged. And with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye. How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7)
In this very short passage we find a very powerful message which is instructional for life. “Do not judge,” says Jesus. In that instruction we come to understand God’s vantage point. How does God view each of us as a collective, that is, as His children inhabiting this planet?
In the eyes of God there are no differences between people. There are no races to differentiate people. We are all His children. If you think about it for a moment, you would understand the saying that all wars are considered to be civil wars, in the eyes of God. We are all His children, therefore and assault on anyone is an assault on God’s creation.
Jesus says do not judge because on the playing field we are all equals.  There is no one to judge another. Jesus goes on to remind us that God makes the sun shine down on the good and the bad because He does not differentiate between the two.  Therefore, if God doesn’t differentiate between people, who are we to dare to presume that we are better than anyone else? That is why He says look first within, look at the damages you have in your own life, remove that so that clearly you can see the greater picture. After all, that is exactly the purpose of Lent! It’s time – 40 days – where we are looking to remove those planks from our eyes, so we can see the wonders in life. We are pulling back the curtain so that we can see the good of God’s creation all around us.  Wouldn’t it be beautiful to look into the eyes of another human being and see the reflection of God? What if we could look deep into the soul of another and truly see the presence of God? Do you want to get to that point? Well, first remove the plank from your own eye, so you can clearly see the wonders all around you.
Last week, we had an instruction on prayer. Jesus teaches us the “Our Father” We pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be they name…”  The one request that we make of our Heavenly Father in this prayer is that he forgive us our sins. How? By the same measure with which we forgive others.  We say, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” In other words, by thatsame standard we will be judged. As we read today, Jesus says not to judge. Be careful! By the same standard we judge others, we will be judged.
Indeed, today’s lesson is a simple one, yet a difficult one to actualize. But that’s what Lent is about, simple yet difficult. Take this opportunity to look at your relationships, with loved ones, spouses, children and parents. Look at relationships you have with friends, coworkers, acquaintances and people that you would like to know. Look at the judgments you make and see how artificial they are. Look at your prejudices – pre-judgments – that you make every day. We all make judgments. It doesn’t mean we’re bad people, it just means we are human. But in that humanity, take a lesson from Jesus Christ. You can find love, and that love is no farther than the people all around you. Look at the difficulties – those “planks” – that distort our perception and prevent us from seeing the beauty that is all around us.
Judge not lest you be judged. Remove the plank out of your own eye… What you will find is that you won’t be able to see the speck in your brother’s eyes. Instead, you will only see the presence of God.
Let us pray the prayers of St. Nersess Shorhali:
 Righteous Judge, when You come in the glory of the Father to judge the living and the dead, enter not into judgment with Your servant, but deliver me from the eternal fire, and make me worthy to hear the blissful call of the just to Your heavenly kingdom. Have mercy upon Your Creatures and upon me, a great sinner. (I confess with faith #22/24)

Lenten Journey Day 7 – Expulsion

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“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”  ~Jesus (Matthew 5)

Lenten Recipe

Recipe : Mushroom Ragu

Unique to the Armenian church is the practices of naming each Sunday of Lent with a descriptive and special name. This Sunday is called the Sunday of Expulsion. We are reminded of how sin enters into our life and prevents us from experiencing the best of life – Paradise – in God’s fullness.
When you enter an Armenian church during Lent, you immediately notice the huge curtain draped across the altar area. The curtain is there to remind us of sin, because sin, just like the curtain, prevents us from seeing the beauty of God.
Sin is a normal part of life. It literally means, “missing the mark.” In archery, you aim your arrow at the bull’s eye. When it misses the mark, the arrow is sinning. Likewise, we are called to enjoy Paradise – the bull’s eye. We fall short from reaching that mark because of our imperfections.  Sins are the obstacles that prevent us from experiencing, the fullness God – a life full of love, peace and happiness.
Sin is avoidable but is very much a part of life. Do not make the mistake of believing that because sin is in your life that paradise is lost or cannot be attained. Sin is merely a reminder that we are human, that we are not God. Only God is without sin because by definition God is love and love cannot be sin. Love cannot be that barrier between us and paradise. Love is pure. Therefore, if sin is an obstacle, it can be overcome.
Expulsion Sunday is a reminder that we were created in and for paradise.  God gives us paradise and he wants us to be in complete union with His awesome love. In that paradise, much like the myth of Adam & Eve, we choose to go against His will. In other words we seek the fruit of knowledge of good and evil to become like God.
God gives us one set of instructions and we, of our own free will, opt for and choose another. God tells us love one another, and we say not everyone. God tells us care for one another and we say only for those who give us something in return. God says love your neighbors as you love yourself and we build bombs, stock pile weapons and destroy towns, villages and countries. God says value the family and we say I will bring the work home, to take time away from the family. God says, value life but we say the dollar buys us more. God says enjoy your life and we define that enjoyment by all kinds of abuses to our body and our life style. God says, take care of this world and we say who cares, and go about cutting down the rain forests and polluting the environment. God says worship me and we say I have better things to do. God says know me and we say there’s no profit in it.
The sin of humankind is that we exert our will over the will of God, and so we distance ourselves from God and paradise. Sin causes the divide, the separation from God. Sin is the curtain that prevents us from looking beyond and seeing the beauty on the other side.  
During the Lenten season we have this opportunity to look within, to reflect and make improvements on our life. Taking inventory is important and today we take inventory of the sins in our life. If you break them down you will find that each and every one of them are related to us exerting our will, in a way that is out of sync with God’s will. Remember the lesson of prayer and remember to listen to the voice calling within. Listen for the Will that is speaking to you. You will find it no further than the love that He has placed in your heart. That is the love which can conquer all of the difficulties, including the greatest sins that are before you.
Let us now pray the prayer of St. Nerses Shnorhali:
Spirit of God, true God, who descended into the Gordan, and into the upper chamber and who enlightened me by baptism in the Holy font. I have sinned against heaven and before You. Cleanse me with your divine fire as you purified the Holy apostles with fiery tongues.
Have mercy upon your creatures and upon me, a great sinner. Amen. (I confess with Faith 5/24)
Music: Lifebeats, Jethro Tull 1973

Lenten Journey Day 6 – Facilitating the Vision

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Day 6: Facilitating the Vision

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 6: Roasted Veggies

Saints are remembered on the Church calendar during the Lenten Season, as they are throughout the year. On the first Saturday of Lent this year the Church remembers St. Theodore the Warrior, a personality from the 4th Century.
In Orthodox tradition we look to the saints as examples of living life with purpose and in the path of Christ. Saints are never worshiped. Each of them are people just like us. In their humanity, they were able to rise to the occasion, usually through selfless sacrifice, and express their love in unique ways. One such saint that the Church remembers is St. Sahag Barthev. He was a saint who used his God given talents and spread the Gospel of love and hope to the world.
St. Sahag lived in the 5th century. His story begins a hundred years yearly, when the Armenian people accepted Christianity in 301AD. Immediately, the move to educate the people in the ways of Christ was underway. Quickly it became obvious that first and foremost in the education of the people, it was necessary to translate the Holy Scriptures into Armenian. An Armenian monk by the name of Mesrobe (St. Mesrobe Mashdots)  had the vision to invent an Armenian alphabet with the sole purpose of bringing the Christian message to his people. He found a partner in making that vision a reality in the person of the Chief Bishop, or Catholicos, Sahag Barthev. As the head of the Armenian Church, St. Sahag commissioned and underwrote the project. It was in 431 AD that the translation of Bible into Armenian was completed.
In Armenian Orthodox tradition, the Bible is precious and sacred that is has a unique name. It is called the Breath of God, or Asdvadzashoonch.  The vision became a reality. The Armenian people were able to read and understand scriptures in their native language.
Each and every one of us has our own dreams. We have our own visions of what our life and communities should be. We dream of goals for our family and ourselves. Each of us walking through the Lenten Journey should seize the opportunity to inventory those dreams. During Lent we have reviewed and altered our diet and inspected our relationships. Today, we look at our dreams closely. What dreams do we have for ourselves, as well as our families and our communities? What dreams to our family and friends have that can use our support? Today’s lesson is about turning dreams into reality and to freely give the encouragement and support that you possess to others. Mesrobe Mashdotz realizing he could not actualize his dream alone, plugged into a larger community of people who shared his vision. Sahag Barthev realizing he had a desire to do good, needed to find the means by which to make his dream come true. Together, they make the dream come true.
Let us find strength in our relationships with family and friends. Find people who share your same vision. Encourage the little steps others take to make the big strides, and eventually the goal, possible. And now push yourself to think bigger…
As we heighten our prayer life during Lent and as we turn inward in meditation, let us keep in mind that Jesus also has a dream. It is a dream for peace. His dream involves love, kindness and charity to all of His children. He’s counting on us to be the Sahag Barthev that will encourage and support His Dream. He looks to us, His Holy body the Church, to become the facilitators, the means by which peace can come. We become the arms, the legs and the mouth to do His work here in this world.
Let us pray the prayer of St. Nerses Shnorhali:
Oh Jesus, Wisdom of the Father, Grant me wisdom so that I may think, speak and do that which is good in your sight. Save me from evil thoughts, words and deeds. Have mercy on your creatures and upon me a great sinner. (I Confess with Faith 11/24)

Lenten Journey Day 5 – Intense Fasting

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Day 5: Intense Fasting

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 5: Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries and Pecans!

 
As we approach the end of our first week in Lent, remind yourself that your accomplishments as well as your failures are behind you.  If you are fasting, and your prayer and giving cycles have increased, then these are accomplishments which should encourage you to continue and be even stronger in the weeks to come. If you have strayed from your goals, then regard this time as a catalyst for change. Challenge yourself to re-focus and be determined to take on the next few weeks with optimism.
Today we will talk about intense fasting, that is, fasting beyond food. In scripture we read a passage from the Gospel of St. Luke which says, “Jesus called the crowd to Him and said to them, ‘Listen and understand it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.’”
The message here is a strong one. So many times, and especially during the Lenten period, we are consumed with all of the laws and the regulations of life, the dos and don’ts of life. Do abstain from meat. Don’t drink milk. etc. We spend time asking the wrong questions: Do we abstain from this type of meat? Or that type of food? Rather than the rules and regulations, we should investigate the reasons for those rules. That is, we should be navigating ourselves to the true true intention of the Lenten period.
Lent, as we have learned, is a time to simplify, to bring it down to the bare basics, to find out what is necessary to live. We abstain from certain foods – meat and animal products – to help us simplify. Today we will crank it up a notch as we start to abstain from the bigger foods. We will focus on the things that defile us, or as Jesus says, “… not what goes into our system but what goes out of our system.”
What are those things that come out of our system and are they defiling us? Are there words, are there emotions that are destroying us, that are literally killing us and the people around us? I am talking about those expressions of anger, those expressions of hatred. How about discouragement and discontent? These are all emotions that tear us apart. They rip apart the relationships from people that we love. They defile us. They pollute our systems and our lives. They prevent us from becoming all that we can and should be.
As we know, the words that we speak can destroy us. There is an expression among Armenians that the wound created by a sword will heal, but the wound caused by the tongue never heals.
Think about the words that you have used in haste, perhaps in anger. Think about those expressions that have divided you from friends, or perhaps from family. Some words have even destroyed others, Willingly or maybe unwillingly, those small words have come out of your mouth and you have hurt others. Unfortunately,  more often than not, you end up hurting the ones you love most. Perhaps it’s because we think that those who love us will tolerance us, put up with us. Whatever the case or the reason, when we hurt others, we destroy relationships and in so doing, we destroy our relationship with God.
In fact in the Gospel of Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus specifically makes this point, “You have heard that you shall not murder, but  I tell you if you have anger toward your brother you are guilty of that murder!” That’s it! Christ tells us in no uncertain terms that there is no place in the life of a Christian for anger, for hatred, for  divisive conversations, and even the thoughts that are the basis for those actions. 
Now, when you rid yourself of the evil thoughts which lead to the evil actions, you must replace them with the only thought powerful enough to keep those thoughts away. That power comes from love. Love is the one ingredient of life that can overcome those thoughts and words that divide and devastate us.
Without love, what meaning or what purpose can our existence have? Love is the necessary component of life. While it is a natural element of our existence, that is, it exists in us all, nevertheless, it needs to be cultivated and nurtured. During this Lenten period we have a golden opportunity to do exactly that. By cultivating and nurturing the feelings of love in our life, we build the necessary habit to overcome the difficulties of life beyond this period of Lent. While abstinence and restrictions are one part of the Lenten journey, the greater task for the believer is to exercise love and to be in harmony family, friends, with nature, with surroundings, the world and ultimately, all of the universe, namely God. 
Let us pray:
All provident Lord place your holy fear as a guard before my eyes, so they may not look lustfully, before my ears so they may not delight in hearing evil words, before my mouth so it may not speak any falsehoods, before my heart so that it may not think evil, before my hands so that they may not do injustice, before my feet that they may not walk in the paths of injustice. But so direct them that they may always be according to all your commandments. Have mercy upon your creatures and upon me a great sinner. Amen. (St. Nersess Shnorhali’s Havadov Khosdovanim 9/24)