The Great Banquet Parable (Luke 14:12-24) is the topic of this week’s Advent Journey. Jesus presents a scenario where a man invites friends and relatives to participate in a huge banquet he has organized. One-by-one the invitees come up with excuses. In response, the organizer of the dinner party goes ahead and extends to the invitation to the those who are considered “outcasts” – to the poor, the lame, the maimed and the blind. And still yet, he invites everyone from the four corners of his town to participate in the banquet.
In the time of Jesus, and still today, there was a general feeling that there are people that are “chosen” by God. This parable is a simple way of expressing a reality at the time, that Jesus, the Banquet, had come and people who were invited, that is the “chosen ones” found excuses to stay away. Instead, the banquet – the goodness the “the prize” which was assumed to be limited to a small group was accessible to everyone. The invitation was to all.
Often in religious circles, ego dominates our understanding of salvation to the point that we forget that life and the consequences of life – eternal life – are gifts from God. In the time of Jesus there were people who were certain that God and His Kingdom were accessible only to them. It’s a type of elitism that Jesus spoke against, and in fact, his outright expression might have even been the reason for his execution. This elitism could be delineated on along ethnic lines, socio-economic grounds, or even around beliefs. In other words, there are those who feel that unless you belong to a particular tribe, ethnic group, class, understanding, or even religion, you cannot access the fullness of God.
One of the tenants of Armodoxy is that we understand that God is God and we are people, that is, He is the Creator and we are the creation. If God is Father of all then we are brothers and sisters with everyone. In matters of life, whether here in earth or in heaven, the final word belongs to the Author of Life, God. For this reason, we shy away from proclamations such as “I am saved.” Salvation is the decision of God and Christ is very clear about us following, rather than setting standards and degrees of justification. To the Parable, Christ tells us those who think they are invited to the banquet, in the end, are left out with their places being taken by people they never would have assumed would be let in.
In the sight of God, there is no ethnicity, boundaries, or borders, rather we are all his children. For this reason, Francois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon once said, “All wars are civil wars because all men are brothers…”
The Great Banquet Parable teaches us that all are invited to be part of God’s banquet and each of us can accept or reject the invite. It’s based on that acceptance or rejection that the banquet is filled. Tomorrow, we’ll look deeper into acceptance and rejection of the invite. I look forward to having you join us on this Advent Journey through Armodoxy.
This week of Advent is dedicated to a parable offered by our Lord and recorded by St. Luke (chapter 14:12-24).
Suppose you wanted to celebrate your daughter’s birthday with a party on 20th of the month. You send out invites to your relatives, friends and even neighbors. “Help us celebrate our daughter’s birthday” says the invite. “On the 20th at 5PM, in our backyard, join us for a bar-b-que,” finishes off the invite. You send them off and start receiving responses: the first one says, “I’m sorry, I can’t make it on the 20th can you change the date to the 19th?” Another says, “I don’t like bar-b-que, too bad you’re not serving baked foods. I won’t be coming.” The next one complains that the outdoors, your backyard, is too cold. “I wish you had the event in a hall. I won’t be attending.”
Such a scenario would be humorous at the least, and downright rude on the courtesy scale. Jesus shares the following parable with us. His intention was not to be humorous, nor to get a rise out of us. Instead, he speaks of the lessons that is part of our Advent Journey on the road to Christmas through Armodoxy.
Jesus said, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”
This story, the Parable of the Great Banquet, has many dimensions to it. It speaks of the invitation to Christianity and Christian living in particular and talks about the call to humanity, to living in harmony with and within our world, in general. It points to the essence and the purpose of Christmas. For this reason the Armenian Church has prescribed this parable as the theme of this week in Advent.
We have heard the parable. We dive into to tomorrow, as we continue our Advent Journey. I look forward to having you join us.
Let us pray, Heavenly Father, you have invited me to our Kingdom. From the day of my baptism from the holy font until today, I have tried to follow your ways. Sometimes I wonder off the path, and I find excuses to justify my missteps. Today, I put those excuses to one side and I look to you to keep my feet on the path you have opened for me. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Daily-Message-Advent-Cover.jpg12751650Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2022-12-12 01:00:092022-12-11 23:01:33Invite to the Banquet
We have dedicated this week of Advent to exploring theodicies, that is, what does it mean to believe in a good and just God, especially in the face of evil. We were prompted by the lesson of the week from Luke 13.
Today, we apply theodicy and decipher a practical theodicy. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is within you.” We begin to understand ourselves as part of a process, part of God’s royal family, and in so doing we begin to understand that the kingdom is not about prestige and honor but about accepting a responsibility of being human and created in the image of God. In other word, solutions that are found outside of us, reduce or nullify a very important component of our humanity, namely the ability to interact and share in the love is God. We pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is more than a wish, it is the understanding that we are the inhabitants of earth and therefore, if His will is to be done, it is with our participation.
The world around us is filled with the much pain, and suffering is everywhere. The evil we experience in life has many causes, some brought about by people, others by life circumstances. The Christian is called to be Christlike. Jesus came across people who were suffering from illness as well as those in deep pain over losses brought about by tragedies in life. He reached out, comforted, healed and restored. We would like to do the same, of course, but are not confident of our ability to do so because we are overwhelmed with the magnitude of evil in our lives.
Reach out. Comfort. Heal. Restore.
Applied theodicy is about applying what we have learned as an answer to evil. Before Jesus healed and restored, he reached out and comforted. Reaching out is the first step a Christian is called to do, and each of us is capable to doing so.
During the Advent Season, we have a very special evening dedicated to the remembrance of one of the greatest evils, namely the death of children. On the second Sunday in December, we gather and remember those who have passed before their time to live. “Children’s Memorial Day” is an opportunity to come together, offer ourselves, and bring semblance in a time of disaster. For a parent that has lost a child, whether to illness or to accident, comforting them may seem impossible, so then begin with the first step, reach out. It is simple action that mimics the actions of our Lord. He reached out. Comfort will follow and begin to understand how God uses people, in this case you, to bring about healing and restoration. You begin to understand that indeed the Kingdom of God is within you, and as a member of that Kingdom you are honored with responsibility.
Jesus says, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
We are only half-way through Advent, and already the pieces are coming together. Each day builds on the lessons of the previous day. To be Christlike is to accept responsibility to overcome the hardships, the evil, of this world.
We pray, the words taught to us by Christ, “Our Father who is in heaven, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory. Amen.”
We continue our Advent Journey next time and I look forward to doing so with you.
On this date the earth shook in the town of Spitak, Armenia. The year was 1988, the Soviet Union was still intact. It’s president, Michael Gorbachev was visiting the United States, engaging in high level talks with then President Ronald Reagan promoting Glasnost and Perestroika. He cut his trip short and returned home and to Armenia to assess the damages. Anywhere from 25,000 – 50,000 people were presumed dead and thousand more injured.
At the time I was serving at the Armenian Church in Cupertino, California. We immediately went into disaster aid mode and became the collection center for humanitarian aid in the Bay Area, shipping much needed medical supplies and survival goods and services on a weekly basis.
The season was Advent. Christmas was approaching, but everyone was so overwhelmed by the enormity of the disaster that normal celebrations and gift giving was severely curtailed. Yet, on January 6, we would be celebrating Christmas – the joy of the Christ Child coming into the world – and greeting one another, “Christ is revealed among us!”
I was approached by the San Jose Mercury News to write a piece focusing on my sermon for Christmas: “God is Revealed, but where was He when we needed Him?” Here then, is what I offered and was printed January 5, 1989:
One of the most difficult questions asked of a priest is the question of evil. The problem is this: If God is good, and God is all powerful, why is there evil in the world? Since evil is a reality in this world, then it follows that either God is not all-powerful, or God does not will the good, or God does not exist. The search for an answer is more troubling when evil occurs in the form of a natural disaster, such as the Armenian earthquake. It seems that there is no one to blame but God.
This year, on January 6th the Armenian Church will celebrate Theophany (sometimes called Armenian Christmas). More than Christmas, we celebrate the Revelation of God to the world through His Son, Jesus Christ. Theophany is one of the major feast days of the Church. Far from a feast, this year will be different for Armenians. Still fresh in our minds is the tragedy of December 7, 1988 when we lost over 50,000 people to a natural disaster. Although this number is great by any standard, it is particularly significant for a small group of people such as the Armenians because it represents about 1% of the total world population of Armenians and approximately 2% of the population in Armenia. In comparison, if an earthquake in the United States killed 2% of the population, we would lose five million people! One third of Armenia was leveled. Imagine one third of the United States leveled – from the Rocky Mountains to the Western coast!
When facing such devastation, it is only natural to ask why? Even more, why did not God spare the good Armenian people? Why did He not intervene? Why the Armenian people? The same ones who were the first to accept Christianity, the ones who have so piously observed the faith for centuries, the ones who defended the faith to death, why them? When the history of a people, such as the Armenian’s, is plagued by devastation and tragedy, the questioning goes deeper: Why believe in a God who cannot save us from these dangers? I am confronted with questions such as these almost daily.
I also hear some answers. Some feel God has abandoned the Armenians for some divine purpose and plan. Even some doomsday forecasters claim the earthquake was part of the “signs of the times.” It is interesting to note, how quickly we are willing to thrust aside reason and logic when hit by calamity.
For me, I do not shy away from the scientific and logical approach. Why did the earthquake happen? Because the earth shifts. Why did people die? Because people were trapped under the rubble of buildings which were constructed poorly. Why didn’t God step in and save the Armenian people? I don’t know, but I venture to say that things just don’t work that way.
In times of crisis, our mental image of God transforms Him into a kind of superman. After all, He is omnipotent. But the order of nature is such that that there is an imperfection built into this world. Lightning causes fires. Drought causes crops to wither and brings famine. The shifting and settling of the earth causes earthquakes. And sometimes, unfortunately, people die.
So, the more important question becomes, why believe in a god that cannot save you from the perils and dangers of this world? Why celebrate the revelation and birth of a god who is powerless against nature? We begin by answering that God is not some kind of superman. God is not there to prevent an earthquake. Disasters will happen, but God is found in the reaction to the disaster. Where was God when the earthquake happened? Most probably He was weeping and hurt like all of us. But the real power of God is seen in the aftermath. We see God in the reaction to the earthquake–in the love and support He provides us.
When we see people throughout the world coming together to aid the Armenians, it is God working. God gives us the capacity to love. We give to others because of that ability to love. We must stop thinking of God as this great puppeteer who sends disaster to this world to see our reaction. No! Disaster, pain and suffering are part of an imperfect world. Where we do find God is in the peace and love that only He can give in answer to that disaster.
The feast of Theophany is the celebration of God becoming man so that man can know God. He took our form and went through all the motions of man. He suffered and died. He did not exempt Himself from this great suffering, for no one is exempt. However, He conquered death and promised the same to those who believe. What He left was His own peace, “not as the world gives.”
When the earthquake hit, we were all hurt. Where was God? We saw Him in the love and support from the four corners of the earth. We saw a world come together. We saw “enemies” helping “enemies.”
God is revealed: a God who understands us; a God who suffers with us; a God who helps and gives us strength during our darkest hour. This is God being revealed. This is the celebration of Theophany.
On our journey through Advent, we are dealing with the “Problem of Evil.” A theodicy is an answer to the problem, defined by the incongruity between the statements that God is good, God is all powerful and yet, evil exists. Yesterday, in reviewing Luke 13, we saw that Jesus clearly states that evil is not a punishment from God for our sins and mistakes. Still, we have to question, if God is all powerful, why doesn’t He merely do away with evil once and for all?
Our query begins today with an understanding of what we believe. What are the definitions of our Faith? Much of our understanding of God comes from images and concepts that are brought to us courtesy of Hollywood. And most of those ideas are formulated on misreading and misinterpretation of Old Testament stories. Jesus came with a simple message to tell us we are all children of God and there are no favorites for God. In Armenian folklore, a mother asks her children, “Which one of my fingers, if I were to cut, would not bleed?” They all bleed equally and so is a mother’s love for her children: equal for all. Even more, our Heavenly Father, Jesus tells us, “Makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” We must be careful in defining something as evil, or even as good, because we do not have the view of God.
We often confuse God with a character who appears this time of year, someone who rewards good and punishes evil. We’ve created a folklore around him and even written songs about how he makes a list and checks it twice and “Knows if you’ve been naughty or nice.” That’s Santa Claus! While Santa Claus may help us with our sense of dealing out justice, God’s justice is His own.
The other day, a celebrity with a history that would make some people uncomfortable, made a donation to a charity. Someone commented, “We don’t want your filthy money.” How presumptuous! First, that you have the right to reject someone else’s goodness, second, that there is such a thing as non-filthy money! Jesus is clearly delineating a Christian stance when he says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
God’s judgement has its own time and own method of being administered. Why God doesn’t vaporize the evil people and do away evil once and for all, the step we take tomorrow in our Advent Journey.
We pray, Heavenly Father, You know our needs better than we can ever know or understand. Calm my heart and my spirit so that I may find comfort in Your care and help me to not go beyond the limits of what is my responsibility in this world. Amen.
This week of the Advent Journey is dedicated to what theologians refer to as, “The Problem of Evil.” Simply put, it’s the incongruity of believing in a good God, who is all powerful and being faced with the reality that evil exists in the world. In other words, given that evil is real with headliners such as cancer, war, molestations, earthquakes, and famine, either God is not all good or God is not all powerful. Why would a good God, who is all powerful, allow evil to exist?
Evil is a problem which has perplexed people since the first-time villagers had to pick up after a devastating earthquake or a lightning bolt created a forest fire that wreaked havoc for people and all the members of the animal kingdom. In this day and age, when we understand that earthquakes are caused by the shifting of tectonic plates, and lightning bolts are the result of charged clouds grounding, God doesn’t need to enter the equation. However, for theologians and clergy who make a case for a good and omnipotent God, forming an answer is called a theodicy. It follows that if God allows these evil, then is it possible that evil is a punishment from God? People of good faith, can easily reach this conclusion, and figure illness or death are paybacks from God for wrongs you have committed. And so, the question was brought to Jesus.
On this Sunday of Advent the Church offers the Gospel reading from Luke chapter 13. Here, there were two incidents that people perceived to be delivered as punishments from God. The stories – one of Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices and the other was of a tower which fell in Siloam causing the death of 18 people – were the focus of this inquiry of Jesus. On today’s scale, it would be like us asking Jesus if the Indonesians who died in last month’s earthquake perished because they were sinners? Or was it because of the sins of the Ukrainians that bombs fell on their cities?
In the passage, Jesus answers, Do you think that they were worse sinners than all the other because they suffered this way? I tell you, no!But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
Under no uncertain terms, Jesus gives the definitive answer that evil is not the punishment of God upon us! The idea that God sits in heaven waiting for us to make a wrong move so he can blast us with a lightning bolt is as absurd as it sounds. And Jesus emphatically gives us a big N-O!
So then, why evil? Can’t God vaporize all evil? Or is it that he just doesn’t want to? We will pick up with these questions tomorrow, on our journey through Advent.
We pray Shnorhali’s 15th hour: Christ, guardian of all, let your right hand protect and shelter me by day and by night, while at home and while away, while asleep and while away that I may never fall into sin. Amen.
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die,” says the author of Ecclesiastes (chapter 3). Nature has its rules, you are born, and one day you will die. Sometimes, however, time does not play by nature’s rules and children are the casualty. Appropriately, we refer to the death of children as “untimely.” As a priest in the ministry for over forty years, sadly I have had to officiate at too many funerals for children, while their broken families looked on in disbelief and torment. Even one such funeral would be “too many,” but illness, accidents, war and intolerance have taken away lives that were just about to begin, so “too many” is exactly what you understand it to be.
Back in 2006 I was called to officiate the funeral of a 15 year old named Vahagn. Classmates, friends, relatives, and just people who knew him or is family, packed our church in Hollywood. I remember the enormity of the crowd, filling the pews, the balcony, the aisles and even standing outside the windows on Vine Street, to be a part of this service. While most people knew or knew of Vahagn in his life, I had the unique vantage point; I got to know Vahagn through the expressions and tears of his loved ones and friends. Each story that was shared that day expressed the love someone had for this young man. It’s one thing to love, and quite another to be loved. Vahagn was both, he was loved because he loved. In that love, now I have come to know him.
Soon after his death, the family established a charitable foundation in his name with a specific goal to ensure that Vahagn’s passion for music, the arts, laughter and human joy will continue to flourish in the community he loved so dearly. Every year, the Foundation organizes an event such as runs, 5K walks or a tree planting ceremony. This morning in a park in Beverly Hills, Vahagn’s father remembered his son’s words, “There are no big or small stories, they all need to be told.” We planted a tree, and the area was designated as Vahagn Setian Grove. His father continued to explain that the tree will grow and provide shade to people for years to come, many who will never know Vahagn.
And so, a story was told this morning. Time stopped. Vahagn will forever be 15. Time continues, for new generations will enjoy this shade of the tree, the beauty of the grove, and the love of Vahagn.
Through the years, I have attended the annual gatherings. They are early enough on Sunday mornings so that I’ve been able to get in a 5K walk and still make it to church services. At one of the early memorials, they passed out a green rubber bracelet with a simple message from Vahagn, “Live, Love and Laugh.” I have worn that bracelet ever since. It is my daily reminder to live, love and laugh from this young but big life that had a great impact on so many, because he lived, loved and laughed.
This is the period of Advent, a time of preparation for Christmas. We are reminded that on Christmas a baby – the smallest and most humble of all – was born. He came into this world and told a simple story of love, harmony and respect. He too, lost his life early. We celebrate his message by living, loving and laughing, that is, enjoying this life.
We pray, Heavenly Father, you gave us the gift of life and we are grateful. In preparing for Christmas, instill in our hearts the love for the most simple among all of your creation. May we find the message of hope, faith and love in the smallest of stories. Bless our little children. Amen.
We continue the Advent Journey tomorrow and look forward to having you join us.
Next Step #756 – December 1, 2022 – First steps toward the mystery of God’s revelation at Christmas, here is the Advent primer. Einstein mathematics: 50 days hath Easter as does Christmas. Jesus’ warning on the “fool.” New series on Epostle with Dr. Ani exploring monasteries. Armodoxy you won’t find in a museum. Healing at Christmas. Alchemy for Armenia: Jewelry to benefit Etchmiadzin renovation project. In His Shoes: How Jesus sees us. All on this episode.
Worry is not a topic that will be explored once, neither during the Advent season, nor during the rest of the year. Worry is just as reoccurring as a topic as it is as a menace to good health. Worry contributes to stress, a cause of diseases of the mind and body. It was no different in the times of Christ, and of course, even before. Since the beginning of time, when man contemplated his own mortality he succumbed to worry. Whether it was dodging the attack of a vicious animal in the wild, or avoiding a diagnosis of cancer, worry has been a part of the human condition.
We begin to look at worry in the context of our Advent Journey by reading the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded by St. Luke (12):
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Striving for his kingdom is the first step toward ridding ourselves of worry. Nice words, and it sounds simple enough, but what does it exactly mean to strive for his kingdom? And how do we do it? The Armenian Church has sung a hymn of praise for the kingdom during times when world governments and principalities have imposed their will on the people. The hymn of victory has been pronounced within the walls of the Church while the sounds of hatred and intolerance were spit upon the exteriors. The simplicity of seeking the Kingdom is held inside Armodoxy and the Advent Journey leads us there.
We pray, Lord, set my heart on Your Kingdom. While worries and fears abound, I look to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field and know that You hold us all in your hand. Let me feel the certainty of our Love. Amen.
I look forward to continuing the Advent Journey with you next time.
We started our Advent Journey meeting the “Rich Fool,” a character in one of Jesus’ parables (Luke 12). In a sense, he is what we may call a negative hero, in other words, he’s the main character of the story who teaches us what not to be. Negative heroes are all too common in religious stories as well as in real life. In politics, some may vote for a candidate because s/he is not the other candidate. In business, some may choose to trade with one firm because it is not the other company. In so doing, we focus more on the negative attributes of one, instead of the positive attributes of another and in turn, we start seeing our religious obligations and responsibilities in terms of what not to do, rather than what to do.
The Advent Journey is a time for us to prepare ourselves for the message of Christmas. At the end of the journey is waiting Christ, as Gift, as Light, as Savior. The extreme and most positive expression in life will be waiting for us and we will react to that gift. That reaction is a movement, it’s a step forward in our life.
Over the past few days we looked at the Parable of the Rich Fool from a few different vantage points. At the end, if we are truthful with ourselves, we will discover that the Rich Fool is, in fact, us. Like the Rich Fool, we are each consumed by the riches and possessions which are polished by our ego, by our wants and desires. And all of these prevent us from experiencing the fullness of God and, therefore, the beauty of life.
Jesus prefaces the parable with the warning, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Taking this to heart, the first part of the Advent Journey is to inventory those things that matter and are important in your life and proactively, that is, take an action to celebrate the abundance of those things that matter in your life, such as your relationships, your love for others, the beauty of life that surrounds you. These are simple treasures that are accessible by all.
For today’s prayer I’d like to share with you a variation of Shnorhali’s prayer of the 9th hour, with an accent on doing: All provident Lord, give me the clearness of vision to look at the beauty around me, the sharpness of hearing to listen to the music of nature, the courage to speak words of truth, the clarity of heart to think goodness, strength to my hands to work toward justice and to my feet to walk in paths of righteousness. Guide my motions that they may be according to all your commandments. Amen.
