The Search

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Armodoxy for Today
The Search

Last weekend the Armenian Church celebrated the “Discovery of the Holy Cross of Christ.” As I prepared my Sunday sermon, an email crossed my desktop from one of the churches. The subject line heralded, “Discovery of the Cross, this weekend.” I read the first few lines of the message from a well-meaning soul. It spoke of the most inspiring story of Queen Helena who searched and found the Cross of Christ. I kept reading the story looking to see where this was going. It didn’t. It was a very nice history lesson from the 4th century and it pointed to one of the real dilemmas we face in the Orthodox churches: How to tie the history lesson with life today?

On the one hand, the story has to be told. After all, if not us, the Church, then who will tell this story? On the other hand, what do characters from 1,700 years ago, their exploration of lands in search of the Cross of Christ, have to do with our daily concerns of inflation take off with $7 gas, wars and threats of nuclear annihilation, intolerance on every level, and personal issues of health care and broken relationship? As a priest, my first question is, how can I stay faithful to the calling of “Preach the Gospel” while sharing the stories from our tradition that share the Gospel?

There used to be a Labor Day tradition called the “Jerry Lewis Telethon for muscular dystrophy.” Every year, for a couple of days, entertainer Jerry Lewis would stay up for days in front of television cameras, host guests, share stories and, most importantly, solicit donations for the fight against muscular dystrophy. Throughout the years he collected over $2.4Billion for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. About ten years ago, I remember reading a story saying that Jerry Lewis had been dismissed from his position and would not be conducting the telethon. Can you imagine, an organization dismissing a person who was responsible for raising over $2Billion for the organization? In a statement, the head of the Muscular Dystrophy Association said something to the effect, In a 140-character world, we can’t justify a telethon of several days! In other words, the 140 character world of Twitter was defining the mode of communications, and therefore the funding of the organization.

And hence, our dilemma in the Church. How to we package the story and the message in 280 characters (the new maximum of a Twitter tweet.

Armodoxy addresses this dilemma by not discounting the story but emphasizing the message that the story yields for us today. Without the bridge to today, it is yet another history lesson that can be received from a text book or a lecture. Armodoxy is like looking at the world today through the lens of Armenian Orthodoxy.

Queen Helena left everything to search for the Cross of Christ. Why did she leave the comforts of her royal palace to go through garbage piles at Golgotha, looking for a wooden instrument of torture and capital punishment? Can you imagine in 400 years, someone going through dumps looking for the needle of a vial of lethal injection? We can’t, it’s ridiculous. Yet, that’s exactly what Queen Helena did. She did so because the One who was killed by that torture was the key to salvation. And what she found is what we find today when we look for and discover the Holy Cross.

The Cross, in Armenian Orthodoxy, is the symbol of love. Unlike what Hallmark and Hollywood try to sell us with an emphasis on the heart and the little fat angels with bows and arrows, the true symbol of love is the cross. On The Cross Christ expressed the greatest expression of Love, and in a day and age that is hurting from all sides, the quest for Love begins with each of us. We can’t find what we do not search. The message today is not about finding the Cross, but discovering, that is, searching for the Cross in our lives, searching for Love in our lives. Take it as a challenge to not be scared to search, with body, soul and mind.

Pray the prayer of St. Nersess Shnorhali, O Searcher of secrets, I have sinned against you, willingly and inadvertently, knowingly and unknowingly. Grant me forgiveness, a sinner, since from my birth through the holy baptism, until this day, I have sinned before you Lord, with all my senses and in all the members of my body.

Discovery of Cross (Sermon Excerpt)

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October 26 – Daily Message

Today’s Daily Message is from last Sunday’s (October 23) sermon, “Discovery of the Cross,” offered at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church, Pasadena, California. This is an excerpt, the entire sermon can be viewed at https://youtu.be/f-4rsLZzvw0

Empathy

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Armodoxy for Today
Empathy

On the last evening of a visit to Armenia, I sat staring out the window of my room at sunset. The room was high enough to give me a panoramic view of Yerevan, under the majestic shadow of Mt. Ararat. During my trip, I had met with people doing work on the cutting edge of technology. I spent time with people who were challenging the norms and excelling for the betterment of themselves, their families and their country. There was real hope in the air.

I remember looking out the window and praying for peace. It was simple wish: If this small but potent country could only have peace, miracles could happen. The miracles we would see would not be from any outside source, rather, they would come from within, if only there was peace. It was possible, it had been nearly 30 years that this country, which had known centuries of oppression, massacres and even genocide, was now living in peace. I looked out at the Yerevan skyscape and knew we would see the best of miracles, if only there was peace.

It is now 2022. A friend called me from Armenia this morning. At the end of our conversation he said, “If only we have peace, we can do anything, we can aspire to the best and be the best. If only we have peace.” It was as if my prayer from a few years ago was recorded and being played back to me in the voice of my friend. His prayer was more current, though, and had a more urgent tone to it. After all, the 44 day war in 2020 had taken place and the war in September of this year, initiated by the Azeris, has left everyone on edge, to say the least.

It is difficult to understand the pain and suffering of others from a distance. One of the core tenants of Armodoxy is a call to walk in the shoes of others. It is the expression of empathy, that is, to fully understand the pain and suffering of others, we must walk in their shoes. And small exercises can help us place our feet in the correct place.

Those of us living in the United States might not fully understand the prayer for peace in Armenia, but we might begin by imagining a world where we were constantly being attacked by our neighbors in Mexico and Canada, to the point that we live with the uncertainty of maintaining our independence, day-in and day-out. Perhaps the example is not fair considering the size, power and geography of the US. Those of you in Europe, in Africa, or in the Middle East, where countries are so much closer and intertwined with one another, can consider a country such as Switzerland, if its landlocking neighbors, France, Italy, Austria and Germany had only one intention, to annihilate and destroy that relatively small country.

And if still difficult to imagine, sit in your own home, in your house or apartment and picture all of your neighbors – every one of them, next door and across the street – wanting only one thing: to overpower, overcome and rid you from the neighborhood.

Walking in the shoes of others is a call to empathy. It is understanding that the only real and true miracle that we must pray and work for is peace. Walking in the shoes of others gives us the capacity to understand and once in the shoes, we must walk towards resolution.

Appropriately, today we pray the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

King of Glory

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Armodoxy for Today

King of Glory

Armodoxy has developed in a land and among a people that have not known peace for long stretches of time. Armenia, at the intersection of three continents, Africa, Europe and Asia, has been trampled on by invaders, barbarians and would-be conquerors.

Sunday after Sunday in the Armenian Church, there is a “question-and-answer” session which takes place during the Divine Liturgy. This Q&A has been going on for centuries. The deacon, with the chalice in hands, approaches the priest and asks that the doors be opened for the “King of glory.” The priest asks, “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle?” The questioning continues and upon his second inquiry, the deacon announces, “This is the King of glory!” and hands-off the chalice for the priest to prepare the Holy Eucharist.

It was the Psalmist who first framed the dialogue on behalf of a hurting world (Psalm 24:8-10). And it has been heard and overheard from altar areas ever since, during times of trouble, persecution and war.

Priest: Who is the King of glory… mighty in battle?

Deacon: This is – He is – the King of glory!

Wars are won and wars are lost but in the case of Armenia, the number losses far outnumber the wins, prompting a more appropriate question: Who is this King, so mighty in battle, that the war was lost? Perhaps not as an audible chants by the deacon, but definitely in the solitude of the mind. Ultimately, what does it mean to proclaim God as almighty – mighty in battle – in the face of horrific tragedies that we endure?

In Holy Scripture, time and time again, we find our Lord Jesus teaching by example. When a tragedy befalls another, he touches them with his love and asks us to do the same. During the Divine Liturgy, the deacon is heard inviting people to worship. He beckons the congregation to stand in peace, to pray fervently, to listen in awe, to prepare themselves and to approach the Blessed Sacrament. Simply put, he calls everyone to celebrate the victory of Christ. His pronouncement “He is the King of glory!” is a response to the priest’s question and at the same time it is an invitation for us to engage in the Kingdom which is in our midst.

“The kingdom of God does not come with observation,” says Christ our Lord, “Nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)

“The King of glory mighty in battle,” is the answer the Deacon proclaims to the priest and in-turn to all of us, every Sunday. We are invited to explore, engage and discover the King of glory for ourselves, “mighty in battle” who is here answering us, our sufferings, our dilemmas, and our wars, by touching us with his love and compassion. By accepting the invitation, we engage in the Kingdom of God. We accept a call to personal and community responsibility to extend ourselves. Indeed, the Kingdom of God is within us!

The Q&A, the Divine Liturgy and hence, our Church is calling us to this higher understanding of our Christian Faith, as members of the Kingdom, to engage in the struggles and sufferings that are all around us, not with a question but with the solid answer: He is the King of glory, mighty in battle.

Today we pray from the Lords prayer, “Our Father, may your kingdom come, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Amen.

Outward Love

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Armodoxy for Today

Outward Love

Yesterday we made a bold proclamation by saying there was something greater than God, and Jesus pointed to it when he instructed the people to approach God only after reconciling with their brothers and sisters. St. John the Evangelist, in his letter, focuses on the reasoning behind this pronouncement.

“No one has seen God at any time,” says St. John and continues, “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. … We have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. … If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.” (I John 4)

Love, for the Christian, is not a conceptual idea, nor is an abstract thought. Love is expressed and understood in our relationships with one other. Loving is caring. Loving is embracing. Love is real. It is God given and demanded back in return by loving and caring for others here in this lifetime.

Let us pray a prayer from the Armenian Church’s Book of Hours (Jamakirk), “Lord our God, we give thanks to You, for You have granted us to pass the day in peace. Grant us, Lord, to pass the evening and the night without sin and stumbling, and to stand firm and abide steadfastly in faith, in hope and in love, and in the observance of Your commandments. Give peace to the entire world and stability to Your holy Church and salvation to our souls. For to You is befitting glory, dominion and honor, now and forever and ever. Amen.

Greater than God

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Armodoxy for Today

Greater than God

For Jesus, there is one thing which is greater than God. It probably sounds unusual to express this, in this manner, but in fact, when all is said and done, Jesus makes it very clear that one thing is more important than God.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5)

Jesus makes it clear that the sacredness of church, the worship practice, or even supporting your church are all secondary to our reconciliation with one another. He draws a line separating sincerity from hypocrisy, it doesn’t make sense to give outwardly if you aren’t at peace inwordly. “Leave your gift there before the altar,” he says. There is something much more important, and that is for us to be at peace with one another, reconciled and in union with one another. In fact, this is the first message given to us on the night of Jesus’ birth: “Peace on Earth/Good will toward one another.”

Christianity is about our reconciliation with one another and thereby being reconciled with God.

Let us pray the prayer of St. Nersess Shnorhali (23), “All merciful Lord, have mercy upon all your faithful, on those who are mine and those who are strangers to me, on those whom I know and those whom I do not know, on the living and on the dead, and forgive all my enemies, and those who hate me, the trespasses that they have committed against me, turn them from the malice which they bear towards me, that they may be worthy of Your mercy. Amen.

Brokenhearted and Captive

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Armodoxy for Today
Brokenhearted and Captives

In the Gospel of St. Luke we read Jesus’ mission, and thus the mission statement of the Apostolic Church (see Mission and Continuity) is to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, liberate captives and the oppressed and recover sight to the blind.

It is tempting to consider these groups in the category of the other – people outside of ourselves. We may think of the blind as those missing sight receptacles in their eye sockets, when in fact we know many who walk around with eyeballs and yet are blind to the beauty around them. We think of the captives as those who are imprisoned or held in slavery against their will, yet there are those who living in freedom are enslaved to their money and their possessions.  When we fall for the temptation of categorizing the hurting and frail as others, we deny ourselves the opportunity for self-evaluation and thereby self-improvement.

We are all in need of healing, we all long for true freedom, and we all search for complete love, understanding and belonging in life.  Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Mark 2)

Let us pray the prayer of St. Nersess Shnorhali, “Lord, who wills that which is good, and are the director of the will, let me not follow the inclinations of my heart, but lead me to live always according to Your good will. Have mercy upon Your Creatures and upon me, a great sinner.

Mission & Continuity

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Armodoxy for Today

 

Mission & Continuity

Jesus began his ministry in the town of Nazareth. St. Luke the Evangelists records (chapter 4):
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Thus, proclaiming his mission.

When we describe the Armenian Church as “Apostolic” it means we are in a link to the apostles themselves and carry on their mission, which is the mission of Jesus Christ. Today, in our hearing, Jesus has proclaimed His mission. Our mission.

Gratitude: Not an attitude

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Armodoxy for Today

Gratitude: More than an Attitude

Often, we have heard the sage advice that attitude is a major component of a healthy life. There are even popular statistical notations that tout that success in life is primarily a function of attitude as opposed to circumstances. No doubt, these quaint sayings are easy to understand but more difficult to implement especially because we look for some backing and proof.

Armodoxy is a history that supplies the proof for the miraculous. Armenians have faced a history of terror, butchery, and barbarous crimes, all contributing to a country and a people that have been void of peace for centuries. Yet the essence of Armenian spiritual prayers and hymns is thanksgiving. The Armenian Church prayer book, Jamakirk, is a collection of praise and worship. In the face of horror, Armenians have composed hymns and recited prayers that reflect thanksgiving and gratitude.

If anyone has a right to protest to God for the horrors inflicted on its people and land, it is the Armenians. Instead of protest, their prayers reach to the highest heavens with praise and worship. It is herein that the Armenians have survived and built life in the face of death, being a living witness to resurrection in the face of crucifixion.

Armodoxy is the witness that gratitude is more than an attitude.

We are reminded of our Lord Jesus’ words, “…I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16)

Repayment – Daily Message

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Armodoxy for Today
Repayment – Daily Message

Jesus instructs, “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you” (Matthew 7:12). This is often called The Golden Rule. Social psychologists categorize this rule under the principle of reciprocity, that is, in different social situations we pay back what we received from others. In other words, if someone does you a favor, you’re likely to do a favor in return. It’s common for organizations to send a gift – labels, calendars, cards, etc. – with an envelope expecting that the principle of reciprocity will kick in and you’ll send back a donation.

In Armodoxy, our actions are not based on the actions of others. We are called to give and share our God given talents without expecting in return. The Golden Rule is a proactive rule for conduct, but in terms of repayment, Jesus points to a hirer rule when he says, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…” (Matthew 6:44).

The higher expectation is in fulfillment of Christ’s invitation and challenge to, “Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 6:48). In fact, to repay goodness with goodness is only human. To repay goodness with evil, is diabolic. But to repay evil with goodness, is divine.

So much of our life is built as a reaction to the actions of others. The challenge is to live proactively, not waiting for repayment, but doing what is good and the way we would expect others to treat us.

Let us pray from the Book of Hours of the Armenian Church, “Receive, O God, these prayers and our service. Make Your light of righteousness and wisdom shine forth upon us and make us children of light and of day, so that in godliness we may lead our life and fulfil it without offence, for you are our helper and Savior and to you is befitting glory and honor. Amen.