And there’s still much more…

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Armodoxy for Today: What More?

Before finishing his Gospel, St. John writes:

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (chapter 20)

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (chapter 21)

Armodoxy maintains that we come to know Jesus through the stories we read but also by the Tradition that has been handed down to us through the centuries from the time of Christ, in other words, “all the things that could not be contained in the books.” These verses are important reminders of the vastness of Christianity and the unique place of the Armenian Orthodox Tradition, and Apostolic Tradition, which was there at the time of Christ and represents the most ancient form of Christianity. It is the calling card of Armodoxy.

Let us pray,

O glorious Lord, receive the prayers of your servant; and fulfill my requests that are deemed good. Through the intercession of the Holy Mother of God, and St. John the Baptist, and St. Stephen the first martyr, and St. Gregory our Illuminator, and the Holy Apostles, Prophets, Doctors of the Church, Martyrs, Patriarchs, Hermits, Virgins, and all your saints in heaven and on earth. Unto you, O indivisible Holy Trinity, be glory and worship, forever and ever. Amen. -St. Nersess Shnorhali

The Judas Spot in the Church

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The first chapter of the Book of Acts tells us that Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, took his own life, and the remaining Disciples decided it was necessary to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judas. They prayed and found two men who had been in their midst, in the company of Christ, from the time of Jesus’ Baptism to his Crucifixion.

They prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” And they cast lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

More than a bit of trivia, I mention the selection of Matthias so that we understand that the Church which Jesus Christ established, the Apostolic Tradition, has order and structure. It is not a haphazard collection of people who gather based on their interpretation of Scripture. The Apostles took the Gospel message to different nations, so that the Church that was established in Rome by Peter or the one in Armenia by Thaddeus, carries the title of One, Universal, Apostolic, Holy Church. It is in this structure that the message of Jesus Christ was transmitted from the generation to generation and reaches us today.

We prayer, from an Orthodox prayer book, Be Mindful, O Lord, of Thy Holy, Universal and Apostolic Church; confirm and strengthen her, increase her and keep her in peace, and preserve her unconquerable forever. Amen.

He’s Not Here

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You made it! Fifty Days since Poon Paregentan: 40 days of Lent and today the Easter Message comes to you: Christ has Risen! Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ

A Reading of the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 28

To which we can only add: Amen!

Քրիստոս յարեաւ ի Մեռելոց. Օրհնեալ է յարութիւնն Քրիստոսի:

Cover: “Rise” by Gregory Beylerian

Equalized at the Foot of the Cross

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Armodoxy for Today – Holy Friday – Participants in the Crucifixion

The journey through Lent, and now through Holy Week culminates today. It all comes together at the foot Cross. The Cross is the great equalizer. No one is exempt from the Cross – young and old, rich and poor, statesman and transient all have their crosses, but today, we witness that even God is crucified.

The Crucifixion of our Lord, Jesus Christ is an event of singularity. It stands unique in the history of humankind. The acts of love, kindness and the message of hope with which Jesus came and showered us was repaid by acts of hatred, prejudice and death. He was crucified as a death sentence; a death sentence for spreading love.

With the help of St. Nersess Shnorhali, and his magnificent Aysor Anjar prayer we can come to understand the significance of this day as he takes love and juxtaposes it next to the hate that led to the Cross. First, we understand that this is not an ordinary man being punished, or even falsely punished for crimes. Rather, this is the Creator. This is the same One who breathed that first breath of life in the first human (and each of us) and now that Breath was being beaten out of Him. St. Nersess reminds us that the One who cried down from the Cross saying, I am thirsty was the same One who was offered vinegar, when, in fact, He was the one who made the rivers flow out of Eden.  The same Hands which were nailed to the Cross and from which Blood was now dripping, were the same Hands which had fashioned the heavens and the earth, the same Hands which had written the law on the tablets. Those same Hands had given sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf and had pulled Peter from the sea and then hushed the sea. Those same Hands which had created all of us were now being nailed by us to the Cross.

Today’s meditation is one of not only walking with Jesus to the Crucifixion, but understanding our place within the story of Crucifixion. That is, those people who nail Christ to the Cross are none other than us. When we practice hatred, when we allow prejudice, when we carry anger in our hearts, we are basically putting Christ back up on that Cross. We are the ones who are pounding those nails into Him, because just as we learned that when we practice good deeds to the least of Christ’s brothers and therefore do it to him, so too when we hate, when we allow anger to rule our emotions toward our brothers and sisters we therefore allow that hatred to go to Christ, and we participate in this Crucifixion,

Our Lenten journey, together with our Holy Week journey, is now ending. We arrive at the cross of Christ. We stand there at the foot of the cross, looking up and seeing our Savior beaten, bleeding and now killed.

We see Jesus looking down at us, asking for water, asking for assistance, asking for his mother. We hear him say to Here is your mother…  reminding us that in this world we are united. The Crucifixion reminds us about the common thread that unites us all: the suffering of humankind. In fact, we may never be able to understand in human terms what a resurrection is, but when you talk about crucifixion, each and every one of us understands some portion of betrayal, of denial, of loneliness, of hurt, of pity, of being nailed for things that we never will understand, and at that final hour, Jesus cries out. Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? (=My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me) cry that we share, a cry that comes from the bottom of our hearts as well.

Cover: The Bulleted cross at Gyumri

Seeing Darkness

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Armodoxy for Today: Holy Thursday – Seeing the Darkness

Holy Thursday is remembered as the night that after Jesus broke bread with his disciples at the Last Supper, he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, was betrayed by Judas, arrested, tried, tortured, mocked and humiliated and sentenced to death.

In the Armenian Church, the evening is marked with the service called “Khavarum” (=darkness) during which the Passion narrative from the perspective of the Four Evangelists – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, is read aloud in church. Following the story the evening unfolds portraying God who has humbled himself to understand His creation, and now we the created, have an opportunity to understand our God, our Creator.

Seven different passages from the Gospels are read during the evening, intertwined with the singing of a sharagan (hymn) called “Aysor Anjar” written by St. Nersess Shnorhali, the 12th century Armenian Church theologian and Catholicos. Alphabetically arranged according to each letter of 36 letters of the Armenian alphabet, the hymn follows the Passion of Christ by juxtaposing ideas and events that stimulate wonder, ponderings and mediation on the events of this night.

As the evening progresses, one by one, the candles in the church are extinguished until the congregation is left in complete darkness, hence the name Khavarum. As the narrative and the Passion plays out, the Light of the World, Christ, is betrayed and executed. In the darkness, you contemplate what the world would be like, without Christ in our midst.

Tonight is the night of light and darkness. Somewhere in the shadows of the night you actually see darkness. It is not emptiness, but a darkness that begs to be lit. You are in the courtyard now. The trial is taking place insider. Peter is about to deny Christ. You hear the moans and cries of your Savior, you notice the indifference of the people, you hear the lies of religious establishment and in between, you ask yourself where and how you stand.  Who is Jesus? Who is he to you?

Presence of Christ

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Armodoxy for Today: Presence of Christ

On this Great Wednesday of Holy Week we focus on the Presence of Christ. During his ministry Jesus continually referred to the little children as the pure, innocent, uncorrupt ones who are in tune with God.

“Let the little children come to me,” says Jesus, “and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14) The children, being pure of heart, have access to God, and therefore, the Presence of Christ.

Before He was betrayed, before his trial and crucifixion, Jesus ate one last meal with his loved ones. Known as the “Last Supper,” this is where Jesus gave his instruction to disciples. Addressing them by using the same descriptive phrase, “Little children,” Jesus tells them, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13) He placed love as the highest standard for identification as a follower of Christ.

As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26) These words of Institution established the ritual of Communion.  It is a sacred and a holy act by which we literally and completely absorb Christ as the energy source by which we live the expression of love. The Christ Presences is not outside of you, but, in the words of Jesus, “Indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”  (Luke 17)

As we move through Holy Week, today we must answer a simple, and fundamental question: Where is the Christ Presence in your life?

Hint: Look at your acts of Love.

Archaic Terms? Try your profession…

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Armodoxy for Today: Holy Tuesday – 10 Professionals

On the Tuesday before Easter, known as Great Tuesday, the Armenian Church remembers the Parable of the 10 Virgins. From the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we find a parable whereby Jesus teaches us the importance of always being ready. Five maidens who were prepared for an event are referred to as wise virgins, while five who were not ready are referred to as foolish maiden. Read the parable in Matthew 25

First of all, these archaic terms, virgin and maiden can be distracting and may deflect our attention from the real message of the story. So go ahead and change the characters. Substitute yourself and your profession for the characters in the story. Make this about the 10 dancers, the 10 accountants, the 10 doctors, the 10 architects, or the 10 dish washers. Make the story about 10 of your profession who are anticipating an event that comes up in your line of work. For instance, the 10 dishwashers are waiting for the plumber to fix the sink so they can finish their duties. Be creative and try it.

I will take the lead and talk about the 10 priests, five of them were wise and five of them were foolish. They were waiting for their bishop to arrive, a bishop who was going to come and celebrate the Liturgy. And while waiting, five foolish priests used up the candles and the incense that they had prepared to celebrate the bishop’s arrival. At the same time the five wise priests had kept their candles and their incense, anticipating the arrival of the bishop and were prepared. When the bishop arrived, he looked around and he said, I am ready to be escorted into the sanctuary. Light your candles, light your incense, and let us process into the sanctuary. The five foolish priests had used up their resources, they were not ready. And turned to the five wise priests and said, let us borrow some of your incense, some of your candles. But those priests said, we cannot give it to you. We’re escorting the bishop into the sanctuary, and the people are waiting. The crowds have arrived. We cannot let them wait. And so they entered into the sanctuary, and the five foolish priests were left out.

So you see, this story is not about priests just as the original was not about virgins. This is a story of preparedness and readiness. When God shares His kingdom with us, it’s not for us to be saying, Wait! Even with a Pretty please, on our words. Ours is to always be ready to interact with God. The stakes are greater than a plumber or a candle. This is the Holy Tuesday meditation that comes across Armodoxy on this Tuesday of Holy Week. Amen.

Cover Photo: Gregory Beylerian

Heart Hearing

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Armodoxy for Today: Holy Monday – Hearing with your heart

A post on social media asks, “Jesus crucified 1.5 million Armenians with him. He never saved anyone. Why praise him!?!” The large number is in reference to the martyrs of the  Armenian Genocide of 1915. Social media is only a new medium for an age-old question. This question is asked because the bigger question pertaining to this Week is even more puzzling. Indeed, the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ does not make sense on human terms for even more reasons. How do we explain a person who gives love, who is sacrificial in every aspect of his giving, who heals the sick, raises the dead, and in return, receives a death sentence. At this point, many will dismiss the Christian experience by identifying it as nonsense, literally, that is, that which does not make sense.

In a final farewell discourse, Jesus shares words of comfort with his disciples, to make sense out of the seemingly nonsensical. He speaks of God’s love.

The Disciples had been in the presence of Christ for three years when he spoke to their heart. You have been through the Lenten journey, 40 days of preparation for this week. I ask you to sit with the Disciples today. With the teachings and exercises of the last several weeks, listen with your hearts to these words coming from your teacher, your brother and your friend. And believe.

A reading from John chapter 14:

Jesus says, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

 Thomas [one of the Disciples] said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

 Philip [another of His Disciples] said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Palm Sunday Stones

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Stones: Palm Sunday (Question 2 of 9 Questions to Resurrection, an Armodox journey through Holy Week)

“Do you believe this?” is the simple question posed to us by Jesus, with which we began Holy Week. Each of the days of Holy Week leading to the Resurrection presents us with a question which only you, and you alone can answer.

On the Sunday before Easter, Scripture tells us that Jesus entered into Jerusalem, humbly, but was quickly elevated by the people to the status of king, a savior who had come to liberate them from the political bonds that enslaved them.

In the Gospel of John (12) we read, “…When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

The religious establishment fearing the possibility of a religious rebellion told Jesus to stifle the crowd – to rebuke them, to which Jesus says, “I tell you that if these [people] should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19)

What is it that you fear that would make you silence voices of praise? is the second question of this Holy Week.

Tomorrow: Cleansing

Resurrecting Lazarus

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Armodoxy for Today: Do you believe this? – Lazarus Saturday

The Lenten season is over, and now begins the holiest of all days and journeys, as we prepare to greet the Empty Tomb, that is Easter Sunday. This preparation is an actual walk with Christ, walking with him as he enters the holy city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through his passion, through His crucifixion, even His burial, and ultimately finding ourselves at the Resurrection as a witness to life beyond the grave.

Welcome to Holy Week.

The first day of Holy Week is called Lazarus Saturday. The story comes to us from the Gospel of Saint John chapter 11, where we learn of the death of Jesus’ close friend Lazarus. When Jesus arrives at his friend’s home, Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, turn to Jesus and say, If you had been here, our brother would not have died, an acknowledgment of Jesus’s Lordship and power even over death. Jesus turns to them and says, Your brother will rise again. Martha agrees and says, I know he will rise in the resurrection of the last day. But Jesus says to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

Having proclaimed this truth, Jesus turns to Martha and says, Do you believe this?

I invite you to read the entire story of Lazarus resurrection (John 11). For today, I’d like to focus on the words that Jesus speaks to the sisters, Do you believe this? Because it is the same question that he asks us. We can recognize Jesus at many levels. We can even proclaim His Lordship. We can call him the Son of God, the question that he asks to the sisters he asks now of us, Do you believe this? Do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe that I am love incarnate? If you believe that, then you must believe that love is the resurrection and the life. You must believe that it is love that prevents any of us from dying, that love is the one factor that allows us to live forever.

As we begin this Holy Week, ask yourself this very personal question: Do I believe this? The road in front of us is a tough one. We’re going to go all the way to the cross and then to the tomb. Love is the one thing that cannot be killed. It is the resurrection and the life. It’s only with this commitment and with this confession on our part that the rest of the week will make any sense that the rest of the week will rise from the pages of history and become a living testament to what faith means today in our lives, how that faith will actually allow us to be participants in the Resurrection.

We pray, Lord Jesus Christ, who are Resurrection and the Life, fill my heart with your Love so I may forgive my enemies and care for others, and share that Love in my life. I await the travel before me, to accompany you to the Cross. Amen.

Cover photo: 2023 Luna & Gregory Beylerian, St. Gregory Armenian Cathedral, Narthex, Yerevan, Armenia