The Water Ad

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Armodoxy for Today: The Super Bowl Ad you missed

This week before the beginning of Great Lent starts with a passage from the Gospel of St. John, where Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (Luke 7:37-38)

Jesus’ offer is unique in that He is a fountain from which we can quench our thirst, but He also empowers us, so that “living water” flows from us.

Think about this as a product. There are many brands of designer waters these days, some touting special pH levels that can bring about health benefits. Other brands are locale based, with treats from Arrowhead, the Alps and even Iceland. And all carry hefty price-tags in comparison to the similar looking stuff that comes out of the kitchen faucet. Now, think about the “Living Water” described by Jesus: A water that quenches thirst and then empowers you with “rivers” of flowing water. How much would that be worth?

The Sunday on which this passage of scripture is read in the Armenian Church often coincides with Super Bowl Sunday. If ever there was a market for the thirst-quenching drinks, the Super Bowl audience seems to fit the bill. In 2023, the average cost for advertising on the Super Bowl was $7Million a half a minute! And companies that advertise on the Super Bowl have the financials figured out, that is, if they’re going to buy a 30 second spot on the Super Bowl for $7Million, be assured that they are assured that sales will offset the cost of advertising. How many bottles of beers must be sold to pay off a half-a-minute ad? How many soft drinks must be sold to cover the bill of advertising? Whatever the number, we know that these companies are not losing money. They are investing in their product, as they should. It is a product they believe in, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” says Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

The challenge before us today is to invest in the drink from the living fountain that will give living water. The investment is with your most precious commodity, you! Read the passage of the day again (John 7:37-39). Jesus offers to quench our thirst and to empower us as a source for Living Water. As we unravel this week with its messages of saints and sacraments, we prepare ourselves for the beginning of the Great Lent season. It is a time of spiritual growth and Christian living. I’m asking you to buy the product. You will taste and know the difference because it quenches thirst like nothing else.

Let us pray, “Fountain of immortality, help me to grow in your love. I come willingly to drink from you. I thirst and I have heard your call. Accept me as I am. I am on the journey of life and seek the water you offer. Amen.”

Cover photo: Lake Van, 2019 Fr. Vazken

13B23

The Samaritan Invitation

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In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37), we examined the action of the true neighbor. Jesus identified him as a Samaritan, and as we discussed yesterday, accordingly we can (and should) identify similar actors of charity with descriptors that reveal and betray our prejudices.

The Good Samaritan was the one who brought aid to the man who was attacked by the robbers. He went over and above what might be expected. Against this one man who acted, two men did not act. In fact, they walked away, turned away, avoided and the made sure to leave the scene of the incident by crossing to the other side of the road. Jesus was selective in pointing to the man who offered aid as a Samaritan. He was the one no one expected would help. Jesus was equally unexpected in his choice of characters who refused to aid the man who was left for half dead. He selected a priest and a Levite, both religious functionaries in the community. Imagine that, the priest and the Levite were the emissaries of God and they passed by a person in need.

I have heard many interpretations of the reason for their callous drive-by attitude. Some have suggested that they thought the man was in fact dead, and Jewish law forbade priests from interacting with dead bodies. It defiles them. Others, even in the Armenian Orthodox tradition, suggest that the priest and the Levite represented the Law and the Prophets and in turn the Samaritan was symbolic for Christ. That’s nice and fits an attempted model of salvation, but I truly believe Jesus’ intention was to invite us to action. He used these characters intentionally. The priest and the Levite were both well versed in the religion of the day and both proclaimed complete and total love for God. They knew Scriptures better than the majority of the population. They worshipped God in accordance with the mandates put upon them by the law. And yet, in the face of a life-or-death situation, they avoided the obvious.

The words of Jesus, that are the parables he shares, are exact and distinct. Like Occam’s razor, Armodoxy asks us to shave off unlikely explanations and consider the simplest understanding of Jesus’ words, and in this case, He meant that we ought to help those in need, even beyond what is expected, without prejudice, considering all as our neighbor.

An earthquake in Turkey kills 20,000, the one in Armenia killed 50,000, a hurricane in Louisiana kills 50, the war in the Ukraine accounts for 15,000 dead, a gun man unloads rounds in a crowded bar, the militia is taking out the Congolese civilians, a woman is beaten by her husband and a small child fights for his life against a blood disease, late night in a Mid-West hospital room. We can come up with hundreds of reasons not to act. We can cite differences in the color skin, religion, languages, preferences, or origins. “Let their people take care of them, I know my god who loves me.” You might as well rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.

In a hurting world, Jesus Christ demands that we see one another as children of the same Father, that is brothers and sisters from the same home.

Let us pray, “Heavenly Father, may the example of the Good Samaritan guide me to do that which is pleasing in Your Sight. Open my eyes and all my senses to see and feel the humanity of every man and woman in this world. Give me the strength to extend myself to the hurting of the world, and see them as you see them, children of God, therefore as my brother and my sister, as my neighbor. Amen”

10B23

My Neighbor in Your Hood

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Armodoxy for Today: My Neighbor

“Love your neighbor,” said Jesus, to a man looking for the answers to life. The man responds to Jesus with a question which leads us to one of the most celebrated parables of Christ, yielding the greatest measure and definition of Christian love, compassion and outreach. The man simply asks, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus answers, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So, he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’”

Jesus asks, “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” The answer obviously is the one who showed him mercy. Jesus then says, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25–37).

The story of the Good Samaritan has been heard from Sunday School classrooms to pulpits, from children’s books to movie screenplays, and, most importantly, has certainly stirred many people to action. Perhaps the one point that hasn’t been accented adequately is the definition of a Samaritan. We can deduce that it was a person who lived in Samaria, but the significance of that place, and the people of Samaria is what sets the parable of the Good Samaritan on fire. These were people that were looked down upon, held in very low esteem by the Jews of the time, so much so that they were outcasts from mainstream Jewish society. In John chapter 4, Jesus asks for a drink of water a Samaritan woman who responds, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” And the Gospel evangelist adds, “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”

Armodoxy demands that we place ourselves in the shoes of others. It challenges us to look at the full impact of Christ’s parables on our lives. And so, I am certain, that if Jesus were speaking to us today, the parable would be adapted to his audience. The spirit of this parable is to understand that the Good Samaritan is the object of our intolerance. Speaking to Armenians, the hero character would be a Turk who pulls out his credit card and covers the hospital expenses until his return. To the Israeli, the hero would be a Palestinian. To the Ukrainian, a Russian. To the white supremist, a black man. And to the self-appointed righteous, perhaps a member of the LBGT community?

Yes, the message is an uncomfortable one. Jesus was not one to keep us in our comfort zones. The number of Samaritans in the entire world today is under 1,000 individuals, accenting even more that the bottom line of the parable is not aligning ourselves with the Samaritans, but rather answering the question, “And who is my neighbor?”  The one who offers mercy, to which Jesus’ message is addressed to us, “Go and do likewise.” Today, we are invited to seek the “neighbor” in everyone, even a foreigner or a so-called enemy.

Let us pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, you instructed us to not judge, but to live. With all the complexities of life today, open my heart to your love, so I may see my neighbor in everyone, and others may see their neighbor in me. Amen.”

9B23

The Common Denominator in the Hood

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Armodoxy for Today: Neighborhood

In 1988, a major earthquake shook Armenia, centered in the small town of Spitak. Anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 people perished, the actual number was unavailable, as was most information during the Soviet Union of the time.

The pain and suffering of the survivors were so great that the word “unimaginable” was the literal descriptor of the catastrophe. That day, December 7, a day which was to “live in infamy” was now developing a reputation for a day of mass atrocities.*

Countries, large and small, sent aid to the small republic, Armenia, struggling with limit resources, unable to adequately deal with the magnitude of the devastation made to lives and property. As you might imagine, the first responders were the ones who were the closest to the scene. They came from 50 kilometers away, across the border from Turkey.

Any student of history will tell you that there is no love lost between Armenians and Turks, yet, at that moment of catastrophic devastation, it was the Turks who crossed the border to begin digging and start the search-and-rescue process. In the face of such a huge destruction, I’m sure those first responders didn’t think ethnicity, they didn’t think I’m a Turk and he’s an Armenian. Nor did the traumatized survivors consider from whom and from where the aid was coming. In fact, at that moment of tragedy, everyone is reduced by the greatest common denominator: we are all human.

When Jesus came, he looked at each of us by our common humanity. When St. Paul writes, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28) he is describing the God-view of humanity. We are all his children. And we live in a common neighborhood, namely our world.

The now-forgotten story of the first-responders from across the Turkish-Armenian border is remembered today because it points to something so essential and necessary in our world today, to understand the deep connection we have to one another. And, the only hope we have for a future, our ability to reach out to one another. Tragedies such as earthquakes, hurricanes and especially wars, are reminders for us to look beyond the artificial borders and boundaries we have established and see the face of God (Gen 1:27) in one another.

When Jesus teaches us the story of the “Good Samaritan” in the Gospel of St. Luke (10:25f), he does so as an answer to the question “And who is my neighbor?” Before reviewing his answer, we took a look at the neighborhood in which the neighbors reside. Tomorrow, we will dive into the parable in fresh terms, terms that we hear inside our neighborhood.

We pray today, “Lord our God, Creator of the world and humanity, open my heart and my soul to look beyond my boundaries and my borders, and find You in others. Give me the strength to see the “least of your brothers and sisters” in the hurting of the world, and then give me the courage to act. I ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

 

* December 7, 1941, was referred to as “a date which will live in infamy” by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after the Japanese military bombed the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

8B23

A Dot and a Line

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Armodoxy for Today: Punctuation

One of the ways that knowledge is passed along from teacher to students, from generation to generation is through by the written word. The Bible evolved from an oral tradition to the written word, to the printed collection we carry today. It was written in Greek, Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic. The printing press was not invented until the 15th century. Up until then, it was transferred to new audiences by scribes who painstakingly copied words from one manuscript onto new parchment and arduously inspected the words, to avoid mistakes, and those words became the stories of the Faith.

Interestingly enough many of the texts, especially the Greek text in the New Testament were written in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS with no spaces and probably no punctuation.

Punctuation is necessary to give meaning to the words strung in a sentence. Take for instance the sentence, “Women without her man is nothing.” Now hold off, before you decide to stop following this post, or even worst, if now you’ve become a fan of this post, I want you to realize that the sentence is void of punctuation. Again: Women without her man is nothing. Now, let’s add some punctuation: Woman, without her, man is nothing. The same words, with added punctuation, reveal a sentence that expresses a thought quite the opposite of the original one.

Imagine now, the tremendous task that was before the Church in deciphering the sentences and the sentence structures. When Jesus turns to the thief on with me the cross and says, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise,” there is a certainly that life continues after death immediately. But if a comma were to move over by one word “Truly I tell you today, you will bein paradise” the immediacy of the moment is lost opening up speculation about the next step.

Fortunately, the Church was there from the beginning and knew the meaning of the words before they were written in a sentence.

Punctuation – a dot, a line, a squiggle – is more than a pause or an accent. It’s a way of passing along a message.

We pray today, “Lord, open my heart to your word. I hear with my ears and read with my eyes, but it is my heart that I commit to you. Amen.”

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St. Sarkis and today’s king

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Armodoxy for Today: St. Sarkis

There are a few saints that stand out above others and are revered specially by the Armenian people. One of them is St. Sarkis. Parents name their boys Sarkis, and as a family name, Sarkisian is fairly common. A few years back, the Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II, designated St. Sarkis as the patron saint of youth. Today, young people line up in churches to receive a special blessing on the feast of St. Sarkis which is celebrated this time of year, after Theophany and before Great Lent.

Sarkis is a 4th century saint, a Roman by birth and was appointed by Constantine the Great as Prince of Cappadocia, (next to Armenia, today’s Kayseri). And while he is separated from us by space and time, the message that comes from his story speaks directly to our day and age.

With Constantine’s conversion to Christianity and the joy of the newly found Christian religion, Sarkis went throughout the Empire converting people with the message of faith, hope and love. However, when he reached Persia, the King, Shaboo, demanded that Sarkis stop preaching Christ and instead worship before his pagan altars. Sarkis’ response to the King was “I believe in one God, the All Holy Trinity, who has created heaven and earth. As a man, who is made of the earth, I can destroy your pagan statues and the fire you worship.”

This proclamation against the religion of the day infuriated the people and they began beating Sarkis with stones and clubs. They finally imprisoned him in the hopes that he would deny Christ, but he remained loyal to his faith. He was sentenced to death for his Christian faith and the “crime” of bringing people to Christ. As he was about to be executed, he prayed a prayer for his followers, “O Lord, Christ our God, all those who remember my name during their trials and tribulations, and who remember this event with prayers and fasting, hear their prayers and grant to them all their desires.”
A voice was heard from heaven saying, “I will give you what you have requested, as for you, come home to enjoy the goodness that has been prepared for you.”

I spared you the details of his death, which are rather gory, but I need to mention that he left an indelible mark on the psyche of the people. To this day, even among the Persians, Sarkis is referred to as “The invincible witness and grantor of all requests.”

Often the physical disciplines (e.g. fasting) have replaced the more important reasons for the fasting, namely the message of Jesus Christ. Even today, some folk myths still circulate among the people with seeing St. Sarkis in dreams, eating salt and water as signals for falling in love and betrothal.

Today, as we recount the story of St. Sarkis, we have to lift it off the pages of history and see it as a lesson in convictions and faith. In fact, today, Christians are being persecuted daily for their beliefs. We may not see the swords of the emperors or outright proclamations such as King Shaboo’s, but the weapons that strike us are just as deadly. Our lives are filled with temptations by materialism – believing that our possessions define us and carry some kind of intrinsic worth – while being swayed by a general attitude of indifference towards the plight of others. Death comes to us because of contempt for Christ’s call to Love.

We’d be well advised to take the call of our Catholicos to heart. St. Sarkis gives us an example of conviction, of faith, of discipline and true strength. In a world that teaches otherwise, this saint of the Armenian Church should be welcomed, not only in the lives of our youth but in all of our lives.

Let us pray, “O Christ, director of life and eternity, as your servant St. Sarkis demonstrated with his life, let your message and glory be reflected in my life. May I honor St. Sarkis, and all the saints, by living with you centered in my life, today and always. Amen.”

Cover Photo: (Fr. Vazken, 2023) On the island of Maui, a small sign tells visitors to stay away from this person’s home. The sign is 15 miles from his front door. 

Out to come in

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Armodoxy for Today: Escorted Out

We are in the midst of a period called the Fast of the Catechumens. A catechumen is a recent convert to Christianity who is under instruction before baptism. The Armenian Church accommodated this group during the Divine Liturgy. This accommodations has fallen out of practice in recent times, but the form – the “order” – is still a loud one on Sunday mornings.

During the Holy Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church, following the Scriptural readings of the day, the deacons let out a chant, “Mi vok herakhayits…” which translates, “Let none of the catechumens, none of little faith and none of the penitents or the unclean draw near to this divine mystery.” In earlier times, at that point, the church building was cleared out of all the catechumens. They were escorted to the front of the church building where instruction in the faith was offered to them. You might think of it as a Sunday School program. It is hard to imagine something like that happening in our churches today. We tend to think of the Church as an open arena for us to come in and out of. How dare anyone escort us out of the church! we think. After all, we argue, Jesus never put restrictions on those who approached him.

Quite true, but this is not about being unwelcomed in the church, as being escorted out the sanctuary may suggest. Instead, think of the seriousness with which the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Communion, was understood by the Christians of earlier times. It was so holy and sacred, that those who were not baptized could not participate. And to be baptized, implied knowledge of the teachings of Christ and the Church.

Looking at the structure of the Divine Liturgy reveals that those who were waiting to be baptized, that is the catechumens, were invited to come to church for the instructional portion of the Divine Liturgy, known as the “jashou,” literally meaning, “The meal.” They would hear the scriptures read and then the priest would give a sermon on the readings. This was the spiritual meal of the day, the jashou. The Creed of the Church (Nicaean) was recited, giving a chance to witness and articulate the Faith. Then the catechumens would be taken out to learn and pray.

Often, when we hear about the rules and regulations of the discipline of the Church we are critical of the moves that do not follow our understanding of the Faith. I mention this small little action practiced by the Church of earlier centuries to emphasize reverence and discipline with which they approached the Holy Sacrament. This, then becomes an opportunity for us to question our sense of reverence and discipline toward the Blessed Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It is a forgotten part of the tradition of our Church, but an important exercise in the Armodox self-evaluating process.

Let us pray the hymn of the Holy Eucharist, “Christ is sacrificed and distributed among us. His Body he gives us for food, and his holy Blood he bedews for us. Draw near to the Lord and take the light. Taste and see that the Lord is sweet. Praise the Lord in the heavens. Praise him in the heights. Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, all his hosts. Alleluia.

Cover Photo: Luna & Gregory Beylerian, 2023

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Pre-existent Light

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Armodoxy for Today: Light

Over the last 50 years or so, people who have succumbed to heart failure have been brought back to life thanks to developments in medicine and better methods of resuscitation. It is interesting to note the experiences of the victim/survivors, upon being revived. Many describe being in the presence of a calming and warm light. Yes, light is being described not by kilowatts or power, but by temperature, by warmth, they say.

I have had the pleasure of knowing a couple of these survivors and I found that there is no denying the reality they experienced on the “other side” of life. They understand people’s skepticism over their experience, but they won’t renege on their story: they were dead, they felt a warm light and then they returned from death. Some will also add that they had an out-of-body experience, where they witnessed themselves being resuscitated from a birds-eye view. In the end, they returned to tell of their experiences.

Within the Judeo-Christian tradition, the first creation story written in Genesis begins with God creating light (1.2) on the first day. It is interesting because the qualifier of what we consider “light,” that is, the sun, doesn’t appear in this account until the fourth day! (1:14-19)

Light is the first thing that is created. And whether you take the story of creation metaphorically, mythically or literally, you have to admit that the placement of the creation of light as the first act of the story (before the Sun) points to a light that is quite different than what we understand when we open the window or turn on the switch. It is a light that can be measure in intensity and warmth.

This week we have been looking at the Biblical passage John 3:13-21, which was the Sunday lectionary reading. We come to understand that Jesus Christ was there in the beginning, before time and matter. He is Divine. Reading on, we find in the passage that we connect true love with the sacrifice of the Cross.

Today we focus on the concluding words of the passage: … the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.

Therefore, in a passage which begins by placing Jesus at the beginning of time, it concludes with an explanation of Jesus’ proclamation, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

The Armenian Church prescribes this passage on the third Sunday following Theophany for a reason. When God is revealed – whether as presented by Matthew & Luke with manger, kings, shepherds, the inn and all the nativity props, or by John’s placement of Jesus at the beginning of time – the Light is present. It is light defined by something greater than photons and powered by wattage. It is the Light eternal. It beckons us to walk, pray, meditate and grow in the Eternal Presence of God.

Let us pray, Nersess Shnorhali’s prayer of the 21st hour, O Christ, True Light, make my soul worthy to behold with you 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.” Amen.

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Finding the Primer

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Armodoxy for Today: The Primer

There is one word for love “սէր” (pronounced sehr) in Armenian and in this one word, the erotic (eros), brotherly (philia), and unconditional (agape) elements of love all come together, remarkably, but not surprisingly.

In science and specifically in the field of physics attempts have been made to describe all the fundamental forces and the relationships between elementary particles in a single theoretical framework. A unified field theory has been the quest of many great physicists. During my youth I was fascinated by the notion that everything might be explained in a unified field theory. I carried my interest and curiosity for an answer with me into seminary. If there exists one explanation, if there is a unified field theory, I thought, why must it be limited to the physical world? A true unified field theory would also pertain to the emotional, psychological, and spiritual world and therefore be explained as a part of religion. From a religious vantage point, particularly a Christian one, the unified field theory would also account for God. The problem there, of course, is that God has to be greater than the words that can contain or describe Him. And so, I thought, is it possible that God is the Unified Field Theory? But, who in the scientific community would entertain such an assertion?

Throughout the years as I contemplated this puzzle, I was fascinated by the work of physicists who pondered the question and came up with theories. I would dive, even if shallow, into experiments with particle accelerators and the latest with Higgs boson or Higgs particle, especially when the term “The God Particle” was assigned to the work.

Something was missing. There was a missing piece to everything I was absorbing. I needed a primer – a piece of the puzzle that would give meaning to everything else. And then it happened! One Sunday morning as we were singing the Hymn “Aravod Louso” a verse that I had sang a thousand times before jumped out at me. St. Nersess Shnorhali writes, in the 36 verse hymn, in the 29th verse, the words, “The name of love is Jesus.”  It clicked! From that moment on, I saw something very clearly, that relied on the truth of pure logic, that is, if A = B and B = C, then A = C. If God = Love and if Love = Jesus, then God = Jesus. In other words, the primer opened the world of understanding by expressions of equality. God, Jesus and Love could be used interchangeably.

I went ahead and tested this discovery. Jesus makes a statement, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” This has caused isolation and rejection of Christianity by people who only had a superficial understanding of the terms. Testing began. I interchanged the word “Love” for Jesus. Can we now agree – everyone agree – that Love is the way. Love is the truth. Love is the life? It works! It was remarkable but not surprising. Jesus Christ, is the fulfillment of the law and the profits, the Alpha and the Omega. The Way is a person, the Truth is a person and Life is a person. They are Jesus Christ. The primer works! It connects the story of Jesus Christ to all of eternity, to the beginning and end of time. Armodoxy makes this bold proclamation, and everything we teach is based on this solid foundation, that there is only one element from the beginning of the universe to the end, and that is love. It is the strongest element in this universe. It is the beginning and the end.

Let us pray, O Lord Jesus Christ, you are the way, the truth and the life. Help me to walk in your path of love. Guild me to proclaim boldly the name of Jesus Christ and in so doing, may I carry this message to the hurting world. Amen.

Cover: Luna & Gregory Beylerian

25i23

Love, Romance and Sacrifice

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Armodoxy for Today: Love Defined

The statement made by Christ is John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son” has been referred to as the “Gospel in brief.” It is recited and re-recited by the young and old so frequently that many would be pressed to explain its meaning.

God sending His Son is the reason given as a demonstration of His love for the world. The statement presupposes that we know how the story is going to pan out, namely that Jesus will be Crucified. It is the Crucifixion that gives meaning to the statement, “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son.” The fact that God gives up and sacrifices His Son is the qualifier for His love. In other words, we understand that God must love us so much that He sacrifices His very best. Without this sacrificial act, the statement is empty.

In Armenian Orthodoxy the symbol of love is the cross. Quite different from the Western symbol of the red-heart made popular by Hallmark and candy companies vying for your dollars on Valentine’s Day, the Cross is true romance because in the symbol there is pain and suffering that is voluntarily given out of love.

Reflect on your own circumstance, on your own life… Who are the people that sacrificed for you? If you can think of a person then you are also thinking of the person who loves you. Love is painful because sacrifice hurts. Love is beautiful because sacrificing is the ultimate expression of beauty. The Cross is set apart as a symbol of magnificence because in it we understand, albeit only partially but still enough, that God’s love for us is the ultimate expression of caring, compassion and affection for us, because He gave His very best.

The Greeks use many words to describe Love, but three of them have been popularized in the Christianity, namely eros, philia and agape. Eros is the physical or sexual love. Think of the word erotic. Philia is the love between siblings, between friends. Think of Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. Agape is the God-love. It is unconditional. It is sacrificial and therefore, sacrificial love, as in “God so love the world…” is unconditional.

Armodoxy goes one step further. In the Armenian language, there is only one word for love, “սէր” (pronounced sehr) In this one word, the erotic, brotherly, and unconditional elements of love all come together, remarkably, but not surprisingly. Join me tomorrow as we continue with Armodoxy for today.

Let us pray, the prayer of St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, All the greatest pains become sweet for whoever looks at Jesus Christ on the Cross. Amen.

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