A 316 Sentence Meditation

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Armodoxy for Today: Meditation on a Sentence

John 3:16, which is has a unique notoriety among different generations and people of different backgrounds, is often referred to as the Gospel in brief. The marking, which colors t-shirts and baseball caps, and can be found on business cards, and fast food containers is shorthand, to inform people that a believer is close by. “For God so loved the world,” begins the verse that ends with the glorious explanation, “that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

To claim this passage as “The Gospel in brief,” says more about us, people, than it does about the words and expression. We are all too quick to find shortcuts around anything that might take an investment of time and resources. Why read the book if I can skim the outline? Why skim the outline, if I can watch the movie? Why watch the movie if I can read the review? And we finally come down to; can I consolidate it in a quick sentence?

Still, John 3:16 does have a certain popularity that is not avoidable. So, during Lent, when we are investing more time into our spiritual wellness, let’s see what it says.

John 3:16 is simple enough. God loves so much that He gives us His Son, Jesus Christ. The challenge comes from the second part, which involves believing in His Son. What does that mean? Is belief merely acknowledgement that Jesus existed, or even more, exists? Or is there something more demanded of us?

God so loved us, He came to us. The invitation is for us to return to Him, to Love Him so much, to give our lives to Him. Through prayer we connect with God, through actions our prayers are materialized and through commitment and sacrifice we find the way to not perish and have eternal life.

We pray, O Lord Jesus Christ, I believe in You. May those words come alive in me by the measure of my actions to love, care and assist my neighbor. Amen.

Symbols that Point

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Armodoxy for Today: Symbols that Point

Lent Day 4

The first Wednesday of Lent in the Eastern Tradition is known as Sad or Sorrowful Wednesday. In the Western Tradition it is known as Ash Wednesday. There is no special designation to the first Wednesday of Lent in the Armenian Church tradition.

Each community of believers have unique sets of traditions and activities that help them focus on the essentials of their Faith. When entering an Armenian church, it is hard not to notice the candles that are lit by the faithful in different niches provided throughout the building. The candle, in itself, is a pointer to something greater. We call these symbols. They point to something that is unexplainable.

God said, “Let there be Light” on the first day of Creation according to the Genesis story. How do you understand light when according to the same story, the Sun and stars were not created until a few days later? Jesus says, “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)  In lighting a candle at church, we are invited to meditate and contemplate these ideas. The candle reminds us that as long as there is light at its tip, there is no darkness. So too, Christ brings Light – the eternal Light – to the darkest places in life.

Ashes are there as a pointer to one of the basic theme of Lent, namely, that this life is much more than the physical. As God tells Adam, “for dust you are and to dust you shall return,” the ashes remind us that our origin as humanity is from the earth and the inevitability of death.

Symbols are used by various traditions to help us focus on thoughts and concepts that are bigger than us.

Our prayer today is a simple one from Psalms, Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. (141:2)

Necessary Steps: Lent

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Armodoxy for Today: Necessary Steps

I saw a performance by Paul McCartney this morning. It was in a sold-out stadium somewhere in the world, which is usual fare for him. The cameras were being switched between McCartney, his band, the audience and wide angles covering the large arena.

He was wearing a t-shirt with writing on it. The words “No more…” at the top of the shirt caught my eye. For a moment there I thought, how appropriate at the beginning of the Lenten season to be advocating for vegetarian diets. He’s known for being a passionate advocate for plant-based diets, promoting animal rights and environmental sustainability. Lent? Meatless diets? No, there was a greater message underneath the words.

NO MORE LANDMINES, yelled out the words on his shirt.

Landmines: they maim and injure people with lifelong scars, both physical and psychological. I remember a few years back, spending a few days at the Halo Trust in Artsakh and learning how they meticulously and methodically, one-by-one cleared the fields of these vicious weapons of war.

I wondered why McCartney hadn’t opted for the bigger issue of “No More War”? Why stop at landmines? And then I caught myself. It’s just a t-shirt with a message.  It’s the message he wanted to spread. It was a message I aligned with, but he was the one wearing the shirt, not me.

As we begin the Lenten season, we are called to use this period of the Lent, the 40 days to prepare ourselves for the bigger picture, namely life. Much in the same way that getting rid of a landmine is a process toward a bigger goal, the forty days of Lent are not an end in themselves. They prepare us for the 325 days that follow, that is, our lives. Lent is our m means to methodically evaluate our lives and selves to better function in this world in harmony and peace.

Pray today for strength and patience, as we take the small steps of fasting and introspection to deliver us to a more productive and blessed life. To borrow from the Taoist tradition, we keep in mind that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

God is with us

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Armodoxy for Today: For God is with us

Today’s message comes to us from Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.

Lent is a journey of transformation. It is a return to God, a healing of the soul, and a preparation to encounter the risen Christ. It invites the faithful to move from repentance to renewal, from struggle to resurrection, and from death to life. Lent begins with honest self‑examination, something each of us can practice in the quiet moments of our daily lives—at home, at work, and within our families. Through prayer, God grants us the courage and wisdom to cleanse our soul and mind, making our heart a worthy dwelling place for Him.

“For God is with us.”

Each morning, I repeat these words as the prayer of my heart. They remind me that God walks with us through every ordinary and extraordinary moment of life. I thank Him for guiding my thoughts and steps, helping me strive toward a pure and meaningful life.

In God alone we find true peace and purpose. When we live with the awareness of His presence, we are embraced by His loving care, and our hearts are filled with a joy that words cannot fully express.

“For God is with us.”

Choose one moment tomorrow—morning, midday, or evening—to quietly repeat “For God is with us” and let it center your thoughts, guiding you to live with peace and purpose throughout the day.

From Archbishop Hovnan Derderian’s 2026 Lenten Meditations. Archbishop Hovnan serves as the Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America.

Lent is Here!

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Armodoxy for Today: Lent is Here

GREAT LENT – A Primer

Watch for Daily Messages – Armodoxy for Today – to guide you through this important period of time, or check out the many Lenten program from the vast Epostle library, including 40 days to healing, 40 days to the Divine Liturgy, and 40 days of the Lenten Journey

2026 Lenten Messages begin on Monday, February 16 at Epostle.net

Check out – 40 Recipes – Meatless Vegan Meals by Deacon Varoujan

What is Lent?

The period just before Holy Week is called Lent. It is a time for reflection and self-evaluation. The Church guides the individual believer through this period by offering means of self-discipline and instruction.

When?

Lent begins on the Monday following Poon Paregentan (Day of Great Living) and continues through the Friday before Palm Sunday. This year Great Lent 2026 begins on February 16 and ends on March 27, 2026 just before Holy Week.

The Purpose

During the 40-day period of Lent the believer is called to taper life down to the bare essentials. You should ask yourself what is really necessary to live? You’ll find that much of life is made up of excesses, which clutter our lives and our values. When tempted in the wilderness, our Lord Jesus reminds us that “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Dietary Restrictions

Part of the Lenten journey involves “giving up” certain foods. In the Armenian Church you are called to abstain from all foods that come from animals. This includes all animal products, including flesh meats, milk & dairy items, eggs, fowl, poultry, fish, etc. – anything that comes from an animal! Find Lenten Recipes! 40 of them

Diet is only one small part of the Lent. Jesus instructs us, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” (Matthew 15:11)   In this spirit, the individual believer is asked to inspect the content of his or her character and act in charity.

The Most Essential

Certainly, LOVE must be at the focus of your Lenten journey because it is the one ingredient of life that gives meaning and purpose to our existence. Love is the necessity of life that needs to be cultivated and nurtured during Lent so that it becomes the main purpose of existence after the Lenten period. While abstinence and restrictions are one part of Lent, the greater task for the believer is to be in love and harmony with his or her family, friends and nature.

Church Services

Even the physical church in the Armenian Church changes in outward appearance during Lent. The curtain is drawn across the altar to remind us that sin prevents us from truly enjoying God. The prayer “Havadov Khosdovanim” (= I Confess with Faith) is offered in particular. St. Nersess Shnorhali, the 12th century Catholicos, wrote this set of 24 prayers and they are considered among the most powerful prayers in the Armenian Church. By following the services, practices and prayer life of the Armenian Church, the believer comes to find the most essential of life’s joys. Peace through God is understood and Lent becomes a prelude to true Christian experience.

Lenten Sundays

Each Sunday of Lent has a unique name along with a unique message:

  • February 15 – Poon Paregentan – A day of good living, to remind us how God wanted us to enjoy life and His blessings. (Read Matt. 5-7)
  • February 22 –Expulsion Sunday reminds us of how sin enters into our lives and prevents us from experiencing the best of life and God’s fullness. (Genesis 1-3)
  • March 1 – Prodigal Sunday – The story of the Prodigal Son instructs us that no matter how much we stray from the good of life, there is always hope to be one with God. His love is unending and unconditional. (Luke 15:11…)
  • March 8 – Steward Sunday – God has given us a life full of responsibilities. How do we manage our lives, our families and ourselves? (Luke 16)
  • March 15 – Judge Sunday – Perseverance and the need to be in constant communion with God is revealed through an unjust and unrighteous judge who is the center of this day’s message. (Luke 18)
  • March 22 – Advent – Christ returns to Earth to judge the living and the dead. How can we be prepared? Listen to the message of his first coming! (Matthew 25)
  • March 29 – Palm Sunday – We enter Holy Week. The triumphant entry into Jerusalem by our Lord also signals the beginning of the holiest days of Christianity. (Matthew 26 & on)

Vartan, tbd

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Armodoxy in Today: Body and Soul

Partners in mission, Leon (Ghevont) and Vartan, are noted for bringing the light to the darkness. Following on yesterday’s theme of Spirit and Flesh, today we look at the body with its soul. Of the two friends, brothers in Christ, Vartan was the warrior. He was the body with soul, a spirit that was grounded in his beliefs. The story of Vartan gets told and retold from generation to generation, from 451AD to today.

Armodoxy asserts that you cannot impose your beliefs on anyone else. Armenians have never pushed their faith on others. This is not a sign of apathy, sloth or weakness, it is an expression of tolerance and understanding. However, when it came to the practice of their faith, the Armenians would not give it up, even if the consequence was death.

To the Persians who were imposing their faith on Armenians, Vartan and the Armenian forces responded, “From this faith [Christianity] no one can separate us, neither sword, nor fire, nor any other force.” Armenians make the point of remembering that they were outnumbered on the battle field by a ratio of 3:1. With over a thousand Armenian casualties, Vartan fell.

I don’t believe there is another group of people on the planet that celebrates a military defeat. This was the first time anywhere that a battle was fought for the defense of Christianity. And the mere fact that the Armenian Church exists today and is the center of the Christian tradition of the Armenian people, is proof that the battle was lost but the war was won.

The historian Yeghishe records that Vartan and his soldiers took an oath, We are ready for persecution and death and every affliction and torture for the sake of the holy churches which our forefathers entrusted to us by the power of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, whereby we were reborn ourselves by torments and blood. For we recognize the Holy Gospel as our Father, and the apostolic universal church as our Mother. Let no evil partition come between us to separate us from her.

Remembrance of the saints Vartan, Ghevont and those who sacrificed their lives as an act of defiance, is a reminder that our faith in Christ cannot be compromised. In a sense, the Battle of Vartan, 451AD is a page of history that has a comma at the end of it, to be decided in the Battle of Vartan in the 21st century. For we recognize the Holy Gospel as our Father, and the apostolic universal church as our Mother. Let no evil partition come between us to separate us from her.

Let us pray, “Lord, our God, through the intercession, memory and prayers St. Vartan and St. Leon, who lived and died for Jesus and the Fatherland and whom we commemorate today, grant us the gift of peace and of your great mercy. Amen.”

Angels before Valentine Day: Two Friends

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Armodoxy for Today: Spirit & Flesh

Angels are flying and hovering all around us on Valentine’s day, and mostly of the chubby little cherub variety. With arrow drawn, Cupid takes aim at the heart twixt lovers. As for the other variety of angels, they’re called seraphim, they’re flying with their six wings in service to God.

We have developed quite an imagery of angels. Ironically, angels are spiritual beings, that is, they do not have physical attributes. Go ahead, look it up. Angels are spiritual beings. They are the messengers of God. We ascribe physical traits to them for convenience so that we can form an idea of what a spiritual being may look like.

It is the human being, who above angels, has been gifted with both spirit and body. Often, it is the struggle between spirit and flesh that is highlighted in many religious stories, especially in the Bible. Today we will look at the power found in bringing spirit and flesh together.

Over these two days preceding Great Lent, the Armenian Church commemorates two saints, who were contemporaries, brothers in Christ, and responsible for the continuity of the Armenian Church and therefore the nation. One is St. Leon the Priest (Ghevont Yerets), and the other is St. Vartan Zoravar (the Warrior).

In the 5th Century, the Battle of Avarayr was fought between the Christian Army, under commander Vartan Mamikonian and the Perian army. This was the first time anywhere that a battle was fought for the defense of Christianity. It led to the signing of a treaty in 484 which affirmed Armenia’s right to practice Christianity. This is the single most important and significant event in Armenian history and for this reason, St. Vartan is recognized by the Church but also by the people, as a national hero.

His friend and priest, St. Leon, is often forgotten, though his impact on the Battle and thus the victory, is recognized by all historians, as essential. The Church recognizes the two over the course of this week and emphasizes the importance of spiritual practices combined with physical prowess to overcome the worst of difficulties. More specifically, for us, we pray to God, but in the end, it is on our physical strength that we count on to stand or walk, to reach out or voice ourselves. In our daily struggles, the example of St. Leon and St. Vartan teach us how to balance the spirit and the flesh to achieve our goals. This then, becomes a prelude to the Lenten Season.

Tomorrow we will look closer at St. Vartan.

One of the more recent manifestations of the Divine presence in our lives was in 1968 when the Cathedral (the headquarters of the Diocese) in New York was consecrated in the name of St. Vartan. Forty-two years later, when the Cathedral in Los Angeles was to be consecrated a philanthropist came forward and asked that it be consecrated using his father’s name, which happened to be Leon, and so it was in 2010. Some may call this coincidence. Others, like me, want to believe it is God’s special messenger letting us know, the Armenian Church in America, is protected from coast to coast by St. Leon and St. Vartan, as they have for centuries.

Let us pray, “Lord, our God, through the intercession, memory and prayers St. Leon and St. Vartan, who lived and died for Jesus and the Fatherland and whom we commemorate today, grant us the gift of peace and of your great mercy. Amen.”

Feathers that Explain

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Armodoxy for Today: Feathers that Explain

We continue on our theme of finding God in the little things, with this short observation from Soviet dissident, Alexander Solzhenitsyn. In 1970 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, having raised global awareness of political repression in the Gulag prison systems of the Soviet Union. Today, there is no Soviet Union, but there is tyranny, and political unrest in the human quest for freedom.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote this beautiful short prose poem dedicated to a duckling.

A little yellow duckling, flopping comically on its white belly in the wet grass and scarcely able to stand on its thin, feeble legs, runs in front of me and quacks: “Where’s my mommy? Where’s my family?”

… this one is lost Come on then, little thing, let me take you in my hand.

What keeps it alive? It weighs nothing; its little black eyes are like beads, its feet are like sparrows’ feet, the slightest squeeze and it would be no more. Yet it is warm with life. Its little beak is pale pink and slightly splayed, like a manicured fingernail. Its feet are already webbed, there is yellow among its feathers, and its downy wings are starting to protrude. Its personality already sets it apart …

And we men will soon be flying to Venus; if we pooled our efforts, we could plough up the whole world in twenty minutes. Yet, with all our atomic might, we shall never-never! — be able to make this feeble speck of a yellow duckling in a test tube; even if we were given the feathers and bones, we could never put such a creature together.*

Like the life in our breath, the cells of a trees, the splash of an ocean wave or in the feather of the duckling Solzhenitsyn describes here, everything is of God.

We pray, Lord, open my eyes and my heart so I may notice, feel, touch and appreciate the beauty you articulate in Your creation. Amen.

*Excerpt from Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Short Stories and Prose Poems. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1971. Bantam 1972

Tested in Birthing Rooms

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Armodoxy for Today: Tested in Birthing Rooms

A foxhole is a hole in the ground used by soldiers as shelter against enemy fire. It’s been said that there are no atheists in foxholes. It’s an aphorism to suggest that in times of extreme fear or threat of death people will appeal to a higher power. In other words, when looking in the face of death, even the atheist will admit to a God.

Many years ago, I discovered another place where there are no atheists. The night my first child was born, it occurred to me that there aren’t any atheists in birthing rooms, either. When looking in the face of life in its most delicate and novel state, that is new life, untouched by the world, uncontrollably you lose yourself to your emotions. That loss of control is a recognition and acknowledgement of being in the presence of something greater than yourself. The details of paper-thin fingernails, the sculpting of beauty in the features, point to the fingerprint of God and the realization that the miracle of life as anything but an accident.

I tested this theory a couple of times after that first experience and most recently with the phenomena of grandchildren. Same conclusion: There are no atheists in birthing rooms.

We pray, Lord, in the simplest expressions of life we find You. Keep our senses ever-alert to Your presence all around us. Watch over and protect those little expressions of Your Love. Amen.Whispers of the wind, held in a breath—each filament a fragile thread of nature’s poetry.

A Humbling Choked Voice

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Armodoxy for Today: A Humbling Choked Voice

In birthing rooms, homes, and fields throughout the world, parents meeting their child for the first time are overwhelmed with tears and choke on finding the words to express that awesome moment of life. Our Lord Jesus refers to this moment, “When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.” (John 16)

At a full solar eclipse a few years back, as the Moon covered the Sun and only the solar flares were dancing around the circular disk in the sky, I was moved to sing the Armenian Hymn, sharagan, “Aravod Looso” – a praise to the morning Sunrise and to the Light. Try as I may, words were not coming out of my mouth. I was choking in emotion. Overwhelmed by the event.

In 1985 Carl Segan and his wife Ann Druyan authored the book, “Contact.” The story explores the possibilities of contact between humans and extraterrestrial beings.  About a decade later the story was made into a motion picture starring Jodi Foster and Matthew Machaney. It was fascinating because the story was written from a science perspective, as would be expect from Carl Segan, who was an astronomer and planetary scientists, and very eloquently articulated scientific concepts for the average man. He was an advocate of skeptical scientific inquiry and the scientific method. Yet at the end of Contact he concedes that words and the expressions we possess are inadequate in explaining or expressing the events of the first human contact with the extraterrestrial world. In common parlance we can say he choked.

Events that are bigger than life – whether exploding in the cosmos or the first glance at new life, humble us. They choke our voice so we speak with our heart, and a tear in our eye. They are subtle reminders of the grandeur of God.

We pray from the Book of Sirach, Because of Him each of His messengers succeeds, and by His word all things hold together. We could say more but could never say enough; let the final word be: “He is the all.” Where can we find the strength to praise Him?  For he is greater than all His works. Awesome is the Lord and very great, and marvelous is His power. Glorify the Lord and exalt Him as much as you can, for He surpasses even that. Amen. (chapter 43)