The Kingdom Now (4 of 10)

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Armodoxy for Today: 10x One Minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, Part 4 –Your Kingdom Come

Before Jesus arrived at the River Jordon to be baptized, John the Baptist was proclaiming, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:2) In common parlance use the expression “To Kingdom come” after words such as blow, blast, or send as a threat, e.g., “I’ll blow you to Kingdom come.” And so, often God’s Kingdom is seen as a location, someplace in the future which also signals an end to all things.

But as Armodoxy attests, the original message and Kingdom was ushered in with Christ. We read from Scripture, “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed,  nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21) It is not by chance that Jesus was standing in their midst when he said these words.

Our request in the Lord’s Prayer is that God’s Kingdom may be revealed to us. We are asking for His presence in our lives, today, in the here and now.

This is the fourth of 10, one minute for Summertime.

State of Being is Holy (3 of 10)

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Armodoxy for Today: 10x One Minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, Part 3 – In Heaven & His Holy Name

Our Father has a location; it is in heaven. Even though that beautiful blue sky and the clouds above our head are often referred to as heaven, we are merely conditioned to look up in reference to this word. As the dwelling place of God, it is more than just a location. Think of it as a state of being – a state of perfection, of communion, joy and transcendence.

Our Father, who is in Heaven, is another way of saying the God of the universe is everywhere – beyond us and within us. We each have the potential for goodness, completeness, and transcendence, as Jesus invites us to “Be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5)

In the Divine we acknowledge the sacredness of that perfection and therefore, Our Father’s name is hallowed – sacred and holy.

The third of 10, one minutes for Summertime.

Our Father (2 of 10)

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Armodoxy for Today: 10x One Minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, Number 2 – Our Father

Jesus sets the tone for his prayer, with the first words. This is a conversation with God, but He is not overwhelming. He is “Our Father.” He is approachable. He is father, that is, one who cares, and is responsible to share His love with us. He is father, who embraces us in our pain and hurt and smiles with us in the beauty we absorb. He shares our joys and suffers with us in times of distress.

Furthermore, He is our Father, not my father, not your father, but our father. As such He is the God of all. There are no favorite children, we are all his children. He is the Father who distributes His love equally among all His children. And we therefore understand, that every war is a civil war, because the argument and misunderstanding is between us and with a brother or sister, for we all share the same father. The first two words of the prayer set the address of who we are talking with. Our Father.

This is the second of 10x one minutes for Summertime.

And when you pray…

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Armodoxy for Today: 10x One Minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, Number 1

Wars, threats of wars, floods, disasters, shootings, and the response to these tragedies seems to be a standard: Pray! Newscasters tell us, “We keep them (the victims) in our thoughts and prayers.” While thought we understand, our idea of prayer ranges from a shopping list of wants to put before God to a quiet meditation on the tragedy.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs us with the words, “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases… for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then in this way:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.

Each word in this prayer is a power-word making the entire prayer meaningful and effective. Over the next few days we will look at each phrase and its meaning for the Christian today.

This is the first of 10, one minute for Summertime.

Three signs of Denial

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Armodoxy for Today: Glimmer under the cover at Ani

The City of Ani in Western Armenia was once known as the city of 1001 churches. These were Armenian Church, with domes that were patterned on the architecture of Holy Etchmiadzin, the first Christian Cathedral built in 303AD. Like Holy Etchmiadzin, the Cathedral and churches of Ani were in Armenia proper until the lands were occupied.

A few years ago I led a pilgrimage to this sacred space which now resides in Eastern Turkey. There we witnessed the first part of “operation cover up.” Informational signs that were placed at the entrance of the city read in English, French and Turkish, with absolutely no mention of the Armenian origins of these churches, despite the fact that all the ruins contain Armenian etchings, letters and are referenced in hundreds of scholarly articles, essays and books attesting to the Armenian origins of the ruins.

Part two of “operation cover up” takes place as the Turkish government has decided to topple the shrines.

The small glimmer of Light comes from a small icon, almost completely buried under the rubble. It is an icon of Jesus Christ, with the words that cannot be ignored nor covered up: “I am the way, the truth and the life.

Today’s one minute for Summertime.

Winner-Loser-Truth

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Armodoxy for Today: Truth times two

There is a story about a race between a Russian and an American. The two men start at the same point, run around a track and the American comes in a few seconds before the Russian. The American news service reports, “American wins race. Russian comes in last place.” The Russian news service reports, “Russian comes in second place. American is next to last.”

Neither news agency reported false facts. Neither agency lied. They both told the truth as it best suited their purpose. That purpose is what you must decipher by looking at intentions. This is very important today as more and more individuals and groups rally for your attention.

In stark contrast, as Christians, our truth is a person. “I am the way, the truth and the life,’ says Jesus. Go ahead and test this truth for purpose and intention. You’ll find that this Truth has a genuine purpose which is Life itself.

Today’s one-minute for Summertime.

Articulating Spirit

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Armodoxy for Today: Articulating Spirit

 Jesus taught with parables. This one came with a question. He begins, “A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’  He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I [will] go, sir,’ but he did not go.”

Jesus then asks the simple question: “Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.” (Matthew 21:28-32)

The first said no but regretted his decision to disobey and did it. The other, said he would do what was asked, but did not.

Our words are articulations of our mouth. Our actions, are the articulation of our spirit.

Today’s one-minute for Summertime.

Upward: Moon and Saints

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Armodoxy for Today: One Minute for Summertime

The Moon and the Saints

On this day in 1969 Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong took his memorable small step for a man and giant step for mankind on the surface of our closest celestial neighbor.

The moon has inspired poets and romantics, mystics and philosophers since the beginning of time. Men of old imagined light beyond the night sky and moon and stars as holes in that dark blanket giving us a glimpse of the light beyond. Scientists pursuing the origins of the universe have been intrigued by the Moon.- Some say it is the same size as the Pacific Ocean – that maybe it was thrown out of Earth during the early formation of the planetary system. Characters in stories, such as Moonstruck’s Cosmo Castorini used the size of the moon as a romance meter, Whether the size of his daughter Loretta’s head, or Frank Bigalow, the moon made for a nice love gauge. Kids have looked up, and seeing the circular marks of crashed meteors imagined the Moon to be made of Swiss cheese.

The Moon, much like the saints of our Church, are located above our heads, beckoning us to look up, to wonder, to discover brightness in the darkness.

Today’s one-minute for Summertime.

Sandoukht, the First Armenian Christian Martyr

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Armodoxy for Today: One minute for Summertime

Sandoukht, the First Armenian Christian Martyr

In the Book of Acts we read about Stephen, the first deacon and first martyr of the Christian Church. The Apostolic Church was commissioned to venture out to new areas spreading the Gospel of love, truth and hope through Jesus Christ to the spiritually hungry word. As the Christian Church grew, so did the animosity against its followers. Thaddeus arrived in Armenia circa 40 AD preaching the Gospel, baptizing and converting the people to Christianity. Among those early converts was a young girl named Sandoukht. She was was daughter of the King of Armenia, Sanadruk.

At first the King forbid his daughter from following Jesus, but Sandoukt was defiant and because more and more she understood the power of Christ in her life. After many threats, the king laid down the law: either the sword or the crown! If Sandoukht wanted to remain in the royal family she must abandon following Christ. If not, she would face death by the sword.

Sandoukht became the first Armenian martyr by choosing to follow Christ. She is celebrated this week in the Armenian Church along with St. Thaddeus, the Apostle to Armenia.

While there may be no one taunting us with the “sword or the crown” question, but certainly we are aware of how the “crown” in the guise of material wealth can lure us away from God. Saint Sandoukht gives us an opportunity to reflect on our priorities and where those priorities may lead.

Today’s one minute for Summertime.

Transfiguration for Peace

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Armodoxy for Today: One Minute for Summertime

Words that triggered the Transfiguration, Day 5

The dialogue between the Christ and his disciples was a necessary preface for the Transfiguration. What took place that day on that mountain top was a Theophany, God was revealed. Armodoxy attests that God is beyond our words and our understanding, just as the events of Transfiguration, namely, Christ radiating the Light of Eternity. In the exchange of words between Christ and his disciples we are given a background to the power of love and sacrifice, because the Transfiguration was not merely a demonstration of the supernatural, rather a demonstration of what is possible through the power of love and sacrifice.

The significance of the Transfiguration as a major Feast Days of the Church is that God reveals what is possible when the theoretical (that is conceptual love) comes alive through sacrifice. In this hurting world, where life is defined by material wealth, and harmony with others is the least of concern for villagers, city dwellers and countries, the Transfiguration is a bit of hope as to the potential for peace and harmony of life.

Today’s one-minute for Summertime.

 

Want a little deep dive? Try the Next Step with Fr. Vazken Episode #582

Cover: Chapel of Transfiguration in Grand Teton National Park