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 

Invite to the Transfiguration

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Armodoxy for Today: One Minute for Summertime

Words that triggered the Transfiguration, Day 4

The conversation that takes place before the Transfiguration, includes an invitation by Jesus.  “If anyone desires to come after Me,” he says, “Let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

It is not necessarily an attractive invitation. In fact, it has a rather painful call in it: the cross. Here Jesus is calling us to a higher standard by which to live, a life of sacrifice, which can only be achieved once the ego is in check. With self-denial, we open ourselves to the joy of living. It might not have been an appealing offer for the disciples, but those who took him up on the offer saw in the Transfigured Jesus, salvation from the cares of this world.

In the context of the lessons of this past week, Jesus remarks, bring it all into focus: “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16)

Today’s one-minute for Summertime.

Transfigured Light

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Armodoxy for Today: One Minute for Summertime

Words that triggered the Transfiguration part 3

The proclamation made by Peter, that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” grants him a blessing by the Lord himself. “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,” says Jesus, “for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I say to you that you are Peter, an on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Herein the eternal realm is aligned with the temporal. The Proclamation of the Christ as the Son of the Living God is the foundation upon which Church is built. It is the Church (in the story of the Transfiguration = Peter, John and James) who’s eyes are opened to the Revelation of the Christ Light. This Light is the original Light, not predicated on any other source but the Divine. In the beginning, before there was a sun or stars, there is Light, whether your definition of first moments are a Big Bang or the Words of the Creator, “Let there be Light.” Before there is anything to measure or quantify light, there is Light! At the Transfiguration, humanity – the Church – experienced a glimpse of the Eternal Light.

Today’s one minute for Summertime.

The Transfiguration Transcripts Part 2

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Armodoxy for Today: One Minute for Summertime

Words that triggered the Transfiguration part 2

A set of conversations between Jesus and his disciples took place before the Transfiguration. This week we are looking at the sayings of Jesus as a preface to the Revealtion of God at this Event.

According to Matthew’s Gospel (16) Jesus asks his disciples, about the buzz on the streets of Jerusalem.  “Who do people say that I, The Son of Man, am?”

The disciples gave some interesting answers – “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” Jesus asks. “Who do you say I am?”

This dialogue has been an ongoing one for two thousand years with people describing Jesus as a good man, a holy man, a teacher, a politician, a religious fanatic, or, as Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

People continue to dissect, analyze and try to understand Jesus. The important question has always been the same: What about you? Who do YOU say that I am?

The Transfiguration Transcripts Part 1

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Armodoxy for Today: The Words that triggered the Transfiguration

This week the Armenian Church celebrated the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. This event, which is recorded in the synoptic Gospels, is akin to the Theophany, in that God is revealed to humanity during the Transfiguration. On a mountain top, Scripture tells us, Jesus stands radiating the Light. “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” In the witness of three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, two characters from history appear, Elijah representing the Prophets and Moses as a symbol of the Law. Jesus stands between the Law and the Prophets, the Voice of God the Father expresses that Jesus is His Beloved Son. Jesus is the completion of the Law and the Prophets.

The Light that Jesus radiates is the Divine Essence. The Transfiguration as a singular event in human history is prefaced by a series of statements made by Jesus. This week, on Armodoxy for Today we will explore, what I call, the Transfiguration Transcripts – the words leading to God’s Revelation in our midst, each day, with “one-minute-for-Summertime.”