Now add Palms to the Mix

Armodoxy for Today: Palms at Christmas

Madison Avenue, is a street in New York City where many advertising agencies have offices and in the past, much of what we consumed was dictated by the cues sent to us from Madison Avenue. Today more elite methods are used, methods that melt us down to mathematical formulas governed by algorithms. And we react. Christmas, we know is a season for shopping. It’s a season where sales are permissible. And so, if they tell us it’s Christmas in July, much like Pavlov’s dogs, we begin salivating at the chance to bite off some bargains. Amazon Prime Days is happy to oblige, I’m sure.

And since we’re celebrating Christmas in July, I won’t hesitate to draw from another period on the Church calendar, namely Palm Sunday, for today’s lesson. At the first Palm Sunday, that is, when Jesus entered Jerusalem to meet his appointment with the Cross, he saw a scene in the temple which infuriated him. We read in Matthew 21:12-13: Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of thieves.’” This event is sometimes referred to as “Jesus cleansing the temple” because he “cleaned out” all that did not belong there.

The temptation here is to use Jesus’ example and clean house. We may look at Christmas in July and rebel – how dare they use the word Christmas to disguise the promotion of merchandise sale. And certainly, the temptation is an inviting one. The phrase “cleansing the temple” is a description someone gave the story. Turning the tables, is the action Jesus took, which he, and only he, had the right to do. When we come to defend the Christian message or even Christ himself, the first action is not to turn over the table of the other guy, but rather to take a look at ourselves – turn over our own table – self-introspection – and ask, am so clean that I may presume to condemn another? When we view a situation, whatever it may be, our ego stands in the way of a clear view.

Armodoxy is the study of the ancient faith as it pertains to our lives today. Armodoxy is not a rejection of this life, but an understanding to allow us to work in harmony within this life. Jesus did not reject life, but rejected the hypocrisy that arises from self-assurance. He criticized because he could. He is sinless and pure. He pointed to something higher that could be attained in the here-and-now.

Instead of the Pavlovian conditioning of buying and spending at the sound of the word Christmas, let us turn our attention to the One for whom the celebration of Christmas originated. Let us listen to his words, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Matthew 7)

Christmas in July begins with the acknowledgement that it’s about Jesus. Once acknowledged, we then need merely to listen to his words.

We pray, Jesus, only you are sinless. As such you are able to place your finger on the cancer that plagues humankind. Remove the disease of egotism from our sight so that we may have a fresh and clean perception of what is truly important for our lives. Amen.

Cover: Palms at ChrisTmas, Fr. Vazken 2013