Armodoxy for Today: All that glitters is not gold – Day 36 of Lent
We’re in the last days of Lent and the time has come for us to consolidate and summarize our learnings, so as to make the lessons a part of our life in the post-Lenten world. We can begin the summary process by looking at the Lenten characters and events for the last few weeks, namely the parables of the Prodigal Son, the Dishonest Manager, the Unjust Judge and yesterday, the Coming of Jesus Christ. In the cases of the characters, the Prodigal, the Manager and the Judge, these were people we would hardly consider to be models of character and ethics. Yet, Jesus selects them to the “heroes” of his stories. Only Jesus can take something of deception and negative imagery and transform them into examples for our lives and for living. In the case of the event, the Second Coming of Christ, only Jesus can change the conversation about the fear and doomsday catastrophes to a discussion of preparedness by living the events of Jesus’ first coming.
Very simply, over the past few weeks we have been challenged to look beyond our prejudices and understand that there is something to be learned from each encounter.
William Shakespear wrote, “All that glitters is not gold” (Merchant of Venice). We may twist this around to say that not all that is dull is tin. We have something to learn from each of our encounters, from the variety of people that we meet. Jesus invites us to interact with our world and understand that there is an opportunity to learn and grow from everyone, considering that everyone is a child of God.
With these ethically “ugly” people, Jesus share a bit of beauty about them to teach about the Kingdom of Heaven. With the Second Coming event, he gave us a fresh perspective of the true message of the event is.
Today’s act of charity is to review the encounters with the Prodigal, the Manager and the Judge. Read the stories in Luke 15, 16 and 18 respectively. Fast from thoughts that simplify these characters. What are the takeaways for you? Mutabbel is on the Lenten menu this evening. Check out the recipe at the link below.
Pray, Heavenly Father, as I come closer the end of Lent, look over me and direct my path to make the lessons of Lent the guiding direction for my life. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/all-that-gotters-is-not-gold.jpg10241024Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2025-04-07 00:01:222025-04-06 22:07:18All that Glitters is Not Gold – Day 36 of 40
Fr. Vazken’s speech at the Genocide Commemoration VIGIL at UCLA sponsored by the ASA’s for USC & UCLA
Good evening. I would like to thank the ASAs of both USC and UCLA for this opportunity to offer my voice to this vigil this evening.
As the years move on, we are distanced from the link that ties us. When I would first come to these Genocide commemorations as a kid, the front rows would be occupied by survivors. My grandparents would sit in those chairs and were given chances to share their eyewitness accounts of the mayhem in Armenia circa 1915. The front rows became one row and then dwindled to a few chairs as the eyewitness generation passed away. They were replaced with the documentarians – those who had filmed, recorded or written the stories of the survivors.
This morning, at 9AM, I’m pleased and proud to tell you that the Epostle.net – electronic ministry of the Western Diocese, unveiled and launched the first ever immersive exhibition of its kind that is accessible from anywhere, 24/7/365 days a year, named the Spirit of Ararat. Here stand structures from khatchkars to monasteries, to songs of the heart, demonstrating the human spirit of creativity of the people of Ararat, preserved in Web 3.0, metaverse, 360, spatial audio and photogrammetry, items that can only be experienced and enjoyed and can no longer be damaged or the destroyed. Thank you technology and Epostle for exploiting the power of human creativity.
So now, thankfully, there are more and more volumes and documents that share the horrors of genocide. But sadly, the word Genocide is still being used to describe man’s ultimate intolerance for his fellow man,
But today we gather in vigil because the human heart is hurting. 1915 was the beginning of a wave of evil that continues through today. For us as Armenians we felt it because of the injustice we endured when we became the political pawn of governments. What happened in Artsakh last September is a continuation of the same evil, and the same silence of the world.
Graphic: SEE no evil, HEAR no evil, SPEAK no evil.
In 2006 I had a chance to visit Rwanda with a small group of educators from the University of Southern California. It was a decade after a genocide ravaged the country and claimed 800,000 people in the course of 100 days.
It was an important trip for me to take. I grew up hearing the stories of genocidal crimes told to me by my grandparents. The more I heard, the more I read, the more I wanted to know how such a violent and heinous crime could be committed so overtly, especially in the modern world, where understanding seemed to be common goal. I figured, by going to Rwanda, ten years after the Rwanda Genocide, might be like going to Armenia ten years after the Genocide I had heard so much about. What might have I found in 1925?
What I found was more than I could have asked for. Not only the answers to my questions but also I found an answer to the meaning of the Armenian Genocide for me as a person living 100 years after the event.
The stories of the Rwandans were remarkably similar to the stories that I heard from my grandparents. Police coming in the night, taking away and slaughtering the men, raping the women, killing of children, blatant exhibitions of cruelty and killing, without hints of remorse. Armenians referred to the Euphrates River as the Red Euphrates while Rwandans referred to Nile as the Red Nile because of the all the blood and bodies that were flowing through the rivers veins. Rwanda made me color blind, because the only difference between myself and my story and the Rwandan story was the color of our skins. And that is no difference. I realized that our pain, our suffering is our commonality and the common thread throughout human history. We are all children of the same God. Divisions we create, they are of our own doing.
In Rwanda, I found myself in a rather unique position of straddling, so to speak, the first and last genocides of the 20th Century. There, in the capital city of Kigali, is a museum dedicated to genocide. It houses a permanent exhibit dedicated to the Armenian Genocide, as well as to all genocides of 20th century.
The Armenian Genocide is the “granddaddy” of them all. The exhibition showed, sadly, and tragically, Genocides continued in Germany, Ethiopia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda and even into the 21st Century in Darfur.
The stories are all the same. And the Armenian story has a special place and meaning for the world, because it is the prototype for intolerance, hatred and ultimately Genocide. As a successor to the Armenian Genocide survivors the responsibility is mine. If I am going to refer to the Armenian Genocide as the first, then I – we – have a responsibility to be the first to call out, the point to, to actively protest and work for understanding that leads to peace. If the world is silent, let’s point the first finger at us – are we voicing our objection to what is happening to others?
Faith implies actions. You cannot mourn a genocide without actively fighting against one. But that fight has to be on new terms. You can’t fight fire with fire, you’ll only get more fire. Fight fire with a hose. With water. Put it out.
The time has come for us to toss out the victim mentality. We’re in the Easter season and we claim to be followers of the Resurrected Christ. We need to understand that the victory is ours. Not because politicians recognize Genocide or not. Don’t fool yourself, we don’t need any validation or the authentication of the fact of genocide, just as African Americans don’t need proof of slavery or Japanese American don’t need to prove their restraint in internment camps. The Armenian Genocide is a reality and always has been. We are victorious because we are here, not because of politics, but by the miracle that has made us arrive alive and creating our tomorrows. We side and will side wherever there is injustice or evil. Whether in Gaza, in the Congo, or in Armenia, we are here to proclaim these are humanitarian issues and we are always on the side of humanity!
April 24 is a date to renew a vow to work for peace, through understanding, vigilance and love toward all of humanity.
The Armenian Church’s prayer for the day is, Christ, who crowns the saints, willingly take those who are in awe of you and look with love and sweetness on your creation. With Your holiness hear us, by the intercession of the Holy Asdvadzadzin and the supplications of all your saints, especially the holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide who completed their life for Faith and the homeland. Hear us and have mercy. Amen.
As the years move on, we are distanced from the link that ties us Genocide. When I would first come to these Genocide commemorations as a kid, there would be a stage area where the program would take place, and below it was a few rows of chairs where the Genocide survivors would sit. My grandparents would sit in those chairs and were given chances to share their eyewitness accounts of the mayhem in Armenia circa 1915. The front rows became one row and then dwindled to a few chairs as the eyewitness generation passed away. They were replaced with the documentarians – those who had filmed, recorded or written the stories of the survivors.
This morning, at 9AM, I’m pleased and proud to tell you that the Epostle.net – electronic ministry of the Western Diocese, unveiled and launched the first ever immersive exhibition of its kind that is accessible from anywhere, 24/7/365 days a year, named the Spirit of Ararat. Here stand structures from khatchkars to monasteries, to songs of the heart, demonstrating the human spirit of creativity of the people of Ararat, preserved in Web 3.0, metaverse, 360, spatial audio and photogrammetry, items that can only be experienced and enjoyed and can no longer be damaged or the destroyed. Thank you technology and Epostle for exploiting the power of human creativity.
So now, thankfully, there are more and more volumes and documents that share the horrors of genocide. But sadly, the word Genocide is still being used to describe man’s ultimate intolerance for his fellow man.
The time has come for a change, or a shift, in the way we operate. Faith implies actions. You cannot mourn a genocide without actively fighting against one. But that fight has to be on new terms. You can’t fight fire with fire, you’ll only get more fire. Fight fire with a hose. With water. Put it out.
The unfailing words of Jesus are our meditation for today. They challenge us to find a better way to combat evil.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.” (Matthew 5)
Before you say it’s impossible, is it not worth a try?
What a beautiful day today is. It is day 40 – forty days ago you began this Lenten Journey. You feel a sense of accomplishment. It is a good feeling. It has been 40 days of fasting – abstaining from certain foods. It has been 40 days of intensified prayer life. It has been 40 days of charitable giving, not merely by writing out checks but giving pieces of ourselves. We have counted our blessings and our talents, contemplating our purpose and function within life and our world. It has been a time of reflection.
It is perfectly natural for us to look back today, perhaps even revisit some of the themes that we explored during this Season. But that backward look might, in fact, be counter to what we learned during this Lenten Journey.
Today as we gather on this 40th day of Lent we arrive as new creatures. We have been transformed. We have changed, perhaps not to the exact place we would like to be, but the change is noticeable. We have a new outlook. We see ourselves differently, as individuals and within the structure of our families, our communities and the world.
The one topic that naturally follows is “Worship.” It is the one area that we have not explored. It is the most extraordinary and natural. It is the final step we need to take during this Lenten Season.
In worship we understand ourselves in relationship with God in a rather unique manner. Worship is not prayer . It is praise. Worship is not asking. Worship is giving. It is giving ourselves and humbling ourselves before that which is greater than ours self. And so, Worship is the final step in the Lenten period.
It has been a beautiful journey this year because we have grown, both individually and together. By listening, by talking, by sharing, by extending ourselves, that is, by Loving! Think of it for a moment. The Love that we share with others defines who we are in, for and around life itself. And we have a new definition. We have a new lease on life today! We have opportunity to come face-to-face with this holy season, to look at the resurrection with new eyes. Our eyes are focusing beyond The Crucifixion and we see the Empty Tomb. We witness and become part of the Tomb.
Imagine that…. Sitting in the Tomb of Jesus. Imagine waking up after the torture of crucifixion. Imagine waking up after a burial. We can now share properly what we were intended to share from the very beginning – to become participants in the salvation process. It is not a question of being saved, but one of being a participant. And that is where worship grants us a perfect model.
Worship in the Armenian Church is participation. It is an act of participation. It is not witnessing, but throwing yourself into it holistically with all your senses. To visually see what is around you – the visual delights, the colors, the candles, the flowers. To smell the aroma of the flowers at the altar as well as the incense that takes our prayers to heaven. To be able to hear the beautiful tones and tonalities of the angels. Not saying I don’t understand so let the angels come to me, but rather asking, how can I fly with the angels. How can I participant? Our sense of touch is also important in the Worship services. We have to touch each another. We have to physically love one another. We have to kiss each other to say “You are important in my life just as I would like to be important in yours.” In that touching process we begin to understand what it means to put our feet in the shoes of others. In the shoes of our brothers and sisters, of our people, of others who are struggling. We place our feet in the shoes of others and we understand their difficulties. Perhaps the loss of a job? The loss of a loved one? Perhaps they have an inability to process the spirituality, to process the love that God has put in our heart. And so we reach out to one another physically.
Finally we appeal to our sense of taste. We participate by communicating, by communing with the Holy Eucharist, with the precious body and blood of Jesus Christ.
So we see that worship really is that final step in the Lenten Journey. It is a step that allows us to go beyond Lent, so that taking what we learned during these 40 days, we can apply it and make it a reality in our life, every single day and every single moment, in our relationships with one another, to draw on what we learned in the past, but not to stay there in the past, and to say that the life before me is so beautiful that I’m ready to walk. I am ready to take on the challenges. I am empowered by God. I have been given a new lease on life with Jesus Christ as my savior.
Jesus Christ. Love incarnate. You have been given a new lease on life through Jesus, through love.
We conclude with a meditation on John chapter 15, Jesus, the True Vine. Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Amen.
Thank you for joining us on this year’s Lenten Journey. We invite you to follow along a special series during Holy Week. This concludes the Lenten Journey.
The daily messages continue tomorrow with the Holy Week series at Epostle.net
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DSC04073.jpg12001600Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-03-22 00:01:562024-03-21 23:04:18Worship – Lent Day 40
Change. You have changed through the Lenten Season. In fact, our Lord Jesus Christ is the author of change. He advocated our need to change. Your increased interaction with him has set you on the path to change. That change is articulated through repentance, that is, a conscious desire to change. Through his words and life, Jesus taught that in simplicity we can find happiness and inner peace. Lent offers the first steps on that path toward simplicity.
Christ has the ability to change evil into good. Certainly, at the Cross, he transformed the evil Crucifixion into a “Good” Friday event, by the power of the Resurrection. Jesus also changes the meaning words and concepts for us to understand the power of the good. For instance, he took the words of condemnation and turned them into words of salvation. The first man heard the words, “Take and eat this will make you like God,” and was condemned. Jesus took those same words and turned them into words of salvation, “Take and eat,” this will make you like God, for this is my body and this is my blood.
Jesus is the one who transforms us and in him we see a transfiguration. A renewal for our lives. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a formula for happiness. In the Beatitudes we are told what is really important in life. In giving us hope and belief in tomorrow, he concludes the Beatitudes by once again changing us giving us an opportunity to partake in the Divine Nature. The same one who once said, “I am the light of the world,” now turns to us and says, “You are the light of the world,” giving us an opportunity, much like the disciples who witnessed the transfiguration, who saw His radiance, an opportunity to see the fullness of God.
According to the Old Testament, the first thing that God wills is light, “Let there be light.” This is independent of any celestial body. It is pure light. It is radiating light. It is healing light. It is the light that is from the beginning of time and continues forever. Yes, Jesus now places you there, “You are the light of the world!’
Jesus continues in the Sermon on the Mount by saying “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Using something as small and seemingly insignificant as a grain of salt, Jesus emphasizes how important your life is in the big picture. The Lord proclaims that you are important because you are that salt of the earth. That salt is used to flavor life, to give life its meaning and to give it content, that is, inner happiness, inner strength, inner peace.
In Armenian Church tradition a priest blesses the homes of his parishioners and part of that ritual involves blessing water for the spiritual needs of the family and blessing the bread for the physical needs of the family. Equally as important, the priest blesses salt because flavor is necessary in life. We are called to the happiness of life, to share in God’s love, in God’s kingdom, in the goodness that is all around us. Imagine, “You are the salt of the earth” because you give meaning to what we know as life. With this gift comes responsibility – not to lose saltiness, not to lose flavor.
Likewise, regarding the light that you are, he says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
There is a responsibility that comes with being light. Light needs to shine. Yours is to light the world. You do not have the right to hide light.
Today you find more opportunities of expressing our responsibility in God’s Creation. You are called to a unique responsibility of being salt, the flavor of life. You are the light which illuminates the darkness and illuminates the path to your heavenly Father. As night falls on the Lenten Season, we are given the responsibility to shine light on a world that is in need of illumination.
The sun goes down daily over our lives, but for many lives, the glimmer of hope for a new sun rise is nonexistent. Imagine leaving a room, turning off the lights and the room becomes so dark that those people in it cannot see the light switch. They don’t know where to turn. They don’t know where to reach to turn on the light. You are the light of the world. Shine. Turn on the switch. Provide hope, faith and love.
Today God is calling upon you to become the light of the world, not to hide yourself under a table but to put yourself on the light stand. As someone who has gone through this Lenten season you now have a new responsibility to light the darkness and in so doing, to become an agent of Christ, to become a pillar of hope where there cannot be hope. You are the salt of the Earth to bring flavor to life, you are the light of the world to bring light into the darkness.
For today’s prayer, I offer a hymn of Saint Nerses Shnorhali (Norasdeghdzyal): In the beginning the Word newly created the heaven and heavens out of nothing, and the celestial hosts: the watchers, the angels and the elements, contrary one to the other, and yet agreeing, by which the indescribable Trinity is ever glorified.
The thrice-holy One, dominion and Godhead in one nature, the light uncreated that creates, commanded that there be created light, which He made to shine on the first Lord’s day that was Sunday, by which the inexpressible Trinity is ever glorified.
O You Love, in love You humbled Yourself and took human form for our salvation, in the same body that was crucified, and laid in the tomb of death, this day You rose as God and the angels proclaimed; come you who are saved, sing with the angel praises to him that is risen. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/FRICE081.jpg600900Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2024-03-21 00:01:212024-03-20 22:25:58Light & Salt: Lent Day 39
This Summer Disney is asking, “What if a Mouse Could Change the World”? Alluding to the little black and white cartoon character that debuted almost a century ago, the multibillion dollar company is using the mouse to point to their resorts, theme parks, songs, movies, and everything that is part of magic of Disney. It is interesting that the ad campaign does not refer to the mouse by name. The Disney mouse is so well known that there is no mistaking him with any of the other pop mouses, whether his girlfriend Mini, or Jerry of Tom and Jerry, or Mighty Mouse. Mickey is so well branded that thousands of children line up at Disney theme parks every day to get their mouse-ears. The shape of the cap is enough to make the connection. Yes, indeed, the little mouse could and has changed the world.
There is another mouse that we adopted about 40 years ago. It too has changed the world, primarily in the way we interact with the world. It is the electronic device that resembled more of a mouse when it had a wire connecting it to the computer, but even today in its tailless/wireless evolved form, allows us to change our world with words, graphics and videos in a manner that was incomprehensible only a 50 years ago.
In both cases – Disney’s Mickey and the computer’s pointing device – change has been embraced. The question, What if a mouse could change our world? is rhetorical. Of course, the mouse has changed our world, just as so many other things have changed our world.
In a few days we will remember a time when the terrifying power of the atomic bomb was unleashed on human populations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It brought an end to the Second World War, but it also instilled in our collective memory the scene of mass destruction. We saw an entire city destroyed in the blink of an eye. We saw beyond that blink, at the years and decades of disease and psychological trauma, the fear and anxiety with which subsequent generations lived, with take-cover drills and the Friday-morning bomb drills. Today, nuclear arsenals can destroy not only cities but the world and civilization itself. They are so destructive that there is no preparing for them. We have abandoned the drills and perhaps even some hope.
Change is inevitable. Change is happening. If we live, we change. When we die, we decay. A mouse brought change a century ago. A bomb brought change in a more existential manner.
The Armenian experience has been one of constant change. Living under different regimes, being invaded by barbarians and having to leave house and home, has left its scars on the people and the collective psyche. The Armenian church, with its centralized theology on the person of Jesus Christ, has offered the stability in stark reaction and in contrast to the changes that drive anxiety and fear. Ironically, Jesus Christ brought about a revolution, a change in the way we understand ourselves in relationship to God. The cornerstones of that revolution are faith, hope and love. These are the three elements of stability that counter act the anxiety of change in our lives.
Jesus Christ is the change that brings change toward peace and harmony. The centerpiece of the Armenian Church, and therefore Armenian Orthodoxy, is peace and harmony.
Let us pray, O Lord of hosts, commit my soul to the angel of peace, who will come and keep us tranquil by day and by night, while awake and resting. Increase in me faith, hope and love, so that I may walk with courage and strength as I journey through this life. And at all times I give thanks and glory to you. Amen.
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DALL·E-2023-08-03-16.43.27-silhouette-of-mickey-mouse-ears-against-a-backdrop-of-society.png10241024Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2023-08-04 00:01:342023-08-03 23:27:40Changes from a Mouse
