Tag Archive for: Christ

Translating Today

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Armodoxy for Today: Translator

Translating is the first step in understanding. The fact that there is so much misunderstanding in our world today points to an inability (or unwillingness) to translate. The Armenian Church celebrates the “Holy Translators” (Srbots Tarkmanchats), this coming weekend. The men in this group were not contemporaries of one another, that is, they lived in different time periods, separated over a span of 700 years or so, yet they are known as a group, The Holy Translators. Yesterday we looked at the group and found the common thread among them was their ability to communicate by simplifying that which was complicated and complex.

Jesus was the ultimate translator. He came to a world that was wrapped up in laws and regulations which kept people alienated from the essence of Faith, namely from God. He simplified it. With parables about wheat, seeds, soil, and talents, he simplified the most complex ideas of purpose and God-centeredness. He simplified the complicated laws. There are 617 laws in the Old Testament. Moses brought it down to 10 commandments. Jesus, simplified it even further, down to one word: Love. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” He answered when questioned which is the greatest commandment.  “And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

Consider how simple this is. If you love God and love your neighbor, you can’t murder, you can’t lie, you can’t steal, you are filled with honor for others. Accordingly, it follows then, that the simplification of the law and the prophets was found in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the fulfilment of the law and prophets. He said so distinctly, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

The Holy Translators directed people to Christ. It was St. Nersess Shnorhali, the 12th century member of this group, who equated Christ with Love. “The name of Love is Jesus” he wrote in the Aravod Luso hymn. In pointing to Christ, the Holy Translators were pointing to love as the golden key of understanding. That is, through love, the most complex and complicated realities are translated and simplified.

The translators are persons in history, but we have translators in our midst today. Think of a mother, who stands between her husband, children, sometimes parents, sometimes extended family, and somehow translates the differing ideas and tones to bring about harmony. Think of the teacher who spends extra time with a student to assure him or her that there are options after a failed test. Or think of the priest who brings comfort to a family who cannot understand how they will survive the tragic loss of a loved one. These are all people who have accepted the invitation to translate, that is, to understand others. And the invitation is now given to us – you and me. Accept the invitation. Translate the complexity of bitterness, hatred, separatism, and everything else that prevents us from understanding one another, translate them to the simplicity of the message of Christ: love.

Let us pray, “Lord Christ our God, through the intercession of your Holy Translators, Saints Mesrob, Yeghishe, Movses the poet, David the invincible philosopher, Gregory of Narek and Nersess of Kla, I ask that you open my heart to understanding so that I may be in harmony with my surroundings and those with whom I come into contact. May I find joy in the simplicity of your Love commandment and keep that ever before me as I go through this life. In all things I glorify you with the Father and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Worship

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Armodoxy for Today: Worship

Worship is often looked at as an extra bit of religiosity in the Christian experience. Implied in worship and the language of worship is often feelings of purpose, that is to please God. Much of the Old Testament contributes to this feeling that has traces of the pagan rituals to please the gods, and avoid their wrath.

Worship is your acceptance of Christ’s invitation, to participate in life. Worship in the Armenian Church, contrary to everything you may have heard or felt, is a celebration. It takes place in the presence of God and all the saints, and unites us with all others who participate in the worship throughout the world, as one Christian family. Here we lose the self and understand ourselves as part of the bigger collective, with responsibilities toward our families, communities and the world.

Today’s one minute for Summertime.

Cover: Etchmiadzin Congregation, Gregory Beylerian, 2014

Fulfilling the Law & Prophets

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Armodoxy for Today, one minute for Summertime: Fulfilling the Law and Prophets

At the Transfiguration, Jesus is surrounded by two Old Testament characters, Moses and Elijah. They represent the Law and the Prophets respectively. God’s voice is heard saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” *

In the Armenian Church tradition, Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, a pronouncement which is made every Sunday at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy in every Armenian Church. Indeed, the Kingdom of God is at hand. It is enacted.

God gave the Law, He gave the prophets, but He so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. (John 3:16)

Today’s one minute for Summertme.

*Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–13, Luke 9:28–36, 2 Peter 1:16–18

Your Kingdom Come – 4of10

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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.

A Tempting Temptation

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Armodoxy for Today: A Tempting Offer

Of the thousands of books written about Jesus, I often opt to read works that challenge me to view things from a different, perhaps new, perspective. One such book is a work of fiction by Nicholas Kazantzakis, called The Last Temptation of Christ. It was written in 1955, stirring up controversy and then in 1988 it was produced into a film stirring up objections from conservative and orthodox Christians.*

The story by Kazantzakis is well researched and thought out. He lays out the plot as follows: The crucified Messiah is given His “last temptation” on the cross. He is given the opportunity to see life beyond the cross, to know the joys of a family life, share memories with friends and live to a ripe old age. He is given the opportunity to have the same dreams as do all men and to be as all men. Yet he resists temptation. He says “no” to all the trappings of this world and opts to do His Father’s Will instead.

The gift of free-will, that is, to choose to do otherwise, is one of the greatest gifts given to us by God. In this novel, we are given a “what-if” scenario, and an opportunity to work-through the natural temptation to live without suffering, and to die a peaceful death. It gives us an opportunity to view the story from yet another perspective.

Jesus chose the Cross. In that choice we find how tightly Love and the Cross are tied together.

Today’s prayer is from the Gospel of John, chapter 12, the words of Jesus, which say, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

Holy Tuesday – 10 Professionals

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Armodoxy for Today: Holy Tuesday – 10 Professionals

On the Tuesday before Easter, known as Great Tuesday, the Armenian Church remembers the Parable of the 10 Virgins. From the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we find a parable whereby Jesus teaches us the importance of always being ready. Five maidens who were prepared for an event are referred to as wise virgins, while five who were not ready are referred to as foolish maiden. Read the parable in Matthew 25

First of all, these archaic terms, virgin and maiden can be distracting and may deflect our attention from the real message of the story. So go ahead and change the characters. Substitute yourself and your profession for the characters in the story. Make this about the 10 dancers, the 10 accountants, the 10 doctors, the 10 architects, or the 10 dish washers. Make the story about 10 of your profession who are anticipating an event that comes up in your line of work. For instance, the 10 dishwashers are waiting for the plumber to fix the sink so they can finish their duties. Be creative and try it.

I will take the lead and talk about the 10 priests, five of them were wise and five of them were foolish. They were waiting for their bishop to arrive, a bishop who was going to come and celebrate the Liturgy. And while waiting, five foolish priests used up the candles and the incense that they had prepared to celebrate the bishop’s arrival. At the same time the five wise priests had kept their candles and their incense, anticipating the arrival of the bishop and were prepared. When the bishop arrived, he looked around and he said, I am ready to be escorted into the sanctuary. Light your candles, light your incense, and let us process into the sanctuary. The five foolish priests had used up their resources, they were not ready. And turned to the five wise priests and said, let us borrow some of your incense, some of your candles. But those priests said, we cannot give it to you. We’re escorting the bishop into the sanctuary, and the people are waiting. The crowds have arrived. We cannot let them wait. And so they entered into the sanctuary, and the five foolish priests were left out.

So you see, this story is not about priests just as the original was not about virgins. This is a story of preparedness and readiness. When God shares His kingdom with us, it’s not for us to be saying, Wait! Even with a Pretty please, on our words. Ours is to always be ready to interact with God. The stakes are greater than a plumber or a candle. This is the Holy Tuesday meditation that comes across Armodoxy on this Tuesday of Holy Week. Amen.

Cover Photo: Gregory Beylerian

All that Glitters is Not Gold – Day 36 of 40

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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.  

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 36: Mutabbel

Conditions (or not) of Forgiveness

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The Forgiveness Imperative

In the “Our Father” there are very few requests we have of God. We ask for our daily bread, forgiveness of our sins, to be spared from temptation and ultimately from evil. It’s a short list with huge demands. Of these, the forgiveness of sin stands out from all others because it is the only request that is conditional. As Jesus teaches the prayer, the words he uses are “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”

Our debts, or sins, are forgiven by the same standard upon which we forgive the debts, or sins, of others! In fact, this is such an important aspect of the Our Father prayer, that Jesus reinforces it with a statement following the prayer in verses 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Our sins are forgiven as we forgive others their sins. Forgive a person only half of their debt, be certain that God will forgive only half of your debts, or sins.

More important than figuring out percentages of sins and fractions of forgiveness, Jesus is asking us to take responsibility for harmony in the world.

The greatest obstacle to living a good, meaningful and fulfilling life is our sin. In the Church we define seven “deadly” sins: Pride, Anger, Envy, Greed, Lust, Gluttony and Sloth. Today, take a moment to identify the reasons and obstacles to living a godly, good life. You’ll find that one or several of these noted sins are at the root of your difficulties. You have it within you to be forgiven of your sins. The condition is singular, forgive others. In other words, Jesus asks us to live in harmony with everyone.

There is no one who does not sin. Only Jesus is sinless. As such, only Jesus has the right to judge others, but he chooses not to. Now the turn is ours. Forgive.

Let us pray,
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 forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Greater than God

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Armodoxy for Today: Advent Series – Greater than God

During this period of Advent, we are encountering the Essential Teachings of Jesus as he expressed them in the Sermon on the Mount. Today we continue to look at the harsh contrast between the Old and New Testaments, especially as it is presented in this passage about murder. Jesus equates murder with anger. “You have heard that it was said to those of old,” Jesus says, “‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” For Jesus, sincerity of heart is of primary importance. But the contrast twixt Old and New is perhaps nowhere so pronounces as when Jesus offers the solution to our anger.

He continues, “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.”

Truly this prescription is in stark contrast to the Old Covenant. In the Ten Commandments, the code of the Old Testament God is not to be overshadowed by anyone or anything. The first two commandments, articulated by God are as follows:

“You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God….” (Exodus 20:3-6)

For Jesus, our reconciliation with one another is more important than God! “… leave your gift there before the altar,” he instructs, “and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Lip service did not interest Jesus. Actions were necessary to back up the words of our mouth. The love we have with one another is our expression of the love we have for God. This was so central to Jesus’ teaching that it was codified, in a sense, in the writing of St. John the Evangelist.

Today, we leave with a mediation from the Letter of St. John, chapter 4:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. … Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. … If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. (4:7-20)

Cover: Luna & Gregory Beylerian, 2023

 

Etchmiadzin for All

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Armodoxy for Today: Etchmiadin for All

In a world that is plagued with war, disease, poverty, intolerance and indifference, the feast of Holy Etchmiadzin may seem obsolete and/or archaic. What is all this talk about Holy Etchmiadzin when the news is shouting out horror and evil?

The Church steers us to the answer in the epistle reading of the day, from Hebrews chapter 9. Here we read about structures, about altars and tabernacles. In the Armenian Church we read this in the context of the new covenant and therefore state the invitation in the hymn of Holy Etchmiadzin: “Come, let us build the altar of light!”

The altar, which pointed to rules and regulations is now standing as a beacon of light, and therefore, as a lifesaver offering and giving hope! The Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church attests to this subtle change of focus when the celebrant prays, “God of truth and Father of mercy, we thank you, for you have exalted our nature, above that of the blessed patriarchs; for you were called God to them, whereas in compassion you have been pleased to be named Father to us.”

As children of our Heavenly Father, we are called to the highest calling: to share the Light with others, especially those living in darkness. “You are the light of the world,” says Jesus (Matthew 5).  “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.”

Come let us build the altar of light, says the hymn, so that evil is exposed. Etchmiadzin is the altar of light that must be raised in a world of darkness.

“This is the verdict,” Jesus says, (John 3) “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

We pray, from St. Nersess Shnorhali’s prayer, O Christ, the true Light make my soul worthy to encounter with joy the light of your divine glory, on the day I will be called by you; and to rest in good hope, in the mansions of the righteous, until the great day of your coming. Have mercy upon your creatures, and on me, a sinner. Amen.

 

Cover: Altar of Descent, Holy Etchmiadzin, Fr. Vazken 2014