Tag Archive for: Ego

Ego Placement – Day 20 of 40

Armodoxy for Today: Ego Placement –  Day 20 of Lent

Continuing on yesterday’s look at the ego as motivator and hinderance to a full life, today we continue with ways of feeding the ego.

Think of the great people who have impacted the world. Now focus on the great people in your own life. They may be a parent or a teacher, or a mentor. You will find again that these have been the ones who have been willing to put themselves second to better the lives of others, be they their children, their husbands, their wives, their country, their society or their community. Whatever the case, in the sacrifice that they made, ego was contained. Ego was put on hold so that others were allowed to prosper.

To raise children, to support a husband or a wife, to deal with aging parents, to offer love and affection to people around, requires sacrifice. Armodoxy is the faith of the Armenian Church which has fed this atmosphere of sacrifice.

Many times in church life we need volunteers to get jobs done. Sometimes we think, would it not be easier if we paid people to work in these positions? Certainly it would be easier, but the real power of getting things done in the church is by volunteers, because in volunteerism the ego has to be suppressed. When you get down on your knees and wipe the floors of a church you acknowledge that there is something greater than yourself there that needs to be served. When you volunteer to help in community organizations, in organizations that have goals that are striving for peace or world justice, you are placing a greater-than-sign (>) between the purpose and yourself. In volunteering, the ego gets left behind. You are not as important as the “we.”

In the story of the Prodigal Son the younger brother is driven by ego. He wants his inheritance, not for some community project, not to better the lives of other people but to enjoy himself. Quickly we see that when the money runs out and so does the enjoyment. His friends back off. There is no intrinsic value to the things he acquired. He was driven by ego, and he lost the value of life.

Today’s act of charity is to increase the use of the word “we” and fast from the use of the words “I” and “me.” And try today’s recipe for Hot and Sour Soup, with link below.

Today’s prayer is a with a simple question presented to us by the saint of Armenian Orthodoxy, St. Gregory of Narek (6) to guide us in our prayers, What use, what good is it to me to exhaust myself with this stream of words, the voice of my sighing heart? Amen.

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 20: Hot and Sour Soup

That Little Big Thing – Day 19 of 40

Armodoxy for Today: That Little Big Thing – Day 19 of Lent

We are at the third week of Lent. It has been a good journey. We have had time to look inward, to contemplate, meditate and pray. We have restricted our diets as well as restricted idle conversation. We are feeling good. The changes we are making are starting to impact others, our families our surroundings, our work environment, our communities and therefore, our world.

Now we start understanding that real changes come from within. Perhaps it is the only thing we can alter in this world, because it is the only thing in which we have complete control. God places that control in our hands. He gives us this life and He allows us to live it the way we wish.

We conclude this week by looking at one more dimension in the story of the Prodigal Son, namely the ego dimension. You see, all of our difficulties in life stem from the ego. Long before Freud put his finger on the motivators in life, Jesus was pointing sharing the importance of leaving ego behind. We are reminded of Jesus’ words, “He who loves his life will lose it and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it for eternal life.” (John 12)

Take a look at great people who have impacted society and life and are recorded in history in a very positive manner. You’ll find something very similar among all of their biographies. They have been willing to sacrifice themselves. They have given of themselves. Now, do not mistake this for low self-esteem or low self-worth. People who impact life in a positive manner have a very positive image of themselves, but they are also willing to sacrifice because that positive self-image is not a false one, nor is it built on false pride.

False pride is very easy to acquire. Especially going through some of the Lenten rituals, as we are doing now, it is very easy to confidently boast, “Look at me, I am doing something that others can’t do.” In that statement we forget the reason for the Lenten season. In other words, the means become the focus of our actions rather than the end or goal of our efforts. The goal of Lent is to better ourselves and therefore better our relationships and our world. In the same way, we can think of our dietary restrictions during Lent. There is a reason for us to abstain from animal products. It is not only for the sake of lowering our cholesterol or our weight, but it is to keep things on an even playing field, and understanding what is essential in our lives.

Your act of charity today is to look within and inventory the changes that you’ve noticed over the past few weeks while observing the Lenten season. Fast from what is not necessary in your life.

Get ready to continue tomorrow with more ego talk. Today’s menu serves baked sweet potato wedges, with a recipe below.

We pray St. Nerses Shnorhali’s prayer, (4/24) Son of God, true God who descended from the bosom of the Father and took flesh of the Holy virgin Mary for our salvation, who was crucified and buried and rose from the dead and ascended to the Father. I have sinned against heaven and before you. Remember me like the robber when you come in your kingdom. Have mercy on your creatures and upon me a sinner. Amen.

Lenten Recipes by Deacon Varoujan: Recipe 19: Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Cover Photo: K.T.Nalik 2009

Getting Greatness

Armodoxy for Today: Getting Greatest

The Superbowl is much more than a football game, it is an annual display of athletics and dramatics, from the celebrities who attend, to the celebrities who perform at the half-time event.

The Superbowl is now over and one team has been declared as the greatest. Roughly 76,000 people attended in person and millions watched it as a broadcast on television and streamed over the internet. Interspersed throughout the game, creative and unique commercials debut during time-outs and breaks in the play.    If you were there in person, you may have spotted the President of the United States and if you watch on television you may have caught my boss being featured on one of the commercials. The ad in question starts off with guitar strums and a vocal by Johnny Cash, singing “Personal Jesus.” The question that came on the screen is this: What is Greatness? Next, pictures of people helping people in all types of situations fade from one to the next. People reaching out, hugging, engaging one another in times of need. And a slide appears with the words, “Jesus showed us what greatness really is.” Without getting preachy, the commercial ended with a message that “Jesus gets us. All of us.”

This is the third year that that the Christian website, He Gets Us, set up a beautifully orchestrated campaign of pictures and sayings of Jesus to bring the point home that He gets us! It’s a simple message that Jesus is alive and well and talking to the world today. And this year’s message was especially poignant: Jesus showed us what greatness really is: it’s in the serving and caring of others. And people listened ! I know because last year, immediately after the ad aired, both sides of the political spectrum – the left and the right – criticized the advertising of Jesus in this manner. Yes, just as he did 2000 years ago, so too now, Jesus is shaking up the establishment. On a day when the “greatest” team and players are singled out as champions, Jesus gives us a message of finding greatest in given, sharing, serving, in one word, loving others.

The challenge now comes to us. If Jesus “gets us” we need to “Get Him!”

Let us pray, “O Jesus, You humbled Yourself, as Lord and Creator, You came to give us an example of serving others, and doing so in humility. Help me to get you. Help me to put my ego to one side so I may help and care for others in humility and in kindness. Amen”

Method to the Teaching

Armodoxy for Today: The Advent Series – Private Access

Thus far, Jesus has laid the groundwork for his essential teachings. He invites us to aspire to be Christ-like. The teaching is revolutionary because adhering to it unfolds the formula for lasting peace. The difficulty of accepting the teachings, though, stems from the fact that they are diametrically opposed to the ways of a world that is consumed by materialism and ego-glorification.

In this next portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out the method by which we can accept the Teachings of Christ.

He starts by instructing, Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. …Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

Giving and helping others is important, but even more significant than the act of charity is the manner in which it is done. Jesus makes yet another call for sincerity, this time in terms of our actions. Your relationship with God should be simple. Not showy. Private. Between you and your Maker. Herein, Jesus gives private access to God eternal. To take advantage of that access, you merely have to be sincere. Give, so your left hand does not know what your right hand is doing.

Let us pray, from the 8th hour of St. Nersess Shnorhali’s prayer, Searcher of secrets, I have sinned against you, willingly and unwillingly, knowingly and unknowingly. Grant me forgiveness; since from my birth through font of baptism to this day, I have sinned before you Lord, with all my senses and in all the members of my body. Have mercy upon your creatures, and on me. Amen

The Fool’s Ego

Armodoxy of Today: The Fool’s Ego (Advent Series)

The Parable of the Rich Fool is the scriptural passage of this day of Advent. In our quest to learn the Essential Teachings of Christ as expressed in the Sermon on the Mount, the Armenian Church asks us to meditate on this parable. In it, Jesus’ refers to a man as a fool, in contrast to what he teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount, against calling anyone a fool. (Matthew 5:22)

A man, Jesus tells us, marvels in the abundance of his harvest and builds bigger storage units, saying to himself, “I will take it easy; eat, drink, and be merry.” But that night, Jesus continues, the man’s soul was demanded of him.

As we read the parable in Luke 12 the message unfolds clearly, that the life we live is temporary as are the goodness and wealth we enjoy in this life. For whom or for what purpose did he amass this wealth? He didn’t consider anything but himself and his wealth. That’s why he was a fool. The lesson against materialism is clear. The lesson we may miss, however, is the underlying root of our greed and skewed priorities, which betray us to foolishness.

Jesus provides an insight into the psyche of the fool by mouthing the fool’s argument. As I read it, listen carefully how the man’s ego is undermining his ethics. One third of his speech is consumed with self-recognition and self-glorification. Jesus tells us that the man, after contemplating his wealth, said to himself, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’”

Ego is the biggest obstacle to our happiness. We live thanks to the Grace of God. We are a collection of the prayers of our grandparents, the care of our parents, the companionship of friends, the movements of our teachers, the love and care of people who we have touched with our love. A journal activity for this week is to record all that you are, because of whom? The lesson of the Rich Fool, on this first week of Advent, provides the necessary key to understanding and accepting the Essential Teachings of Christ.

Pray then, All benevolent and almighty refuge and hope of the weak and the troubled, my Lord and my God, who created everything from nothingness protecting your creation. Draw closer to me with Your unspeakable mercy and have mercy upon me, a sinner. Amen.

Cover: Luna & Gregory Beylerian, 2023

 

Ego – Day 19

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 19: Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Lenten Journey Day 19 – Ego

We are at the third week of Lent. It has been a good journey. We have had time to look inward, to contemplate, meditate and pray. We have restricted our diets as well as restricted idle conversation. We are feeling good. The changes we are making are starting to impact others, our families our surroundings, our work environment, our communities and therefore, our world.

Now we start understanding that real changes come from within. Perhaps it is the only thing we can alter in this world, because it is the only thing in which we have complete control. God places that control in our hands. He gives us this life and He allows us to live it the way we wish.

We conclude this week by looking at one more dimension in the story of the Prodigal Son, namely the ego dimension. You see, all of our difficulties in life stem from the ego. It is for this reason that all major religions, true religions, ask you to lose the ego as part of their spiritual discipline. For the Christian we are reminded of Jesus’ words, “He who loves his life will lose it and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it for eternal life.”

Take a look at great people who have impacted society and life and are recorded in history in a very positive manner. You’ll find something very similar among all of their biographies. They have been willing to sacrifice themselves. They have given of themselves. Now, do not mistake this for low self-esteem or low self-worth. People who impact life in a positive manner have a very positive image of themselves, but they are also willing to sacrifice because that positive self-image is not a false one, nor is it built on false pride.

False pride is very easy to acquire. Especially going through some of the Lenten rituals, as we are doing now, it is very easy to confidently boast, “Look at me, I am doing something that others can’t do.” In that statement we forget the reason for the Lenten season. In other words, the means become the focus of our actions rather than the end or goal of our efforts. The goal of Lent is to better our selves and therefore better our relationships and our world. In the same way, we can think of our dietary restrictions during Lent. There is a reason for us to abstain from animal products. It is not only for the sake of lowering our cholesterol or our weight, but it is to keep things on an even playing field, understanding what is essential in our lives.

Think of the great people who have impacted the world. Now focus on the great people in your own life. They may be a parent or a teacher, a mentor. You will find again that these have been the ones who have been willing to put themselves second to better the lives of others, be they their children, their husbands, their wives, their country, their society or their community. Whatever the case, in the sacrifice that they made ego was contained. Ego was put on hold so that others were allowed to prosper.

To raise children, to support a husband or a wife, to deal with aging parents, to offer love and affection to people around, requires sacrifice. Many times in church life we need volunteers to get jobs done. Sometimes we think, would it not be easier if we paid people to work in these positions? Certainly it would be easier, but the real power of getting things done in the church is by volunteers, because in volunteerism the ego has to be suppressed.

When you get down on your knees and wipe the floors of a church you are acknowledging that there is something greater than yourself there that needs to be served. When you volunteer to help in community organizations, in organization that have goals that are striving for peace or world justice, you are placing a greater-than-sign (>) between the purpose and yourself. In volunteering, the ego gets left behind. You are not as important as the we.

In the story of the Prodigal Son the younger brother is driven by ego. He wants his inheritance, not for some community project, not to better the lives of other people but to enjoy himself. Quickly we see that when the money runs out and so does the enjoyment. His friends back off. There is no intrinsic value to the things he acquired. He was driven by ego and he lost the value of life.

Think about all of the difficulties you have in your life, can you trace them back to ego? Think about the very basic seven sins that we identify, namely pride, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, laziness and covetousness,. Each one of these sins has a foundation made up of an ego that needs to be fed. When we get rid of ego, or at least trim it down, we start seeing that our motives become more pure, our actions are more productive. We begin to understand that we give because it is right to give, not because we are expecting something back in return. We care for people because it is right to care for them, not because we are obliged to do so. If we love people, we are doing so because it is right to love, not because we are living out someone else’s ideals. When the ego is abandoned, we find a new purity of purpose and of self. Our motives and intentions move toward the noble and perhaps even the sacred. We find the power to become the people we want to become and need to become. It is for this reason that our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us, “Blessed are the pure at heart for they shall see God.”

Let us pray the prayer of St. Nerses Shnorhali in concluding today’s meditation:
Son of God, true God who descended from the bosom of the Father and took flesh of the Holy virgin Mary for our salvation, who was crucified and buried and rose from the dead and ascended to the Father. I have sinned against heaven and before you. Remember me like the robber when you come in your kingdom. Have mercy on your creatures and upon me a great sinner. (I Confess with Faith 4/24)

Advent 6/7:The Fool’s Ego

Advent Days 6 & 7 of 50: The Fool

The Parable of the Rich Fool is the scriptural passage of this day of Advent. In our quest to learn the Essential Teachings of Christ as expressed in the Sermon on the Mount, the Armenian Church asks us to meditate on this parable. In it, Jesus’ refers to a man as a fool, in contrast to what he teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount, against calling anyone a fool. (Matthew 5:22)

A man, Jesus tells us, marvels in the abundance of his harvest and builds bigger storage units, saying to himself, “I will take it easy; eat, drink, and be merry.” But that night, Jesus continues, the man’s soul was demanded of him.

As we read the parable in Luke 12 the message unfolds clearly, that the life we live is temporary as are the goodness and wealth we enjoy in this life. For whom or for what purpose did he amass this wealth? He didn’t consider anything but himself and his wealth. That’s why he was a fool. The lesson against materialism is clear. The lesson we may miss, however, is the underlying root of our greed and skewed priorities, which betray us to foolishness.

Jesus provides an insight into the psyche of the fool by mouthing the fool’s argument. As I read it, listen carefully how the man’s ego is undermining his ethics. One third of his speech is consumed with self-recognition and self-glorification. Jesus tells us that the man, after contemplating his wealth, said to himself, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’”

Ego is the biggest obstacle to our happiness. We live thanks to the Grace of God. We are a collection of the prayers of our grandparents, the care of our parents, the companionship of friends, the movements of our teachers, the love and care of people who we have touched with our love. A journal activity for this week is to record all that you are, because of whom? The lesson of the Rich Fool, on this first week of Advent, provides the necessary key to understanding and accepting the Essential Teachings of Christ.

Pray then, All benevolent and almighty refuge and hope of the weak and the troubled, my Lord and my God, who created everything from nothingness protecting your creation. Draw closer to me with Your unspeakable mercy and have mercy upon me, a sinner. Amen.

Cover: Luna & Gregory Beylerian, 2023

 

Lenten Journey Day 19 – Ego

Lenten Recipe

Recipe 19: Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Lenten Journey Day 19 – Ego 

We are at the third week of Lent. It has been a good journey. We have had time to look inward, to contemplate, meditate and pray. We have restricted our diets as well as restricted idle conversation. We are feeling good. The changes we are making are starting to impact others, our families our surroundings, our work environment, our communities and therefore, our world.

Now we start understanding that real changes come from within. Perhaps it is the only thing we can alter in this world, because it is the only thing in which we have complete control. God places that control in our hands. He gives us this life and He allows us to live it the way we wish.

We conclude this week by looking at one more dimension in the story of the Prodigal Son, namely the ego dimension. You see, all of our difficulties in life stem from the ego. It is for this reason that all major religions, true religions, ask you to lose the ego as part of their spiritual discipline. For the Christian we are reminded of Jesus’ words, “ He who loves his life will lose it and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it for eternal life.”

Take a look at great people who have impacted society and life and are recorded in history in a very positive manner. You’ll find something very similar among all of their biographies. They have been willing to sacrifice themselves. They have given of themselves. Now, do not mistake this for low self esteem or low self worth. People who impact life in a positive manner have a very positive image of themselves, but they are also willing to sacrifice because that positive self image is not a false one nor is it built on false pride.

False pride is very easy to acquire. Especially going through some of the Lenten rituals, as we are doing now, it is very easy to confidently boast, “Look at me, I am doing something that others can’t do.” In that statement we forget the reason for the Lenten season. In other words, the means become the focus of our actions rather than the end or goal of our efforts. The goal of Lent is to better ourselves and therefore better our relationships and our world. In the same way, we can think of our dietary restrictions during Lent. There is a reason for us to abstain from animal products. It is not only for the sake of lowering our cholesterol or our weight, but it is to keep things on an even playing field, understanding what is essential in our lives.

Think of the great people who have impacted the world. Now focus on the great people in your own life. They may be a parent or a teacher, a mentor. You will find again that these have been the ones who have been willing to put themselves second to better the lives of others, be they their children, their husbands, their wives, their country, their society or their community. Whatever the case, in the sacrifice that they made ego was contained. Ego was put on hold so that others were allowed to prosper.

To raise children, to support a husband or a wife, to deal with aging parents, to offer love and affection to people around, requires sacrifice. Many times in church life we need volunteers to get jobs done. Sometimes we think, would it not be easier if we paid people to work in these positions? Certainly it would be easier, but the real power of getting things done in the church is by volunteers, because in volunteerism the ego has to be suppressed.

When you get down on your knees and wipe the floors of a church you are acknowledging that there is something greater than yourself there that needs to be served. When you volunteer to help in community organizations, in organization that have goals that are striving for peace or world justice, you are placing a greater-than-sign (>) between the purpose and yourself. In volunteering, the ego gets left behind. You are not as important as the we.

In the story of the Prodigal Son the younger brother is driven by ego. He wants his inheritance, not for some community project, not to better the lives of other people but to enjoy himself. Quickly we see that when the money runs out and so does the enjoyment. His friends back off. There is no intrinsic value to the things he acquired. He was driven by ego and he lost the value of life.

Think about all of the difficulties you have in your life, can you trace them back to ego? Think about the very basic seven sins that we identify, namely pride, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, laziness and covetousness,. Each one of these sins has a foundation made up of an ego that needs to be fed. When we get rid of ego, or at least trim it down, we start seeing that our motives become more pure, our actions are more productive. We begin to understand that we give because it is right to give, not because we are expecting something back in return. We care for people because it is right to care for them, not because we are obliged to do so. If we love people, we are doing so because it is right to love, not because we are living out someone else’s ideals. When the ego is abandoned, we find a new purity of purpose and of self. Our motives and intentions move toward the noble and perhaps even the sacred. We find the power to become the people we want to become and need to become. It is for this reason that our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us, “Blessed are the pure at heart for they shall see God.”

Let us pray the prayer of St. Nerses Shnorhali in concluding today’s meditation:
Son of God, true God who descended from the bosom of the Father and took flesh of the Holy virgin Mary for our salvation, who was crucified and buried and rose from the dead and ascended to the Father. I have sinned against heaven and before you. Remember me like the robber when you come in your kingdom. Have mercy on your creatures and upon me a great sinner. (I Confess with Faith 4/24)

Service, the Last Stop

Armodoxy for Today: Service

We started this journey at the direction of the Church almost 50 days ago. Advent, meaning coming. We have prepared ourselves for the coming of Christ – the Nativity, or in more distinct terms, the Theophany. Preparation has been emotional, spiritual and even physical with the scriptural passages and the exercises prescribed to us by the Church.

The last stop on the Advent Journey is the passage that comes to us from the Gospel of St. Luke and is read during the last Sunday worship before Theophany. It reads as follows:

Now there was also a dispute among [the Disciples], as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.” (22:24-28)

This is the “last station stop,” so to speak, before the celebration of the Theophany. Having learned the lessons of the last six weeks, today we move on to service. Jesus tells us, in no uncertain terms, that he comes to us to serve and sets himself as an example for all of us to do the same: to serve one another. During his last supper with his disciples, he further demonstrates the message of service by washing the feet of the disciples (see John 13).

We find this as the last station stop because in order to serve you must first be spiritually and emotionally ready. This means you must be rid of egotism that will restrict or forbid you from serving others. Christian service is selfless, in other words, it demands that the self be put on hold while you tend to the needs of others. Without the training of the last six weeks, service would be extremely difficult because emotionally you were not at the spot to cast aside selfish pleasures to be able to help someone else. Service comes from an empathetic heart. Empathy is the result of understanding the pain of others, or walking in their shoes.

The path of Armodoxy is simple and interconnected. Today you are one step closer to the great news that Christ is in our Midst. Tomorrow, Theophany will be explained.

Let us pray, O Lord, Jesus Christ, you have given us an example of loving and serving. May we be worthy to be called your Living Body, the Church by loving and caring for others. Allow me to see the hurting world and the pain of people, and answer with my ability to serve others. Give me the strength and courage to express my love to all. Amen.

Elitism

Armodoxy for Today

Elitism

The Great Banquet Parable (Luke 14:12-24) is the topic of this week’s Advent Journey. Jesus presents a scenario where a man invites friends and relatives to participate in a huge banquet he has organized. One-by-one the invitees come up with excuses. In response, the organizer of the dinner party goes ahead and extends to the invitation to the those who are considered “outcasts” – to the poor, the lame, the maimed and the blind. And still yet, he invites everyone from the four corners of his town to participate in the banquet.

In the time of Jesus, and still today, there was a general feeling that there are people that are “chosen” by God. This parable is a simple way of expressing a reality at the time, that Jesus, the Banquet, had come and people who were invited, that is the “chosen ones” found excuses to stay away. Instead, the banquet – the goodness the “the prize” which was assumed to be limited to a small group was accessible to everyone. The invitation was to all.

Often in religious circles, ego dominates our understanding of salvation to the point that we forget that life and the consequences of life – eternal life – are gifts from God. In the time of Jesus there were people who were certain that God and His Kingdom were accessible only to them. It’s a type of elitism that Jesus spoke against, and in fact, his outright expression might have even been the reason for his execution. This elitism could be delineated on along ethnic lines, socio-economic grounds, or even around beliefs. In other words, there are those who feel that unless you belong to a particular tribe, ethnic group, class, understanding, or even religion, you cannot access the fullness of God.

One of the tenants of Armodoxy is that we understand that God is God and we are people, that is, He is the Creator and we are the creation. If God is Father of all then we are brothers and sisters with everyone. In matters of life, whether here in earth or in heaven, the final word belongs to the Author of Life, God. For this reason, we shy away from proclamations such as “I am saved.” Salvation is the decision of God and Christ is very clear about us following, rather than setting standards and degrees of justification. To the Parable, Christ tells us those who think they are invited to the banquet, in the end, are left out with their places being taken by people they never would have assumed would be let in.

In the sight of God, there is no ethnicity, boundaries, or borders, rather we are all his children. For this reason, Francois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon once said, “All wars are civil wars because all men are brothers…”

The Great Banquet Parable teaches us that all are invited to be part of God’s banquet and each of us can accept or reject the invite. It’s based on that acceptance or rejection that the banquet is filled. Tomorrow, we’ll look deeper into acceptance and rejection of the invite. I look forward to having you join us on this Advent Journey through Armodoxy.