Tag Archive for: Message

Message Not to be Omitted

Armodoxy for Today: The Message

When we proclaim our faith about Jesus Christ, we often do so about the person and inadvertently forget a fundament element of the faith, namely the message he preached. In the Nicene Creed, adopted in 325AD by the Church and recited in churches throughout the world every Sunday, we proclaim our belief in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and the exclusivity of the Holy Church. We have shorter forms of the profession of faith, one of which is confessed by the godfather during baptism in the Armenian Church. In the Western churches, such as the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, the Apostles Creed is pronounced. In St. Nersess Shnorhali’s prayer of the 4th hour, we read an even more abbreviated form about Jesus, the Son of 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.”

In all of the creeds and professions of faith, the person of Jesus, the Son of God, is defined. What is missing is his message, or even more simply, mention or reference of his message. I use the word “missing” rather than “omitted” or “forgotten” because I believe the development of these creeds were products of the times and societal needs. In the case of the Armenian Church, her constituency during the early centuries was homogeneous. The people attending church and shared common values and so it wasn’t necessary to reference the message in a creed.

Armodoxy is about taking that ancient faith and placing it in today’s world and society. In a globalized society, where many different messages are vying for your attention, Jesus’ message can easily be dismissed, omitted or even forgotten because of the zealous efforts to proclaim Jesus as superior to other choices. Mature faith understands that it is Jesus’ message, that is unique and superior to all else. In his message we understand the fulness of the statement that God is love. Jesus’ message is what connects us to the beginning of time, and therein we find the Divinity of Jesus as the Son of God. “I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true.” (John 7:28)

Let us pray St. Nersess Shnorhli’s prayer of the 4th hour, with addendum, 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 taught the message of true love and compassion, with his words and his life,] 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 into your kingdom. Amen.

20i23/19i24

Missing from the Creed

Armodoxy for Today/Advent Journey 50: The Message

The Nicene Creed – “We Believe in the Father almighty, creator heaven and earth…” You know it, “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of the Father… Light of Light, Very God of Very God…” It’s the standard by which we proclaim Faith as members of the Christian Church, whether in the Orthodox or Roman Catholic traditions or in mainline protestant churches, the Nicene Creed is the Confession of Faith… This is what we believe.

And while we proclaim faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and confess his birth, baptism, passion, crucifixion, burial and resurrection, there is something that is not proclaimed in the Creed. We remember the events of Jesus’ life without mention of his teachings! We believe in what he taught!

What are the teachings of Christ? You’d be surprised to learn them, because some of them sound so outlandish: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” “Blessed are the meek.” “Do not resist evil.” “Turn the other cheek.” And “Love your enemies.”

These examples all come from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7. I refer to these three chapters as the “essential teachings” of Jesus. In fact, when students ask me how to read the Bible, I have them start at this point, because Jesus lays out what is asked of us by God. This Advent Season, we will be focusing on the Sermon on the Mount: The Essential Teachings of Jesus. Each one leading us to finding the Christ in Christmas.

Today, we begin with the reading of what is known as the Beatitudes. It is the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus outlines what is considered a blessing. Contemplate these today. You may wish to keep a journal, written or mental, through the 50 days of Advent. When we finish at the Theophany, we will read these once again, it will be interesting to compare your thoughts then with what you hear today.

St. Matthew records this in his Gospel, “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

The Khatchkar Dialect of Varak

Armodoxy for Today: The Khatchkar dialect of Varak

As Jesus entered Jerusalem on that first “Palm Sunday” the people went to the streets with joy, singing in loud voices, “Hosanna. Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

In the Gospel of Luke (19) we read that the religious elite of the day called Jesus from the crowd and ordered him to rebuke the crowd, but Jesus answer, “I tell you that if these [people] should keep silent, the stones themselves would immediately cry out.”

There is a small little village just off the shore of Lake Van in Western Armenia called Varak. In the third century the nun Hripsime, escaping persecution for her Christian beliefs hid in the hills of Varak. In her possession was a piece of the Cross of Christ. She hid the fragment on the mountain where it lay for over three hundred years until a hermit named Totig found it in the seventh century. This Sunday marks the celebration of this event, the Cross of Varak.

I had a chance to visit Varak. Today the town as well as all of Western Armenia is occupied by Turkey. The once beautiful and spiritually active monastery of Varak is now in shambles. Among the ruins you can make out the markings of the interior of the church. Small niches where candles once lit the interior are now exposed to the elements with the roof and huge dome in piles of rubble.

Next to the foundation stones which act as a footprint of the Varak Monastery are houses of the villagers. Kids were playing on the unpaved streets and we struck up a conversation with some of the villagers. One of them invited us into their house. The walls were stones stuck together with a dry pack type of mortar. Stones of different colors and different shapes indicating a variety of sources and suggested they were gathered from different time periods. And… there were khatchkars – cross stones – taken from the monastery and stuck on the wall to protect the inhabitants of the house from outside weather conditions.

The destroyed monasteries and ruined churches, are part of a campaign to erase history and are the final act of destruction following Genocide. Michael Arlen, in his book Passage to Ararat, (1975) searches his roots in Armenia and in Western Armenia. Speaking to the erasure of history, Arlen writes, “What was it except hatred to say that a people did not exist?”

The khatchkar answers back. Khatchkars speak to us in a distinct language, or perhaps, it is a different dialect, because if you listen carefully, you can always understand the message. Khatchkars are the stones that counter the hatred by proclaiming peace of heaven on earth. Even in destructed form, in the ruins, the khatchkars are sharing the Divine message of hope and love as an antidote to the hate.

We pray this prayer for peace, Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace, please grant us peace. Make all men and women witnesses of truth, justice, and brotherly love. Amen.

Translating Hope

Next Step #748: Hopelessness, helplessness and depression, Fr. Vazken demonstrates a translation to hopefulness. Translators who move beyond language, an expression for today. Holy Translators from Mashdots to Shnorhali, 700 years of hope. Editorial privilege: essential news. Anxiety and the Crucifixion.
Daily Messages from Epostle
NASA Webb images
Hrashk Manoukner – Hambartsman Tziavor
Cover: Entrance to Ani – 2014 Fr. Vazken
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for Epostle.net
Subscribe and listen on demand on your favorite pod-catcher!
We’re on StitcherPandora and Apple Podcasts.

Faces Near the Manger

Next Step #499: Perspectives – looking down or looking up – finding the center point of our liturgical and common life. A Christmas special that continues and connects. Christmas Eve at the Armenian Cathedral. The story of the “Golden Ball.” Looking at Christ: Inclusion by reflecting the Christ-Light. A different sort of a Merry Christmas message.
Pentatonix “Mary Did you know?
Mary Did you know? by Madilyn Smith
Photo: At the Manger (open this for podcast discussion)
Engineered by Ken Nalik
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for InHisShoes.org
Subscribe to In His Shoes » Next Step with Fr. Vazken by Email
Look for The Next Step on blubrry.com
Listen via Stitcher Radio on demand!