Armodoxy for Today: Jesus in our midst, missed

Every Sunday, during the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Church, the celebrant priest, descends from the altar area and processes around the inner circumference of the church.  As he walks by the congregants, he holds a cross in one hand and censes fragrant incense with the other.

There are a variety of reactions to his presence in the congregation. Some lower their head to ask for a blessing, while others kiss the cross in the priest’s hand out of reverence. Others smile and acknowledge his presence. Still, others watch as he goes by, not interested in engaging in any manner. And of course, for those who are not there at that moment, the opportunity to interact is lost because the priest processes through the church and ascends back to the altar area to continue the Liturgy.

This part of the Divine Liturgy, symbolizes Christ’s descent from the comfort of heaven to live, walk and be among us, after which he ascended back to heaven. During Jesus’ life, there were people who sought him for miracles and healings, while others engaged with him for a blessing and merely to touch his garment. And, of course, for many, the opportunity to be made whole was there and they let him pass by.

In life, there are moments that are singular and they demand our interplay at that moment, otherwise, they go by. Sometimes, events demand that we interact.

Today a genocide takes place. Ethnic cleansing is the plot. Hatred raises its head in a variety of places. And love also walks in our midst. What’s your reaction? To stay quiet and/or to ignore the horror, or to allow opportunities of love and healing to pass by are opportunities missed and lost. Unfortunately, they may never come back again. Like Jesus who walked this earth, those who interacted were healed and the made whole. Those who didn’t lost the opportunity.

In the Gospel of John (4) we read of a woman who encounters Jesus at a water well. Jesus asks for a drink of water and she is consumed by the politics of the day –“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

You never know when that moment of singularity arrives. It is a moment that engages you into action.

Jesus told this woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

We pray, Heavenly Father, I see pain and suffering in this world. I have walked that path in the past. I said, Never Again. Today, grant me the courage to speak out against evil everywhere, so that I may have the moral authority to voice myself whenever evil confronts me. Give me the strength to accept and carry the love you have put in my heart and for me to be an agent of that love through my actions. Amen.

Cover Photo: Lunabelle Beylerian, 2023