ASCENT

Homily for Forgiveness Vespers

2010-02-11T07:19:00.000-05:00

Modeled on St John Chrysostom's Catechetical Homily

I thought it might be helpful to us if we began the fast with an exhortation which matched the beautiful Paschal Sermon of our Father among the Saints, John Chrysostom.

May the Lord bless our ascetical effort and sanctify us all thereby!

If anyone be devout and love God,

Let him commence this radiant fast with joy!

If anyone be a wise servant,

Let him, rejoicing, enter into the school of repentance.

We who have wallowed long in sin,

Let us now begin our return.

If anyone has strayed from the first hour,

Let him today repent with zeal.

If anyone has sinned from the third hour,

Let him with gratitude embrace the fast.

If anyone has fled God from the sixth hour,

Let him have no misgivings about his prompt return;

Because he shall in nowise be turned away therefore.

If anyone has indulged the flesh since the ninth hour,

Let him draw near, fearing God alone and trusting in His mercy.

And if anyone has turned away only at the eleventh hour, Let him also not hesitate to turn back with haste.

For the Lord, who is longsuffering and full of compassion and mercy, will accept the last even as the first.

He restores him who repents at the first hour,

As He does him who turns back at the eleventh.

And He shows mercy upon the last,

And cares for the first;

And to the one He gives,

And upon the other He bestows gifts.

And He both accepts the confession,

And welcomes the intention,

And honors the contrite heart and rejoices in the return.

Wherefore, enter all of you into the holiness of your Lord;

Offer your repentance,

Both the last, and likewise the first.

You rich and poor together, repent, for today we stand outside the closed gates of paradise.

You sober and you heedless, prostrate yourselves before your King!

Return to the Lord today, both you who have sinned with knowledge and those who have done so in ignorance.

Your pantries are full; empty them to the hungry.

The belly enslaves us, let no one be dominated thereby.

Enter all of you into the Great Fast;

Stripped of heavenly wealth by sin, all draw near to God’s rich loving-kindness!

Let no one despair in his sinfulness,

For the Bridegroom comes at midnight.

Weep all of you for your iniquities,

And draw near to the life-giving Cross of our Lord.

Let no one put confidence in the flesh,

For the Devil has deceived us all thereby, and therewith enslaves us to sin.

By turning from God, we are made captives.

We have called good evil and evil good, and put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry:

Woe to those who put darkness for light, and light for darkness!

We are embittered, for we are banned from Eden.

We are embittered, but it is we who have mocked God.

We are embittered, for now we shall surely die.

We are embittered, for we have succumbed to the serpent.

We are embittered, for we are fettered in chains.

We partook of a fruit, and met the deceiver.

We were entrusted with paradise, but we chose Hell.

Our eyes were opened to see the nakedness of sin.

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver us!

O Lord, make haste to help us!

This is the acceptable time, let us repent!

This is the day of salvation, let us crucify the passions!

The end is at hand and destruction hangs over us!

The end draws nigh, let us come again to our senses!

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, what first-fruit shall we offer?

Let us delay not, lest we remain dead in the grave, sold under sin!

For God desires not the death of the sinner, but that he should turn from his wickedness and live!

So, let us choose life, and live, for the mercy of God endures forever!

To Him be glory and dominion

Unto ages of ages. Amen.

Pro-Choice Christianity

2009-12-09T16:13:00.002-05:00

A talk I gave at the closing rally for 40 days for Life in Charleston, SC, in early November 2009.

Good Afternoon. I wish to thank Cheryle Freiberger who was kind enough to invite me to speak with you all today. I would like to share some extremely heart-felt words with you today—words which I have pondered for some time, ideas I have prayed through for years, but words and ideas, thoughts and suggestions, of whose living out I am quite a poor example. So, perhaps, if the words are inspired, we can somehow work together to put them into practice.

I wish also to extend thanks and to ask God’s richest blessings on each of you, Priests, pastors, friends, and neighbors, who have labored in prayer and vigil, in words and deeds, in an effort to shine the bright light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the darkened lots of Abortion clinics, into the hardened hearts of those who perform abortions, and into the confused lives of those who seek such a quote-unquote remedy for their unexpected or undesired pregnancies.

I’d like also to share a few words with you from the Burial Office for a Child of the Orthodox Church. It is common in our Divine Services to sing poetic conversations. And in the Burial of the Child, the child says to us,

“Lament not for me, for I have in no way begun to be meet for weeping. But rather weep always for yourselves who have sinned, O kinsmen and friends,” the dead infant cries out, “that tested you not receive torment.” (Funeral for an Infant, Book of Needs Vol III, p. 166)

Ode 8 (Song of the Three Holy Youths)
“Why do you mourn me, the infant that has been translated hence?” the child cries out invisibly, as he lies dead. “For there is no cause for grief. For the joy of the righteous is appointed unto infants who have committed no deeds worthy of tears. For they sing unto Christ: You Priests sing; you people, highly exalt Him unto the Ages!” (Funeral for an Infant, Book of Needs Vol III, p. 170)

As we begin this afternoon, I will turn my words away from the holy innocents, and direct them towards us who are still in the course of our earthly life. Let us pray to the Lord, that we will know his Gospel, not only in our minds, but in our actions:

Let us pray to the Lord. Lord have mercy!

Illumine our hearts, O Master who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge. Open the eyes of our minds to the understanding of thy Gospel teachings. Implant also in us the fear of Thy blessed commandments, that trampling down all carnal desires, we may enter upon a spiritual manner of living, both thinking and doing such things as are well pleasing unto Thee. For Thou are the illumination of our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and to Thee do we ascribe glory, together with Thine unoriginate Father, and Thy Most-holy, life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

I would like to entitle my talk, provocatively, Pro-Choice Christianity. Please listen carefully.

There was once a class in a college in Arizona, when videography was just beginning, which was assigned to do a final project and the Navajo students decided to team up and do one on "Navajo blanket weaving." But the video showed only momentary flashes of a rug being woven on a loom. The production began with a sunrise, some traditional Dene arising and saddling their horses, and then more scenery shots, wildflowers, cacti, sheep, mesas, mountains, sheep, cloudburst, rain, sheep, more flowers, a sunset, and finally again that half-finished rug. The professor and the anglos in the class were mystified. They had expected a film detailing the sequential linear process by which a rug might be woven: shearing the wool from the sheep, spinning it into yarn, dying the yarn, setting up the loom and weaving the rug. But nothing of that was in the film.

What were the Indians trying to communicate? Their frame of reference was much wider. Instead of focusing on the wool, yarn, design, loom and weaver, their message was, to make a rug you need the sun to rise, the wind to blow, the rain to fall, the grass to grow, the sheep to graze, the flowers to bloom, and if the cosmos is balanced and operating in harmony, you can produce...rugs!

Like the presumptions of the Anglos in this simple story, I believe we generally have a closed-system approach to dealing with abortion. There are several facets to dealing with the problem: The law and lawmakers, the doctors and clinics, and the pregnant women and those in their sphere of influence, and then “us”, folks who would like, with a variety of energy levels and approaches, to influence the lawmakers, change the law, close the clinics, perhaps punish the doctors, educate the women, and celebrate a total victory.

And yet remarkably, since the legalization of abortion, during these nearly 37 years, while celebrating certain quote-unquote successes—(there are, I believe, many fewer abortion facilities in SC, for example)—the situation remains more or less the same. We still legally allow the killing of several thousand children *per day* in our country. Every day is a 9-11. Every Day.

So, it seems that it might be helpful to look at this terrible situation, this daily terrorism with a new lens, a new perpective. I tire very easily of the same ol’ same ol’ when it comes to political discussions and debates on moral issues—topics which have their fundamental root in divine revelation. My conviction is not based on a desire for the removal of religion from the public sphere—which is the confused action of our prevailing culture—where freedom of religion has been replaced by freedom FROM religion.

Rather, I find that the moral categories are not up for debate or discussion, though they are debated and discussed, and I find that the labels and terminologies employed in these debates on the one hand are inadequate while on the other hand they back us into unnecessary corners. This is certainly true with the grave sin, the mortal evil of abortion.

Allow me to give two examples of what I mean. For starters, the labels are inadequate. Pro-life means what, basically? It means full-court press against abortion. But we who are Pro-life, must, as Christians, be pro-ALL life. This includes prenatal infants, our own children, our neighbors, the elderly man at the retirement home—cradle to grave.

BUT ALSO being pro-life means defending the life of the most hardened killer, murderer, rapist. And then also it would include defending the right to life of our mortal enemy. This, my brothers and sisters, is the Gospel.

Labels and terminology also back us unnecessarily into corners. My main example would be the terms Pro Life and Pro Choice. Every woman who has an abortion and/or every man who insists it be so, is Pro Life. They just either don’t understand what life really is, or they are thinking selfishly about their own life only. And likewise, it seems to me, that every Pro-lifer is also Pro-choice—it is just that we believe in a different set of choices, or at least a different timeline of when the choices are made. For the balance of my talk, I’d like to deal primarily with the question of the 93% of abortions which occur for quote-unquote social reasons—unwanted pregnancies which are *unrelated* to incest, rape, or the potential life-threat to the mother. Perhaps we can, when Christians live, breathe, and behave as Christians, reduce the number of daily abortions from 3700 to 260. (www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html)

It is the taking the label Pro Choice and turning it on ourselves on which I would like to focus my words this afternoon. I think it might be worth considering. Some supporters of abortion—who believe that they themselves are Pro-life, believe that we should be called “Anti-choice.” But this isn’t the case at all. Christians, at least Christians who believe in solidarity what has been believed by all Christians at all times, are Pro-Choice. Please listen to why I believe this is so.

I don’t believe we need to reiterate to one another the horrors of abortion; the sick, sad and/or unfortunate circumstances which bring a woman to the point of aborting a pregnancy. Abortion is murder. Abortion is the killing of a child.

Rather, I believe we need to step back and take some responsibility ourselves for the madness.

Did you know that nearly 70% of all abortions in the USA are performed by those professing Christianity? 20% of us profess to be Evangelical/Born again Christians 31% are Roman Catholic. And the leading late-term Partial Birth abortion doctor professes Christianity and claims to pray with his patients.

Statistically speaking, we Christians are responsible for 2590 abortions every day. TODAY—All saints day on the Western Calendar, 2590 self-professing Christian women are killing their children, and again, statistically speaking, 2744 of those abortions are by Christian woman for convenience sake. *WE* are killing our children.

In no case ever, ought we to be self-righteous finger pointers to any woman on the edge of insanity or towards any doctor who suffers from sclero-cardia (hardness of heart).

Rather, we need to label ourselves as we are: each of us the first of sinners, for whom Jesus Christ died. Beggars who have found bread and want to show other beggars where to do the same. Insane humans who have found sanity and life in Jesus Christ.

And we need to ask ourselves: do we recognize how we, in small and large ways, contribute to an abortion culture, to the culture of death?

· I drive a carpool of 10-12 year olds to school—many of whom can sing many Green Day songs—completely vulgar lyrics by a band whose lead-singer pretends to masturbate on the crowd at his concert. Lamentably, I was there long ago. Do we know what our children listen to? Do we know the lyrics? Do we volunteer them for this?

· How about TV and movies? Do we allow the young eyes and tender hearts of our smallest children to see the graphic ultraviolence on television? How about completely open sexual affairs, disordered relationships, one night stands, and overt lust on prime time television which is all openly practiced and celebrated not only with humor (often crude) but also in the conspicuous absence of any consequence whatsoever. Or the same in PG-13 movies?

· How about un-monitored internet access? Have you checked the history tab on your internet browser? Statistically speaking, your teenage son has been exposed to or visits pornographic sites.

· Mothers, what do you teach your daughters about chastity and purity? What do your daughters wear to school? To the beach? How do you model chastity and purity for them? What do you say to them by your dress and care for cosmetics?

· Fathers, what do we teach our sons about how to treat girls? Do we take a “boys will be boys” attitude? How are we modeling respect for women, sobriety, chivalry, and also chastity and purity? How do we model love and tenderness for our wives, that our sons might have a model worthy of imitation?

· How about divorce? Forgive me for speaking frankly: statistically speaking, 50% or more of us here gathered are divorced. What example is this setting for our children with respect to endurance, forgiveness, love, commitment? Of all the abortions in America, the majority are performed on unmarried women in their young 20s—many of whom are the very ones who want to “try out” marriage in living together arrangements or “friends with benefits” (what a horrible euphemism for recreational sex) precisely because they’d rather do this than fail at marriage like mom and dad. It is sick and twisted, but it is reality.

· How about your church? If it promotes or allows for abortion or the possibility of it, you must question its very core. If your church leaves this door open, walk out. Christianity is about Life. True Life in Jesus Christ.

We might not have scraped our children from our wombs, but leaving our children to the wolves our selfish passions and desires or to the vultures of pop-culture and and then writing it off as “they’ll be okay”, we slowly scrape their souls out of their tender bodies. We prepare the next generation of those sons who will impregnate girls, those daughters who will find themselves with quote-unquote unwanted pregnancies, those lawmakers who will perpetuate abortion, and those doctors who will perform them.

Again remember: nearly 70% of all abortions in the USA are performed by those professing Christianity. 20% of them profess themselves to be Evangelical/Born again Christians. 31% Roman Catholic.

How many of us say in our hearts, “It cannot happen to me?” But it can—it does!

We have a choice. But we Christians must train ourselves and our children to see that the choice stops at sexual intercourse. Once that choice is made, there are no more choices (apart from adoption)—only consequences and responsibilities.

If we look at our lives from this perspective, if we can see ourselves as sinners in need of redeeming, sinners on the road to holiness, therefore and thereby we can have a great deal of compassion for those who are on the verge of madness—pregnant and contemplating abortion.

And we can have a great deal of vigilance to teach our children the True Gospel in its fullness.

As Christians, we are indeed Pro Choice because God created us to choose. Choice is what makes Love Love.

Will we choose blessings or curses?
Chastity or promiscuity? Purity or corruption?
Love or Lust? Marriage or experimentation?
Sanctity or Sin? Life or death?

We have other choices too.

Will we choose to forgive 70x7 or do we say, rather “three strikes (or one!) and you’re out”?
Do we choose mercy or condemnation?
Open arms or hard hearts?

We are indeed Pro-choice. We must answer the challenge offered through God’s servant Moses—and we must choose life and live!

In an ironically providential way, though, the choice to live involves murder. Did you know that the Gospel compels us to kill—to be more accurate: to put to death?

I am not referring to the Old Covenant—we are more than familiar with the Levitical commands:

· Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
· Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put to death.
· If a man lies with a male as with a woman, they shall both be put to death.
· If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death.

(Parenthesis: The common North American self-professing Christian interpretations of the OT are almost completely vacant and Unchristian, but that is a topic for another day.)

It is the New Testament that I am speaking about. The GOSPEL compels us to kill.

Maybe it even comes as a surprise to you. Searching the memory banks we can think of the Sermon on the Mount—and Jesus’ own words, “ “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.”

But, we say, Jesus reiterated the law to the Young Man—you remember the encounter: And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

It is not a command which comes from the lips of our Lord, but rather one that is found in the writings of St Paul. To the Romans he wrote in a passive way: So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live (Romans 8:12).

To the Colossians, he wrote it in the form of a command:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you once walked, when you lived in them. 8 But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices 10 and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.

PUT TO DEATH therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, foul talk.

The violence to which we are called in the Christian Scriptures is a violence against our own sin. Me against my sin. You against yours. Our violent act is not directed against our neighbor or our child; nor is it directed against our neighbor’s sin(s).

After all, we ought not be “plank-eyes”. “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but you do not see the log that is in your own?” Or as Saint Ephraim the Syrian prayed, “Grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother.”

I am to take my own sin by the throat and strangle it. I am to take my own sin to the cross and crucify it.

What does all this have to do with abortion and our task to reduce and/or eradicate the practice? Well, everything. Because if we Christians live our Christianity, there will be 2590 fewer abortions today, tomorrow, the next day.

945,350 fewer this year. IF CHRISTIANS WILL STOP ABORTING.

We must take responsibility for our sins. How many are the numbers of us who would say “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” And yet we are the leading aborters! Therefore, we don’t need to point fingers: “you shouldn’t do this or that” or “the government should change this or that.” Should we change the law? Of course we should. But the law is permissive. As Christians, can we not make the choice of NOT choosing abortion?

If we are going to point fingers, let them be at ourselves. The blame-game is sufficiently well-played, and even we Christians, who theoretically know better, perpetuate this preferred method of dealing with everything and everyone.

It began in the Garden of Paradise: Adam said, “It was the woman you gave me.” Eve (I love her name in Greek: Zoe—LIFE!) said, “it was the serpent who beguiled me”. Even still, although this is our fallen human nature from the beginning, we are empowered to break the cycle, find life through Christ, who conquered sin and death, and who was born through the New EVE, the New ZOE, the most-pure and ever-virgin God-bearer Mary.

And so, (fathers), brothers and sisters, let us indeed celebrate today that God have granted us even the salvation of one baby, one mother’s soul, in these 40 days.

But moreso, let us remember that every day, we have a choice. A choice to live the way of the Cross of Christ: Denying ourselves and following Him. A choice to demonstrate this true-life to our children and to our neighbors. A choice to live!

And Let us also remember that this choice requires crucifying our sinful passions. Putting to death that which draws us away from God.

Then, we shall also be able, by God’s great grace, also to complete what St Paul was teaching, putting on then,

as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, 13 forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Closing prayer: P. 178 (at bottom) “O Lord, Who guardest infants in this present life…”

Who has a need for Christmas?

2009-12-09T16:11:00.002-05:00

He had been extremely wealthy, but something went terribly wrong. By the end, circumstances had become so dire, that not only had his whole business been lost, but there remained not even enough to feed his family of three daughters. In his desperation—who can imagine such desperation?—he figured that his only recourse to feed the girls was to sell them into prostitution for grocery money. No where to turn. Nothing to eat. No option.

Most of us could hardly imagine selling our children into prostitution or slavery in order to have food to eat. Most of us, indeed, cannot begin to conceive of what it must be like to be that desperate, that in need. Most reading this humble article have never involuntarily gone without a meal, much less a week’s worth. Many of us have never ‘needed’ anything. What would drive someone to such an immoral act?

It is probable that most of us have never met someone in these circumstances; perhaps it is fair to say that we don’t even know someone who knows someone who was. We tend to go about our business; we tend to keep to ourselves. We know what we know, we know whom we know, and that is our life.

But Nicholas knew of them. He knew that it was immoral for him to allow such a thing to happen. He had the means to help, and did. Under the cover of darkness, having assembled small bags of money (in large amounts), he made his way into their neighborhood, and seeing a window of their house opened, he tossed the bags in, praying that it would be sufficient to prevent such a sin. Thank God, it was. Overjoyed by such grace, Nicholas repeated his secret efforts twice more for the same family; each time another one of the man’s daughters married.

Nicholas had never known such need himself. He had plenty—more than plenty, as the son of wealthy parents. But he knew the needy, and he helped them. He knew the struggling children, and he helped them. He even helped a city plagued by famine. Saint Nicholas was Archbishop of Myra in Lycia (Asia Minor) in the 4th century. His feast day is December 6, and his life is the basis for the modern day Santa Claus, that plumb, kind man whose task has morphed from bringing profound joy to delivering merely fleeting happiness.

For most of us in the Lowcountry—even still today—needs were long, long ago replaced with wants. During the ‘Christmas Season’ which has come to be known as the ‘season for giving’, we still emphasize the question, “what do you want for Christmas?” Even among the lists of the needy, soliciting the charity of others, are included Wii’s, Playstations, and mp3 players! Is it not finally the time to ask, “What do you need for Christmas?” Shopping and getting “more stuff” will never satisfy our empty souls.

Many of us continue to spend a frantic month searching for the ‘perfect gift’ for that ‘special someone’ who ‘has everything’. Why on earth do we need to buy ‘something’ (which usually winds up begin just ‘some’ thing) for someone who has everything? Someone who has NO need?

It isn’t that we shouldn’t give one another gifts. In fact, this is one way we show love for one another. But couldn’t the gift for that ‘someone who has everything’ be an offering to someone who has nothing? Even in our day of down-sizing and cutting back, we still rent storage units to hold all the stuff we can’t fit in our houses. Some spend up to hundreds of dollars a month for a roof over furniture stacked on top of itself in a metal building (and some climate controlled!). But what about the poor who have no roof and are stacked on top of themselves? Which needs the roof?

Does little Johnny really need another video game? The latest mp3 player? Does Susie really need an 18th Barbie? Does Grandma really need another collector’s plate from the Franklin Mint? Do I really need another tie?

For many, charity is the check we write on occasion during the year to assuage the guilt we have for having too much stuff and continuing to buy more anyway. Such charity does help the needy, and thank God for that much. But moreso, we are called to change our whole view, our whole mind, our whole existence—to reflect the life of Christ like St. Nicholas did. So many of us have so much to give—which is not ours anyway. It is given to us by God to be used by good stewards who in turn show the love of God to those who truly need it. Citing the King and Judge of all, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it [clothed the naked, fed the hungry, visited the sick and imprisoned, etc.] to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40ff). Jesus didn’t give new chariots to people or even grant them new clothing. Rather, he fed them (actually and spiritually), he gave them health, healing, hope, and salvation—and in the end, he gave his life for them, for us. This is our calling.

St. Nicholas was an ardent follower of Jesus Christ. He lived the Gospel, and did so quietly, humbly, and without desire for or requirement of recognition. He didn’t give asking for the new building to be named after him, or to be announced in the news. He gave because God had given to him, and he knew his responsibility as a human being, as a Christian, to help the helpless and to give hope the hopeless. Our call is no different. So, this Christmas, let’s ask a new question. Instead of “what do you want for Christmas?” let’s ask, “Who has needs this Christmas whom we can help?” And having asked the question, let our giving be, like St. Nicholas’, quiet, anonymous, given to the glory of God, that all may see these good works, and give glory to God in heaven.

Fr. John Parker is Priest-in-Charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or at 881-5010.

Halloween: Trick Or Retreat?

2009-10-29T10:03:00.002-05:00

Trick or Retreat
By Fr. John Parker
(Republished from 2005)

Few of us could say with clarity, certainty, and from memory, which saints we Orthodox commemorate on October 31. For the record, and for our spiritual nourishment, we commemorate the “Apostles of the Seventy: Stachys, Amplias, Urban, Narcissus, Apelles, and Aristobulus”, among others. We read about their appointment in Luke 10:1ff, “After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come.” Apparently, according to St. Paul’s epistle, these men were in Rome:Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus…Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you (Romans 16:8 11,16).

I personally would like to be much more well-versed in the Saints of the Church, and especially more well read in the Scriptures. To be sure, I need to deepen my prayer life by leagues. Are these not chief tasks of the Orthodox Faith: to know God, to become holy? In nearly every litany that we pray in the Orthodox Church, we “commend ourselves, each other, and all our life unto Christ our God.” Every nook and cranny, every high and low, every joy and sorrow, every intrigue and resolution we are to bring to God to hallow: to make holy. Every thought, every action, every reaction, every word we are to offer back to God. Every dollar we spend, every breath we expend, every minute we save, every night and every day are to be freely offered in eucharist—thanksgiving to God for His generosity, kindness, and endless mercy. We study and learn the Scriptures and the lives of the saints in order to recognize that God has given the grace to do these things throughout all generations, and will give them to us in proportion to the depth of our desire.

Having set the stage, at least basically, it is important for us to recognize that this [holiness, thanksgiving, living “in Christ”] is the lens through which we are to see the world. This is the filter through which we are to address the situations and dilemmas of our daily lives. What about the ‘dilemma’ of Halloween? Several of you have asked me about this ‘festival’ in the past weeks, so is it pagan? Is it Christian? Is it holy? Is it evil? Is it neutral, benign, or harmless?
Conducting a search for “history of Halloween” on google.com, I encountered, as you can imagine, numberless web sites attesting to the history—or better, histories, of Halloween. Some from churches, some from witches (yes, witches. They do exist.), some from county libraries. The Dauphin (PA?) County library site, I believe, is the most helpful for us, in part, because the opening paragraph defines the nature of our dilemma well:

America is a melting pot of cultures from all over the world. Because we are a nation of people from many different cultures, our holidays tend to blend bits and pieces from different cultures into one American celebration. Halloween is one of the best examples of a holiday with a rich tradition of "blending." ((http://www.dcls.org/x/archives/halloween.html)).

The DCLS basically defines Halloween as a melting-pot holiday. If you were to browse the web as I did, you would find this to be true: the roots of the ‘festival’ are found in pre-Christian Celtic (pagan) life. Later, as with many feasts including the Nativity, pagan festivals were ‘baptized’ by the Church and became Christian feasts. Most sites note that the word ‘Halloween’ is a contraction of ‘All Hallow’s Even’ or in contemporary English, the night before All Saint’s Day. The Western Church, for many centuries now has celebrated this feast on this day as a means of Christianizing pagan rituals for the dead, etc. (Parenthetically, the Orthodox celebrate All Saints on the first Sunday after Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit. This is theologically appropriate as it is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us—makes us saints!)

If there is a problem with Halloween, it begins with the very issue that the DCLS celebrates: melting pot. The theological term for this is syncretism. Syncretism simply means blending. Syncretism, besides idolatry (although related), was one of the chief sins and evils of Israel in the Old Testament. Solomon life is a prime example this danger. Having been faithful to the One True God, he then went off and intermarried with all sorts of foreign women whose influences led him to blend faiths and ultimately depart from God. You can read the full story in 1 Kings 11:1ff.

Melting pots are nice for stews, desserts, fashions, dances, learning languages, and the like, but they are not only horrible for, but detrimental to, Christianity. As the DCLS site notes, “halloween is one of the best examples of a holiday with a rich tradition of blending.” But is this blending good? Can we be in it, be a part of it? I would suggest that there are precious few, if any, ways we could completely sanctify a night of trick-or-treating. Remember: we aren’t called to offer “part of our lives to Christ our God”, but rather “ourselves, each other, and all our life unto [Him].”

Consider the following, all normal today. You can find these in Anycity, USA:

Is it okay for a Christian parent to allow a child to dress up as a witch, a warlock, a vampire, an evil monster?

Is it healthy for parents to expose their children to walking through neighborhoods where some folks have actually dug up their yards to make graves and hide in them with chainsaws, axes, and cleavers?

Halloween may have its ‘tame’ side with Power Rangers, tinkerbells, and Disney Characters—these you’ll find on the front page of the costume store advertisment; but what about the costume called “Angel of Darkness”, tailored for teenage girls, which boasts a scant mini-skirt, all black, with a mesh-like, low-cut, v-neck top, complete with cherry red lipstick and a 4 inch crucifix? You might not let your teenage daughter wear such a thing, but would you expose your children to this on a dark night?

What about a haunted maize maze?

Your neighbors may think you are strange. They may even think you are ‘some kind of fundamentalist’. They may suggest, “it’s harmless fun…you did it when you were a kid!” It may be harmless, it may not. The risks not only of frightening young children but doing unseen spiritual damage are frankly too high to take the chance. And yes, I did trick or treat when I was a kid. My parents still have picture of me dressed up as a hot-wheels racecar driver next to my “Casper the friendly ghost” brother, and here I am—normal (so I say!). But here is how I would respond to such arguments:

1. My faith is not what it was then, and while church-goers, no theological discussion was ever had in my family, regarding Halloween when I was a boy. We must consider our faith first when making all of our decisions. Consider St. Paul’s words, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways” (1 Cor. 13:11).
2. The “when you were a kid” argument is a bad one. What if you smoked pot when you were younger? Would you, now that you know differently and better, say, “well, I did it when I was a kid and I am fine”? I licked a paintbrush soaked in gasoline when I was a kid. I am fine today, but would hardly recommend the practice to anyone, particularly a child.
3. The can be no argument against this statement: Halloween is not what it used to be. Halloween is the second most financially lucrative holiday in the USA. Costumes have become a whole industry, much of which is dedicated to making evil look more evil and scary, scarier.
4. Assume (for only a moment) that the night is “harmless”: I can sing practically every song that came out in the early 80s. Is this wrong or bad? Well, only if you also asked me (now a few years ago) where to find Noah and the Flood in the Bible. Or to tell you who King Josiah, or Tamar, or Rahab were. Or where St. Innocent came from and what work he did, or why we use incense in church. Or how to sit still and pray. Was my time memorizing the radio spent on evil? No, hardly. But it was surely poorly spent by comparison! Have we done all that we can to facilitate the spiritual lives of our family members?

If you feel like you can’t fight the tide of the society—and in the future, we will do this as a parish, with better planning and resources—take your son or daughter to a candy store and let them fill a bag for themselves. Then go home and play some games together. Take the public night away—filled with scary things and unnecessary influences—and replace it with something family oriented—or even more ideally, something directly related to our Faith.
As far as Halloween has ever been “Christian”, it was originally a baptism of pagan celebrations—at least All Saints Day was. Once again it is pagan—perhaps civilly pagan (although it is undeniable that witches, druids, etc. do celebrate this feast)—it is time for us to reevaluate our participation in it, perhaps by scrapping it, perhaps by rebaptizing it in some new way.
Some suggestions:

1. Perhaps as early as next year, we as a parish, can sponsor some sort of faith based, get-children-off-the-streets, Christian evening of fun. Many such parties exist now. Choose one of them.
2. Are your really interested in witches, ghosts, monsters, etc.? Read the BIBLE! It is all in there. Once you read it, then you can discuss it, ask about it, and really see why we put our trust in GOD! Consider the following:

Prohibitions regarding astrology (tarot, palm reading, etc) and witches: Deuteronomy 18:9ff.
Saul and the Witch of Endor: 1 Samuel chapter 28

Isaiah’s glimpse into heaven: Isaiah 6

The whole book of Acts, particularly:

Simon the Magician: Acts 8
The Magicians Bar-Jesus and Elymas: beginning of Acts 13
A slave girl possessed by a spirit of divination Acts 16:16ff.
Miracles, exorcisms by use of Paul’s handkerchief and apron: Acts 19:11ff.
Angels, demons, Dragons, beasts, fire, swords, battles etc.: The whole book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. Pick any chapter!

If you are looking for some sort of excitement, and think that Hollywood or society has us beat, think again. Read the Bible. With obvious exceptions (related to technology) whatever you can name, you can find in the Scriptures. (Try me…let’s look!) Learn them instead! Whatever is not explicitly found on the pages of the Old and New Testaments, can be found implicitly, or can be read in the lives of the saints.

Ben and Jerry's

2009-09-03T06:15:00.001-05:00

To the Head of Public Relations at Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream
September 2, 2009

Mr Greenwood:

I am extremely disappointed that Ben and Jerry's took the unfortunate and flauntingly public step not only to support Vermont's regrettable decision with regard to same-gender unions, but that the company went full-monty in renaming its Chubby Hubby ice cream and placing two men atop a wedding cake on the package.

I am also disappointed that my email and concern will very likely be lumped in with the equally-lamentable "God hates fags" crowd--who shared the stage in Vermont today--whose members will also have to give an answer for their inhumane decisions and behavior. It is a shame that few will even *consider* an email like mine without immediately writing it--and me--off as homophobic. Believe me, I have no fear of or loathing for those who experience same-gender attraction. To the contrary, I wish every man and woman on the planet earth health, wholeness, and salvation.

Marriage is not a civil right, it is a privilege, a calling, a responsibility. To be sure it is a privilege taken lightly by at least half of our society, a responsibility shirked by more than 50% of us who are married. It is a calling to which, for obvious biological reasons (among others), no same-gendered couples may be called, and indeed an arena into which many men and women ought not to step, despite their biological capacities or credentials.

In truth, it is difficult enough that our society's self-willed freefall into a moral collapse (Rome!) is expedited by married men and women who divorce one another with more vengeance than mortal enemies and more quickly than the ever-revolving door of teenage fashion. Decisions like Vermont's put nails in our culture's coffin by further mocking marriage and by giving an example to children that will only lead them into further confusion, despair, and wrecklessness. It is insidious behavior to promote this sadness on ice-cream containers--for crying out loud: the ice-cream man *was* the last stranger any child could trust.

But now, even the greatest hometown ice-cream makers have endorsed it officially. I hope you'll change your minds, for the sake of human-kind, if not at least for the sake of the children.

Very sadly yours,

Fr John Parker

On the Via Media

2009-06-10T15:51:00.003-05:00

The Christian life:
Via spatiosa?
Via arta?
Via media?

Fr John Parker
frjohn@ocacharleston.org

What you are about to read may shock you. It will probably sound arrogant and simplistic. It is blunt. It might be ignored. Maybe it should be! It might cause a fury of discussion. It might be the worthless rant of a former Episcopalian.

It is not, however, meant to be anything other than my reflections on the via media, now seven years removed from it, and now that a “new” Anglican province seems to be emerging in North America—one which is welcoming both His Beatitude, the Most-blessed Jonah, the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America and Rick Warren—to the same meeting this summer, to offer words of encouragement and blessing for this effort.

Some will say—and maybe already even have—“Look at how the Anglican Church brings all of these traditions together”. Beware!

So, if I shock, anger, or concern you, I am sorry, and I ask your forgiveness. Sometimes, however, it seems like a hard word must be said, and I am attempting to say one for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The term via media has always bewildered me. And now it bothers me. Some call it the “meeting ground” between the Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant traditions. The place—the church—where a nominal Roman Catholic can marry a moderately committed Presbyterian and both “feel comfortable”—a place which gives each of them the outward appearance of home without the fuss of dogmas or the ballast of doctrines. (This is a striking blow, I know. I am not saying that the Anglican Churches are free of doctrine and dogma. I am, however, saying that doctrine and dogma are moving targets in the Anglican World—and those doctrines and dogmas may or may not be consistent with the Christian Tradition—and they may vary not only at the parochial level—but even at the individual level.)[1]

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church indicates that George Herbert was among—if not the first person to use the term via media—the middle way. In chapter XIII of The Country Parson, Herbert says the following:

And all this he doth, not as out of necessity, or as putting a holiness in the things, but as desiring to keep the middle way between superstition, and slovenliness, and as following the Apostle’s two great and admirable Rules in things of this nature: The first whereof is Let all things be done decently and in order: The second, Let all things be done to edification. [2]

Herbert uses the term in the context of describing “the Parson’s Church”—how it should be maintained and honored for worship. The parson keeps the floors well swept, keeps the church in good order, and uses linens, etc. of fine material, “not out of necessity but as desiring to keep the middle way between superstition and slovenliness”.[3]

Some consider that Richard Hooker’s via media was essentially the middle road between Queen Elizabeth’s Church of England and the Puritans’. Other writings define the Anglican “middle way” as the faithful road between Rome and Geneva, between the superstitions and excesses of (especially medieval) Roman Catholicism and the hyper-reforms of Presbyterianism. Still others would argue that the adherence to the middle way in all matters is one of the major identifying characteristics of classical Anglicanism. Today, via media has come to mean “average of the two extremes” even, and perhaps especially, with regard to liturgy, theology, ecclesiology, and Biblical interpretation.

However helpful and comforting this concept was to me as an Episcopalian at the time—this way between the excesses of medieval Papism and the baby-and-bathwaterless tub of Protestantism—it still left something to be desired—something at the time intangible, unreachable, indescribable. In retrospect, I can see the reason: in my lifetime (I was a teenager in the 1980s) the “mean” between the two so-called extremes was ever shifting. The self-professing little-‘o’ orthodox Episcopalians couldn’t become any more little ‘o’ orthodox, without becoming big-‘O’ Orthodox (and some have), but the self-named “progressives”—what others call ‘liberals’—seemed to find more and more opportunity and hope for all sorts of departures from the Christian Tradition—women’s ordination, blessings of same-sex unions, blatant ordination and approval of active homosexual bishops, so-called ‘open communion’ (communing, as the bulletin in one Williamsburg, Virginia, Episcopal Church put it, “all those who love God and are drawn to Jesus” (October 2001). With this ever moving ‘left’ wing, the Via Media also moved left. So far left, that it really isn’t in the middle of anything anymore (if it ever was)—save perpetual controversy and lament.

It turns out that the via media makes perfect sense if the Roman Church and the Protestant Churches are the only ‘choices’ in the world. If one’s only options are to choose from Papism (which is not from the beginning) with its strange additions to the faith once for all delivered (read “filioque”, Papal Infallibility and universal jurisdiction, immaculate conception, to name the major ones) or the plethora of self-justifying pieces of Reformation shrapnel, parts of Anglicanism look enticing. There is certainly a beauty in Anglican simplicity, in Anglo-catholic ritual, in English Church Architecture, in Anglican choral work, and in Thomas Cranmer’s poetic translations into English of the Latin Rite. And these not to mention the King James translation of the Bible, still considered to be one of the greatest treasures of the English language. (Too bad text-messaging and twitter will soon erase literature and beautiful language from our culture!)

But is Via Media the Via Christiana?

Not while it remains disconnected from the root; not while it remains out of communion with the ancient Church, a ‘branch’ of which it claims to be—and often, if not nearly always—without consulting the other two branches (as classical Anglican would refer to the Orthodox and Roman Churches). And certainly not while the via media develops its meaning and grows further and further from Herbert’s description of the Country Parson’s tidy, and simplistically beautiful nave.

It was first in reading Vladimir Lossky (though it may have been Alexei Khomiakov), an Orthodox Christian, that my inward discomfort (and disillusionment) with the via media took clearer form. Rather than the either/or choices I had been ‘offered’ ecclesiologically speaking, he described the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches as flip sides of a single coin. A coin—I would add—which like all old coins, has value due to intrigue, interest, and some age, but one, nevertheless which is no longer in circulation—and one which is no longer legal tender, like the German Mark or the Spanish Peseta. On the whole, the Roman Church has not been in communion with the Orthodox Churches since 1054. The Protestant denominations (including the Anglican churches as they exist today) are twice removed from Orthodoxy, since they are break-aways from Rome beginning in the 16th Century.

The Orthodox—historically, liturgically, theologically, ascetically, and biblically speaking—have continued to travel the Christian Way as simply the Via, and not the media of anything. For the Orthodox, the life of the Church—the very Body of Christ—is as her Lord, “the same yesterday, today, and forever”. The Via Christiana is the Via Arta—the Straight Way. The Porta Christiana is the Porta Angusta—the Narrow Gate.

intrate per angustam portam quia lata porta et spatiosa via quae ducit ad
perditionem et multi sunt qui intrant per eam quam angusta porta et arta via
quae ducit ad vitam et pauci sunt qui inveniunt eam

Εἰσέλθατε διὰ τῆς στενῆς πύλης· ὅτι πλατεῖα ἡ πύλη καὶ εὐρύχωρος ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ἀπώλειαν καὶ πολλοί εἰσιν οἱ εἰσερχόμενοι διʼ αὐτῆς· τί στενὴ ἡ πύλη καὶ τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ζωὴν καὶ ὀλίγοι εἰσὶν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες
αὐτήν.

Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
The Content of the Christian faith is not subject to adjustment, compromise, or averaging. The Way is indeed hard that leads to life and the gate is indeed narrow, according to our Lord Jesus Christ who showed us the way! The via spatiosa—the wide or spacious way is the way of death. This via media is enticing. It glitters. It looks like a road. It may even be beautifully landscaped.

But it is a trap. It is mirage. It is a disguise.

And according to our Lord, it is the way of destruction.

Orthodox Christianity knows no doctrinal or dogmatic compromise. She knows that one cannot give an inch to a slippery-slope question. The devasting results of the tiniest compromise are evident in the shattered fragments of Western Christianity.

But is there room for a via media of any sort? Orthodoxy says, “yes, of course!” But not where Western Christians typically look—since asceticism is almost thoroughly erased from the Occidental Christian memory.

This via media has a popular Greek phrase attached to it—“Pan metron ariston”—Moderation in all things. This, however, does not refer to a middle ground between Jesus truly God and Jesus Truly man, or between, say, traditional or ‘contemporary’ worship, between sacerdotal vestments and golf shirts. The Lordship of Jesus is not up for a vote, the worship of the church is received, and the vestments of the church are outward descriptions of the words of our liturgies.

No, this via media is a middle ground between teetotalism and drunkenness. The *right* amount of prayer and work. Chaste sexual relationships between a husband and his wife. The proper use of leisure. The necessary quantities of food and drink. Not too much. Not too little.

Most simply, it is the Christian version of the Goldilocks and the three bears. A bed not too hard, not too soft, but just right.

One described this Orthodox via media in apophatic terms—which makes total sense to us, since we cannot so easily describe who God is apart from saying what he is not. Apophatically, the Orthodox via media is this: the absence or lack of imbalance. Not simply “balance”—but the *lack* of imbalance.

It is here that life is found—this is the narrow way. The way of self-denial. The way of the destruction of self-will. The way of the murder of the passions of the flesh. If there is a Christian via media, it is the narrow way. A way certainly open to all—everyone is invited. But the stakes are high: death to self, death to sin. The need for a radical transformation of life by and through God’s grace.

But the result both now and in the age to come is priceless: true life in Jesus Christ.

And as Moses once said,

See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days…” (Deuteronomy 30:15ff).

[1] With flawless predictability, the new Province’s proposed canons apparently accept both the 39 Articles and the Seven Ecumenical Councils. How one can both accept icons as *necessary* so as not to repudiate the incarnation (cf the 7th Ecumenical Council and the writings of St John of Damascus), and to repudiate their veneration (see article XXII, and that blatantly Iconoclastic Homily 2 listed in Article XXXV) is truly unimaginable. Or if this is not the proper understanding of the founding principles of ACNA, then according to whose interpretation of the Scriptures will they accept the “Christological Clarifications” of this council?

Likewise there are now already arguments and defenses from both the Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical streams commenting on the (relative) necessity of the Historic Episcopate in the new province. Again, how one can on the one hand proclaim belief in the “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church”, and at the same time believe that “Apostolic” does not essentially include and require Apostolic Succession is bewildering. Moreso is the possibility that *both* parties could have *their way*. It reminds one of that thoroughly Anglican-Lutheran-Presbyterian-Catholic sentence for the distribution of communion—one that everyone can say, “See, we are _______ (Reformed, Catholic, Lutheran, etc.)”. “The body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart in faith, with thanksgiving.”

And this not to mention what to do with the perpetual debate on women’s ordination to the priesthood. There is no restoration to the Ancient Church while this is still considered an option.

[2] John N. Wall (editor). George Herbert: The Country Parson, The Temple. (New York: Paulist Press, 1981). pp. 74-75.

[3] Ibid p. 74.

I Doubt It!

2009-04-19T15:46:00.001-05:00

Did you ever doubt? You are not alone!

“And when they saw [the newly-risen Jesus], they worshiped him; but some doubted.”

Not long after Jesus’ resurrection, he began to make appearances to his followers. He appeared to his *closest friends*—“but some doubted”. These are folks who walked with our Lord for three years in a row—personally. They *knew* him. But when they saw him raised from the dead, “some doubted.” Doubt is not new, and it is not foreign even to those closest to Christ.

Today (in the Western church—next Sunday in the Orthodox Churches) some astonishing number of Christians reading this article (40%? 60%?) will have attended church to celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection, not to return today. “Low Sunday” as this day is commonly called, refers to the dramatic drop in attendance from the Paschal services. But its liturgical name is much more encouraging and helpful. The first Sunday after Pascha is Thomas Sunday, the day on which we remember the Apostle best known as Doubting Thomas.

According to John’s Gospel, eleven of the disciples were gathered together in a locked room when Jesus first appeared to them following his Resurrection. Thomas, the only one who was not there, would not believe the eye-witness report of the eleven—that Jesus was truly raised from the dead, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side” (John 20:25). Jesus’ response to this unbelief was a combination of patience and love. He didn’t upbraid him for his faithlessness or his absence the previous week (though he does call those blessed who have *not* seen and yet believe); rather Jesus offered Thomas the most convincing proof: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas’ response is perhaps the strongest confession of Jesus Christ in the Gospels: “My Lord and my God!”

Since we are made for perfect communion with God, since we are all (men and women alike) born to be Sons of God and therefore inheritors of God’s Kingdom, of course God is pleased with those who have faith in Him. This is part and parcel to our existence. These faithful shall be saved, according to the Scriptures, insofar as their faith is rooted in Love and demonstrated by concrete actions of compassion and mercy even, and perhaps especially, to their worst enemies.

But what about the faithless? What about those who doubt? Well, God can work with them too—he did with Thomas! But there are at least two kinds of doubters: Engagers and agnostics. From a Christian perspective, it is the agnostics who actually suffer spiritually the most (even if they are unaware of it)—since they appear most sincerely unable, unwilling, or uninterested to pursue God. It seems that they really couldn’t care less. At least externally, they are not moved by the mercy and love of God. Jesus addressed a whole church suffering from this spiritual malady in the Apocalypse: ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing” (Rev. 3:15).

Engagers are different. Engagers are those who are troubled by their own doubts or unbelief, whatever their root, and are motivated to resolve the tension. This group, I’d submit, even includes staunch atheists. God can work with these! Admittedly or not, able or not, they want to see God, but for whatever reason right now, they cannot. Even the most ardent atheist is looking for God—its just that so far, he’s only had convincing proof that the gods already presented to him aren’t the True God. And I’d be willing to go so far as to say in many cases, I’d sympathize with their doubts! These haven’t—so to speak—found the real nail printed hands yet, or felt the holy hole in the pierced side. Doubt or faithlessness in the case of the ‘engager’ is actually an active path towards belief. And we might even say that having gone through the difficult darkness of doubt by engaging it, the doubter’s faith is made much stronger.

Doubt is not something to be encouraged or content with, from a Christian perspective—but it is clear even from the very day of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, that “some doubted.” Rather, when doubts come, we should all the more devote ourselves to the pursuit of the Truth, who stands and the door and knocks, and says,” if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Doubters, don’t despair, engage! As the father of the sick child asked Christ, “I believe; help my unbelief!” and as Jesus said to Thomas, “Do not be faithless, but believing!”

Fr John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. To read more visit http://www.holyascension.blogspot.com/. Fr John can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or at 843.881.5010.

Lent time to repent, repair

2009-02-18T15:05:00.003-05:00

By Fr John Parker
Originally published in the Post and Courier, Charleston, SC on Sunday, February 15, 2009
found here:

http://www.charleston.net/news/2009/feb/15/lent_time_repent_repair71725/?print

Zacchaeus was like an IRS agent, only worse. He came to your door. If that wasn't bad enough, he was a native, but had accepted a job as a tax-man by the occupying forces, which meant he worked for the enemy.

One day, his life changed radically. He had heard all sorts of rumors and stories about a notorious fellow who would be coming through town, and for some reason, his soul was stirred. As the time drew near for this mysterious fellow to pass through the village, our IRS agent was frustrated by the large crowds who had also come to get a glimpse of this famed sojourner. To make matters worse, our agent was a short man.

No matter, he thought, and climbed his way up a large tree to see.

Jesus Christ saw short Zacchaeus in that sycamore tree and ordered him to come down immediately, for he wanted to have a meal with him. Zacchaeus followed the command without hesitation. He was stirred to the core of his being that day — this one who made his living by exacting taxes (plus whatever he could score for himself) from his fellow citizens. His response to being in the presence of Jesus? "Half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it four-fold." Half he gave away. And there was no question about whether he had defrauded anyone: This was his vocation! But he didn't just say "I'm sorry" to those whom he had swindled. Nor did he simply return what he took. He restored it "four-fold."

It is with this reading from the Gospels that the Orthodox Christian Churches see the first signs of the coming of Great Lent — the 40 days of prayer, fasting and alms-giving that precede Holy Pascha (Easter as it is commonly known in the Western Church).

Great Lent is almost always viewed as some sort of endurance test. How long can I go without — fill in the blank. Or else it is seen as some way to pay God back for my sins and misdeeds by going 40 days without chocolate or ice cream or beer. Sadly, these common misconceptions gravely miss the point of the Great Fast, which at its core is precisely an encounter with Jesus Christ like the one Zacchaeus had. It is the annual season during which we can come to our senses, realizing that something is off-kilter in our lives. To find out what it is, one must climb a tree to see, an act that leads to an invitation, and to company with a severe but unquestionably good presence. Off-kilteredness is exposed, and one is moved to repent and to repair.

There is another aspect to Great Lent, subtle and easily missed: that we must fast in order to know what a feast is. For Orthodox Christians, 40 days without meat, dairy, wine and olive oil sets a stage for the Pascha, with its rich foods such as roasted lamb, exotic cheeses and sweets from around the world. Without fasting, Pascha would be just another day. To show it to be what it is — the Feast of Feasts — it is preceded by the Fast of Fasts. It is how we know one from another, and it is good for our soul. It is the road to salvation.

Our nation has come to such a time, it seems. We've gone so long without fasting, without self-denial, without care for our neighbor (near or far); we are used to gluttony, and so the times in which we now find ourselves are a jolt. Will we wield our self-will and say, "No one can force me to fast"? Or will we, like Zacchaeus, realize that our lives are off-kilter? Will we see this season as one of gloom to endure, as punishment? Or will we see it as a National Great Lent, a time to come face-to-face with God in order to be healed?

The troubled times of our present economic crisis, however complicated, are not so unlike that which brought Zacchaeus to the foot of the sycamore tree (which stands to this day) in Jericho. May our inner strength be summoned to cast off concern for what others might think about the spectacle of grown men and women climbing a tree to see ourselves clearly.

Great Lent offers us the 40-day invitation to take a fearless moral, spiritual, emotional inventory of our lives as well as the opportunity to give half of our possessions to the poor, and to restore four-fold to anyone we may have defrauded — all this in order to experience the joy of the Resurrection. And it is just around the corner.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I'On. He can be reached at 881-5010 or frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

A Fragrant Legacy

2008-10-27T14:27:00.000-05:00

A Fragrant Legacy
By Fr John Parker
Originally published in the Post and Courier on Sunday, October 26, 2008

It was on Miodrag’s account that he and Drazen visited our church on this sad day. Miodrag’s brother, Aleksandar, a long-time resident of Mt. Pleasant, had died—alone—and Miodrag had just arrived from his home in Europe to tend to the affairs of his departed brother.

I had not known Aleksandar in this life. Still, it is our custom to care for the dead and their survivors, the weeping and the grieving, who are looking for the consolation of Christ. We put a plan together and agreed to meet at the morgue on that Monday, in order to wash Aleksandar’s body.

The traditional Christian preparation of a corpse for burial is quite a moving, beautiful, and holy experience, even in the sterile environment of a morgue. After the first few Psalms, one really doesn’t take much notice of the room. In this case, our parish deacon and his wife, with the ever gracious assistance and direction from the head of mortuary services, humbly, delicately, carefully washed Aleksandar’s body, all the while I chanted Psalms, prayers and hymns for the departed, in addition to reading relevant passages on death and resurrection from the Epistles and Gospels. We finished our sacred philoxenia (biblical Greek for “hospitality”—and literally “love of strangers”) by anointing Aleksandar’s body with fragrant Myrrh, one of the three beautiful gifts given to Jesus at his Nativity—precisely with reference to his impending death for our sake. Our last act in preparation for his memorial service was to clothe him in white. It is what he would have worn at his first, and more eternally significant death: his baptism. The Panikhida (memorial service) was simple and beautiful—a small gathered choir and a few dozen of Aleksandar’s coworkers and friends, in addition to his brother and sister-in-law.

The same day that we sang our funeral service for Aleksandar, I learned of the falling-asleep (as it is referred to in the Scriptures) of our beloved brother priest, the Very Rev. Nicholas Trivelas, who pastored the Orthodox Church in Charleston for nearly half a century. The preparation of the body of a priest is similar to that of a layman, though a bit more specific. We were kindly welcomed, in this instance, by the folks at Stuhr’s, a few of whom knew Fr Nicholas when he was a young priest and they were children. Fr John Johns, the current pastor of Holy Trinity had invited Fr Anastasy Yatrellis (himself a son of the parish) and me to meet him for these holy preparations. We shared the prayers, washings, and anointings—we washed his face, hands, and feet, and anointed each with Myrrh. What joyful sadness—to wash the face of a perpetual smile, to anoint the hands and feet of one who served so many. Finishing our prayers and the anointing, we vested Fr Nicholas’ body in his brightest Paschal Vestments—a priest is buried as a priest. Fr. Nicholas’ funeral was a more sizeable service. His whole family was there, in addition to his parish family—including surely the children’s children of folks he himself had baptized.

The preparations for the burial of these to men caused me also to reflect on my time in the Holy Land. Not far outside of Jerusalem, we visited the Judean desert, and specifically the Great Lavra, a living and ancient Orthodox Christian monastery founded in 485AD. Within the nave of the katholikon (the main monastery church) is a glass case about 6 feet long and three feet deep and high, which contains a human body vested similarly to Fr Nicholas. The body is that of St Sabbas, the founder of the monastery. His incorrupt relics (non-embalmed, non-decomposing body) are laid in state for pilgrims to come and venerate. (Incorrupt relics, which often exude the scent of myrrh or roses—even 1500 years after death—are a sign of sanctity in the Orthodox tradition. It is one way we recognize a saint.) The preparations made for St Sabbas’ funeral 1500 years ago would have been the same as those we made for Aleksandar and Fr Nicholas. It is the way our tradition teaches us to treat the corpse of any departed soul.

The body of a deceased layman, the body of a departed priest, and the incorrupt corpse of an ancient monastic saint. You and I each share two vocations with Aleksandar, Fr Nicholas, and St. Sabbas. The first is that not a single one of us escapes death. Psalm 49:7ff is a reminder: “Truly no man can ransom himself, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of his life is costly, and can never suffice, that he should continue to live on for ever, and never see the Pit.” We will all die.

The second shared vocation is also highlighted in this Psalm: “Yea, he shall see that even the wise die, the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others” (verse 10)—the call to “leave our wealth to others”—the eternal memory of a holy, self-denying life, which in turn gives life to those with whom we come into contact. And we have a limited number of breaths in this world to be perfected in such holiness. God help us not to squander those precious few!

As the Western Church prepares to celebrate the feast of All Saints (Nov 1) and All Souls (Nov 2), let us remind ourselves that life is but a breath, and ask the Lord that after our own death, we leave a truly holy legacy—alive, as fragrant as roses—15 days, 15 months, even 1500 years from now.

Fr John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org. To read more visit www.holyascension.blogspot.com.

Interview with Frederica on Ancient Faith Radio

2008-10-23T09:44:00.004-05:00

Hear it here:
http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/podup/frederica/a_voice_in_the_public_square

Read it here:

A Voice in the Public Square
Thursday, October 9, 2008Frederica in Orthodoxy, Christian Apologetics, Podcast
[Ancient Faith Radio; October 9, 2008]

Frederica Mathewes-Green: I’m in the nave of the Church of Holy Ascension in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina on Route 17, just north of Charleston. I’m talking with the pastor, Fr. John Parker. Tell me a little about your journey to Orthodoxy, Father, as we get started.

Fr. John Parker: Sure. Well, it all began during my Episcopal seminary experience in Ambridge, PA, when the library there had a sale on duplicate books. So they were 50 cents for paperbacks and a dollar for hardback books. I found a whole stack of Orthodox Books there, which, I’d never read anything like that before. So, there was “Becoming Orthodox” by Fr. Peter Gillquist, there were several books by Fr. Schmemann… so, we began to read those books at home actually. My wife (she’ll probably not be happy that I said this) took “Becoming Orthodox” off of my bedside. I had read thirty pages in three days, and she’s a very voracious reader, and so she took it and put it on her bedside, and read it in one day. As a result of that, she came to me and said, “You know, this book… we have to talk about this book.” It raises questions that we couldn’t even think to ask. That was very intriguing to me. So that was the very beginning of it: some used books from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry.

FMG: And is that about eight or ten years ago now?
Fr. JP: That would have been… you know, I was just measuring it the other day. It would have been 1998 or 1999. So, yeah, it’s been almost ten years ago right now. Amazingly, (I remember this too because I still have the email) once I began to ask some of the questions that Fr. Peter raised in his book, “Becoming Orthodox”, the first thing that I tried to do was to contact your husband, who was my Episcopal priest when I was a child, and to ask him some of these questions- what has the Orthodox Church always believed about this? That was an email, I think it was in January 2000, that I was able to reach him.

FMG: I have a similar memory, I was going through some old file boxes and I found a manila envelope. My husband’s handwriting on the tab said, “Orthodoxy”. To think that there was a time in our lives when everything about Orthodoxy fit in one manila folder! It’s like it just exploded and took over the whole house and our lives.
Fr. JP: I have the same folder!

FMG: (laughs) And as you mentioned, we go back quite a ways. When my husband was the rector of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Woodbridge, Virginia, 1981 to 1989, your dad was on the parish council, and you were a teenager in the youth group, and we knew you quite well then. And as we always say, you always came over and mowed the lawn for us when we were out of town. So, God has some very strange and surprising plans- because here you are in our home town, right outside of Charleston with this beautiful church. I’ve already talked to Andrew about the architecture and all of that. But you’ve drawn some attention to yourself here in Charleston, by being outspoken, as I’m sure you were in the Episcopal Church as well. Tell me how you began to get the attention of the local newspaper and local inquirers.
Fr. JP: Well, it happened in two ways, actually. The first is that the local newspaper has an incredible Faith & Values section. Incredible, I think, because it has one; well, let me just say that it’s incredible that they have a Faith & Values section that’s three pages every Sunday. And they often report on the happenings of local churches. I noticed in reading that section many times that they often reported on mega-church activity in the area, and almost never reported on anything traditional. So, I took a moment to email the contact at that time at the newspaper, and I said, ‘You know, all of these articles I read are about contemporary Christianity in the Faith & Values section, I wonder if you’d be interested in something about the traditional Christians in our area.’ And he said, ‘Well, that’d be interesting’. And as it turned out at that time, I think it was at that time, the main writer for the Faith & Values section of the newspaper had received some sort of a paid study abroad to Indonesia. It was maybe around the time of the tsunami. He went there to study the intersection of journalism and religion in the aftermath of the tsunami. So, the newspaper agreed to allow me to write columns as a guest writer while he was away for several months. So there was a time actually when I was able to write two or three and sometimes four columns a month for that newspaper, unedited except for spelling and punctuation, basically. So I could write strictly about the Orthodox Faith and the Orthodox tradition without any supervision, so to speak.

FMG: That is amazing. So you wrote about iconography, or the Virgin Mary, or…
Fr. JP: Well, I don’t know if I got myself in trouble or not in the very first article I wrote, but I wrote about the importance of tradition in Christianity, and in that particular article, I described that all Christianity is traditional, but the question is, whose tradition?

FMG: I remember reading it!
Fr. JP: That was not received well in certain circles, because it seemed like a slam on everyone, but I made the point in that particular article, writing about churches, that if you come into a church like we’ve been graced to build here, a traditional church which is oriented toward the East- that’s redundant- but it’s properly oriented, and it’s in the form of a cross and it has three spaces, you know- the narthex, the nave, and the altar, and so forth. That describes one tradition. And a gigantic church in an auditorium with stadium seating and a stage represents another tradition. It is a certain Christianity, but that comes from a different architectural tradition. So, it’s traditional, it’s just not the ancient Christian tradition.

FMG: I want to say, I’ve been experimenting, I always want to find terms that go down a little smoother. When you use the word ‘tradition’ you always have to do a lot of explaining, because people think about the scripture of, ‘Do not be led by false tradition’ - false tradition? ‘dead tradition’. I’m experimenting with using the phrase, ‘community memory’ instead. Orthodoxy is held together by community memory. We do these things because everyone everywhere throughout the history of this Body of Christ has, we always have. So, it’s community memory. I find people don’t balk as much as they do at the word ‘tradition’. So that was your first column, and then you were off to the races for several months.
Fr. JP: That’s right, and the more controversial one was when I was invited to give the benediction at the local medical university, the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Actually, the local Greek priest was invited to give the benediction that year, and his schedule was full. I was very grateful that he came to ask me; he wanted to keep it within the Orthodox churches. So, that was wonderful. So I diligently sat down at my desk and I pulled out our four-volume Great Book of Needs, and I went specifically to the service of the anointing of the sick, to look at the different prayers that we have that talk about Jesus as the physician of our souls and bodies, figuring that this is a group of students who are going to be nurses and doctors, that I would find something helpful there. Then, I penned what I thought was a prayer absolutely in line with our tradition, which was both rooted in those prayers from the Great Book of Needs, but also rooted in the local circumstances of the medical school. The day after that, I got a letter in the mail thanking me from the medical university that I would do this benediction, and it said, ‘please see the guidelines for the benediction inside’. So, I did. And it was crazy. It describes that you weren’t allowed to use the word ‘Father’, or ‘Jesus’… actually, it listed ‘Jesus’, ‘Allah’, and I don’t remember what else, but all these quote-unquote specific names for God; you had to keep it generic. I’m not even sure you could say ‘God Almighty’. You just had to be very generic. So, I immediately contacted their office and suggested that I couldn’t do such a thing because I’m an Orthodox priest. We pray in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that’s what I had to do. So, here’s my prayer. And I sent it to them by email.

FMG: So they had their own tradition that they were trying to make you fit.
Fr. JP: Well, ironically, a new tradition, if we can say so, because this is the point I’d tried to make before I wind up just saying, you know, I either need to pray the way we pray, or else maybe I shouldn’t do that at all. And so they asked me, would it be terrible if I were uninvited? And I said, no, you do what you need to do. So they invited someone else. But the point is that the medical university has a chapel which is on the corner of Rutledge and Bee Streets in downtown Charleston. It’s a neo-Gothic chapel, called St. Luke’s Chapel. Who’s St. Luke? He’s a physician, who wrote a gospel. And it’s got a gigantic stained glass window of St. Luke. And it’s got a cross on the top. So, the medical university especially in Charleston has a very venerable Christian tradition. But that has changed a lot lately. So, anyhow, that became an opportunity for the local area to learn a little about the Orthodox Christian Church. And the newspaper allowed me to write a column about why I couldn’t give the benediction. And it gave the chaplain of the medical university a couple of columns next to my column so that we were side-by-side in our writings, and that caused many letters to the editor to be written. Ultimately, I was able to sit down with the chaplain, which was very good, and to talk to him about his position and so forth. It was very helpful in that sort of dialogue sense, but very frustrating because a Christian should be able to pray as a Christian, and a Christian chaplain of a school should be able to defend that a Christian invited to pray as a Christian should be able to pray as a Christian! If that makes sense. Kind of crazy.

FMG: So it was a moment of controversy for your church here, for Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, but it was a beneficial controversy, because it drew attention, it got everybody talking, and I’m sure there were a lot of discussions of the pro’s and con’s and what should be done. I imagine you found that a lot of the local population was very sympathetic to what you were trying to do.
Fr. JP: It’s true. Actually, that was my first foray into the broader religious constituency of Charleston. I did get a lot emails- every time I wrote in the newspaper I’d say, “And you can reach Fr. John by email at… ” and I’d give my email, and I’d give the phone number, precisely because I would enjoy having the conversation with anyone. I received an equal number of ‘Atta boy!’s as, ‘You are just a Neanderthal Christian…’ I mean, I received that from atheists, I received it from other Christians… So it was a very interesting response, even from the Christian community there were those who were way in favor of, ‘Yeah, you stand up there and the Gospel says, if you deny me I will deny you, and so forth, and if you stand up for me, I’ll stand up for you!’, and then from other Christians, who’d say, ‘You just have no business saying those sorts of things.’ It’s crazy. It was quite an experience.

FMG: You told me you met recently with an orthodox rabbi who specifically wanted to meet with you because of that controversy.
Fr. JP: Right. He was given the opportunity to give the benediction this year, and ironically, um, I’ve never said anything like this, I’ll say it out loud, he prayed in the name of ‘Our Father’ in the benediction, which was permitted for him. So maybe in some little way, I paved the way for some stripping of the generic language about God, even if we need to talk about Who the fulfillment of Our Father is. But, that was quite a remarkable experience. It was nice to hear from him as an orthodox Jewish rabbi that he has a firm conviction about in Whose name he prays, and that he would not waver from that either.

FMG: That’s very good. So in a short time, you’ve managed to become pretty well known, I guess, in Charleston, with the regular newspaper columns, over the course of a couple of years now. Do you find that people are being drawn, being brought to this parish out of curiosity or whatever because of this effort to speak in the public square?
Fr. JP: I think that’s true. Yes. We have a number of people, I don’t know, maybe two or three or four families, who have specifically come here as a result of those newspaper articles. There is one family I am thinking of at the moment, who read something that I read in the newspaper- it was in late October that year because it was about Halloween- and actually, I wrote about the link between Halloween and death. Just to kind of capture everyone’s imagination. They happened to be reading that, they had dabbled in witchcraft, and they thought, ‘This is amazing. I’ve never heard anybody write anything like this about Christianity and death and Halloween. We need to go check that place out!’ And in short order, they were catechumens, and a year later, they were received into the Church. Really remarkable. You know, people aren’t coming in droves, but I’m guessing now, that just about everyone who reads the Post and Courier in Charleston could name the Orthodox church as a result of this. It’s been a real gift to us to have that kind of opportunity. Many of my brethren in other states, particularly in the north or northeast, can’t believe even that there is such a thing as a Faith & Values section, much less that Orthodox Christianity is playing such a prominent role in writing in that particular paper.

FMG: I know that’s one of the things, as newspapers have lost so many subscribers, and they keep shrinking, they keep losing pages, that the religion section is one of the first things to go. So, to still have three pages devoted to it here is an amazing thing. I know that there’s Fr. Aidan Wilcox in Cedar Park, Texas, right outside of Austin, that he writes regular columns for the local paper there, and I guess I would want to encourage pastors to do that. If you’re listening and an Orthodox pastor, you might think you’re not a writer, but if you can write a sermon, you know, just write down what you said in the sermon. Find a local hook, something in the news, and… a lot of times papers are looking to fill content, especially online, on web pages it’s 24 hours a day, and you have to keep replacing it. There are many ways you could actually reach a larger community than just your parish by reaching out like that.
Fr. JP: May I say another word about that? I would just like to encourage the same, and one of the tacks that I found most helpful was that the Orthodox Church represents something so totally ancient, something so totally different from everything else that’s in the religious news, at least in our area, but I think it’s true in the broader context of our country. We represent the minority, in a sense, and newspapers like minorities. So it’s helpful to use that, to use it for good, to describe that ‘Here’s what we’ve been doing for thousands of years, and here’s how come you don’t know about it already.’ Or by comparison to some grandiose thing, I read in the newspaper- this is how it happens sometimes. There was an article in the newspaper about eight weeks ago about some local mega-churches that have been partnering with other mega-churches to make mega-mega-churches. Their call to unity is to do things together, so they’re going to put a lot of money in a big pot together, and they’re going to go plant a church in Africa. Or something like that. It’s a very noble idea, and thank God they have such resources. But nevertheless, one of the lines in that article said, ‘We are partnering together with churches to plant other churches in other parts of the world where it’s never been done before.’ That was one of the things they said! And I thought, that’s outrageous! So I called the newspaper, my contact there, and I suggested, this has been going on for a long, long time, and can I have the time to explain a) what true Christian Unity is, and b) how it has been going on throughout the last 2000 years, and perhaps why they might not know so- part of which is our fault, and part of which is their own myopia. But anyway, just to read something in the newspaper, and to contact the newspaper and say ‘I have a different perspective on that, which is also very venerable and ancient’, and I also have the opportunity to talk about it. I find that they’re always interested in that.

FMG: Yes, I think you will find that editors are often very receptive to that. Otherwise, they have to go out and find written material day after day after day. If you can tap into some open discussion going on they’re often very willing to hear that.
Fr. JP: One last word: I’ve found it very helpful to do that sort of writing about something that’s already been written about, because they’ve already chosen the topic, and this would be a way to respond to it. It does happen on occasion that newspapers are interested in having two opposing sides put in a room and having you duke it out. So, that also can be beneficial if everyone knows that that’s going on. It’s important to be aware of that, so that when we come to the table to write about that, to write about whatever the topic might be, we know that sometimes it might just be for the spectacle. So we have to be careful to know that’s the case. We may still choose to be in the arena, but…

FMG: I noticed that desire for spectacle when there used to be much more interest in hearing about the abortion issue, and I was doing a lot of writing, radio, newspaper, and TV shows. Especially on TV shows, I would notice how the producer would dart in during the commercials and try to make us angrier, saying, ‘Challenge him on that, don’t let him get away with that…’ It is spectacle; they know that what catches the viewers, or the readers, is people getting angry. We want to do things the way that is appropriate for us as Christians and not get hooked into that culture of spectacle and anger and violence, in fact, verbal violence.
Fr. JP: Yeah, it’s amazing how that does work sometimes. I would say, just to make a shameless plug for the Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, that over the last two and a half years, they have been incredibly gracious to me, and have allowed me on behalf of our parish, to write about things that otherwise people just… they won’t buy a book at the store to read about this, they won’t type it in to the internet to read about it, but they flip over to page F-1 or whatever the Faith & Values is that particular Sunday, and they look on there for what piques their interest, to the point where people will see me on occasion in my cassock, and they’ll say, ‘Are you the one who writes in the newspaper?’ And then I find that they’ve clipped those articles out and they’ve studied them in their adult Sunday School class in their big Baptist churches, and that’s amazing! So thank God for that and anything to help the Orthodox Faith become well known.

FMG: Well, it’s my home town. I’m glad to hear that they’re gracious and agreeable as you say at the Post and Courier. Congratulations. You say things in those columns sometimes, I think, ‘You can’t say those things in public!’ Because you’re so forthright about the Orthodox moral and theological position, and I find that it turns out, you *can* say that! And it clears the air when you just spell it out. And anytime you want to come mow our lawn, you can do that too!
Fr. JP: Thank you, I’ll be happy to do that again sometime!

Article originally appeared on Frederica.com (http://www.frederica.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.

Pilgrimage may be a life changing event

2008-10-23T09:40:00.002-05:00

Special to the Post and Courier
By Fr John Parker

I am going on a journey across time and geography. As you read this column, I am making my way from Charleston to Newark, N.J., to Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In July, I received the most amazing gift: a two-week pilgrimage to the Holy Land, led by the most well-known Orthodox Christian bishop in the English-speaking world — His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos Ware. We are not going on a tour; a pilgrimage is substantially different. Yes, we will travel with cameras and MP3 recorders and notebooks, but these we bring along in order to share the pilgrimage upon our return with those who cannot physically go. We go to the Holy Land to experience the life of Christ in the very places he was born and lived and walked and died — to pray in the holy places, to reflect on the holy moments, to venerate the sacred relics.

Last week, while surfing with a friend, I learned that he had taken a trip to the Holy Land. He described with such palpable joy standing on a certain mountain and being able to point from there in the panorama, to these holy sites — places most of us have seen only in pictures and located only on maps in the appendix of the Holy Scriptures. His greatest impression was that "Jesus was clearly human to me now." Having walked on the roads where Christ walked and been in a boat where Jesus walked on water, Jesus was "more real" to him.

I had lunch with another friend who took a similar trip more than 40 years ago. He had a reaction which I hadn't really anticipated: it was hard to focus at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — the Holy Tomb of our Lord — since there were so many tourists: folks who were only interested in getting a snapshot of the tomb of Jesus (as if it were simply an artifact in an old museum) before moving on. Yet this is the site of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ — the most significant moment in the history of the world! I don't look forward to that particular juxtaposition.

Still, I hope it will be more like when I visited the Byzantium exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York about five years ago. While every other gallery was filled with tourists gabbing about art, the section containing 500 years of Christian icons, mosaics, and vestments was nearly silent.

One knew this was a holy space, even in the middle of one of the most well-known treasure houses of art in the world.

Our pilgrimage is an intimate family visit. A living connection to relatives on the other side of the world. On Tuesday, we'll be honored to visit with and receive the blessing of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the successor to James (the first Bishop of Jerusalem, who presided at the first council of the Church, as described in Acts 15). We are in communion with the Patriarch to this day, and will have the opportunity, most likely, to serve and receive Communion at the tomb of our Lord.

As a parenthetical note, for us Orthodox Christians through nearly two millennia, the various sacred sites are not "supposed." We know the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to be the tomb of Christ. We know Mount Tabor to be the Mount of Transfiguration. We know these things because our relatives were there — just like Charlestonians know that Edgar Allan Poe was stationed at Fort Moultrie and as the English are certain that William Shakespeare wrote all those great plays — some of our relatives knew him, too. This pilgrimage is a visit to living relatives whose relatives' relatives' relatives built these places in Jesus' honor — and their Christian kin before them walked with the Lord himself.

In the wider religio-political sphere, I seriously wonder what we will encounter. There is always the threat of missiles. The region is not the most stable place. And what of the presence of the evangelical Christian Zionists who have such a heavy influence in Israel? (These folks believe that the Jews should "get their land back" in order that Jesus can then return to judge the Earth. Their ideas about this link between the land and the final judgment are based on personal interpretations of Scripture which find their roots only in the last century or so in North American Christianity, and nowhere else in Christian history.) What place will they play in the landscape there? Do they improve or detract from the reputation of Christianity in Israel?

Add to all of that the fact that this is my first visit to a non-Western culture. One semester of Hebrew and several years of seminary cannot truly prepare one for even two weeks in a society entirely different from ours, with a language read and written opposite ours, and with a vocabulary base almost fully unrelated to the romance languages and Greek that I have studied.
Mercy — this is quite a pilgrimage, a stretch in virtually every facet of my life.

A few weeks from now, I will follow up with a column describing the reality of that which I can only imagine right now. I'll also be pleased to share with all who are interested our pilgrimage in photographs and MP3s on Wednesday nights beginning in October. Your prayers, please! And send me your names and the names of friends and relatives for whom I should pray at these holy sites!

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I'On. Reach him at frjohn@ocacharleston.org. He will contribute to a blog while on pilgrimage: www.orthodoxiona.co.uk/new page 8.htm.

Priest Becomes a Pilgrim

2008-10-23T09:39:00.001-05:00

Special to the Post and Courier
October 5, 2008

Riot shields. A ray of light beaming from the dome of the Church of the Resurrection down into the nave. A Berlin-ish Wall running over the hillside, dividing families. The Great Walls of the Old City. Women bearing machine guns in the streets. The angelic voices of the nuns at the Russian monastery at En Kerem. A late night talk with an Orthodox Rabbi who has a well-known radio program broadcast world-wide. A Palestinian Roman Catholic guide on our trip. An hour with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, successor to the brother of our Lord. Walking—if we can call it that—in a crowd of 10,000 (literally) Muslims leaving the Dome of the Rock on a Friday during Ramadan. Receiving communion at the hand of the Archbishop of Jerusalem at the tomb of Jesus Christ in the middle of the night. These are a just a few of the sites and experiences of my two-week pilgrimage to the Holy Land from September 8-20. Our local host, a newly ordained Anglican deacon, began to describe all this to us before we would experience it: “If all the world is a stage, Jerusalem is an Opera.” Opera indeed.

The religious and political history and situation in Israel is as varied as its terrain. Rocky here, desert there, lush and tropical in another spot. Never the same for 40 miles in a row. Jerusalem seems to be a police state. Everywhere we went, the presence of small bands of armed officers were walking about. In order to enter the temple mount, one must go through airport-type security. And yet, despite the military and police presence (or perhaps because of it), I felt entirely comfortable walking the streets of Old Jerusalem at 11pm, 1230am, and 445am.

The only time I ever felt threatened at all was at the Wailing Wall, the remnants of the Western Wall of the Temple, to which many people come to pray, most numerously Orthodox Jews. As we entered the area, Metropolitan Kallistos, Fr Marcus Burch, and I were confronted by a very angry (and I suspect disturbed) Orthodox Jew who came practically belly to belly with our Bishop. He had a very hateful (I use such a term very sparingly, yet intentionally) look in his eyes as he continually pointed the way out, and blocked Metropolitan Kallistos’ every effort to move forward. Finally, Israeli police moved in and escorted the man back towards the wall, in order to leave us in peace. Still, the fellow kept an eye on us from a distance—and I likewise kept an eye on him. He had obviously identified us as Christians by our dress (cassocks and hats), though we were forbidden to wear our pectoral crosses there. Forbidden were all “ritual objects”. Apart from being spat upon by a few Jewish teenagers and receiving the Arabic equivalent of the middle finger by a few Muslim boys, we were generally well received in public. I guess pubescence is a universal suffering.

Jerusalem is a confluence of ancient and modern tides. Where in our country, we think in terms of a few hundred years, and in Europe, one thinks in terms of more centuries, Jerusalem is the land of millennia. King David lived and ruled there nearly 3000 years ago. It was incredibly humbling to walk the Way of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa—the path the Jesus himself took to his crucifixion 2000 years ago. It was mind-boggling to visit Jericho, the oldest inhabited city in the world—a 10,000 year history (and to see the very Sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed up into. There is only one ancient Sycamore tree in Jericho, and it is more than 2000 years old.) If anything, our pilgrimage helped to establish a sense that we are part of a great and long (very long) history.

My concerns about the mixing of tourism and pilgrimage proved to be true—and not just for others, but for me. It was a difficult line to walk—the line of wanting to be there in the moment to pray, to venerate, to pause, to reflect, but also to record, to photograph for those who could not come along and may never go. The most significant moments of prayer and true pilgrimage occurred at unusual times and unanticipated places. To serve the services at the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulchre, tomb of Christ), we had to go in the middle of the night. There is simply too much chaos during the day, so the monks begin the liturgy after midnight, when the doors to the church are closed to the public, and open only to those who come to pray. How incredibly peaceful it was to receive communion in the Tomb of Jesus Christ at about 4am, nearly the hour of his resurrection “before dawn”.

Another angelic experience was the Vigil (Evening service) for the Beheading of the John the Baptist, celebrated at the Russian Orthodox monastery in En Kerem, providentially, the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth—the parents of the Forerunner himself. We arrived after the prayers had already begun, and on entering the magnificent church, surely we heard the voices of the hosts of heaven. The monastic women’s choir sang from the loft over the west doors and filled the domed church with the most ethereal resonance. We clergy were also then invited to serve with the monks for as long as we could stay, which turned out to be one of the most moving experiences of my priesthood.

We got a taste of parish life in Nazareth, when, on Sunday, we served with the local bishop and clergy in a packed church. The service was sung eagerly and fervently in Arabic—with a little Greek and English thrown in by us visitors—and was apparently aired on internet TV. The local Orthodox Christians invited us to their version of coffee hour, and treated us like kings. Middle-eastern hospitality ranks near the top of the list. How beautiful that the biblical term is “philoxenia”—the love of strangers.

I really can do no justice to the pilgrimage in a brief column—but I wanted to give at least a taste of my experience here. I thank the Post and Courier for the opportunity to write these two before-and-after columns. To those who did email me names of friends and family, I did pray for you at the Holy Sepulchre and at the Church of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor. May the Lord bless you! For a fuller walk through our pilgrimage experience, I invite you to Holy Ascension on Wednesday nights in October. We’ll pray Vespers at 6pm, and from 6:45-8pm, I recount the pilgrimage in pictures and tales. Come and see!

Fr John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at 843-881-5010 or frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

On Christian Unity

2008-10-23T09:37:00.000-05:00

BY FR. JOHN PARKER
Special to The Post and Courier

It started out as a recipe for key lime double chocolate chip cookies. But after mixing the ingredients, I thought the pre-baked conglomeration looked too wet. There was absolutely no way I could roll one-inch balls of dough out of this soup. So I decided to add almost double the flour. Then (amateur that I am) I thought I ought to add some more of the other ingredients to try to even out the proportions. Good intentions, bad idea. After the timer sounded, I pulled my confections out of the oven, and voila! Cakies. They are round and somewhat flat like a cookie, but overly moist and airy—not crispy or buttery. Cakies look and smell a lot like cookies, but they aren’t.

Now, some might say, “Hey, those are great! Cookie meets cake. And since everyone has differing tastes in desserts, all the merrier.” To a certain extent, this is true. But what if folks called those cakies “cookies,” and for the next two or three hundred years, this crazed recipe took off and my cakies were baked all over the planet and called “cookies.” Then, after a half of a millennium, someone shows up with a recipe calling for half the flour and proportionately less sugar and eggs claiming that these are actually cookies. Citizens angrily suggest that the baker is trying to force his (presumably) ancient recipe for his “cookies” on them. Cakie enthusiasts insist, however disconnected from the past, that they know what a real cookie is. After all—everyone knows that they are supposed to be light and fluffy and moist.

In the heat of the debate about the ancient recipe and the newer one, there is a group of folks who think it is not worth battling over which is the true cookie. “Wouldn’t it be nice,” they thought, “if we just got together to bake.” And so they did. Some baked cakies (calling them cookies) and some baked the ancient treat, and they were content to “just bake together.” They thought that this would unify them. But did it?

Our Lord Jesus Christ prayed in the Garden prior to his passion, “that they may all be one,” and with a purpose—that the world might know that God the Father sent Jesus Christ into the world to save us. When self-professing contemporary Christians read these verses and look around, many assume that the denominations of Christianity are God-willed and God-sanctioned—like varieties of cookies and cakies or the 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins. Some attempt to justify these differences, saying that hands and feet and ears all make one and the same body. Others claim that God “wired” us all differently for different “expressions” of church. Still others figure that there is little use in worrying about the differences, and that self-professing Christians ought just “to do things together” to show unity (have communion, pray, build houses, go on retreats).

But the Christian life is so much more profound, and frankly, so much simpler. It is certainly good when Christians get together to serve others to bear witness to God’s love, and we should make the effort more often. But this action of doing things together is not the unifying factor of the Christian faith. We are not made one by a common cause. Rather, we are made one by Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We are not called—to make reference to the story above—just to bake together, we are called to make true cookies and to pass the same recipe on to the next generation.

Unity in the Christian understanding is not simply an outward unity that covers up a multitude of polar disagreements on the fundamentals of faith—such as baptism (who, how, when?) and the Eucharist (body and blood of Christ or not?)- or whether or not fornication, unchastity, adultery, and porneia are sins (they are!). Rather, the unity of Christians and the inherent Oneness of the Church (which to this day is not fractured) is established by knowing the unchanging Jesus Christ and living the Christian life as it has been traditioned (handed down) to us, from the beginning, starting with our Lord.

St Irenaeus of Lyons (disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of John the Evangelist, who was among the closest to Jesus) described this reality beautifully in the second century:

The Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although scattered throughout the whole world, yet, as if occupying but one house, carefully preserves it. She also believes these points [of doctrine] just as if she had but one soul, and one and the same heart, and she proclaims them, and teaches them, and hands them down, with perfect harmony, as if she possessed only one mouth…For the Churches which have been planted in Germany do not believe or hand down anything different, nor do those in Spain, nor those in Gaul, nor those in the East... But as the sun, that creature of God, is one and the same throughout the whole world, so also the preaching of the truth shineth everywhere, and enlightens all men that are willing to come to a knowledge of the truth. Nor will any one of the rulers in the Churches, however highly gifted he may be in point of eloquence, teach doctrines different from these (for no one is greater than the Master); nor, on the other hand, will he who is deficient in power of expression inflict injury on the tradition. For the faith being ever one and the same, neither does one who is able at great length to discourse regarding it, make any addition to it, nor does one, who can say but little diminish it (Against the Heresies, Book I, Chapter X).

So, we ought not to overlook our differences. Rather, we ought to seek, each of us, to root out everything in our selves and souls and our practice that has not been believed in every place at all times by all Christians, and from this starting point, to know the true Christ as he really is. From there we can begin to serve the world in true unity.

Fr John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or visit www.holyascension.blogspot.com.

"Who's your daddy?"

2007-12-18T16:07:00.000-05:00

Published on Sunday, 12/16/07 in Charleston, SC's Post and Courier, Faith and Values Section with the title "Christians share common genealogy". Not published in their online version.

In my first days in the Lowcountry, I discovered the importance of genealogies in Charleston. “Are you related to the Parkers on such-and-such Street?” Naively (albeit truthfully), I quickly responded, “No.” As you may be aware, a “no” in this category immediately highlighted that I am from “off”. A better answer, I later learned, is “probably way back”. This reply is equally true, and yet somehow still connects someone from North Carolina to the Holy City. It is nice to have roots, but as far as our eternal life is concerned, our earthly heritage is of zero importance.

In the case of Jesus Christ, however, the question “are you related to ___” is very important. So important that both Matthew and Luke record his lineage in their Gospels. The promised messiah, Jesus, was to have a certain, clear lineage. More specifically, as the prophet Isaiah foretold 700+ years BC, he was to “come forth [as] a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1). More directly, he would be the eternal successor to King David, the great King of Israel. “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore” (Isaiah 9:7ff).

So when the infant Jesus was born, causing no small controversy in the Roman Empire (King Herod jealously ordered the slaughter of all male children under the age of two years old in order to protect his throne from the infant Messiah.), those who knew the Scriptures began to draw near to witness their fulfillment and to worship the newborn King. Even those who did not know and who were not looking for the Messiah (the Gentile Magi, for example) found him and worshipped him. As we sing in the Orthodox tradition, “for those who worshipped the stars were taught by a star to adore Thee…”

Two miracles in one: a child was born from a virgin, and this child, Jesus, is God incarnate, Emmanuel, God with us!

In the early centuries of the Church, even the heretics didn’t doubt Jesus’ divinity. Practically the reverse of today, it was his true humanity that was questioned. Already though, Christians who believed and taught what had always been known about Jesus Christ had kept genealogies which demonstrate his true humanity.

The answer to the Charlestonian question, “Who’s your daddy?” is answered in two ways for Jesus—since he is both God and Man. His Father is God the Father, from whom he is eternally begotten. As a human being and a man, he also has earthly parents—a foster father, Joseph, and his ever-virgin mother, Mary—both of whom are descendents of Abraham, the ancient Patriarch. It is this bloodline which is established in the genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3:23ff. St. Matthew’s account, presented from Abraham to the birth of Jesus, demonstrates Jesus’ royal lineage—showing him to be the fulfillment of all the Kings of Israel. St. Luke’s account, on the other hand, begins with Jesus and works backwards in time, through the line of Levi, showing Jesus to be the fulfillment of the Priests of Israel. Additionally, by going all the way back to Adam, Jesus Christ is shown to be the new Adam, the true Son of God, who, like Adam, was born without human seed.

The genealogies make another—if not more subtle—comment as well: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners—both Jews and Gentiles, men and women. Among them are listed the following (to name only a few): King Ahaz “who did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord God”, who burned his own son and worshipped other gods. King Solomon, who despite his great wisdom, took foreign wives whose false religions turned him from the one true God. He also had hundreds of concubines. King David was an adulterer (with Bathsheba) and a murderer (by ordering the sure death of her husband, Uriah). Rahab was a prostitute. Ruth, the Moabite, was a gentile.

Thankfully, as Christians, our genealogy is always one of adoption and not one of bloodline. By our baptism in Christ, there is “neither slave nor free, male nor female, Jew nor Gentile”. Neither is there Charlestonian nor Yankee, etc. But the genealogies of Jesus Christ are central to our faith, demonstrating the actual, earthly heritage of the Pre-eternal God, made man. Come let us adore him!

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Mt. Pleasant. To read more visit www.holyascension.blogspot.com or write frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Who has a need for Christmas?

2007-12-10T15:58:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the Charleston, SC, Post and Courier, Faith and Values section, 12/9/07. Not available on their website.

By Fr. John Parker

He had been extremely wealthy, but something went terribly wrong. After the collapse of his business, there remained not even enough to feed his family of three daughters. In his desperation—who can imagine such desperation?—he figured that his only recourse for grocery money was to sell the girls into prostitution. No where to turn. Nothing to eat. No option.

Most of us could hardly imagine such desperation. Most reading this article have never involuntarily gone without a meal, much less a week’s worth. Many of us have never ‘needed’ anything.

It is equally true that most of us have never met someone in these circumstances, or even know someone who knows someone who was. Indeed, most of us have never helped someone in dire distress. We tend to go about our business and keep to ourselves. We know what we know and whom we know, and that is our life.

As the son of wealthy parents, Nicholas had never known such need himself. But he knew the needy, and he helped them. He knew that it was immoral to ignore their plight. He had the means to help, and did. In this case, under the cover of darkness, having assembled small bags of money (in large amounts), he made his way into their neighborhood and tossed the bundles through an open window in their house, praying that the gift would be sufficient to prevent such a sin. Thank God, it was. Overjoyed by such grace, Nicholas repeated his secret efforts twice more for the same family and saved them from destruction. Later, in his generosity, he even rescued a city plagued by famine. Saint Nicholas (Feast day December 6) was Archbishop of Myra (Asia Minor) in the 4th century.

For most of us in the Lowcountry, needs were long ago replaced with wants. During the ‘Christmas Season’ (which is actually Advent…) more and more emphasis has been placed on “what do you want for Christmas?” Have you ever been asked, “What do you need for Christmas?”

Many of us spend a frantic month searching for the ‘perfect gift’ for that ‘special someone’ who ‘has everything’. Why on earth do we need to buy ‘something’ (which usually winds up begin just ‘some’ thing) for someone who has everything? Someone who has NO need?

It isn’t that we shouldn’t give one another gifts. In fact, this is one way we show love for one another. But couldn’t the gift for that ‘someone who has everything’ be an offering to someone who has nothing?

Think on this for a moment: it is now common to rent a storage unit to hold all the stuff we can’t fit in our houses. Many spend hundreds of dollars monthly for a roof over stacked furniture piled in a climate-controlled warehouse. What about the poor who have no roof and are stacked on top of themselves? Who needs the roof?

Does little Johnny really need Nintendo Wii? Does Susie really need an 18th webkinz? Does Grandma really need another collector’s plate from the Franklin Mint? Do I really need another tie?

For many, charity has become a year-end tax deduction or the check we write on occasion during the year to assuage the guilt we have for accumulating too much stuff and continuing to buy more anyway. Such charity does help the needy, and the Church is grateful to be able to distribute it. But more so, we are called to change our whole worldview—our selves and souls—to reflect the life of Christ like St. Nicholas did.

We all have so much to give—but we forget that it is not actually ours. Everything we have is given to us by God to be used by us to show the love of God to those who truly need it. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it [clothed the naked, fed the hungry, visited the sick and imprisoned, etc.] to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40ff). Jesus didn’t give new chariots to people or even grant them new clothing. Rather, he gave them health, healing, hope, and salvation—and in the end, he gave his life for them, for us. This is our calling.

St. Nicholas was an ardent follower of Jesus Christ. He quietly and humbly lived the Gospel, and did so without desire for or requirement of public thanks or recognition. He gave because, in his abundance he knew his responsibility as a human being to help the helpless and to give hope to the hopeless. Our call is no different. So, let’s ask a new question this year. Instead of “what do you want for Christmas?” let’s ask, “Who has needs this Christmas whom we can help?” And having asked the question, let our giving be, like St. Nicholas’, quiet, anonymous, given to the glory of God, than all may see these good works, and give glory to God in heaven.

Fr. John Parker is Priest-in-Charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. Read more at www.holyascension.blogspot.com or write frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Advent a time of Spiritual House Cleaning

2007-12-03T14:03:00.000-05:00

published on Sunday, 12/2/07 in Charleston's Faith and Values section of the Post and Courier (not published there online).

I have never been a particularly patient person. In grocery stores, I do mental math trying to determine which checkout line is the fastest. I’d like to be done *now*.

When approaching a red light, I aim for the lane with fewer cars. I want to be at my destination *now*.

I’ve never done particularly well with anticipation either. I confess that as a child, I often sought and found Christmas presents which my parents had attempted to hide in dark guestroom closets. I wanted to know what I was getting *now*.

It wasn’t until my wife’s pregnancy with our firstborn son that I was able to long for anything. By God’s grace, I waited nine months plus two weeks to know that my son was a son, despite the medical capacity to know sooner. And what great joy I found in that longing: a new (and successful) experiment in patience. A wonder like I had never experienced. An indescribable joy to meet my son. And miracle of miracles, I found equal joy and wonder in longing during my wife’s second pregnancy—greeting our second son after another round of nine months and two week’s anticipation.

Advent—or the 40-day Nativity Fast as it is traditionally known in the Orthodox Churches—is one of God’s annual gifts to us though the Church: a gift of patience, anticipation, and longing leading to indescribable joy and wonder at our celebration of the nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Traditionally and historically, Christians prepare for feasts by fasting and repentance. After all, we can never truly know a feast until we know what it is to fast. To go from party to party with no rest in between is to live life ultimately numb to true celebration.

This sort of preparatory season is best known, of course, as the Great 40 days of Lent prior to Pascha (Easter). But Advent is no different—though in many places fasting and penitence have slipped away, now only visible in the liturgical use of the color purple in churches and on Advent wreaths.

Advent, however, is devoted to preparation, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and spiritual longing. After all, it means “coming towards”. The Nativity of Christ is coming. What do you do when the king is coming and he is not here yet? Clean the house. Mend the torn garments. Polish the silver. Wash the dishes. Treat our neighbors the way we are supposed to. Make everything shiny and bright. Advent is not a feast. It is the preparation for the coming One.

So, how to prepare? Clean the house. Not just my residence, but the house of my soul. What sins do I keep unconfessed? What fire of anger do I stoke? What resentment do I harbor? With whom am I not reconciled?

Mend the torn garments. Not just patches on the knees of my torn jeans. How about the holes in the jeans of the needy? How about providing clothing for those who don’t have clothing to mend? Shoes for the shoeless? Meals for the hungry?

Polish the silver. Am I offering my best to the church? Am I giving the love and attention to my family and friends (and enemies) as I am called to do? What do I have to offer that I am holding back?

Wash the dishes. What or whom am I neglecting? Whom have I cast aside?

All this, of course, is not an end in and of itself. It is not a series of works and spiritual housecleaning in order to pat oneself on the back and say, “‘Atta boy!” or, “You go, girl!” Rather it is the response, in love, to the King of Kings who is coming into this world to save us.

Prepare the way of the Lord—he is coming to be born, and to be reborn in our hearts. So, let’s save the carols for Christmas. Let’s save the partying for the feast which begins with Communion on Christmas Day. For the coming weeks, let’s prepare ourselves, our souls and bodies, in peace and repentance, for the Nativity of Christ.

“Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants” (Luke 12:35ff)!

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. To read more visit www.holyascension.blogspot.com or write frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

When Dogma conflicts with Modernity

2007-11-26T15:27:00.000-05:00

For Sunday, November 18, I was asked to contribute to Adam Parker's column asking pastors, "How do you resolve conflict between religious doctrine and contemporary life." Below is the column, including my answer. The online link is this: http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/nov/18/how_resolve_conflict_between_doctrine_co22449/?print

How to resolve conflict between doctrine and contemporary life
By Adam Parker
The Post and Courier
Sunday, November 18, 2007

Over the last several months, Faith & Values has explored how scriptural authority and religious practice can conflict with aspects of everyday life.

Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Methodists are struggling to reconcile homosexuality with what their faith traditions teach. Jews are confronting challenges posed by cultural assimilation, trying to reconcile Jewish and American identities.

Recent court cases and legal settlements have forced Catholics to question the ways in which church officials deal with priests who have sexually assaulted children.

And every day, someone somewhere must address the dilemmas that arise when the realities of the world — poverty, natural disaster, consumerism, unwanted pregnancies, racism, xenophobia — prompt reactions and feelings that clash with the way we believe we are to believe.

Some of the lessons of religious faith seem clear. We are supposed to share our wealth. We are supposed to eat a certain way, dress a certain way. We are meant to abide by what Scripture teaches.

Yet we consume, often buying products we don't need. The trends of fashion and public taste guide our decisions. Forgiveness and fraternity give way to condemnation, overconfidence and blindness. Scripture tells us of sin. But what are we to do? Stone the sinner? Forgive him? Take it upon ourselves to save him? Pretend not to notice? Adjust our definition of sin?

What is clear is that people hold a range of views on how to address these questions and conflicts. Some are sure of their faith and what it dictates; others are full of doubt. Some put their trust in a higher authority; others prefer to trust themselves.

The Post and Courier decided to seek input. We asked religious leaders in the community this question: How do you resolve conflict between religious doctrine and contemporary life?

Asking Around
Ultimately, it comes down to one's underlying premise and perspective. Judaism posits that God did not create the world and then seek to impose his system of values and ethics upon it, but in fact, began with the Torah as his "blueprint" for civilization, and fashioned the world accordingly.

When one perceives the Bible's principles and ideals as the natural order — indeed, the very foundation — of things, one tends to be far less daunted by the challenges of secular society. The question becomes not "How do I reconcile religious doctrine with contemporary life?" but the other way around: "Which aspects of contemporary society conform to my bedrock standards and thus have a place in my life, and which do not, and must remain alien to it?"

Even as our faith and values are constantly tested in myriad ways, a strong foundation enables us to weather the windstorms. Toward that end, education is paramount.

Finally, while from a distance, Torah doctrine may appear rigid, dogmatic or outdated, in its practical application it is none of those things. "Its ways are gentle and all its pathways are peace. It is a tree of life to those who grasp it" (Proverbs 3:17-18). Those who practice tradition not only appreciate its profound relevancy to contemporary times, but how it infuses their every day with a sense of joy, meaning and purpose; a quest for deeper knowledge and spirituality; and a desire to impact the world through acts of goodness, compassion and loving kindness. The Psalmist perhaps said it best: "Taste (i.e. experience for yourself) and see that the Lord is good."

Rabbi Yossi Refson
Chabad of Charleston & the Low Country

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Christians from the beginning have understood that true life is life in Christ — a total metamorphosis of the human person from the inside out. So, when Christian doctrine seems to be in conflict with contemporary life, this is because "contemporary life" is not really life. If we wish to live truly, we will fight with every ounce of our being, as St. Paul taught, not to be "conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).

"Contemporary life" is not our canon; rather Jesus Christ is the standard of what it means to be truly human: Jesus is "the way, and the truth and the life."

For example, the two popular phrases "just do it" and "you deserve it" sum up one mark of contemporary life: "indulge thyself." This is fundamentally at odds with Jesus' teaching and perfect example: "Deny thyself." Following Jesus Christ, perfect God and Man, we can bear witness to the truth of life which comes through him by self-denial and cross-bearing. It raises the dead.

On the other hand, the results of the reign of self-indulgence in "contemporary life" are memorialized in the headlines of People magazine, any weekly tabloid or the police blotter. It kills the living.

A first-century Christian text reads, "There are two ways to live." When there is a conflict between the two, knowing Life, we choose him!

The Rev. John Parker
Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, Mount Pleasant

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I noticed that the question uses the words "religious doctrine," and I believe that the term is very revealing. The very nature of doctrine invites conflict. However, that kind of conflict is of no consequence to me. I don't mean to sound cavalier, but I don't believe that there is ever a conflict between faith and culture ... at least not for the individual who has genuine faith and real conviction.

In the course of human history, when men and women of faith have faced a society or culture that disregarded their values and convictions, the conflict was not within the individual, but between the trend of the culture and the standard of the faithful. Think about the following people: Oscar Romero, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Richard Allen, Martin Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa and Billy Graham. Need I say more? These people acted on conviction, regardless of the trend or expectation of their culture, and in spite of personal struggles.

That same spirit carries over to our more personal individual choices, as well. It seems that every day I encounter people in our society who use profanity casually and loosely. Or unmarried couples who live in the same house and share the same bed without shame or reluctance. And certainly the styles, practices and entertainment of our day that disregard a standard that affirms the notion that we will have to answer to God one day. However, I made a choice to live for Christ, without compromise. There are times when it is inconvenient, unpopular and even painful to be a faithful follower of Christ. However, the presence of those undesirable feelings does not constitute a legitimate reason to compromise or "give in." Actually, I have found that once we make up our minds to live for the Lord, many of our decisions are already made. We simply have to ask God to help us deal with the discomforts ... and I am a witness that He will help us do just that.

The Rev. Stephen Singleton
Emanuel AME Church

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Such conflict is addressed by allowing the principles of the Scriptures to inform life in the culture of our day. Essentially, the specific commands (which sometimes seem not to relate to our culture) are based on principles that transcend culture. Let those principles speak in the context of our day to define our lives even if it means we are not in the mainstream of the culture. Our history has taught us that being in the mainstream of culture is often a recipe for disaster, while standing on principle is often costly but best in the long term.

The Rev. R. Marshall Blalock
First Baptist Church

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Religious communities are caring communities, deeply concerned about the truths that help give our lives meaning and purpose. Having definite beliefs, we are able to live lives with integrity, and can find answers to life's enduring questions, such as: Is there a God? What happens after we die? Why do good people suffer? What actions are good and right?

For more than 2,000 years, it has been Jewish religious doctrine that God gave his revelation (Torah) to Moses at Mount Sinai. This long-standing belief provided a basis for our Jewish lives. In perplexity or doubt, we could reliably turn to our Jewish leader or rabbi who would find answers based on Torah.

But, contrary to what we might wish, over the past 200 years, the scientific study of the Bible (largely conducted by leading Protestant scholars) has made belief in this Jewish doctrine increasingly difficult. Objective studies of the text lead us to conclude that the Pentateuch (the "five books of Moses") was written and edited over many centuries by several diverse authors. As a result, most American Jews have come to accept our sacred texts as fallible.

Our Jewish communities remain caring communities that both link us to our religious past and help us find answers to enduring questions. But with Torah as a guide, rather than infallible dogma, we all become fellow seekers for truth, helping one another find beliefs and values that give our lives personal authenticity and direction in a Jewish context.

Rabbi Anthony D. Holz
Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim

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At its root, the question about conflicts between religious doctrine and contemporary life is about the existence and nature of truth. Does truth exist? Can truth change? If true religious doctrines conflict with contemporary life, the resolution is simple: conversion. By the grace of God, we conform ourselves to God's plan for creation.

The Gospel is always countercultural in some form or another. Ironically, as G.K. Chesterton noted, "... each generation is converted by the saint who contradicts it most." Witness the late 20th century's esteem for Mother Teresa, as she lived and proclaimed poverty and chastity.

It is easy to get caught up in the marketing of religion. In a sincere desire to evangelize, some religious bodies survey people to determine what they need. As often happens, true needs get confused with mere wants. When religion becomes a commodity, people become consumers. Like customers, they shop around to pick and choose their beliefs. We call it "the commodification of religion." Unfortunately, when religion adapts to contemporary whims, people stay in their comfort zones and miss the challenge to growth, to conversion, to heroic love.

Instead of changing our behavior in accord with our beliefs, we are tempted to change our beliefs to suit our behavior. "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2). It's a constant and exciting challenge.

The Rev. Lawrence B. McInerny
Stella Maris Catholic Church, Sullivan's Island

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I think it is important to understand that the Bible is first and foremost a book of Christian Faith and Practice. In other words, it tells us who we are, our sinful state and the need for God's grace and intervention to reinstall fellowship with our Creator. Scripture assures us that God is the Creator and that we humans were created with a purpose, but it does not explain how God created and it is not strictly speaking a book of science, math, history (even though we believe it has historical content) and, therefore, we are not called to try to explain God's way of doing things. Also, each biblical text or passage needs to be interpreted within its context and cannot be literally applied to every situation. There are certain issues that are essential to faith and practice, but others need to be seen within their historical context, and a principle is to be seen for application to modern-day life. Within the Scriptures themselves, there are shifts in application to certain circumstances according to the context (for example animal sacrifices and the ultimate sacrifice seen in Jesus Christ).

Certain hygiene rules are not mandatory today, yet moral principles such as adultery, murder, hate, etc., are consistently condemned throughout Scripture. As Christians, we believe in the leading of the Holy Spirit to help us understand God's written word for today for adequate application.

The Rev. Eriberto "Eddie" Soto
Latin American Ministries, Charleston-Atlantic Presbytery

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Too often Christians fall into the fallacy that our doctrines were delivered First Class from heaven. The creeds we recite each Sunday, the stories that we hear from the pulpit, the beliefs handed down to us from our grandmother we often take as coming straight from the mouth of God.

That is where we begin to get into trouble. All theology is created. It is humans' attempt to make some sense of what is going on in life and how it relates to what God is seeking to do in and through creation. It is a continuing conversation with God, our world, ourselves.

The Nicene Creed was an attempt to find a consensus to the wide range of beliefs that were causing a rift in the church and the empire. It was a conversation that set forth what most people believed in the fourth century. Since then our knowledge of the world has expanded. We need to continually ask ourselves if our understanding of God has expanded as well.

William Countryman, in writing about Scripture, once said that "when Scripture breaks your world open and makes it bigger and more loving, it is achieving its true goal." The same thing could be said for doctrines. They are here to help us understand God and what God is seeking to do in our world. Doctrines that harden our hearts and close our minds to the wonder of God need to be discarded. Those which open us to greater wonder and greater understanding are to be reaffirmed and celebrated.

The Rev. Dr. Don Flowers Jr.
Providence Baptist Church, Daniel Island

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Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902 or aparker@postandcourier.com.
Copyright © 1997 - 2007 the Evening Post Publishing Co.

On Orthodoxy and orthodoxies

2007-10-08T11:04:00.000-05:00

Originally published as Orthodoxy at heart of faith in Christ in the Charleston, SC, Post and Courier on Sunday, October 7, 2007

In recent weeks, Adam Parker wrote two articles investigating the history of religious schism and asking the question, “should religion’s goal be a ‘universal church’ or is religious diversity a good thing?” Adam states that in times of trouble and theological debate “some believers…react by reasserting orthodoxy.” I would like to take the liberty to explain why I believe there is no ‘little ‘o’’ orthodoxy and to define and describe “Orthodoxy” as “Christianity from the beginning”. As a result we will see but one Jesus Christ, and the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Little ‘o’ orthodoxy is a concept which inherently has no meaning, precisely because it is an idea used to defend certain Reformation and Post-reformation ideas, not all of which are held in common by those who would label themselves orthodox. Consider a few examples. Some Protestant Christians would interpret certain passages in the Holy Scriptures to defend the ordination of women, while others will interpret certain verses (often the same ones!) to condemn it. Some would interpret the Bible, defending adult-only baptism. Others would claim that baptism is unnecessary, using the same Bible. Some would baptize “in the Name of Jesus” only, citing the Book of Acts. Others would baptize “in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” referencing Jesus’ command in Matthew 28. Each of these might call themselves ‘orthodox’. The main question which should arise from this discussion would be, “who decides who’s orthodox?” Phrased another way, “whose interpretation is correct?” Little ‘o’ orthodoxy is a term which is gaining popularity in an effort to defend one’s own beliefs and denominational affiliations without checking all of them against the received beliefs of the Universal Church.

Orthodox (capital ‘O’), is a term which does have meaning, precisely because Orthodoxy is the Ancient Way of Christianity, believing and teaching that which has always been believed and taught about Jesus Christ and everything related to him: the Church, the Sacraments, missions, etc. When theological debate arises, we can always look back and ask, “what have Christians always believed?” We will find, in this search, two records. First, a long line of teachers (Bishops) stretching from the first century to the present day, whose sole task it is to guard and transmit this ‘faith once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3). And second, we will find the content of their defense and teaching to be this long-held ‘body’ of belief. Both are critical to Orthodoxy. We can know the “mind of Christ” in every critical area by looking back from the beginning to see if what is being questioned is congruent or an innovation. We are looking for the golden thread of commonly held beliefs.

To hold all of these commonly held beliefs, and to profess them publicly in word and action, would make one “Orthodox”. To hold some of them, but not all of them would make one (again historically and theologically) “heterodox” (literally “a different glory or praise”)—and places one outside the Church. To teach against these teachings and beliefs, especially from within the Church makes one a “heretic” (literally “an opinion holder”, “sectarian”, or “dissenter”), perhaps the most dangerous spiritual label.

Though not always, the heterodox and heretical views of Christianity often start with questions about me or my rights. For Christians, to start with the individual is a dangerous endeavor. “What will make me happy?” “What is my right as a human being?” “If I am like this, what must God be like?” “Why don’t you believe what I believe?”

Orthodox Christianity, on the other hand, takes God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ, holds tightly onto it, and seeks to live it in every possible scenario, public and private. It begins something like this: “If God is whom he has revealed himself to be, what will make me genuinely me?” “If God is whom he has shown himself to be when he took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, what is my responsibility as a human being?”

Heterodox Christianity and heretical views often take our present (read ‘fallen’) human existence as “the way we were created” and start there. Orthodox Christianity understands that God became man not only to conquer sin and death, but to show us what it truly means to be human. We understand that how we were born and how we are now are *not* necessarily what or who we were created to be.

Orthodox Christianity stands, as the Church, already united in fullness of faith and shared belief. Receiving communion within the Orthodox Church is, in addition to its essential meanings, the outward sign of commonly holding these ancient beliefs about Jesus Christ and sharing a fullness of the faith. Within Orthodox Christianity, community is truly our common unity, and communion is our common union.

Heterodox Christianity and heretical sects are inherently dis-united and may or may not share some beliefs but not others, not only amongst themselves, but across time and geography. The act of receiving communion in these places is often the only common ground amongst them. The sacrament itself may or may not have essential meaning (depending on who is teaching), so communion is often reduced to “the union we have by doing something together, whether it means something or not.”

The questions of unity and community, union and communion, as well as the big question concerning “the Church” have been being answered since Jesus himself instituted the Church with the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Again, don’t take my word for it! Read not only the Scriptures, but also the history, starting with the Apostolic Fathers (found online at http://www.ccel.org/fathers.html). Start also with the first bona fide, universally accepted “History of the Church” by Eusebius (found online at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.vi.i.html and also published as a Penguin Classic).

No, it is the deeper questions which are the more difficult: Am I willing to seek, to be found by, and to find the one, true Jesus Christ, who always has been—the same yesterday, today, and forever? Am I willing to accept that I am “fallen and I can’t get up”? Am I willing to believe what has always been believed about Jesus Christ, trusting that in this faith is found the fullest and truest life? When we come to this point, finally, we can heed the invitation so beautifully made in one of my favorite movies—Oh Brother, Where Art Thou: “Come on in, boys, the water is fine!”

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in the I’On community of Mt. Pleasant. Read more at www.holyascension.blogspot.com or contact him at frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Hotter than Hell?

2007-10-08T10:59:00.000-05:00

Originally published as Turning from God leads to eternity without life in the Charleston, SC, Post and Courier on Sunday, September 9, 2007.

By all reports, the recent heat wave was the most intense and prolonged in recent memory. Record highs prompted some churches in their roadside signage to post statements relating the temperature in Charleston to those of the infernal abyss. “You think it is hot here?” “Fire Insurance. Inquire within.” “Hell has no thermostat.” Clever—but even at the literal level, ‘thermostat’ means ‘keeps the temperature the same’. I guess the implied statement is, “in hell, one can’t change the temperature for the cooler.”

It is good that this heat prompts us to ask about hell. What is hell, though? And what is heaven?

Our Lord, Jesus Christ said, “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Heaven is begun. By our participation in the life of the Church—through baptism and receiving the Sacraments—by our co-laboring with God, we are welcomed more and more into the Kingdom as we are transformed from corrupt into incorrupt, from imperfect to perfect, from sinner to saint. Whenever we actually seek and accomplish the will of God (rooted in self-denial, taking up our cross, and following Jesus), we partake in the life of the Kingdom of God, life as it was intended, heaven—even here and now.

Hell is similar. To sin, to harm others, to deny God and his power, to turn from the will of God, to seek self over others, to worship anything or anyone above the One, True God, is to participate in hell. We even have a phrase in our every-day vocabulary which points to this: “living hell.” Precisely. Ask anyone who has or is going through divorce or abuse—no matter who is a fault, it is hell for everyone. Consider, honestly, the worst times in your own life: hell. In these and other areas, we can observe, or participate in, hell—living hell.

Hell, is not some geographical place—as heaven is not. These realities begin in time and space but have their conclusion outside of it, in God’s timelessness. Wherever they “are”, God is there. “If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there” (Psalm 139:8)! In fact, we would even dare to teach that hell is not a place where God sends anyone. The Prophet Ezekiel, for example, said that God desires not the death of a sinner, but that he should turn from his ways and live (Ezekiel 18:32).

Today, as in the days of Moses, we have two choices always set before us: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him…” (Deuteronomy 30:19ff). The choice, life or death—heaven or hell, is ours to make, in every living moment, and to our dying breath.

God never says, “Love me or I’ll kill you.” “Love me or you’ll burn in hell.” Rather, he describes the consequence of not choosing life: “you will surely die”. This already true in our daily lives—just look around.

Sadly, many choose such hell, and for two apparent reasons. First, the way to paradise, to heaven, to communion with God, is narrow, and few are they who find it. True life is work. It means crucifixion, forgiveness, and endurance. It is definitely not the path of least resistance!

Second, since the devil is so clever, we are often quite well-convinced that hell is actually paradise.

Consider this story: A man dies and is permitted to take a preview of both heaven and hell to choose his eternal lifestyle. First, heaven: a peaceful, bright place. The antiphonal singing of the angels is impressive; the landscape, lush and serene. “Not bad,” the fellow notes.

Next, hell: well-manicured golf courses; an open tiki bar on the nearby beach—and endless snorkeling over pristine coral reefs teeming with marine life. “Wow! I can’t believe it,” he thinks. “This is really great.”

Surprised even at himself, the man chooses hell. “It isn’t what I expected!”

The gates of Hell are opened to the fellow who is warmly welcomed in. With the gates barely closed behind him, he sees nothing but death and destruction, torment, grief, sadness. He can only hear wailing and weeping. His face shows his utter horror and surprise. “But, what about yesterday?” he manages to ask.

“Yesterday,” says the devil, “we were recruiting…”

In the midst of all of this is Jesus Christ, who loved and laid down his life for us all, even for his worst enemies, including those who crucified him. Our Lord even descended to hell for us and with us, to rescue us from eternal death and hell. This was his action on Holy Saturday, the day on which he “rested in the tomb”, and “rested from his work”—the true Sabbath. He lived, died, and rose again to show us and give us life, true life in his Kindgom.

Choose life and live!

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in the I’On community in Mt. Pleasant. He can be reached at fjohn@ocacharleston.org. Read more at www.holyascension.blogspot.com.

The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

2007-08-06T12:39:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the Charleston, SC, POST AND COURIER, on 8/7/07, as "What is the Church that Jesus left us?"

The recent release of the Vatican’s seven questions and answers entitled, “Responses To Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects Of The Doctrine On The Church” has raised much concern across the spectrum of self-professed Christians. Where is the Church? Does it matter?

I write from a unique position as an Orthodox priest, since, according to the document, the Orthodox Churches (unlike the Protestants) can properly be called Churches, yet we “lack something”, namely a supreme pontiff subsisting in the person of the Pope of Rome. I suspect we should be grateful that the Vatican recognizes us Orthodox as a church. At the end of the day, though, it doesn’t move us or flatter us. It neither enrages nor engages us, since we believe that the history of the Christian Church shows a different—though related—reality. The Orthodox Churches are as old as the Roman. After all, St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, Philippians, and Thessalonians (to name a few), who are still Orthodox to this day.

The battle for “Church” is not a battle of “valid” versus “invalid”; “visible” versus “invisible”; “scriptural” versus “traditional”; “Protestant” versus “Roman Catholic”. These are the sixteenth century battles of western European Christianity, already 500 years removed from Orthodox Christianity. The real question is “what did Jesus actually leave with us?” More historically phrased, “what has always been believed?” Biblically stated, “what is the faith once for all delivered to the saints?” Theologically asked, “what does it mean to be ‘in communion’?”

As Father Kirby wrote in his irenic column a few weeks ago, our Lord Jesus Christ did found only one Church. Christ is not and cannot be divided; a head cannot have many bodies. Jesus is the head of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. The Church is holy in that she is divinely established and sustained. She is catholic in that she is whole and complete in every local church in every time and place, and faithfully teaches what all Christians have always believed. She is apostolic in that her bishops (episkopoi, over-seers), are ordained in the same line as the bishops first appointed by the apostles and teach the same doctrines as do the Twelve.

Reading the documents of the Church from the first century forward through the eleventh, laying aside our present day preconceptions about “church”, we will find this true Church. We will even find a great deal of honor paid to the Bishop of Rome, who from the beginning was considered to be primus-inter-pares (chief among equals) of all the Bishops. This cannot be denied historically.

However, through the history, we will not find the infallible, supreme pontiff the papal office has become. The pope was for a long time the honorable chairman of a group of bishops seated (figuratively) at a round table, around which the Orthodox Bishops are still sitting.

It is not until post-eleventh century western Christianity that the Pope sits (again, figuratively) at a rectangular table, he alone occupying the head. Don’t take my word for it; read the history! The Charleston County library holds a 38 volume collection entitled the Antenicene, Nicene, and Postnicene Fathers which contain, in English, the most significant writings of the first Christian millennium. It can also be read, in full, online at http://www.ccel.org/.

The history is critically important, but there is a deeper reality which must always remain intimately linked to the Church’s historical lineage: by our sins, every man, woman, and child is terminally ill and desperately needs spiritual medical attention. The Church is, theologically and historically, the hospital in which are found the doctors who can rightly identify the reality of the disease and who dispense the only tonics which can heal this infectious and vicious malady.

Jesus Christ instituted and entrusted his medicines (the Sacraments—baptism, Holy Communion, confession, unction, etc.) to his apostles and through them, to the Bishops. It is through this succession that the medicines can be both rightly administered and guaranteed. More directly put: the Church is the hospital which has board-certified physicians-of-the-soul and medicines which have been carefully preserved under the strictest supervision.

If you knew you were terminally ill, would you prefer to visit a true hospital or an individually and recently established clinic, run by a fellow who printed his MD on his laserjet? The gifted and well-studied clinician might save you. He might just be talented enough to pull it all together. But the hospital’s methods, medicines, and personnel are time-tested and sure. This is the case with the Church, only moreso, because it is also one, holy, catholic, and apostolic!

So, we dying men and women, if we hope to live, must seek and find Jesus Christ in his Church which has never been anything other than visible, living, and active. As the Vatican has rightly taught, the Church’s touchstones include bishops in apostolic order who, to quote St. Paul to Timothy, “rightly divide the word of truth”. These bishops, though, have never been subjected to the universal jurisdiction of an infallible Pope. As Jesus said of divorce, so too the Orthodox have always taught about this false teaching, “from the beginning it was not so.”

Rather, the bishops, as brothers in council, are the guardians of the medicines of the hospital for sinners, without which we die. (Our Lord did say, for example, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you.”) We can be confident of the medications, meals, and remedies here in the Church. God is certainly free to move outside the boundaries of his own creation, but why put him to the test?

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at 881-5010 or by email at frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Pet Luxuries

2007-08-06T12:37:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the Charleston, SC, POST and COURIER on July 22, 2007, as "Humanity can get lost in consumerism"

I recently saw a catalog advertising beautiful sterling-silver necklaces with interchangeable and engravable pendants. Their themes were among those we wouldn’t see on older women, but they might certainly be worn by young girls or boys. “Colorful necklaces feature Swarovski crystals.” But these were different.

In an online catalog, I read of a lavish, $4400 bed, described like this: a “formal Louis XVI four-poster [bed] … inspired by the classic designed by the King himself. Shown here in this traditional French plaid taffeta with coordinating trim and linings, the curtains and skirt are removable for dry-cleaning. All [beds] are custom designed with the…owner’s needs in mind. Clients may select from a range of fabrics, trims and finishes.”[1]

I saw regal beds like this one on a recent vacation to Williamsburg. I imagined what it must have been like to be the Governor of colonial Virginia. But the bed as described was different.

During that same trip to Williamsburg, we befriended the period-dressed chef of the Governor’s Palace, who worked in his colonial kitchen, preparing meals as if for the 17th century Governor. I was particularly intrigued to watch him with sew bacon fat into a rabbit, apparently a savory favorite of the ruler. Later, I saw a similarly lavish meal described in a magazine ad. “Restaurant-inspired…Angus beef…for the real meat lover in the family.” But this, too, was different.

On another occasion, I was reading of some beautiful condos. They featured both one and two bedroom suites, complete with television, a security system, indoor and outdoor play areas, and a nature trail. The description of these condos sounded just like the ones where we stayed in Williamsburg, but they also were different.

What was the common difference between all of these luxuries: the sterling jewelry, the regal bed, the high-end steak meal, and the condo? All of these items are for pets. For dogs and cats. There is now a market for $72 sterling jewelry for cats. $4000, four-poster beds for dogs. Steak dinners in a can for Fido. Kitty condos for a feline’s much-deserved vacation. And all this hardly to mention “pet insurance” which surely has developed to “save” people money when they opt for everything from ACL replacement surgery for their pet to animal organ transplants.

I feel somewhat strange writing about luxury pet boutiques and related animal consumerism. Why such a column—in the Faith and Values section? Because this is truly animal consumerism. Consumerism gone wild.

I am almost struck dumb with all of the above when I compare it all to a recent deeply-personal experience. A few weeks back, I met a fellow—let’s call him Xenon (Greek for ‘stranger’). Xenon was standing in a parking lot asking for assistance. He had no jewelry at all—not even a watch. And his reading glasses were held together by scotch tape. He was approachable, though something was clearly wrong—a combination sick and homeless. He’s spent over thirty years too disabled to hold a job. As he told me (which I verified by visiting him there), he sleeps on the floor of an abandoned house where he has no running water or electricity. He hadn’t had a hot meal in days. Occasionally, he said, he found help from kind people, but for the most part, “no one has the time”. Xenon lives (barely) day to day, and for him, to sit at a table and share a meal is like the kingdom of Heaven.

Now we can surely debate the merits of social medicine, and we can list the various social agencies which exist to help needy folks like Xenon. Or whether or not (Lord, have mercy!) Xenon “deserves” or “really needs” help. And if we’d like to debate this, let the debate begin!

But two questions arise in my own heart, and I hope in yours, as we compare the sad story of Xenon to the luxuries of pet condos, $4000 animal beds, and Angus-flavored Alpo—or any time or way we spend more on our pets than on needy human beings. When was the last time I even looked at someone like Xenon in the eyes and smiled (much less actually said hello and offered to help)? And when was the last time I took even one bag of groceries to a place like ECCO, the East Cooper Community Outreach, one local clearinghouse of help for the extremely needy among us? These are simple human behaviors to which Christians are called in the most profound ways.

For the love of God—literally—let’s treat animals like animals and human beings like human beings. Pets are important, but not more important than our human neighbors, known or unknown. We ought to treat animals humanely, but not humans like animals.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 881-5010.

[1] http://www.theritzyrover.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3928

Scandal of the Cross

2007-08-06T12:29:00.000-05:00

The Scandal of the Cross
By Fr. John Parker
Published in Touchstone Magazine, June 2007

The first time I visited the sacristy of the Wren Chapel at the College of William and Mary, where the chapel’s brass cross now resides out of sight of the visitor, I waited there, dressed in black, sweaty palmed, being reminded to breathe, sequestered till the arrival of my bride at the west end of the chapel. On cue, I departed the colonial room and followed the priest, along with my three groomsmen, to the small but unmistakably English altar, which still faces ad orientem, one reminder of the age of the chapel.

For the second visit, a few years later, I was also dressed in black, though this time under my festal white vestments. I was the celebrant of someone else’s wedding — my brother’s. On this occasion, I was the breathing coach. I remember moving the chalice and paten from this sacristy to the altar before the service. I remember celebrating the wedding and giving thanks where Anglican and Episcopal priests have served since the late 1700s.

The sacristy of any church is the guarded location of its sacred vessels. It is no surprise that we had to take the Eucharistic vessels out of the safe and put them on the altar, but it has come as an outrage to some and a surprise to a great many that the altar Cross, given in 1931 to the college by Bruton Parish — the oldest Episcopal parish in the United States — now has its home in the sacristy, except when the chapel is used for a specifically Christian event.

THE CROSS’S MESSAGE
Late last year (yes, October 2006), the President of the College unilaterally ordered its removal from the altar, saying the cross “sends a message that the Chapel belongs more fully to some of us than to others. That there are, at the College, insiders and outsiders.”

Apparently, it is thought that the architecture of the building sends no such message, despite the fact the chapel is a precise model of an English church: with its fixed altar, the altar rail complete with closing gate and kneelers, the pulpit, the chancel choir (with the pews facing one another), the choir loft, and the organ. It is hardly a generic chapel, like one might find in an airport or secular hospital.

It is not necessary to re-address what so many others have already capably investigated and reported: the balance of having an historic Christian Chapel in a public University, the question as to whether or not a cross on an altar in a building is offensive to non-Christians, the self-appointed decision by the College president to remove the cross, etc.

To be honest, I am not all that disturbed by the removal of the cross. In fact, I’d put it in the same category as public monuments listing the Ten Commandments which have been under similar scrutiny in recent years. The reality of the matter is that we are not a Christian nation.

As I wondered to the founder of www.savethewrencross.org, what true difference does it make whether or not the Cross adorns an empty chapel, when the following is true? Every single night, hundreds of students from the college stumble in drunken stupors back to their evening lodging, which often is not their own dorm room. Fornication is rampant. Since my day (1989-1993) the college has prided itself on its support for homosexuality.

From a Christian perspective, the history of the college and the chapel is, for all intents and purposes, immaterial today. St. John the Forerunner made it known that there is no sense in trying to claim and indeed no possibility of claiming any relation to salvation by citing the names of our ancestors. He cried out, “do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”

And there is certainly no sense in guarding an historically Christian chapel when the fundamental activities just outside its frequently empty halls bear no resemblance to the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

A REGULAR SCANDAL
It should not surprise Christians that the Cross is a scandal, at William and Mary or any place. It will always be “a scandal to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles” as St. Paul described Christ crucified.

By God’s grace, the only way fruit will be born at the College is by repentance. The Cross will be seen as the sign of Christ’s redemptive, self-sacrificial, and atoning embrace, the “weapon of peace” as it is called in the Orthodox tradition, only when self-professing Christians fully devote themselves to chastity, humility, patience, and love. When our chief foci are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

There is, in fact, a very easy way for the Cross to be returned to the chapel: schedule the traditional hours of the Church in Wren Chapel daily. The method will also return the Cross to the lives of those related to the College, offering a two-fold metanoia.

Let groups of local students, faculty, staff, and alumni organize themselves into congregations of prayer. Offer the ancient daily services along with the biblical hours of prayer—the evening service (vespers), the service after supper (compline), midnight, the morning service (matins), 6 and 9 AM (1st and 3rd hours), and 12 and 3 PM (6th and 9th hours). This holy action would bring the cross out of the sacristy for a few hours every day and would change both the hearts and the minds of all those who take part in such ministrations.

And it would show the president as well as the world the true purpose of a Christian Chapel. Apart from such an effort, we will waste our days trying to prove the legitimacy of the Chapel on historical terms — an interesting question in our country’s oldest academic building, but of little use to our salvation in the present.

As a public university, William and Mary cannot require daily chapel services as it did in its early years. Yet there is no public crime in the gathering of two or three to pray at regular intervals around the clock in Wren Chapel, making an historic verity into a present reality.

Holy Pentecost

2007-05-30T12:50:00.001-05:00

Holy Spirit sanctifies Languages and Inspires Daily Life
Published in the Post and Courier, Charleston, SC, May 2007

By Fr. John Parker

“What does it fulfill?” This was the question I was asked by an Orthodox priest when I had called him to find out what the Church has always taught about Pentecost, the 50th day after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the day on which the Holy Spirit descended upon those gathered in that upper room in Jerusalem, the ‘birthday’ of the church.

I was familiar with the western Christian tradition of wearing red on Pentecost, a liturgical reminder of the tongues of fire which lighted upon the heads of the disciples; though I learned that green is the liturgical color of the Christian East, a sign of Life. I was accustomed to birthday cakes for the Church and missions fairs—since it was from the day of Pentecost that the Apostles went out from Jerusalem proclaiming the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, repentance and forgiveness of sins, with boldness and without fear.

But Fr. John Abdallah’s question stumped me. I knew ‘of course’ the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy of Joel, since it is included in Luke’s account of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles. “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh…” Fr. John charged me to think harder about it. “What does Pentecost reverse?” “Reverse?” I reflected, “What on earth are you talking about?”

Then He told me, and it was as if all the lights went on in my darkened stadium. If the Holy Scriptures are indeed one full story of creation, fall, and redemption, here is one beautiful demonstration of this truth!

Generations ago, “the whole earth had but one language and few words” (Genesis 11:1ff). And in those days, man decided to build for himself “a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for [himself]”. This prideful act was gazed upon by God himself, and judged to be only the beginning of the selfish pride of humanity. So, God confused their tongue and scattered the people across the face of the earth, so that they could not understand one another. The building they attempted to build is well known as the Tower of Babel. Pentecost is the divine reversal, the healing of this unholy effort. This is what Fr. John was trying to teach me.

If Babel was the scattering of languages, Pentecost is the gathering and sanctifying of them. If Babel was communal death by language, Pentecost is salvation through language. If Babel was the division of the world into language groups, and ultimately giving people what they wanted (a name for themselves—the development of nationalism), Pentecost is the crushing of nationalistic boundaries—the Gospel heard in all languages. If Babel was the sizeable expulsion of the world from near Eden, Pentecost is the gathering of the world at Jerusalem. Language, once a curse and separation, is now sanctified by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel in all the languages of the known world.

This sanctification of language is critically important, yet most of us take it for granted. Are we not accustomed to hearing the Gospel and praying in our native tongue? This is one significant gift with Pentecost. There is no longer any sacred language in-and-of itself. Not Hebrew, not Greek, not Latin, not Slavonic, not English. The Gospel is to be proclaimed and understood in the language of the people, whoever they may be. Any ‘theological’ defense of one particular language is nothing more than a continuation of the pride of Babel.

And what about the acquisition of the Holy Spirit? How does it happen? Having the Holy Spirit in my life is a daily event, yet many people mystify such an experience, and seek from the Holy Spirit lavish gifts: speaking in tongues, miracles, visions, dreams, etc, and even go away on retreat weekends to obtain them. Often missing in all of this is an understanding of what the saints teach about the routine existence of life: to know myself as I truly am is a greater miracle than raising the dead. Have I been granted this great miracle, realized by the Holy Spirit in worship, love, and forgiveness in light of the Resurrection? It is by the Holy Spirit that we are each convicted of sin and brought to holiness, a daily task even for the greatest living saint.

Ultimately, then, although we each have a personal Pentecost at our Baptism, when we receive the Holy Spirit as did our Lord at his, we are called to a daily Pentecost in the “routine drudgery of everyday existence in this fallen world.” For this reason, and beginning with today’s Holy Feast, Orthodox Christians bookend each day with an ancient prayer to the Holy Spirit. God grant us the same, and save us!

“O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who art everywhere present and fillest all things, treasury of blessings and giver of life: come and abide in us and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One!”

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 843.881.5010.

Blessing of Fleet a return to Paradise

2007-04-30T18:15:00.000-05:00

By Fr. John Parker
Originally published in the Post and Courier on Sunday, April 29, 2007 and online at
http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/default_pf.aspx?NEWSID=141291

I had heard of supersized but never supercharged. The young man meant well, though he was making a serious request by means of some sort of slang. He had bought a beautiful sterling silver baptismal cross and wanted to have it blessed. So he came into my study that day and asked, "Father, would you supercharge my cross for me?" I knew what he wanted, but the request came out so strangely. Not wanting to shame him by a direct correction, I said, "I'll be glad to bless your cross, Matthew." (Name changed.)

The Orthodox Christian tradition has a blessing for nearly everything good. Among the contents of a wonderful book titled "The Abridged Book of Needs," one finds, for example, prayers for blessing all of the following: water, bees, boats, fire engines, homes, wells, airplanes, meat and cheese, fragrant herbs and fishnets. And the list goes on. Each blessing is typically a prayer, completed with the trinitarian sprinkling of holy water on the object being blessed.
But what is blessing? Why would we, to make the connection present and local, bless the shrimp boats and their captains and crews? Does blessing supercharge?

First, let me give the short answers to these important questions. Blessing is a liturgical and prayerful act by which we, as we say in the Orthodox Churches, "commend ourselves, each other, and all our life unto Christ our God." And rather than supercharging shrimp trawlers, we are actually asking God to return them, by our synergy (working together with him), to their actual use and purpose.

Allow me to explain. When God created the world and all that is in it, and crowned his creation with man and woman, calling this "very good," everything was in order and communion with God. But when we, by our disobedience and self-interest, took matters into our own hands (read sinned), the whole world fell. That is, every part of existence was tainted, touched, affected by the sins of Adam and Eve - and today, by ours. Eating, for example, which was created to be our form of nourishment and communion with God, becomes gluttony: eating for the sake of eating. Drinking, offered to us for hydration and sober merriment, becomes drunkenness, and drunkenness for its own purpose. A home in the fallen world, originally intended for shelter, comfort, hospitality and the making of family, becomes a place where secret sins are hidden: illicit sexual relationships, abuse, rage, etc.

Realizing that we are now a part of the fallen world, and not the world as it was created to be, we have the holy task of offering the fallen world back to God, asking him to make it right and/or to help us to make it so. As one of the greatest and most famous Orthodox priests of the 20th century described it, we have the task of transforming "the smallest, seemingly most insignificant detail of the routine drudgery of everyday existence in this fallen world into paradise." This we do routinely at meals, saying grace or asking the blessing. We certainly take part in this critical vocation each time we celebrate the marriage of a woman to a man. In the Orthodox Churches, this we also do annually (during the season of the feast of the Theophany, our Lord's baptism, Jan. 6) by the blessing of the homes of our parishioners. For house blessings, we say, in short, "Lord, make this house a holy home." For marriages, "Lord, make this couple king and queen of their Christian household, married forever." At meals, "Nourish us with the gifts of thy bounty on this table, O Lord."

And this is what we take part in at the Blessing of the Fleet in Mount Pleasant. We gather to ask God to grant safety and success to each shrimper, and to assist each one to accomplish his or her vocation as a good steward of God's creation. Ultimately, every boat, every net, every engine, every deck and flag, along with every breath we breathe, belong to God and are on loan to us, given to us as gifts as a trust is given into the hands of trustees.

Certainly, a part of such a blessing is our intention to cooperate with God in its fulfillment. I'd damn myself by blessing a bottle of wine (intended for sober fellowship and enjoyment) and then drinking it all by myself in one sitting. And it would be to our condemnation and judgment to ask God's blessing on a fleet of shrimping vessels whose captains intend only to wreak havoc on the local seas and the inhabitants thereof, and to scam the local community. We must remember that our aim is a return to paradise.

Today, we ask God's blessing on the fleet, on those who operate the boats and on all of us who shall partake of their bounteous catch, remembering that our Lord Jesus Christ called his first disciples from among fishermen, and asking the heavenly protection of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, the patron of seafarers, in this new season.

This article was printed via the web on 4/30/2007 7:14:29 PM . This articleappeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Sunday, April 29, 2007.

Benediction Fiction

2007-04-30T18:08:00.000-05:00

By Fr. John Parker
Published in Touchstone Magazine in May 2007 and online at
http://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=20-04-014-v

John Parker on the Dishonesty of Inclusive Prayers

Once I accepted an invitation to give the benediction at the graduation of the Medical University of South Carolina. I was delighted that a school like MUSC was still willing to invoke the Name of God and ask his blessings on those who are to be sent out into the world to practice the work that the school has trained them to do.

Having driven past the university’s beautiful St. Luke’s Chapel (named after St. Luke, the evangelist and physician) hundreds of times, I began to consider what words might be fitting for these medical students. I sat at my desk, reviewing ancient books of Christian prayers, to write the most appropriate one for those commencing the next step of their professional medical lives.

Parochial Names
Two days later, I received by mail a delightful letter, thanking me for agreeing to deliver the benediction and inviting me to a number of related festivities. Included with the letter, though, was a memorandum from the Office of the President of the Medical University: “Guidelines for Invocation and Benediction at Public Functions,” guidelines to which I would be required to conform in order to bless the graduates.

The first was a reasonable request for any public speaker: “Appeal to the larger spiritual virtues that all faiths have in common: love, faith, hope . . . peace, goodness.” The second was acceptable, although dripping with political correctness: “Use inclusive language: forbears rather than fathers, . . .” etc.

The third was a problem. Here is the text (the boldface appears in the original):

Steer clear of parochial, exclusively defining religious names, concepts, practices, and metaphors. A good rule of thumb to remember is that you come representing the entire faith community, not just your own group. The prayer should therefore not be offensive to anyone, whether Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, Muslim, etc. For example, when opening or closing, an inclusive choice would be “Holy God, Holy One, Creator, Sustainer,” rather than “Allah, Jesus, Holy Trinity,” etc.

In four sentences, the Medical University of South Carolina, in its effort to “set a tone of reverence at our public assemblies” and “bear testimony to [our] richly diverse religious and cultural heritage” and somehow to make generic and inoffensive any public benediction or invocation, sanctioned officially one religion over all others: American pop-religion—a tray full of cafeteria-style faith, which takes nice-sounding “religious” words from this group and that, pleasing to the ear but without real content.

I sent my prepared benediction to the Office of the President, wanting to embarrass neither myself nor the staff of the Medical University at graduation. I soon received a polite call from the same office, during which I was un-invited to bless the graduates.

The truly Christian benediction (the only type of benediction I am authorized by my archbishop and my ordination to give) is not permitted. Thus, the university, hoping to display its “religious heritage” and seeking to demonstrate its “pride in . . . diversity,” actually shows itself to be selectively inclusive. Inclusion in the Medical University’s public religious expression is limited to those who will show no conviction at all.

No Good Word
The heritage of the Medical University is, to some degree, Christian. Its chapel is not “generic” by any stretch—it is named for a Christian saint, adorned with his stained-glass image, and topped with the Cross of Christ. These have been the marks of a certain faith. Not a generic faith.

Only a certain faith offers what people truly want and need, while a generic faith cannot—which we often see, ironically enough, in the world into which these graduates are being sent. Someone suffering from a third heart attack doesn’t want to hear about spirits that sustain us or a “god” who is with us in our suffering. He wants—even needs and expects—the blessing and grace of God in that moment.

His heart longs for some assurance that even if his body won’t be okay (sometimes it won’t), Someone is reminding him, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” This is the very same assurance and grace this Orthodox priest hoped—and was invited—to offer to the graduates who will care for such a soul.

To require a Christian priest to say little more at a benediction than “the Sustainer bids you to peacefully love your neighbor” or “May the Holy One be with you always” is effectively the same as asking a surgeon to say to a man dying on the operating table, “Don’t worry, everything is all right.” It is not a truthful word, and the dying man (and we are all dying men) needs the truthful word.

Doctors, nurses, indeed all hospital personnel and those for whom they care need, like all the rest of us who are struggling to live in this dying world, a true, good word—a real benediction in the fullest sense of the term. Why can we no longer give it to them?

Within the walls of a hospital, a sterile, antiseptic environment is critical for the care and recovery of patients. But the sterile, antiseptic “benediction” the guidelines require is a “good word” to no one, blesses no one, offers no promise of divine aid and comfort to men and women who will need it desperately. Such selective inclusivity removes every particular faith to a space well off to the side, where it can do no harm to the secular ideal of “inclusivity,” but can do no good either.

In the end, to ask a Christian pastor to bless a gathering in this way is little more than having some person in religious clothing stand in front of a crowd to say a few generically religious words, hoping to give some religious legitimacy to a public gathering. Not only is there no power or grace in it, it is devoid of any essential meaning.

A True Prayer
That May, I did offer my prayer for the graduates of the Medical University of South Carolina, though not in their presence. I prayed:

“O Lord Jesus Christ our God, Lover of Mankind, Physician of our souls and bodies, who in pain bore our infirmities, and by whose wounds we are healed:

“Who gave sight to the man born blind, who straightened the woman who was bent over for eighteen years, who gave speech and sight to the mute demoniac, who not only forgave the paralytic his sins, but healed him to walk, who restored the withered hand of a troubled man, who stopped the flow of blood of her who bled for twelve years, who raised Jairus’s daughter to life, who brought the four-days-dead Lazarus to life, and who heals every infirmity under the sun,

“Do now, O Lord, give your grace to all those here gathered who have labored and studied hour upon hour, to go into all the world, and also to heal by the talent you have given to each of them. Strengthen them, by your strength, to fear no evil or disease; enlighten them to do no evil by the works of their hands, and preserve them and those they serve in peace.

“For you are our God, and we know no other. And to you we send up glory together with your Father who is from everlasting, and your most Holy, Good, and Life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.”

John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, a mission parish of the Orthodox Church in America, in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. He earned his MDiv (2001) at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, and his MTh (2004) at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Copyright © 2007 the Fellowship of St. James. All rights reserved.

O Hell, Where is thy Victory? O Death, where is thy sting?

2007-04-09T10:59:00.000-05:00

By Fr. John Parker

Published as "Easter Seen as Victory over Death" in the Post and Courier, Pascha 2007
http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/default_pf.aspx?NEWSID=137843

We stood for days by his bed, a small offering by comparison to that of his wife Sarah (names are changed), who barely left his side in the last four years. Timothy had struggled with Alzheimer’s for some time, but following his most recent bout with pneumonia, there was “nothing further the doctors could do”. Though ravaged by a deteriorating mind in the last several years, Timothy lived a full life. His children drove great distances to be with him—a son from Atlanta, a daughter who raced from York, Pennsylvania.

We encircled Timothy in his room at the beautiful new Hospice of Charleston, just up from the Port off Long Point Road. We prayed. We cried. We laughed. We commended Timothy to his Maker, our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Orthodox ritual included long and beautiful hymns, as well as an anointing with holy oil—in this case, myrrh which had been wept miraculous by the eyes of St. Nicholas in an icon from Michigan. The heavenly fragrance filled the air.

To some, this is absolute madness. A vain effort to console ourselves and the one who is dying. What silly humans do when “the doctors can do no more”. Prayers uttered into the deaf ears of the air. The oil has no beauty, no power—just superstition. A ritual whose end it to make sense of a senseless existence and a more meaningless departure. Voodoo.

One could come to such a conclusion if facing death only through the lens of science. Chemistry in the brain affects the body. The heart stops working. Oxygen depletion then shuts down organs. Breathing ceases. Life ends. Words don’t change science; oil doesn’t add oxygen to the brain.

But Christians do not view life strictly this way. It is impossible! Life is so much more than biology. Of course, there is the science of it all. But what of beauty, love, tears, fear, and joy? And Timothy, like all of us, is a human being with a name. He is a unique, unrepeatable individual. He was married. Had Children. And Timothy’s life—and death (as slow and agonizing as it was)—make sense precisely for one reason, and one reason alone: Because God became man, died to conquer death, and He is Risen! Truly He is Risen! In time and space.

Jesus Christ lived and died as God-made-man. His life and work, his death and resurrection, are documented by Jew and Gentile alike—believer and unbeliever. After his brutal crucifixion and death at our hands, after his tomb was sealed and guarded by an extra regiment of soldiers—to be *sure* that no one would steal his body and then *claim* he was raised from the dead—He did this very thing. He conquered death and was raised from the dead, appearing to countless scores of people, beginning with his closest friends and disciples—who then went out to announce joyfully, if not with bewilderment, “Christ is Risen!”

We prayed at Timothy’s bedside precisely in light of this great gift to humankind by God Himself—the conquering of death by his death. The prayers prayed at Timothy’s funeral were prayed precisely because it is what we pray on Holy Friday as Jesus hung on the cross and died, fulfilling the law. “Tetelestai”—“it is finished”, “it is accomplished”, “it is fulfilled.” A portion of the hymns sung at Timothy’s funeral were sung precisely because they are sung for our Lord on Holy Saturday, when, fulfilling the story of the Three Holy Youths (Daniel 3) Jesus descended to the dead, and raised those bound by death, breaking their chains and releasing them from ‘fire eternal’. The whole context of Timothy’s funeral—and every Orthodox Christian funeral—is the Resurrection. No, there’s no superstition here—just the celebration of an eternal and timeless victory. A victory won within time and space by the Creator of all who condescended to become created; a victory the effects of which ripple both forwards and backward in time.

Words from the greatest homily ever preached on Pascha (proclaimed by St. John Chrysostom, the 4th century Patriarch of Constantinople) echo still in our ears reminding us of this great wonder, this great miracle, this great gift:

“Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it. He destroyed Hades when He descended into it. He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he said, "You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below." Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. It was in an uproar because it is mocked. It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed. It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated. It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.
Hell took a body, and discovered God. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see. O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory? Christ is risen, and you, O death, are annihilated! Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down! Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is risen, and life is liberated! Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be Glory and Dominion unto ages of ages. Amen!”

For this we gathered to pray for Timothy in his death. For this reason, our sadness is joyful—for death has not had the final word. For this we have hope, not in vain, since God Himself was dead but is risen. Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Fr. John Parker is Priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at 843.881-5010 or at frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Extreme Humility is the Path to Salvation

2007-04-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

Published in the Post and Courier on 3.25.2007 as Extreme humility path to salvation
By Fr John Parker

His appearance: peaceful, serene. Jesus Christ stands in his tomb, in front of the cross, already having been crucified. His hands are crossed, as if bound, but there is no rope holding them together (His self-offering is voluntary). His eyes are closed. Other implements of the crucifixion are evident: the sponge by which he was offered wine-vinegar to drink when he cried out, “I thirst”; the spear which pierced his side, releasing both blood and water, showing him to be truly dead on the cross.

Crucified. Silent. Entombed. This is “extreme humility.”

In His last hours, our Lord Jesus Christ showed this extreme humility in many ways, mostly, though, by his silence. His wordlessness was a silent echo of the prophecy of Isaiah, “As a sheep led to the slaughter, or a spotless lamb before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth…” Our Lord accepted His brutal scourging, crucifixion and death, in almost total silence, with unwavering faith and confidence in the love and will of his Father.

His actions on the Cross, like the example of every moment of his life, were a living out of the very Gospel he incarnated, made flesh. If someone asks you to walk one mile, walk two. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer them the other. If someone takes your cloak, give him your robe as well. All of this recorded, of course in the Gospel accounts of the Passion of Christ. The arduous journey to Golgotha; the offering not just of the other cheek, but of his whole body for beating—and not just for beating, but for death; the stripping of his garments and the lots cast for them. This is extreme humility.

This is the royal road to salvation. By the power of the precious and life-giving Cross—through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ—we are invited onto this holy path, the way to healing, wholeness, salvation.

Extreme humility takes many forms which all have similar characteristics. One is drawing little attention to one’s own self and accomplishments while giving credit to God alone for whatever good we appear to have done. God alone is good, and to quote St. Basil the Great’s liturgy from the fourth century “we have done nothing good upon the earth.”

Another is constant self-denial, which even includes denying special ‘spiritual gifts’—visions, tongues, dreams, prophecies, etc—which seem to come from God himself. Why? Because the Christian leading the life of extreme humility, witnessed in the lives of countless saints through the ages, stands with—and perhaps, dare I say, in front of St. Paul—claiming to be the chief of sinners (“The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost [literally ‘first’] of sinners” 1 Timothy 1:15.) True humility says, “I am worthy of neither visions nor tongues, nor dreams, nor prophecies. Surely the Lord would choose to give such gifts to others much more faithful than I.” The saints teach, in fact, that it is better to seek the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness) than the gifts of the Spirit, since the former contribute to humility and holiness, while the latter often leads to spiritual pride, the most dangerous of sins. In short, if someone sets up a sign that says, “I’m a healer!” or “I am a prophet!” beware; the true saint not only wouldn’t announce it, he or she would likely deny it if asked.

The royal road to salvation is this: deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow me (says Jesus Christ). The self denial is not for its own purpose, but rather to take up solely the will of the God who is Love. The Cross is not my own, but joining my burdens, trials, and struggles to the Cross of Christ, which has trampled down death and sin, and has broken the chains which bind us. And to follow Christ in the fullest sense, is to stand, even in the face of the gravest persecutions and tortures, in silence, trusting in the might and mercy and righteousness of God, in extreme humility.

Fr. John Parker is the priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 843.881.5010.

On the Paralytic

2007-04-02T10:13:00.000-05:00

Homily on Mark 2:1-12
By Fr. John Parker

Today I proclaim to you the joyous news of two Prosphora—two gifts, two offerings. The first is a paralytic, lifted up. A man so paralyzed that, according to St. Mark’s accounting, he does not or cannot even offer his own faith. According to the Scriptures, four men came to Jesus (pherontes pros avton paralutikon) bearing up, offering up, gifting Him a paralytic. Borne up by the four, unable to approach directly because of the crowd, the paralytic is lowered into the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is in the presence of the Word, and by His word, and through the faith of the four friends that the paralytic’s sins are forgiven, that the broken man is made whole, raised up, and that the man goes out—goes home, to show by his walking and skipping and jumping that Jesus Christ is the One who is, and who was, and who is to come.

This is the first prosphora, the first offering, the first gift.

The second prosphora, the second offering, the second gift, is also a broken man. And yet, not only a man, but God-made-man. It is our Lord Jesus Christ, also lifted up, and because of the crowd. Not causally in the sense that there were too many people, but causally in that we, the crowe, shouted out for Him to be lifted up: Crucify Him, Crucify Him! Raised up not onto a rooftop, but onto the cross. Broken not by sin, but by us sinners, and so providentially, for us sinners.

And once raised up, broken, dead, also lowered. Not only lowered from the tree, dead, but also descending Himself, as God, into another crowd: the Dead. And there, not for the forgiveness of His sins (He was and is sinless), not for His healing (He is the Great physician of our souls and bodies, indeed the healer of the paralytic), but for the forgiveness of our sins, for the healing and salvation of us who crucified Him in the first place.

And this One, also not left in the midst of the crowd, unable to move or help Himself; this one also raised up, on the third day. Raised from the dead; Resurrected. Trampling down death by death. And this one also showing Himself to many—many of whom, like the first man’s friends, glorified God (amazed), saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Though some doubted.)

And it is this prosphora, this offering, this Man, Jesus Christ, whose Gospel is up borne likewise by four men, four pillars, whose names we know: the Evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

It is by their testimony that we know these two prosphora, these to gifts, these two offerings. The first a shadow of the second, the paralytic fortelling and proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us paralytics also, broken and helpless, call on the Lord who is quick to save. And though we cannot lift ourselves, we can lift up those around us, by faith, with the sure hope of the Gospel, knowing the Almighty and Merciful God. And let us, like the four Evangelists, recount the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, not with parchment and pen, but with the love of God written by our deeds every moment of our lives. Amen.

Repentance is the Royal Path to Life

2007-04-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

Published in the Post and Courier on 2/25/07, there entitled: Repentance a renewal, not doom and gloom

By Fr. John Parker

The vast majority of Christians on our planet began, this past week, to celebrate Lent, also known as the Great Fast in the Orthodox Christian tradition. The Fast owes its existence, in part, to the 40 days in which Jesus went into the desert to be tempted by the devil following His baptism by St. John the Forerunner. The Great Fast is, for us in the world, our annual pilgrimage to the inner desert, wherein we seek to join ourselves most fully to God by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, in anticipation of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here we struggle to learn and to live: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” And, “you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

This voluntary sojourn in the inner-desert is book-ended in Matthew’s Gospel by a command given on the one end by St. John the Baptist (3:2), and on the other, echoed by our Lord Jesus Christ (4:17), “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” By “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” Jesus indicates that He himself is inaugurating the re-creation of the world. His life, death, resurrection, and ascension are as God incarnate who has come to save the world. And by ‘world’, He does not mean just “people”. The Holy Scriptures teach that “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son…”. He so loved the ‘cosmos’, as it says in Greek. God’s renewal of the fallen cosmos is now underway, and will be completed, we believe, with Jesus’ second coming to judge the world.

But what does it mean, “Repent?” The word itself strikes fear in the hearts of some, occasionally brow-beaten by self-appointed prophets of doom who announce, “Turn or burn!” by their placards and angry voices. For many others, “repent” is some old-fashioned concept rooted in a time from which we have now been liberated—a time when somebody besides myself had the authority to tell me what is right and wrong—mostly what is wrong. In this view, repentance is what fools do who don’t yet understand that what’s right in my eyes is right for me, and what is right for you is right for you.

Neither of these is Christian, so what does a Christian understand when he reads “Repent!”? Repent means this: change your mind. Change your heart. Change your direction. But this change presumes that there is a revealed standard. There is a ‘right mind’; there is a ‘right heart’; there is a ‘right direction’. We are not turning around for the sake of going in another, random direction. We do not change our hearts to match that of some Hollywood star. We do not change our mind in order simply to have a new perspective—in order to get out of a rut.

When a Christian observes what we call daily life, we don’t see life—we see remnants of life, and a lot of death. We know what life is because God has revealed what life is—or more precisely, because in Jesus Christ, God has revealed himself as life. Through the lens of Jesus, we see ourselves as seriously lacking, and only remotely human. We recognize our need to turn back to Him.

The beauty of it all, though, is that because of God’s love and mercy for the whole cosmos, death does not reign permanently. Jesus has conquered sin and death, and we can make this return to Him. In fact, it is He Himself who calls us home—to change our minds, hearts, and directions. To return to the narrow, straight path. To return to chastity, humility, patience, and love, not as defined by the world, but as revealed in Christ. To return to God.

Repentance is not a threat (or else!), it is a gift. It is the return flight of what we thought was a one-way ticket to destruction and death. Repentance is not out-moded and old-fashioned. Rather, it is a moment-by-moment renewal, and in fact, it is evidence of the truly open mind, especially when one recognizes that his own is not right.

Orthodox Christians exhort one another to “enter the Fast with joy”. Repent with joy? Yes! And we can do so precisely because we understand that repentance brings healing and union with God, and not a judicial acquittal from an angry judge on the last day. Repentance is God’s grace returning life to a dying world. Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church on the Square in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 843-881-5010.

Faith of our Fathers: A Colloquium on Orthodoxy for Anglicans

2007-04-02T10:08:00.000-05:00

By Fr. John Parker
Published in the Post and Courier, Sunday, February 4, 2007

Nineteen degrees and snowing. An ecumenical affair: Orthodox Christians addressing curious Anglicans and Episcopalians in a Roman Catholic retreat center which shares a parking lot with an Orthodox Monastery of Romanian and American monks. Inside the retreat, a bustle of 50 or so attendees who traveled to Detroit from warmer climes, Florida included. Others from South Carolina, Maryland, and Illinois. A few came to warm up in Detroit, having crossed their southern border from Toronto. The most amazing of the attendees, in my opinion, was a former Episcopal priest—a woman—who has come to understand the way of the Ancient Church and renounced her ordination in order to enter the Orthodox faith.

On Monday and Tuesday, January 29-30, I had the privilege of taking part in this fascinating conference. “Faith of our Fathers: a Colloquium on Orthodoxy for Anglicans” was organized with the blessing and encouragement of His Eminence, the Most Reverend Nathaniel, Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate of the Orthodox Church in America.

Archbishop Nathaniel had been approached by several local Episcopalians and neighboring Canadian Anglicans who asked, “How can you help us?” a question rooted in both the recent and centuries-old scandals and struggles which are plaguing the Anglican Communion worldwide.

His Eminence made it very clear in his keynote address on Monday that the conference was not intended or organized in any way to solicit Episcopalians to the Orthodox Church, but rather was an answer to a profound request for guidance and assistance. The Archbishop’s biblical foundation for the conference, he elaborated, was the Parable of the Good Samaritan. He noted that the traveler did not cry out for help, but rather lay beaten on the roadside. It was the Samaritan who took note of the bloodied man, had compassion on him, and made arrangements for his recovery.

The conference was structured around four basic lectures: “Theology”, “Liturgy”, “Culture and Tradition”, and “Practical Considerations”. Each was preceded by a brief account of a personal journey to Orthodoxy. The speakers were predominantly former Episcopalians, most of them now Orthodox Priests. The lineup included Charleston native, Fr. Gregory Mathewes-Green (who—along with the present Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, the Very Rev. William McKeachie—coauthored the Baltimore Declaration); his wife Frederica, also a native Charlestonian and well-known columnist, speaker, and author of books like Facing East and The Illumined Heart; Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon—one time professor at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, and present lecturer at Nashotah House Seminary; and others.

His Grace, the Rt. Rev. Mark, Bishop of Toledo and the Midwest of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, shared with the conference participants his engaging arrival to the Orthodox Church. Bishop Mark found his way from his native Roman Catholicism to charismatic Christianity, finally studying at and then teaching at Oral Roberts University. His ever-deepening studies of the Old Testament, along with engaging conversations with an Orthodox professor at ORU led him to embrace the Ancient Church, in which he now serves as a hierarch.

A third bishop, His Grace, the Rt. Rev. Tikhon, Bishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania of the Orthodox Church in America, shared briefly about how is life is “made very interesting” by the fact that his mother serves as an Episcopal priest.

I believe it is safe to say that very few of the conference attendees came to hear about the Orthodox Church and faith for the first time. Many appeared to know a significant amount already, and have developed friendships with Orthodox clergy and lay people in their respective hometowns. There were, however, a few difficult questions, which required a delicate response—though the answers remain unchanging.

One fellow from Canada asked, for example, why the Orthodox Church practices what many call “closed communion”, allowing only those members of the Orthodox Church to receive communion in their services. Several speakers explained this commonly misunderstood and challenging pastoral matter. In fact, in the Orthodox Church, not even all Orthodox can/ought to receive communion at any given service. Our discipline is to serve those who have prepared themselves by prayer, fasting, and recent confession, taking very seriously St. Paul’s exhortation to the Church in Corinth (1 Cor. 11:27ff).

The grounds for so-called “closed communion” are ancient and simple. First (also a practice abandoned by many non-Orthodox Christians today), one must be baptized to receive. Baptism is open to all repentant sinners, in the Christian view, and is the doorway into the life of the Church. Second, the Church has always believed that Communion is the sign of the shared fullness of faith, and not the maker of it. In other words, it makes no sense for a group of people to “have communion together” who don’t believe the same things about who Jesus is, why he lived and died, how we are called—voluntarily—to change for and be changed by God, and what the bread and wine become in the liturgy. In short, in this scenario, there is no “common union” (the meaning of “communion”) except the action of eating and drinking something together at the same time.

The inquirer was also somewhat surprised to hear that this was the universal practice and belief of all Christians for 1500+ years, and for Anglicans until the 1950s or 1960s. It has always been and remains the practice in the Orthodox Church (as well as the Roman Catholic Church, I believe) to this day.

“Faith of our Fathers” was a conference rooted, at least generally speaking, in Acts 2:42. We shared the teachings of the Apostles, we sat at table together, we enjoyed one another’s company in fellowship, and sang a beautiful Vespers (evening prayer) service on the occasion of the Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom, fourth-century luminaries universally remembered for their essential contributions to Christian theology and preaching.

The talks from this conference will all be available for download at http://www.ancientfaithradio.org/, a 24-hour Orthodox internet Radio station.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church located on the Square in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 881-5010.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

2006-12-24T10:23:00.000-05:00

Published in the Post and Courier on 12.24.06 originally as The Nativity has two focuses

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
(Part IV of IV)
Our journey to Bethlehem through the images in St. Andrei Rublev’s Nativity finishes at the center—a center which has two foci: Mary, the Virgin Mother, and the somewhat less obvious (because of his size) newborn Christ (who, biblically speaking, is not “Jesus” until he is named on the 8th day—see Luke 2:21.)

Mary—the Theotokos, or God-bearer, as she is known in the Church—is the most noticeable figure in the icon. One’s eyes are immediately drawn to her, not only by her central location, but by her relative size and the bright red color of the bed on which she lays. The ever-virgin Mother’s body faces our Lord, yet her eyes gaze into the distance, as she keeps all that which the Shepherds told her, “pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Mary’s geometrically central position in this icon points to the reality that she herself is the gift which we human beings offer for this redemptive event. Recall the hymn we’ve been singing:

What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, Who for our sakes hast appeared on earth as man? Every creature made by Thee offers Thee thanks, The angels offer a hymn; The heavens a star; The wisemen gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; The earth, its cave; the wilderness, a manger. And we offer Thee a virgin mother. O pre-eternal God, have mercy on us!

“We offer Thee a virgin mother…” Mary is the pure offering of humanity, known in the Church by many of the names given to the instruments of worship in the Old Testament, and supremely, “the Temple” itself—Her womb being the actual dwelling place of God-made-man. The Theotokos is not for us the great exception, but rather, the great example. She was chosen and prepared by God, and by her consent—her ‘fiat’, bore Emmanuel, God-with-us.

The Church chants this beautiful hymn as from the lips of the Mother of God:

‘Thou, O my Son, art the all-perfect God, Yet Thou didst accept the form of Adam! In my hands I hold Thee, yet Thou dost hold all creation! How shall I wrap Thee in swaddling clothes? How shall I nourish Thee, O Food of Life? How shall I wonder at Thine ineffable poverty? How shall I name Thee, since I am Thy servant?’ Thy mother cried: ‘I can only sing and bless Thee, For Thou dost grant the world great mercy!

Indeed, as evidenced here at the Nativity, Mary is the first and most important Christian, as described in a beautiful hymn we sing of her. She is “more honorable than the Cherubim, more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim.” As we contemplate the Nativity of Christ, we can hardly overlook her who gave birth to God the Word. We are obliged by gratitude and joy to fulfill her prophetic hymn, “all generations shall call me blessed.” Indeed, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have borne the Savior of our souls!”

Now, in the silence of the black cave, at the tips of the noses of the curious ox and ass (who recognized their maker), and resting gently no longer in, but just outside the womb of his most-pure mother, we find our Lord, according to the Scriptures, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. What are these swaddling clothes? Much more than just some rags that happened to be at hand! Those familiar with the icon of the raising of Lazarus from the dead will recognize that the infant Christ is wrapped, more specifically, in a burial shroud. Even in his nativity, hinted at also with the gift of myrrh, the purpose for his incarnation is made manifest: born to die for the sins of the whole world.

In the icon, as in life, our Lord is ‘findable’ but must be sought out. Have I looked? Have I found the One whom the angels today hymn? Have I found the One, worshiped by the Magi who learned of Him from the stars? If we don’t know where to look by ourselves, we can follow the star, the magi, the shepherds, the animals. They all know where to point us. “Seek and you shall find.”

Once having found and recognized Him as the Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Holy One, Emmanuel, have I asked the resounding question, “What shall I offer Thee, O Christ, who hast appeared on Earth as Man?” What can we offer him besides true worship and obedience? “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us!”

Especially for Nativity of Christ, Orthodox Christians have a special “call and response” greeting. Beginning this evening, one joy-filled Christian greets another, “Christ is born!” and the other responds, “Glorify Him!” Such a greeting is exchanged during the many days of this feast which commences, not ends, at the Vigil of the Nativity.

With the angels, I greet you, and bring you “good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). And with jubilation, I salute you with the blessings of the feast. Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 843-881-5010.

A Strange Pair draws near to the Newborn Christ (Part III of IV)

2006-12-18T14:00:00.000-05:00

By Fr. John Parker

The Angels are rejoicing and proclaiming the Good News. The Magi, journeying from afar, bear their gifts foreshadowing the divinity, sovereignty, and humanity of Christ. The shepherds, the first Jews to believe, explain what they have seen and heard, leading others, too, to wonder!

As we make our way, as if in a spiral towards the center of Rublev’s Nativity, we are greeted by a strange pair. A couple we wouldn’t expect to find so attentively gazing on our Lord. Two that are as close to Christ in proximity as the Virgin Mother.

Two well-known carols in the Western Christian tradition reference these two animals who by their eyes direct ours to our infant Lord in the manger. Perhaps you remember the tunes:

Why lies He in such mean estate / Where ox and ass are feeding? / Good Christian, fear: for sinners here, / The silent Word is pleading. (“What Child is This?”)

Ox and ass before him bow / And He is in the manger now. / Christ is born today! / Christ is born today! (“Good Christian Men, Rejoice!”)

But where do this ox and this ass appear in the Gospel accounts of the Nativity? Every crèche displays them. We sing about them. Christians paint them into the Nativity. And yet searching high and low through the Nativity accounts in Matthew and Luke, we don’t encounter them. Why? Because they are not found in the New Testament! The ox and ass put us humans to shame, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, nearly 800 years before the Holy Advent of our Lord:

“The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand” (Isaiah 1:3).

The birth of the Messiah, Emmanuel: God with us, Jesus the Christ, is truly an awesome event—in the classical sense of “awesome”. So marvelous is it, so utterly extraordinary—the heavens and the stars recognize Him. The earth itself recognizes him. “Foreigners” recognize him. Even “dumb” animals worship Him! Once again, we return to the Orthodox Christian hymn:

What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, Who for our sakes hast appeared on earth as man? Every creature made by Thee offers Thee thanks, The angels offer a hymn; The heavens a star; The wisemen gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; The earth, its cave; the wilderness, a manger. And we offer Thee a virgin mother. O pre-eternal God, have mercy on us!

In fact, one of the theological reasons we celebrate Christmas at the Winter Solstice (just a few days later on our present calendar…) is because of the point made by the universe at this time. What is that point?

The Solstice is the shortest day of the year. Each day thereafter, light increases on the Earth. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). The true light, Jesus Christ, has come into the world, and the darkness has not overcome him. For Christians, Christmas is a festival of the Light, Jesus Christ who announced, “I am the light of the world.”

The heavens demonstrate it; the stars point to Him; the ox and the ass gaze upon Him, showing us with their devotion what they cannot tell us with words. And we are left with the question Jesus later asks Peter and his followers, “Who do you say that I am?”

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 843-881-5010.

Originally printed in Charleston's Post and Courier on Sunday, December 17, 2006 and online at
http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/default_pf.aspx?NEWSID=122794

The Journey to Bethlehem Continues (Part II of IV)

2006-12-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

The Journey to Bethlehem Continues
(Part II of IV)

What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, Who for our sakes hast appeared on earth as man? Every creature made by Thee offers Thee thanks, The angels offer a hymn; The heavens a star; The wisemen gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; The earth, its cave; the wilderness, a manger. And we offer Thee a virgin mother. O pre-eternal God, have mercy on us!

Last week, we began our “Journey to Bethlehem” through Rublev’s stunning Icon of the Nativity. We encountered St. Joseph, tempted by the devil, as well as the nursemaids giving our Lord his first bath; and we learned of the critical meeting of the divine and the human in Jesus’ birth.

According to the hymn I have shared above, the angels offer a hymn, the heavens a star, the shepherds—their wonder. What hymn do the angels offer? The very hymn sung still today in the Orthodox Churches as the “Small Doxology” in the Matins (morning prayers) services, and known in many Western Christian Churches as “the Gloria”: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men, with whom he is pleased.” We introduce this angelic hymn with a theological praise: “Glory to Thee, who hast shown us the light!”

The angels, glowing with the light of Christ, “the glory of the Lord,” also greeted the wondering shepherds. According to the Scriptures, these Jewish shepherds went and found the announced Savior, born as a child, and told all what they had seen and heard from the angels. Not surprisingly, “All who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” What was the wonder? Quite surely the very same wonder uttered by Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another” (Luke 7:20)? More on the answer to that question when we speak about the ox and the ass who gaze into the manger.

While the shepherds were among the believing Jews, the “three” Magi, or wise men (not numbered in the Scriptures, but know traditionally in the Church as Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar), represent the offering of salvation to the “rest of the world”, known biblically as “the Gentiles”. The promise of salvation was not given strictly to the chosen Jews, even seen clearly in God’s words to the Patriarch Abraham: “…I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3, LXX). How shall Abraham “be a blessing,” and how is it that through him “all the families of the earth shall be blessed?” Because Abraham is the forefather of King David, who is the forefather of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, this promise is fulfilled, and for this reason the star appears, the Angels rejoice, and the shepherds wonder!

These gentile astronomers offered prophetic gifts to the Infant King: gold foretelling his royalty; frankincense (a fragrant incense), his divinity; and myrrh (a fragrant ointment/oil especially used to prepare corpses for burial) foreshadowing his death. Equally as beautiful as their gifts and their representation of the salvation of the gentiles is what they learned from this experience. Consider this Orthodox Hymn of the feast:

Thy Nativity O Christ our God, has shown to the world the light of wisdom / for by it those who worshipped the stars, were taught by a star to adore Thee, the Sun of Righteousness / and to know Thee, the Orient from on High, O Lord, Glory to Thee!

The magi (not magicians or kings, but astronomers) who “worshipped the stars” were “taught by a star” to adore Jesus Christ.

The Lord of Creation and King of Glory uses all that he has created to point each and every one of us, in our own unique way, to know him, Emmanuel, God with us.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 843-881-5010.

Published online as "The Magi followed the Light to Bethlehem" at http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/default_pf.aspx?NEWSID=121953
And in the Post and Courier on Sunday, December 10, 2006.

The Journey to Bethlehem Begins

2006-12-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

By Fr. John Parker
(note: first in a series of four)

About seven hundred years ago, St. Andrei Rublev or one of his disciples painted perhaps the most memorable and beautiful icon of the Nativity of Christ. The 14th century icon is warped and cracked, but is in remarkable shape despite its age and history. It tells us, in earthen pigments bound to the gesso plaster, the story of the birth of Jesus, each facet of the good news surrounding the Virgin Mother Mary and the newborn Emmanuel—“God with us.” It teaches us with paint what we sing in one of the many traditional Orthodox hymns of the Nativity:

What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, Who for our sakes hast appeared on earth as man? Every creature made by Thee offers Thee thanks, The angels offer a hymn; The heavens a star; The wisemen gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; The earth, its cave; the wilderness, a manger. And we offer Thee a virgin mother. O pre-eternal God, have mercy on us!

During this season—as it is most widely known “Advent” (from the Latin, “coming”)—of preparation, please join me on a four Sunday journey around this holy marvel, on a theological pilgrimage to the birth of Jesus Christ.

We’ll start with the two scenes on the bottom. On the left sits an old man with an evident halo (a saint) confronted by a crooked fellow in a dark, hairy coat. St. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus Christ is being tempted by the Devil to divorce Mary. Joseph is an old man, who, according to the tradition of the Church, was a widower obligated by his relationship to Mary to betroth her and care for her, who had been set apart as a temple virgin to bear the eternal Son of God in the flesh.

According to the Scriptures, “When [Jesus’] mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins’” (Matthew 1:18ff).

The temptation was to “send her away quietly” so as to not draw attention to a pregnant, unwedded teenager betrothed to an old man—even though Joseph and Mary never ‘knew’ one another, that is, they never slept together. Joseph may have had good intentions to protect young Mary, but God had other plans for him. He was told by an angel that this pregnancy was, in fact, a miracle and nothing to be ashamed of; rather, it was to be celebrated as the fulfillment of God’s promises, especially through the Prophet Isaiah, to save the world through a son, born of a virgin, in the lineage of King David.

If the images of St. Joseph and the Tempter narrate the miraculous birth of the divine Jesus Christ, the scene in the lower right shows the humanity of the birth of the Son of God. Jesus was not dropped onto the earth by an extraterrestrial ship, nor did he simply ‘appear’ as a created being. Rather, as the beginning of the redemption of all humanity and the whole world, he entered just as every single one of us does: through the womb. The birth of Christ is totally extraordinary in conception—“of the Holy Spirit” as the Angel told Joseph, and yet it is totally ordinary in its accomplishment. And so, here, we see two nursemaids doing what is done at every birth: receiving the newborn child and washing him to present to his mother. O strange wonder: God is made man. Heaven and earth meet. O come, o come Emmanuel!

Today the Virgin gives birth to the transcendent one, and the earth offers a cave to the unapproachable one! Angels with shepherds glorify Him! The wise men journey with the star! Since for our sake the eternal God was born as a little child!

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 881-5010.

printed in the Post and Courier, December 3, 2006, and online at http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/default_pf.aspx?NEWSID=120991)

Salvation has many facets

2006-11-07T22:22:00.000-05:00

Salvation: all the facets of a single diamond
By Fr. John Parker+

Author's note: This is the unedited version of my article published in the Post and Courier on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2006 entitled, "For Christians, salvation has many facets"]

When an Orthodox Christian is asked the question, “Are you saved?” we don’t exactly know how to answer. It isn’t that we don’t know Jesus Christ; we’ve known Him from the beginning. It isn’t that we have a lack of understanding about salvation—history and theology books are filled with our teaching on these matters. We don’t know exactly how to answer because it is not a question with which we are familiar. In fact, we would say that the question raises a deeper question: What is salvation?

Consider these scenarios:

A sailor falls overboard into the swirling, stormy sea. His shipmates have their eye on him as they make preparations to recover him. In a shrill voice, muffled by the storm, he cries out to them, “Save me!” If they are not able to get to him in time, he will be regarded “lost at sea”.

A vibrant young tennis star is involved in a terrible car accident which crushes her right arm. Once at the hospital—things are looking grim—she musters a question for the surgeon amidst sobs mixed with pain and fear: “Can you save my arm, Doctor?” If the skilled medic is unable to perform such a medical miracle, she will lose her limb.

A wealthy woman is taken hostage. To spare her life, her captors demand a million dollars for her return. The cash is delivered to the drop site, and the relieved woman is set free.

An evil enemy is striking fear into the hearts of many and wreaking havoc on a certain people. Troops are sent in, the enemy is put down, victory is clear, and life returns to ‘the way it is supposed to be.’

Salvation is rescue, healing, ransom, and victory reflecting equally together [editor, please leave italics] what it is ‘to be saved’. The rescued man is saved. The tennis star’s life is saved. The hostage’s life is saved. The victory in and of itself is a salvation. These are all facets—the carefully fashioned sides—of a single diamond called salvation.

The man overboard is like St. Peter, called to walk to Jesus on the water. The wind and the tumultuous sea around him caused him to take his eyes off of his Lord, and to sink. “Save me!” he cried out, and stretching out his hand to raise him up, Jesus saved him.

The maimed tennis star is like the crippled man who was healed by St. Peter. “’I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.” Later, Peter and John were questioned about the means by which this man was saved (most English translations say ‘healed’ but the verb is ‘saved’). The means was a person: Jesus.

The hostage is like any one of us held captive in sin and death. We are bound up, and a ransom is necessary for our release. Jesus paid the ransom, saving us. But we must be very careful! We are not tied up by God, who made us Himself and loves us. Jesus did not pay off His Father by His own death—to assuage the “wrath of a justly angry God”. Nor is the Devil paid. To offer money to him would be to give him power equal to God, and we are not dualists. Rather, the ransom is paid to death itself. Our self-inflicted wound (running away from God) results in death. God died to release us from it. He beat death to save us from its eternal grasp.

The evil enemy in the fourth scenario is death. Death strikes fear into the hearts of men and women. No one is spared physical death, but Orthodox Christians believe that we are saved from the finality of eternal death, singing our belief about Jesus’ victory, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.” St. John Chrysostom said this another way—in his homily which is preached in every Orthodox Church in the world on Pascha (Easter). “Hell took a body, and discovered God. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see…Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!”

Salvation is the fullness of life. It is sanity, health, communion with God. It is a return from rock bottom to the sure foundation made of stone. It is a rescue from eternal death. It is a restoration, in fact, of all creation, a renewal of the whole cosmos. Are we, can we be, saved in a particular moment? Surely! But it must be this moment…because this moment is the only one I have. I am not living five minutes ago or five days ago or five years ago. I am living in what some call the eternal now. Salvation, like life, is at once a process and a moment.

Timothy Ware, perhaps the most well-known Orthodox writers in the world (he wrote The Orthodox Church, one of the Penguin Classics), was once asked, “Are you saved.” His answer is the only one we can give, if we take salvation in the fullest, most ancient Christian way as I have described. His answer, “I was saved. I am saved. I am being saved.” Are you?

Fr. John Parker is Priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in the I’On community of Mt. Pleasant. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 843-881-5010.

Study confirms pastor's mind on same-sex issues

2006-10-18T08:58:00.000-05:00

Published as "Same-sex claims contradict Bible" in the Post and Courier here: http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/default_pf.aspx?NEWSID=113235

Like Jack Rogers [“Study changes pastor’s mind on same-sex marriage”, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2006], I have been an evangelical all my life, and I too, have dedicated my career to serving the Church: first as a volunteer, then as a youth pastor, as an Episcopal priest, and finally as an Orthodox Priest. Pastor Rogers has written a book on homosexuality, and so have I, for what it is worth—in the form of a thesis for my MTh.

Like Pastor Rogers, I too have reflexively opposed same-sex issues of all sorts. He noted, “It is just what I thought good Christians were supposed to do.” (That is, be opposed to these relationships and their extrapolations.) He changed his mind after serving on an investigative committee; but my studies have led me to embrace what Christians have always believed—in this case, that marriage is divinely ordained only between one man and one woman, and that any sexual activity outside of the bonds of marriage is sinful.

In fact, I learned that the whole task of a Christian is to believe what has always been believed. This is true about each facet of the faith, everything from who Jesus is to how a Christian is to act and behave in response to that claim. And not statically or in some dusty, stuffy, doctrinaire, or fundamentalist way, but rather by submitting myself to the “faith once for all delivered to the saints”. What I believe is consistent with 2000 years of Christian teaching and is therefore congruent with the teachings of Jesus Christ, who is “the same yesterday and today and forever.”

After studying the Scriptures in his committee, Pastor Rogers ‘discovered’ that there is more than one way to interpret them. We must say that the battle over any topic can never be left to bowshots of proof-texting from one book of the Bible or another. Even Martin Luther, probably with reference to the temptation of Christ in the wilderness, said, “Even the devil can quote scriptures to his advantage.” We must read the Bible with the whole in view.

While there have been differing levels of interpretation (literal, allegorical, spiritual, etc.) since the beginning, his ‘discovery’ is only possible if the task of Christianity is not as I have described it above. But since the task of the Christian is to pass on what has always been the faith, then any investigation into any topic must start with, “What has the Church always taught about this?” and “In light of the whole Biblical corpus, what do we believe?” In fact, there are teachings on homosexual activity from the earliest days of Christianity as well as sermons from 1600 years ago, available in English on the shelves of the Charleston County Library (not to mention online).

Christians also profess that the whole canon of Scripture is about Jesus Christ. Writing about the so-called “eight passages which speak about homosexuality”, Rogers notes, “None of these texts is about Jesus, nor do they include any of his words.” How could it be that the ‘proper way’ (as he describes it) to interpret the Bible, does not take for granted that the whole Bible is about Jesus? St. Augustine is credited with this little bumper sticker: “The New is in the Old contained; the Old is by the New explained.” To be sure, we must be very careful in our interpretations of the Old Testament, but even Jesus himself, when on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets…interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Christians from the beginning have never believed that the only “Scriptures” are those words attributed directly to the lips of our Lord.

As a side note, Pastor Rogers made the following false claim: “A focus on the supposed homosexual aspect of the Sodom story only comes later in nonbiblical literature.” In addition to 2 Peter 2, Jude speaks directly to this aspect in his epistle in the canonical New Testament. “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” Again, this needs to be interpreted, and carefully, but the suggestion that the sins of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were solely acts of inhospitality—and not mentioned in any other way in the Bible—is not accurate—and let’s not forget the very ancient (back through Latin and Greek to Hebrew) cognate, “sodomy”, which does not mean “inhospitable.”

When he says that the lens through which we interpret the Bible is the lens of Jesus, he shares the Orthodox approach to the Scriptures. But his own clarification of this simple point betrays a deeply flawed presupposition. He says, in other words, “we are to read the Bible through the lens of Jesus' redeeming life and ministry”. This is misleading. We, rather, are to read the Bible through the lens of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no Christianity without the Cross and Resurrection.

To talk about the ‘redeeming life and ministry of Jesus’ is to talk about ‘love’ without defining it. The Biblical definition of love is humble, self-denying crucifixion, and not a warm fuzzy feeling I get when you walk into the room. To talk about a “redeeming life and ministry” is to talk about life as if there is no sin. It is to quote Jesus speaking to the woman caught in adultery saying, “Nor do I condemn you;” without completing the quotation, “Go and sin no more.”

Having (at least attempted to) address Pastor Rogers’ claims point by point, does my demonstration of the Orthodox Christian Faith matter? No and yes.

No, if we have predetermined that gay marriage is the illumined way. That is, no, if we bring the answer to the question before the question is asked. No, if as Christians, we bring “my experience” to the table and demand that “my experience” somehow counts more than God’s own self-revelation to mankind and more than the collective experience of millennia of Christians. In short, no, if we are self-centered and prideful.

But yes if, first of all, we want to evaluate ‘all the evidence’ in clarity and in truth. Yes, in fact, if we are interested not in ‘my wants and desires’ but rather in what is ‘good, right, true, and holy,’ none of which, we believe as Christians, can be defined apart from the Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In short, yes, if we are willing to be humble and humbled, and to be seekers of the Truth rather than demanders of a way.

To top it all off, we must put into context this incredible struggle. Not everyone who is ‘in favor’ of legitimizing gay relationships is militant about it. In fact, there are surely countless scores of folks who wrestle with this at a deeply profound and personal level which neither you, dear reader, nor I may ever know or comprehend. This does not ‘excuse the sin’ but it roots the matter in Gospel terms. Remember, the same Lord Jesus who said, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” also said, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” and was foreshadowed in Isaiah as one who would neither snuff out a dimly burning wick nor break a damaged reed.

Because of the Christian faith and the way it is handed down, we simply cannot call homosexual acts anything other than sin. Same-sex attractions, as one of my professors puts it, “are a cross to be borne, and not a gift to be celebrated”. And still, Christians are obliged to show mercy and compassion to everyone, which, as this same priest has taught me, “would certainly include defending the civil rights --- like equality before the law, equal housing opportunities, visitation rights and privileges to people in hospitals and institutions, loving care for children, and unconditional condemnations of ‘gay-bashing’ in any form.”

Finally, as Christians, we cannot agree with the questionable conclusions of the various medical associations which report that “gay and lesbian parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provide healthy and supportive environments for their children”. But how many of us in this debate squash the rebellion as twice or thrice married men or women? And if not, then as adulterers or as fornicators—sleeping around outside of marriage? Again, the same Lord who said, “go and sin no more” also said,” first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

Lord, have mercy.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Mt. Pleasant. He can be reached at 843-881-5010 or at frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Christian life is not maintenance-free

2006-10-18T08:54:00.000-05:00

Published in somewhat edited format in the Post and Courier here: http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/default_pf.aspx?NEWSID=111776&section=faithvalues

“Virtually maintenance free.” This is the claim on so many products these days—everything from the newest automobiles—promising “no tune up for 100,000 miles”—to building material for decks and fences. One retailer promises this: “…[N]ow the allure of a wood fence can be attained with virtually no upkeep”. The routine life of caring for everything from cars to clapboard has been reduced perhaps to a once in a lifetime purchase or touch up.

Not long ago, it was common routine to set aside once or twice a year for painting, cleaning, and general maintenance of house and home. The glazing on the window panes would grow old and crack and need replacing. Now many would ask, “What is glazing?” The blinds would get covered in dust and need to be vacuumed. Now they are sandwiched between pieces of glass in doors and windows. Boards on the dock or the deck would age, arch, splinter, and disintegrate. Now they are just as shiny 10 years later as they day they were screwed down.

Is it possible that these advanced technologies have crept into our understanding of the Christian faith? Do I operate on the assumption that no “spiritual tune-up” is ever necessary?

The Christian life is not reduced simply to the moment one is baptized. Yes, the Christian life begins there, but just like that last day of high school or college, it is but a commencement, the ‘first day of the rest of your life’. And this life consists in doing basically one thing: repenting.

Repentance is to love God with all your soul, mind, and strength. How? By turning back to Him. By begging His forgiveness (which He freely offers). By telling Him, “I recognize that I have abandoned you and your ways.” And by asking Him to receive me back (which He quickly does). The most striking biblical portrayal of this is the parable of the Prodigal Son—who wished his father dead, took his inheritance and squandered it in ‘loose and riotous living’ (sound familiar?), could only get a job feeding animals his religion forbade him even to touch, realized he was far from his true home, and returned—repented in both senses of the term (change his mind and reorient himself). His father wasn’t sitting in a chair at home pretending his son wasn’t gone; nor was his welcome one offered with an “I told you so” wagging of the finger. Rather, the son’s return was celebrated with all the joy of discovering that “My son who was dead is alive again. He was lost, and now he is found.” Who among us squanders his inheritance just once in a lifetime? Repentance is the maintenance of the Christian life.

Repentance is to love one’s neighbor as oneself. How? By offering to my neighbor no less than God Himself offers to me. By humbling myself to say, “Forgive me for stealing from you…or lying to you…or slandering you…or gossiping about you.” By correcting the correctible when I have transgressed. Or by doing the right thing even to my enemy—remembering Jesus’ words, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” This repentance—change of mind—is seen best in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In this story, a man was beaten and left in the street for dead by robbers. Two of the man’s fellow countrymen—and the most religious—passed by on the other side, apparently too busy or self-interested to assist him. A foreigner, and relative enemy, happened upon the beaten man, saw only a suffering and dying human being, dressed and bound his wounds, and took him to a place of healing. To top it off, he paid for the man’s lodging in advance and promised to return to pay for whatever extra expenses might have arisen. This is an act of extreme humility and return to living the Godly life. Who among us passes by such a suffering person but a single time in 74.5 years? Repentance is the maintenance of the Christian life.

This maintenance takes two forms: confession and amendment of life. According to the Scriptures and the life of the Church, every Christian is obliged to confess his or her sins to another person—and not ‘just to God’. And there is a practical reason in addition to the spiritual ones: naming our darkest sins to another takes the power out of them. It is a movement from darkness to light, from death to life!

Amendment of life is this: Cooperating with the grace of God to turn from the sinful, evil, wicked ways to holy, good, just ways. It is the living out of Jesus’ words to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

We human beings are not the newest automobiles, nor are we composite building materials. Rather, we are the pinnacle of God’s creation—even though we have squandered our inheritance. To assume that I am ‘maintenance free’ once baptized is to live in darkness and un-confessed sin. To trust that ‘God will forgive me’ without cooperating with God to change my ways is to make a mockery of the Cross. Perhaps our best tactic ought to be to take the time we have saved in not having to paint the house, clean the blinds, and tune the car, and spend it on spiritual maintenance. It is never too late to have a new beginning. As St. Paul says, “Now is the day of salvation.”

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in the I’On community in Mt. Pleasant. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or 881-5010.

True Church Growth

2006-08-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

"Church Growth about Change, not bigger numbers"
Originally appeared in Charleston, SC's "Post and Courier
SUNDAY, AUGUST 06, 2006

“Grand opening.” When we see such an advertisement for a store, we think low prices—bargains. More likely than not, we don’t think about the flip-side. When retailers advertise for these and other special events, their eye is almost solely on the bottom line. Let’s get the most people we can in here in order to maximize sales. Every person through the door represents a certain percent chance of a sale, and therefore a certain percentage of today’s income. The math is fairly simple: a product people want plus the people who want it equals growth (profit, then ordering more, then selling more).

This plan works great for capitalism, but it is a disastrous scheme and a horrible ‘model’ for Christianity. The Christian faith is not a commodity, though there is a ruthless effort from within—of all places—to make it so. Models and methods for “explosive church growth” and “true community” are as overstocked as every American diet craze. Here today, gone tomorrow. Self-professed experts, who have little, if any, connection to the ancient church, offer their solutions to propel your church into the 21st century, for a nice price.

Everything is marketed, packaged, niched, and for sale. A now-dated example is the Prayer of Jabez, a ‘prayer’ never ever prayed by Christians in 2000 years, which was all the rage packaged as a book and fiercely marketed with options such as “Jabez Study Bible”, “Jabez Journal”, “Jabez for women”, “Jabez prayer shawl” (yes, really), Jabez pencils, notebooks, bracelets, small group studies, videos, etc. Where is Jabez now?

Nearly every facet of “American Christianity” takes this approach. The “radical” new concept. The book. The study guide. The video. The tie-in bibles, notebooks, bumper stickers, bible covers, key chains, and dvds for men, women, children, teens, many special interest groups. The list has no end. And it is all exported, like any consumable. And then, like the so-called rapture (also not a part of bona fide Christian teaching from the beginning): whoosh! It’s gone, making room for the next one.

Nor, in the history of Christianity, is the Faith about getting massive numbers of people through the doors to make a simple ‘faith commitment’. Yes, it is true, that “thousands” were added to their number in single instances, as recorded, for example, in the Acts of the Apostles. The Orthodox Churches can tell us the names of many of them who went on to be burned, tortured, beheaded, beaten, and otherwise brutalized and put to death for their faith. They are our family members. But trust me, in the first three centuries, few, if any, ‘became a Christian’ because of peer pressure or because it fit in with their particular social scene. Christianity was a life or death decision then, these martyrs choosing temporal death for eternal life.

Church growth always includes increased numbers, but is likewise coupled with a deep, significant spiritual struggle and change. The teachings of the Church expressed in the writings of the New Testament call for a casting off of “the old man” and the putting on of Christ. No more lying, cheating, stealing, fornication, apathy, greed. No more lust, idolatry, personal interpretations of sacred teachings, gluttony, divorce. This is not moralism, by any means. This metanoia—repentance or change of mind—is not so much about certain behaviors (though outwardly that is the case). It is rather conformity to the likeness of God in Jesus Christ. This was the same call in the first century, the fourth century, the fourteenth century, and still is today.

But what happened when the Faith became fashionable (read ‘legal’)? Until the 4th century Christianity was illegal. But with the Edict of Milan, the Emperor Constantine called for an end to the persecution against Christians, and here is what happened: entrance into the Church became more difficult. More difficult. Conversions that seemed to have happened in a moment in the Acts of the Apostles were now lengthened to 3 years. Why so long? So people could learn the teachings of the Church and begin to rearrange their lives and ‘lifestyles’ to conform to Christ and His commandments. This helped to establish bona fide church growth in an age when many had all the comforts of the day. They practiced and showed the members of the church their living commitment to lay down their lives at least figuratively (if not literally like their martyr forbearers) by serving those in every kind of need and in so doing, radiating the holy light of Jesus Christ from the inside of their existence, outward.

And what about today? If the early Christians took growth not only as a long-term process, but one which had to be proven by a visible, concrete, regular, and often significant life-change, why do we treat it as if it is something that can be bought in a video package, and completed in a 40-day or 15 session course? The divorce rate among self-professed Christians already speaks volumes about our commitment to this radical life of faith—not to mention all of the other ways in which contemporary, American Christianity looks no different from American religious-less existence.

On the whole, while there may be more warm bodies in the sanctuary on Sunday morning (or whenever people serve services these days), we must ask ourselves, “Am I presently and at all times laying down my life for the love of God and neighbor?” If the answer is no—and mostly this is the answer—then it is time to repent, again, to start anew, and to lay my life down now. Otherwise, I’m just filling a pew in the church. A warm statistic. But the Lord does not call for quantities and sums of people (though very specifically, according to Ezekiel, He desires the death of no one, but that all should turn and live). He also had some hard words related to lukewarm faith (see Revelation 3:15ff). Rather, He calls us each to repentance and return; He calls for broken hearts and changed lives.

Church growth, ultimately, is about holy lives. We are not made holy in a flash or a moment. The ever present image of the vine and the gardener comes to mind. An acorn does not magically spring from a speck to a great oak overnight. Rather, the soil must be cultivated and fertilized. The seed must be planted. It must be watered and cared for. The new growth must be checked for disease and pruned. This takes time, and it is painful. But it is the only way. In fact, it is The Way, and has been from the beginning. If we truly desire to be Christian, and involved in the growth of the Holy Church, best we return to the writings and ways of those who paved the way. We must avoid at all costs the winds and tides of contemporary schemes and models. Then hopefully, in the end, we each might be welcomed into the fullness of the Kingdom of God with the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Fr. John Parker is the Priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I’On. He can be reached at 843-881-5010 or by email at frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Guide for the Cineplexed

2006-07-10T07:49:00.000-05:00

visit www.touchstonemag.com
found online at: http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/print.php?id=19-06-019-v

John Parker on Churches That Give You What You Want, But Not What You Need

With fifteen movies playing at the local multiplex cinema, each playing six times during the day, I have ninety options. One chosen, ticket purchased, I enter the building and am directed to Theater 14, on the right past the concession stand. The concession stand is like a food court; I might as well have arrived an hour earlier and eaten dinner here. Gone are the days when popcorn, soda, and Mike-and-Ikes were about the only options.

Every conceivable genre of movie, every conceivable type of food. Every hour of the day and evening. Who would ever have thought that churches might take this as their model for operation?

I once served at a church that wanted to buy an old theater, positioned perfectly along the main thoroughfare in our town. The rector was a keen student of pop culture. He had read every George Barna book published. He went to conferences on church growth. He even loaded up our staff of nine in a rental van early one weekday morning for a road trip to a distant city for a Barna church growth conference.

The cinema concept was already in place at the church on Sundays: early-morning “traditional” Communion service with no music in the neo-gothic historic chapel, with the celebrant in cassock and surplice; a 9:00 “contemporary” Communion service in the parish hall, complete with praise band and torchiere lighting to set the mood, and the service projected on the wall; a concurrent 9:30 prayer service for children and their families in the old church, with the celebrant only in an alb; an 11:00 traditional Eucharist with full, vested choir in the chapel, with the celebrant in chasuble; and a concurrent free-flowing 11:15 service, which went beyond contemporary, with bands, skits, and so forth, and definitely no vestments. The concept was this: We’ve got something for everyone, and at every standard Sunday morning hour.

So it was a natural conclusion that our parish should pursue buying the old Cineplex. It would give us more space and more options. It would give us more visibility. It would give us a space that “didn’t look like church,” so those who were not comfortable with “organized religion” would feel comfortable coming through the doors.

Add to this picture another local church, which purchased and refurbished a dilapidated old restaurant and opened its doors to the town. This church spent thousands of dollars direct-mailing local residents three or four times. Their most common mailer listed the top ten reasons why someone should attend their church.

Among them were the standard church-growth enticements: You can dress however you want; we won’t ask you for money, because giving is for members, not for visitors; we will treat you like family. Near the top was this surprise: “We serve great coffee at the coffee bar, which opens fifteen minutes before the service. Come a bit early, get a cup o’ joe, find a seat, and enjoy the music and the message.”

No Suitable Place
Consider a third local church. For years, they have worshipped in their gigantic auditorium. It is already a theater, though not a multiplex (though it has multiple local “campuses” where a variety of different demographics—youth, gen-x, etc.—have their services). They pop popcorn in the lobby. This is not surprising, given the genre of church. But the reason is shocking: because studies show that the smell of popcorn pleases people—it puts them in a good mood.

Until now, this church has never had a place “suitable” for “that special day.” Who wants to get married on a stage? In a warehouse? In a theater? So few, if any, that even secular wedding chapels are shaped like neo-gothic churches, only without the hindrances, “baggage,” and “trappings” (like a pastor or priest) of a church. Folks are willing to worship in a big metal building, but for that special day, they want a church.

Thus, this church is building a “traditional wedding chapel” next to their auditorium. It is described in the online video update as having “a center aisle,” “traditional architecture” and seating for 250—“perfect for that special day.” The video update concludes with chamber music and the gonging of church bells, two sounds never heard in the history of that place.

This church also has a Sunday evening service at 5:00, “for families.” Presumably, these folks have soccer, baseball, or football games that preclude Sunday morning attendance. Another local congregation holds a Sunday evening service of Communion marketed towards twenty- and thirty-somethings. One wonders about the reason: Is Sunday “my only day to sleep in”? Or is it that late night partying has taken its toll on the Lord’s morning? Other local churches offer Saturday night services to give their congregants the option of having all of Sunday free.

A Wanting Church
What force is driving these four churches? It is the market. They are market-driven churches. Now, a good pastor must know “the market.” Indeed, St. Paul taught that we should become all things to all people, that by all means we may save some. To the Jews as a Jew in order to save the Jews, to the Gentiles as a Gentile to save the Gentiles, to the Romans as a Roman . . . (cf. 1 Cor. 9:20–22).

But he was speaking of evangelism, not catechism, and certainly not worship. In these churches, Sunday morning has at once a very distinct audience and none at all. The gathered are at once considered faithful and seeker, saved and lost. It is evident in the preaching, and more evident in the growing numbers of churches that invite “anyone who loves God and is drawn to Jesus” to Communion—baptized or not, believer or not.

The marketed church offers just what everyone wants: the music I want (or don’t), the time I want, the length of service I want, the type of language I want, the style of music I want, the amount of intimacy and responsibility I want, and in some cases, even the pastor I want. But is the gospel a message about the satisfaction of wants?

The marketed church confuses Sunday worship and catechism with evangelism and outreach. What is the difference? Mere Christian Sunday worship has always been for the Christian community (the baptized) to offer thanks to God, to sing his praise, and to feed on the Word. Evangelism has been done by conversation in the marketplace, preaching in the public square, but even more, simply by the witness of increasingly holy lives.

In the Orthodox tradition in some parts of the world, even the catechumens preparing to be baptized are still dismissed before the Nicene Creed is said. As it was in the early Church, they are not permitted to be in the church during the Eucharist. This may be seen as extreme today (and is, even within the Orthodox tradition), but it makes clear who is the “audience” of Sunday morning services: God, not the gathered. The baptized faithful come to offer their thanks to him, to be transformed by him, not to be convinced that he is Lord.

The market-driven theater church can ultimately pit Christians against Christians and Christians against seekers. It pits Christians against Christians by dividing the body on Sundays. Rather than worshipping one Lord, in one Faith, by one Baptism at one Table, they choose based on desires: Do I want loud music today or a quiet meditative atmosphere? Do I want to hear pastor A or pastor B preach today? Or they choose according to schedules: What time is the soccer tournament Sunday morning? Am I going golfing or surfing early—or should I attend at eight o’clock so I can hit the beach at 11, nearer to high tide?

Likewise, which group of the many “wins” on a church retreat where there will be just one service? Whose desires get served and whose do not when the reduced summer schedule is introduced? Whenever a decision has to be made, who gets what they want and who doesn’t?
Resentment builds when services are perpetually dumbed down—when many services, even the most common and regular, become like talk shows (“Hey, I’m Pastor Mike and I am going to be your celebrant today!”) or instructional videos (“Now we are going to sing. Please open the blue hymnal and turn to 304”). Every moment of every service every Sunday becomes a repetitive catechism, and it is assumed that no one ever learns.

Sunday Outlet
The Church needs, indeed, to have many outlets, ways, and means to share the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. But the Church universal, until very, very recently in a small section of Western Christianity, has always distinguished between Sunday worship and welcoming newcomers or visitors.

What may have been an innocent, unstudied effort to “bring in more people” has turned into an institution (and market) of its own. “Baptized believers” now make their desires known about what they do and do not want in churches.

The Church from its inception has never been “market driven.” By divine institution, it cannot change according to the whims of society, the drive of the market, the desires of the people. Indeed, it would be spiritually dangerous to do so. The Church is gathered to worship together as a community of faith, and to go forth into the world to present the gospel to all who will hear, that on the last day, we each may enter and be seated at that Great Heavenly Banquet on the Never-Ending Day of his Kingdom.

John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, a mission parish of the Orthodox Church in America, in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. He earned his MDiv (2001) at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, and his MTh (2004) at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Copyright © 2006 the Fellowship of St. James. All rights reserved.

Man takes steps to embrace ancient faith

2006-07-10T07:44:00.000-05:00

from: http://www.charleston.net/stories/default_pf.aspx?newsID=96684

BY JENNIFER BERRY HAWES
The Post and Courier Staff

"Truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3

Thick air forewarns rain as a streak of bicyclists zips through the streets of I'On, that hallmark of Mount Pleasant with its million-dollar takes on Charleston's old carriage houses.

Rock music thumps, a blimp hovers high and a wailing firetruck arrives to help an injured bicyclist. It's Saturday morning in suburbia.

Just inside the neighborhood's main entrance, tucked within a strip of shops on a brick-paved sidewalk, sits a church with a bookstore front. Here at Holy Ascension Orthodox, the flock led by Father John Parker traces its faith back to Christianity's earliest fathers.

Inside the glassfront windows, in front of a few dozen worshippers, Rodney Russ has begun his own personal Easter. The Orthodox Rite of Baptism brings a man to God, to Jesus for new life in the forgiveness of his sins.

Russ turns from the altar, faces west, rejects Satan three times and spits at him. Then he turns to face east, toward the altar, and accepts Christ three times. He does this in jean shorts and Birkenstocks.

Russ, a good union-backing, textile-working guy, is committing to his faith at age 47.
He stands alone. He's not married and has no kids. And he just lost the mother he loved and cared for until her final day on Earth. Russ had put off his baptism, hoping she miraculously would heal and join him.

She didn't heal, not in the flesh anyway. But Russ is sure as he stands before his family in faith that she is, in fact, with him at this moment.

The Lord is with him, and he's sure of that, too. Russ thinks back to all the churches he's been to over the years: Baptist, Methodist, Holiness. But it wasn't until 2004, during a trip to the Ukraine after being laid off his textile job of 17 years, that he stepped foot into an orthodox church.

For the first time, Russ felt the presence of God.

He felt it, too, when he came to Holy Ascension a year and a half ago. So did his mother, a faithful Southern Baptist. As cancer marched her toward death, she asked that Father John Parker preside over her funeral. He did.

The glass bookstore doors open, and the group files out and follows a tall cross. Incense wafts as they walk near the bike race. Father Parker steps ahead in a purple and gold robe that flares out behind him. He leads a small flock, as were the flocks in the earliest days of Christianity, when there were no megachurches, no praise music, no Vacation Bible Schools.

They sing softly as they head toward a pond in I'On. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord..."

Their chant continues with centuries-old determination past the pounding rock music. They finally reach a wooded area where songbirds rejoice in the promise of rain and the sidewalk gives way to a damp pine needle carpet.

After the woods, they reach a large pond surrounded by homes that look like Charleston's Battery. They stop at a short, wooden boat ramp.

"Blessed is the kingdom, of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever ?" Parker begins.

It's an ancient rite. But whereas Christ was baptized in the Jordan River, Russ stands inches away from Westlake and a sign that warns "Swim At Your Own Risk." A C-17 cargo jet roars overhead. Across the pond, a row of SUVs and minivans await their next trip.

A man dressed in slacks, a dress shirt and tie, stands beside Russ holding a white towel. The heat builds as Father Parker dips the cross into the blessed water.

"Show this water to be water of redemption," he prays.

A goose honks loudly. A man jogs by, his feet crunching on the gravel. Zhwisk, zhwisk. Zhwisk. A woman in a straw hat stops to watch from a discreet distance.

Russ' face grows flushed with the heat and the attention.

Father Parker turns and rubs oil onto Russ' forehead, onto his hands and feet tucked into sandals as, perhaps, were Jesus Christ's himself.

Russ stands quiet, eyes cast down, hands folded humbly in front of him. He and Chuck Bates, the church's parish council president and the man in the suit, walk to the water's edge. They wade down a boat ramp into dark but clear water.

He breathes deep, ready. The chill laps against Russ' legs, his knees, his waist.

But the ramp, he realizes, is slick with muck. He must yank up his sandals with each sloshy step. He turns worried.

I'm going to slip.

Russ and Bates turn to face Father Parker standing above them.

"The servant of God, Rodney Russ, is baptized in the name of the Father ?" Parker says.
Russ dunks his head once, twice, three times. But he is 6 feet tall, and he's in water only up to his waist. He must lean way over to submerge his head. His feet slide in the sediment. He wobbles.

I'm going to slip in front of God and everyone.

Russ pops up, shaky and disoriented. Bates grabs hold of him and helps him trudge back up the slimy ramp. Back on ground, Russ regains his balance, smiles big, stands straight and looks around for a moment.

This time, Russ will lead the procession back. Soaking wet, he holds his head high and strides back along the path, feeling his mother's love and the presence of God guiding the way.

"Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come." - II Corinthians 5:17

Is Charleston really the Holy City?

2006-07-10T07:41:00.000-05:00

from: http://www.charleston.net/stories/default_pf.aspx?newsID=96691

By Fr. John Parker

Editor's Note: Last week Faith & Values wrote about different theories for why Charleston has the nickname "The Holy City."

An airplane tour is not necessary to notice the multitudes of churches on the Charleston peninsula. From the tip of Sullivan's Island, one can see the steeples of many, including St. Philip's (the oldest), St. Matthew's and others. Some report "more than 60 religious institutions" on the peninsula - others "over a hundred houses of worship."

No matter how one counts, Charleston has come to be known as the "Holy City" predominantly as a result of the tourism of recent times, specifically connected to the number of spiritual edifices (how is that for PC?) located within the bounds of the city.

But the quantity of churches in a place no more makes it automatically holy than a gathering of 10 random people on asphalt instantly makes a basketball game.

We might even make the argument that the so-called diversity of churches on the peninsula contributes to the opposite of holiness, witnessing to fractured Western Christianity with its increasing "believe whatever you want" spirituality.

It is likely that we will see even more of this "diversity" - possibly as soon as this summer - as a number of national church bodies attempt to change the Christian teachings on who is ordained to oversee his earthly work.

This point is made all the more clear by the existence of two proverbial churches: the church I attend and the one I don't.

What is it that would truly make Charleston "the Holy City"? Well, according to the Scriptures, holiness is directly related to loving God and keeping his Commandments. Holiness is a manifestation of the grace of God in the life of those who most cooperate with this gift. Holiness is living life as God intended it - as he has revealed it to us, supremely through the life and witness of his only-begotten son, Jesus Christ. Holiness is the result of becoming, by grace, what God is by nature.

Holiness requires an ascetical struggle. Ascesis is a fancy Greek word meaning "training" or "practice," as for a contest. The New Testament is filled with examples of the pursuit of holiness described in terms of completing a race. No runner wins a marathon without first running short distances, and then increasing endurance. The runner also needs to train in the heat and the cold, on hills and in valleys, well-nourished as well as thirsty. By this training, there are no surprises or insurmountable obstacles in the race.

The same is true in the spiritual life. No one becomes a saint simply by reading a book or by accepting a dogma. Rather, once baptized, one must learn to fast as well as to feast. In addition to knowing the Scriptures and living the sacraments, one must practice patience and endurance, periods of silence and long periods of various forms of self- denial, all with the aim of accepting God's will as his own.

Holiness can be attributed to a city when, of one mind, its inhabitants share this struggle in a sincere desire to love God and neighbor. A city becomes holy when its churches do not compete with one another for "warm bodies" by clever marketing, brand awareness, or worse - by catering to the temporal desires rather then the spiritual needs of the people. Charleston lives into a name such as "the Holy City" when it seeks, above all else, to honor Christ in every facet of its life: its tourism, its government, its social life, etc. In addition to true worship, this is most excellently demonstrated, as Jesus himself indicated, in the caring for the poor, the needy, the sick, the imprisoned - those whom Christ called "the least of these my brethren."

Charleston becomes the Holy City when its attitude is that of Abba Sisoes, a fourth-century desert-dwelling monk. Considered to be a very holy and venerable man himself, many drew near to Abba Sisoes while he was on his death bed. In his last moments, he saw choirs of angels and archangels, not to mention prophets, Apostles and saints. Wondering what was going on, those gathered around him asked, "With whom are you speaking, Abba?"

"With the angels," he replied, and indicated that he was seeking to do penance before he left this life for the next. Knowing his holiness, one friend said to him, "You have no need for penance, Father." Abba Sisoes replied, "I have not yet begun to repent." When in our city we realize our spiritual state (regardless of how far we think we have progressed), and can say with true humility, "we have not yet begun to repent," then Charleston will have made a beginning toward becoming the Holy City.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I'On. He can be reached at 881-5010 or frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

Christianity from the Beginning

2006-05-30T10:16:00.000-05:00

Christianity from the beginning
By Fr. John Parker

"Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start; when you read you begin with A-B-C; when you sing you begin with DO-RE-MI ..."

Thus sang Julie Andrews, introducing us to one of the most memorable show tunes of all time. It is not often, I am sure, that this song is offered as a theological lesson; but if we do not "start at the very beginning," if we have no living, active, organic connection to the very beginning, we are guaranteed to be missing something. Any time we are trying to discover what Christians have always believed and why, we must start at the very beginning.

Of course, this is also the case when we are faced in modern times with the resurgence of ancient heresies such as Gnosticism, a religion of secret knowledge found in the so-called Gospel of Judas, in pop culture with a lethal dose of religion, as in "The Da Vinci Code," or a mix of these in postmodernism, summarized beautifully by Tom Hanks' character, "The only thing that matters is what you believe."

Pass it on
In the beginning, in the first decades after Jesus' death and resurrection, the truth about Christ was taught essentially by word of mouth.

Primarily Christ was preached by those eyewitnesses to his resurrection, and then by those who were taught by those same eyewitnesses. The teacher-disciple relationship was not new with Christianity, and this form of oral teaching is not questioned in other venues.

At some point, with the advent of false teachings from without and sin from within, St. Paul and others began to write letters and accounts of what they had seen, heard and been taught. The Epistles (Letters) were, for the most part, written first, and the Gospels later.

What was the task of these writings, which we now know as the New Testament?
They served at least a three-fold purpose:

--To interpret the Old Testament through the lens of Christ crucified and resurrected.
--To correct false teaching
--To pass along (tradition) "that which was from the beginning."

It is this final purpose about which we all need some education, especially to sort through the present Hollywood and News Magazine-hyped muck.

There are two excellent New Testament examples that highlight this purpose, one from the Gospel according to St. Luke, and the other from St. Paul's writings to the Thessalonians.

St. Paul records the following: "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." (2 Thess. 2:15).

St. Luke reports in the first verses of his Gospel, "Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed."

In these two examples, there are three words that are of critical importance: tradition, eyewitness and beginning.

A witness to the gospel
The Christian Gospel is "from the beginning;" that is, since the advent of Jesus Christ.

St. John demonstrates this important feature in his first epistle, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life ? we proclaim also to you. ?"
Nothing is added. Nothing is subtracted.

John was among the first disciples called by Jesus Christ. Of the 12, he was in the "top three" and was allowed to witness the most miraculous events. Together with Peter and James, he was present on Mount Tabor when Christ was transfigured. The same three were taken into the room wherein Jesus brought a little girl back from the dead. This same John was at the foot of the cross as Jesus was dying, and, while there, was directed by Jesus to care for his own holy mother, Mary. John knew the beginning because he was there from the beginning!

The next important point is that John and many others were eyewitnesses to Jesus' life, death, resurrection and ascension. Take Peter for example, who wrote the following in his second epistle:

"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the majestic glory, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,' we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain."

He is talking about the Transfiguration. They were there. They did not invent what they wrote. They saw it. They were eyewitnesses.

Delivering the 'package'
Finally, we must understand "tradition." Tradition means "to hand down, to deliver." Luke makes it clear that this truth has been "traditioned," that is, "delivered to us."

St. Paul instructs the church in Thessalonica in the same fashion. It is to hold, believe and pass on "the traditions," which in this case were taught in writing and by word of mouth. Its task was to take what was given and pass it along intact. As I have written before, this process can be compared to a FedEx delivery. The teachings of the eyewitnesses are put in the "package" (the Gospel), sealed (by their authority as eyewitnesses) and delivered ("traditioned") to the next generation of Christians.

Neither the FedEx man nor the recipient may add to or take from the package. The task is intact delivery! The package is not the package without its contents. And the tracking of the pack-age allows us to either: 1) trust its successful arrival or 2) know who made changes, where and when.

The early Christians, who learned directly from Jesus Christ, taught those who followed them. Here is a perfect first-century example. John, who wrote one Gospel, three epistles, and the Revelation, taught a man whom history knows as Polycarp. Today, we can read the very moving account of his martyrdom.

Polycarp "traditioned" what he was taught "by word of mouth and epistle" to Irenaeus, who lived and ministered in Lyons, modern-day France. It is this Irenaeus who already condemned the so-called Gospel of Judas. How did Irenaeus and these others know this so-called gospel was bogus? Because his "grandfather" in the Christian faith was the very "beloved disciple" John, who put his head on Jesus' breast at the Last Supper. He was there!

By this time in history, many such false gospels were disseminated. They were quickly squashed and condemned precisely because no one had ever "seen," "heard" or "touched" anything remotely related to these writings "from the beginning."

They didn't match the teachings of the "grandparents" in the faith. And the way that the Gospel was further maintained was by keeping careful record of who learned from whom, which we call "apostolic succession." This is the "tracking" I refer to in my example above.

Line of succession
Irenaeus carefully illustrates one such line, the succession of bishops of Rome. Eusebius compiled the first bona fide "church history" of the early centuries in writing at the turn of the fourth century. He made a careful list of all the bishops of Jerusalem, starting with James in Acts 15.

To be considered Christian, the teaching, as well as the source of the teaching, had to be traced to the beginning. The teachings of the Gnostics and other heretics simply didn't match up to "that which was from the beginning." And they still don't.

Curiously, "sola scriptura," the Bible alone as authoritative, was already a troubling factor at this time, even though the Bible as we know it today was not yet "published."

The Gnostics and other heretics used the same writings the Christians were using to defend their teachings. But here, Irenaeus offers a brilliant word painting to describe their efforts.

"Their manner of (teaching) is just as if one, when a beautiful image of a king has been constructed by some skilful artist out of precious jewels, should then take this likeness of the man all to pieces, should rearrange the gems, and so fit them together as to make them into the form of a dog or of a fox, and even that but poorly executed; and should then maintain and declare that this was the beautiful image of the king which the skilful artist constructed ? and by thus exhibiting the jewels, should deceive the ignorant who had no conception what a king's form was like, and persuade them that that miserable likeness of the fox was, in fact, the beautiful image of the king." (Adversus Haereses I:8:I).

No writings were authoritative in and of themselves. Critical are the author, content and link to the first Christians.

Also, a trustworthy interpretation was always required, and only those who had seen Jesus personally, or whose spiritual lineage was "from the beginning," could be trusted for such a holy task. And this is still true today.

All of this is the context for this simple position: The great and present frenzy, with reference to the "newly discovered" Gnostic texts, such as the so-called Gospel of Judas, and the release of the controversial "Da Vinci Code," don't really shake the boat of orthodox Christianity.
Generally speaking, we won't have sermons devoted to these sideshows. It is not the place for such an effort. We won't have seminars analyzing it all. We won't write books disputing them. Why? Because these battles have already been fought and won. The books are already written. And we assume that if there is a question, we'll look to what has already been said.

The Preacher said it best: "There is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

In the end, "those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it." But those who know and live "from the beginning" Christianity are not easily moved by tides of heresy and madness, whether ancient or modern.

The truth is that which is from the beginning, which has been delivered to us by those who saw Jesus with their own eyes, heard him with their own ears, touched him with their own hands ? believe it or not.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in the I'On community. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 881-5010.

4th-century homily best exemplifies Pascha

2006-04-17T11:27:00.000-05:00

http://www.charleston.net/stories/default_pf.aspx?newsID=81539

SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2006 12:00 AM

4th-century homily best exemplifies Pascha

BY FR. JOHN PARKER

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the last of four columns by Fr. John Parker leading up to Easter.

At first, all is quiet, dark. The church is lighted nearly entirely by candlelight. Stillness and solemnity fill the air. The faithful gather for peaceful prayers and hymns, which mount with joy. Robed in his brightest vestments, the priest enters into the midst of the congregation and chants boldly and beautifully, "Thy resurrection, O Christ our Savior, the angels in heaven sing. Enable us on Earth, to glorify Thee in purity of heart!" All then go in procession around the church, singing the same all the while.

It is now nearly midnight - Holy Saturday is turning into Pascha Sunday. We announce the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead with joyful and fervent singing, "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!"
The celebrant opens the doors of the church, and all enter into the brightness of the paschal celebration. The lights are all on. Bells are ringing. Once sleepy children have come back to life and sing along with youthful gladness.

We then celebrate the morning service followed immediately by the Divine Liturgy (Holy Communion). The services are quick, but not rushed. They are voluminous, but not loud. The wonder of the feast is upon us. Christ is risen! Truly he is risen!

And we don't wait until Sunday afternoon for our parties. Immediately after the service, the priest blesses dozens of baskets, each of which is filled with the rich foods from which we have fasted for the past 40 days: meats and cheeses from around the world. Breads that are artfully made. Ruby-red eggs.

And with the blessing, we then feast well into the night, going home at 2:30 or 3 a.m. to get a few hours sleep before our next service, which is at noon Sunday. This is Pascha (this year on April 22/23) in the Orthodox Church.

If the reader has been keeping up with these columns, he'll remember that this marvel follows a full eight days of daily and more-than-daily services in preparation. We have walked with Christ into Jerusalem and up onto Golgotha, and now we are celebrating his empty tomb.

The main question pastors ask themselves at this holy juncture is, "What do I preach?" This is the easiest question in the world for Orthodox priests on this day, because we all offer the same homily every year, decade after decade, century after century. It was preached best in the fourth century, and so St. John Chrysostom's homily has become the sermon in every Orthodox Church in the world on Pascha.

With the joy of the feast, I offer it here to you today, greeting you with the Paschal greeting, Christ is risen!

Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom (circa 400):
"Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God? Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival! Is there anyone who is a grateful servant? Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord! Are there any weary with fasting? Let them now receive their wages!

"If any have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their due reward. If any have come after the third hour, let him with gratitude join in the Feast! And he that arrived after the sixth hour, let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss. And if any delayed until the ninth hour, let him not hesitate; but let him come too. And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid by reason of his delay. For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, as well as to him that toiled from the first. To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows. He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor. The deed He honors and the intention He commends.

"Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord! First and last alike receive your reward; rich and poor, rejoice together! Sober and slothful, celebrate the day! You that have kept the fast, and you that have not, rejoice today for the Table is richly laden! Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one. Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith. Enjoy all the riches of His goodness! Let no one grieve at his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again; for forgiveness has risen from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it. He destroyed Hades when He descended into it. He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

"Isaiah foretold this when he said, 'You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below.' Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. It was in an uproar because it is mocked. It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed. It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated. It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

"Hell took a body, and discovered God. It took Earth, and encountered Heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see. O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory? Christ is risen, and you, O death, are annihilated! Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down! Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is risen, and life is liberated! Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be Glory and Dominion unto ages of ages. Amen!

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I'On. He can be reached by e-mail at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 881-5010.

This article was printed via the web on 4/16/2006 9:37:29 PM . This articleappeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Sunday, April 16, 2006.

Fr. John ParkerPriest-in-ChargeHoly Ascension Orthodox Churchwww.ocacharleston.org843-881-5010 parish and fax843-810-9350 cell

Time for only one thing during Holy Week

2006-04-10T12:41:00.000-05:00

http://www.charleston.net/stories/default_pf.aspx?newsID=80304

BY FR. JOHN PARKER
Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of columns leading up to Easter.

There is no experience like Holy Week in an Orthodox Church (this year April 15-22). The ancient hymns are deep and rich. The atmosphere of the church changes with the day's commemorations: joy in the air, in the decor, in the incense, in the singing for Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday.

Warning and sobriety early in the week during the services of Bridegroom Matins. Amazement at the betrayal on Wednesday. Divine nourishment with the Last Supper on Thursday. Fasting, exhaustion and sadness with Christ's crucifixion and entombment on Holy Friday. Eager expectation for a not-yet-risen Christ on the morning of Holy Saturday, along with the marvel of baptism following the most ancient practice. Sheer splendor, joy, brightness, wonder and feasting with the first proclamation, "Christ is Risen!" as the clock turns from Saturday to Sunday.

Because we human beings are not simply brains attached to a slavish body, the sights, the sounds, the tastes, the emotions, the exhaustion, the joy, the fasting and the feasting are all integral parts of the full march with Christ from Lazarus' stench-filled grave, through the streets of Jerusalem, into the upper room, up onto Golgotha, and finally to Jesus' empty tomb. God created us to experience him in this plentiful way. To treat Holy Week and Pascha (Easter) any other way would be, at many levels, to deny our humanity and our relationship to God, as well as to miss the full power of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Many of us were raised to "go to church" especially on Sundays and other important days such as Palm Sunday, Easter and Christmas. This is good Christian discipline. But scores of us fall out of that practice because worship is seen as "a thing to do" like any other appointment. As we permit the busyness of life to increase, gradually "going to church" gets squeezed out, especially since these special days are simply "remembered" as some events a long time ago. In fact, this is contrary to our nature, since we were designed to worship God. Worship for human beings is not simply a task such as shopping or going to the post office. Rather, it is a way of life, in this age and the next. This way is fully experienced during Holy Week, especially in the Orthodox Church, for those who commit themselves to the entire cycle of services.

When we change our existence from "human doing" back to "human being," we see and experience time differently. When we celebrate Palm Sunday, for example, we don't sing about "back then." We literally sing: "Today the Savior comes to Jerusalem, fulfilling the Scriptures ." The first three nights of Holy Week we sing, "Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight ." Later in the week we chant, "Today, the curtain of the temple is torn in two ..."

For us, the feast is now. Today. This midnight. The experience of Holy Week is an entering into ancient time in the present. It is not a dusty memory but rather a living moment. It may be even better put like this: We exit time and in our worship enter into the timeless existence of God. This is true on every Sunday and at every service, as it is also true during this sacred week.

To be sure, Holy Week means commitment. Schedules have to be changed. Soccer games are missed. TV programs are skipped. Time is rearranged, literally and theologically. In fact, we say "time is turned upside down," and we wind up serving the morning services in the evening and the evening services in the morning!

To quantify it, the faithful are in church for four separate services on Palm Sunday weekend (six total hours), Monday-Wednesday night 1 1/2 hours each, Thursday for two services, totaling 3 1/2 hours, Friday twice totaling 3 1/2 hours, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday morning, and 10:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Saturday night/Sunday morning. There is no time for anything else! But should there be? This is the holiest time of the year for Christians, and has been since Jesus actually hung on the cross.

This is not madness or overkill; rather this is what we were created for! There is no golf or boating in the life to come; in the Kingdom, there is worship of the One True God. If immersion is the best way to learn a language, it is surely the best way to worship God in spirit and in truth, and once again especially at this holy time.

A popular bumper-sticker slogan reads, "God gives you the week, give Him the hour." From an Orthodox perspective, this is a minimalist view and clearly compartmental thinking. We are not very good with bumper stickers, since so little can be fit on them, but we might say it this way, "Jesus gave His life up for you, give yours up for Him."

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I'On. E-mail him at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 881-5010.

This article was printed via the web on 4/10/2006 8:50:25 AM . This articleappeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Sunday, April 09, 2006.

Intimate link between Attendance and Communion

2006-04-04T13:04:00.000-05:00

The canons of the Orthodox Church declare that one who “has no very grave necessity nor difficult business so as to keep him from church for a very long time, but being in town does not go to church on three consecutive Sundays—three weeks,” he “should be repelled from communion”. “If he is a cleric (clergy) let him be deposed, but if a layman, let him be cut off”. What are we to make of this?

The canons are not missiles which we hurl at one another, but rather exist for the good order of the church. It is also important to note that the canons are typically given not as preventative measures, but because there is some abuse of Christian living being acted out.

The regular life of a regular Christian should be regular! It is assumed that the baptized love God and would do anything for him, mainly ‘keep his commandments’. Of the two which Jesus summarized as the greatest, “Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind” comes first, and this is what we do together, in worship. It is true that we are to love God at all times and in every place, but we do have a specific way of loving him and thanking him with reference to his Holy Resurrection, and that is Sunday worship.

In the old days—when these canons were penned—“difficult business” surely included days of travel by foot, on an animal, or by boat, and possibly to areas where there was no church. Today, there is very little excuse. In Charleston, most of us are within 25 minutes of the church. And even if I travel regularly on the weekends for business, every major city and many good-sized towns have an Orthodox Church, even in North America.

Difficult business did not mean, “I work too much.” or “I am tired”. Working too much is a personal/spiritual problem, perhaps an addiction. And if I am tired, let me hear the words of our Savior, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Surely “very grave necessity” included sickness and disease. Then and now, there are those to whom the church goes since they are unable to come to church. In fact, this was one of the tasks of the first deacons.

The question remains, “Do I love God?” If the answer is yes, what will I do to be in church and on time? As I mentioned in church two weeks ago, we may not know the day and the hour of Christ’s second coming, but the day and the hour of our services are always the same, and written in every publication of our parish! Everyone misses church for some reason sometimes. But regular tardiness and regular absence require attention. Reading the canons, apparently this problem is centuries old. Now as then, returning to communion in these cases requires repentance and confession, since it is by our own will that we keep ourselves from God.

Homo Adorans

2006-04-04T12:50:00.000-05:00

Jesus Christ is the sum total of our existence. We live and move and have our being by His grace (Acts 17:28). Every thing we have belongs to Him (1 Chronicles 29:14). Every power or strength we have is given to us by Him (John 19:11). We are created, as Fr. John Breck shared with us on Sunday night, “homo adorans”, that is a worshipping people, a praying people. Our two main tasks in life are to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. After summarizing the whole law into these two “Great commandments”, Jesus also went one step again and said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

So, every single facet of our lives is to be marinated in this love of and for God, and by extension to the neighbor. Consider how this plays out in everyday life. Why not ask ourselves these questions:

With boyfriend/girlfriend/fiancé/spouse/ex: What words do we use when speaking? Are they words which build up or tear down? Are we speaking as if to Christ Himself?

With children: What example are we setting? Do we treat them with dignity and respect? Are we acting as if to Christ Himself?

With neighbors: Are we kind and loving? Do we help them as if helping Christ Himself?

With money: Are we generous? Do we give and spend with Christ in mind? Do we offer our first and best to Him and take care not to spend frivolously and selfishly?

With possessions: Do we treat our things as if they belonged to God Himself (since they do!)? Do we share them with those in need without possessiveness?

With punctuality: Do we arrive on time for church services? Do we treat business appointments, soccer games, music lessons, or movies with more care than appointments with God who gives us life?

With animals, plants, and the environment: Do we take care to see that all of creation is God’s and to treat it as such?

Great Lent is a time to re-orient (literally, ‘to face east again’!) ourselves to God. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is not yet here. God grant us today to love him and our neighbor, and at the last, God grant us His Kingdom!

Science and faith meet on the date of Easter

2006-04-04T12:48:00.000-05:00

found online at http://www.charleston.net/stories/default_pf.aspx?newsID=78924

printer friendly format sponsored by:The New Media Department of The Post and Courier

SUNDAY, APRIL 02, 2006 12:00 AM

BY FR. JOHN PARKER
Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of columns leading up to Easter.

Science and faith so often are pitted against one another. The polarization does not come from one direction or the other alone, but rather often from both sides.

Many scientists claim that faith is simply a blind exercise in futility in which the "believer" seeks to impose some unintended meaning on his life, or to console herself with unprovable prayer. Most of these folks fail to recognize that science can never quantify or prove "love," for example.
On the other hand, numbers of "faithful" claim that science is a sham, especially with regard to the heated debates about creation.

Most of these folks fail to understand, for example, that Genesis 1-11 is neither textbook science nor textbook history, and therefore have very little, if anything, to do with the number of "actual" days God took to make the Earth and everything in it.

The Christian faith has to do with the truth, and we Christians believe first and foremost that Jesus Christ is the truth. He said, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6). For us, then, the truth is the most important quest, and facts, when we have them, contribute to that knowledge and understanding, and in and of themselves expose further the majesty of God, who is way beyond our grasp and comprehension.

But science and the Christian faith always have been related. At least in the West, science has been an incredible effort to find out how God's creation works and is ordered. With respect to the feast near at hand, most people, I think it is safe to say, are unaware that Pascha (Easter) is dated at least partially according to science - astronomy, to be more precise. When asked, "How do we know the date of Pascha?", some might even reply, "We ask Hallmark!"

In fact, Pascha is dated for scientific reasons, which tell theological truth. In the early days of Christianity, the Resurrection was celebrated in two differing ways. The first was the way of the Quartodecimans (a term which means "14-ers"). This group commemorated the resurrection of Christ on the day of the Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week that was. The Passover was celebrated on 14 Nisan, a date according to the Jewish calendar, established with Moses (see Exodus 12). Since Christians believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover, this feast was "Christianized" in this way. The second group celebrated Pascha on the first Sunday after the Passover, since Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday. So in this view, Sunday is the new Lord's day, on which Jesus conquered death. These two varying celebrations lasted until the fourth century, at least officially.

By the year 325, Emperor Constantine saw the church bombarded by various heresies, and the lack of a unified celebration of Pascha was a poor witness to the pagan world. So, at the First Ecumenical Council, a decisive meeting of all the bishops of the church, the universal dating of Pascha was established to be the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox -"Sunday," with reference to the Resurrection and Lord's day, and "full moon after the vernal equinox" because this was the "Passover" moon. (The Jewish calendar was lunar; our present calendar is solar.) To this day, Pascha is calculated according to this reckoning.

Besides the scientific data used to calculate Easter, which are directly related to the biblical dating of the Passover, astronomy teaches very important theological truths, which are made evident in the Gospel reading for Pascha in every Orthodox church in the world on this feast of feasts: John 1:1-17.

This Gospel lesson is read at Christ's resurrection with special reference to Jesus' eternal existence with the father and his being "the light."

"The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world" (Verse 9), and, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (Verse 5).

At Christmas, astronomically speaking, the "true light ... was coming into the world" as we celebrate the nativity of Christ just after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Thereafter, light literally increases with each passing day, pointing to Christ, now increasing on the Earth from infant to man.

At Pascha, the darkness no longer overcomes the light. At the vernal equinox, day and night are the same length, and thereafter, each passing day contains more light than darkness. Consider the passage again in that light: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, let us remember always how great God is! Indeed, the Scriptures show us the Word written, and "the heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1).

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I'On. E-mail him at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or at 881-5010.

This article was printed via the web on 4/3/2006 2:48:11 PM . This articleappeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Sunday, April 02, 2006.

Saint a symbol of penitence

2006-04-04T12:44:00.000-05:00

found online at http://www.charleston.net/stories/default_pf.aspx?newsID=77694

By Fr. John Parker
Editors' Note: This is the first in a series of guest columns leading up to Easter.

A prostitute she was not, since she didn't accept payment for her sexual services. She chose to seduce and please her men at no cost for two apparent reasons: the hunt and the pleasure. She rejected payment not on any moral ground (what morality?) nor because she was rich (in fact she lived by begging). She "contrived this so that [she] could seduce many more men, thus turning [her] lust into a free gift."

Her "greatest" exploit was also to become her downfall - or rather her salvation. One summer day, she witnessed a crowd of men running toward the port, where they were to board a ship heading on a pilgrimage, of all places, to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This feast - still celebrated around the world to this day - is second in solemnity only to Good Friday and is the commemoration of when St. Helena, in the fourth century, found the cross on which Jesus was crucified at Golgotha.

Our protagonist saw this trip not as an opportunity for a holy moment, but as a chance to wallow further in filth and uncontrollable lust. She was able to board the ship, though she mostly was rejected in her efforts once aboard. She made up for missed opportunity when they reached Jerusalem, though. In her own words, "... During the days that I stayed in the city before the feast, I engaged in the same practices or even worse. For I was not contented with the young men who were at my service at sea and on the road, but I also corrupted many other men, both citizens and foreigners, whom I picked up for this purpose."

Something miraculous then happened to her. Picture it! As she joined the crowds in an effort to enter the church for the festal celebration, some divine power, as she describes it, repelled her from entering. She made many attempts to cross the threshold of the door, and four times she was met with the same force resisting her entrance. As she stood in the courtyard trying to make sense of it all, she was struck to the core with the realization that she was not able to enter and to gaze upon the true cross because of her licentious behavior and the filth of her existence.

Just then, she noticed an icon of the mother of God and was reduced to sobs, wailing and deep conviction of sin by Mary's most pure example. After a conversation and confession of sorts, our traveler was able to gain entrance into the church. Once inside, she gazed upon the life-giving cross, fell to the floor in worship and kissed the holy ground. Thus St. Mary of Egypt, as she is known, repented and devoted her life entirely to renunciation of "this world," exchanging her former life for one of ongoing prayer, repentance and union with God.

On that day, St. Mary moved to the desert, where she battled against her sins. Despite her magnificent conversion, her trials were far from over, as is the case also for us today.

One account says: "For forty-eight years she dwelt in the desert beyond the Jordan, and when temptations befell her and memories of her former sinful life ... beckoned her to leave her voluntary sojourn in the desert, she lay on the ground, cried to God for help and did not get up until her heart was humbled. The first years were hard; she sometimes had to lie this way for many days; but after seventeen years came the time of rest."

Seventeen years! St. Mary learned what many of us miss: that true return to Christ can take a long time. More often than not, repentance doesn't end simply with "naming it" and moving on. Often the full return takes longer than it took to make the sinful mess in the first place. Temptations, memories of impassioned failures and fatigue from the battle against sin fill our minds and souls constantly as the devil attempts to lure us away from the only One in whom there is salvation. Sometimes we, like St. Mary, will need to lie face down on the ground for days at a time to fight the temptation to return to our former delusion.

But St. Mary realized the promise of God: salvation. He gave her the strength to find him and to be healed. What can we learn from her? At least we can see what she gleaned from Ezekiel 18:32: God has "no pleasure in the death of any one ... so turn, and live." Like Moses the murderer, Saul (later Paul) the chief persecutor of Christians, like the repentant thief on the cross who said, "Remember me ... ," like St. Mary of Egypt, the repentant prostitute, like you and I: No one is beyond redemption.

St. Mary of Egypt is commemorated on the fifth Sunday of Great Lent in the Orthodox churches for her supreme example of true repentance.

Fr. John Parker is the priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in I'On. He can be reached at 881-5010 or by e-mail at frjohn@ocacharleston.org.

This article was printed via the web on 3/26/2006 5:15:35 PM . This articleappeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Sunday, March 26, 2006.

Holy Season 40 Days with a Purpose

2006-03-06T09:36:00.000-05:00

BY FR. JOHN PARKER

Revelers. Drunken stupors. Fuzzy memories. Gratuitous nudity. Dangerous liaisons. This is Mardi Gras (French for "fat Tuesday"), at least as it is celebrated in the streets of places such as New Orleans, Rio and other major cities around the world.

What is the purpose of such a day? According to mardigrasneworleans.com/history.shtml, "Human nature being what it is, people are inclined to go on a bender immediately before a period of deprivation, prayer, and fasting. Hence: Fat Tuesday."

With the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, many wondered if New Orleans would host this year's party. As it turns out, the show will go on, aided by generous neighbor Mobile, Alabama. Parties, bands, costumes, floats, one-night stands and free-flowing alcohol: this is the cultural celebration of Mardi Gras, bearing little resemblance to its Christian heritage.

Shrove Tuesday

Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Western Christian Church. Remnants of the true nature of Fat Tuesday still are visible in many churches, even locally. More often called "Shrove Tuesday" (from "to shrive," to hear the confession of and to absolve a penitent of sins), this is the day on which folks empty out their cabinets of fats - meat, cheese, butter, etc. - items from which Christians traditionally have fasted during the 40 days prior to Pascha (Easter).

In many Western Christian churches, Ash Wednesday still is kept as some sort of fast, and portions of the more ancient practice are evident on Fridays in Lent in the Roman Catholic Church, where meat is not eaten in remembrance of Christ's death on the cross on Holy Friday.

Orthodox Christians enter Great Lent differently, still following the most ancient pattern of prayer and fasting. Rather than a single day of pantry-emptying, the Orthodox first abandon meat on Meatfare Sunday, and then dairy, wine and olive oil on the following, so-called "Cheesefare," Sunday, which happens to be today, allowing for a gradual entrance into what we call the Great Fast. In the Orthodox tradition, this fast is kept daily during all 40 days, with a few festal exceptions. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving, along with confession of our sins, remain the central focuses of Lent, as we prepare for the most glorious Christian feast of the year: Pascha, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

A feast of forgiving

The Great Fast, as the Orthodox also call it, begins not with parties, suppers or benders, but with one of the most moving services in all of Christianity. In the evening of Cheesefare Sunday, the church serves Forgiveness Vespers. At the tail end of this sung service of evening prayers, every individual in the parish, beginning with the priest, asks of and offers forgiveness to every other individual present. During this solemn and often deeply emotional portion of the service, the choir sings the bright, joyous hymns of Pascha, a foreshadowing of the glory to come.

Even still, it is easy to see, from a popular cultural perspective, why many, even Christians, see Lent as "deprivation" or some sort of dark period marked in ancient days by hair shirts, and even today by intentional discomfort, sadness, guilt and gloom. The switch from having what we want on a moment's notice all the time to living merely with what we need, and in measured portions, comes as a shock to our bodies, wills and lifestyles.

But Great Lent is the opposite of doom and guilt. It is our return from exile. It is the joy of forgiveness, which is our release from true guilt in repentance. It is our return from what has become a regular life of loose or riotous living in a far-off land, as it is described in the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. If New Orleans' famous Mardi Gras has any relation to the Christian Shrove Tuesday and the ensuing fast of Great Lent, it is this: It is a prime-time, public, regular and celebrated example of the way we live our day-to-day life: drunk, stuffed, self-interested, careless and promiscuous.

From a Christian perspective, this is true actually as much as figuratively, if statistics are even remotely accurate with respect to alcoholism, obesity, divorce, crime and the like. Sadly and embarrassingly, the Christian statistics are the same as or worse than the secular culture in many of these areas.

What we should be

So following the example of our Lord, who entered the wilderness to pray and fast and to face the devil, we, too, do the same for 40 days. Our task is twofold: first, to see who we have become when left to our own devices: sinners who have distorted God's creation, beginning with ourselves; and second, to become who we are called to be by the grace of God: merciful saints as we see in Matthew 5:48 and Luke 6:36.

We fast from certain foods and drinks because by our sin, we abuse these in gluttony and drunkenness, not because food and drink are inherently bad. In the fourth century, St. John Chrysostom went so far as to say that the food in our pantry (paraphrased) is to our damnation since it belongs to the poor and hungry who have no daily food. Our fasting is not for God, like some cosmic payoff scheme ("I've been bad, so I'll be good for sometime; please don't punish me!"). Rather, it is for us to see that food and drink are merely fuel that keeps our bodies running so that we can live godly lives in the short time we have on this Earth. Along with our fasting, we put on moderation and sharing.

We fast from entertainment in order to see the world as it truly is, not how Hollywood portrays it. How horribly are our eyes tainted by television and movies! In our daily lives, we have come to accept murder and violence as forms of diversion. Gross language, perversion, adultery, lying, betrayal and lust are seen as normal and normative. By abstaining from watching shows and movies that flaunt such behavior while at the same time engaging ourselves in real life with real people, we can see more clearly how such living is actually vacant and damaging to all involved, not to mention far from the life Jesus Christ demonstrated for us. Along with our fasting, we put on mercy and compassion.

During the Great Fast, married couples are challenged to fast, by mutual consent, from nuptial relations following 1 Corinthians 7:5ff. (It is assumed that this is the daily practice at all times for all Christians who are not married.) Once again, this is not because sex is bad - au contraire! But even in marriage, we fall into the sin of treating one another as objects, and such an "agreement for a season" is to re-establish our godly love for one another. Along with our fasting, we put on abstinence and self-control.

Great Lent is a return to spiritual, emotional and physiological training. It is an intense time reorienting ourselves to the life God has established for us.

One significant facet to this season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving is lifted right out of the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah: "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"
This is not a call to generic social justice or a longing for some unattainable better society; rather, it is a Christian imperative to stop thinking about ourselves alone and to start loving our neighbors, especially those who are in need.

But to begin to love our neighbor requires us to know that he or she exists. Lent is a time for us to venture out of our living rooms and comfort zones, to move away from the television, to suspend the mail-order DVDs and endless, mindless video games in order to worship God, live life and serve others by giving those in need what we have in spades.

All of this effort we call Lent is beautifully summarized in a fourth-century prayer still prayed daily during Lent in the Orthodox churches. The prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian reads: "O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother. For blessed art thou unto ages of ages. Amen."

God help us all so to live, beginning afresh today.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in the I'On Community. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 881-5010.

This article was printed via the web on 3/6/2006 9:33:38 AM . This articleappeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Sunday, March 05, 2006.

Churches show unity best by servitude

2006-02-13T12:19:00.000-05:00

http://www.charleston.net/stories/default_pf.aspx?newsID=70081

By Father John Parker

From the beginning, it has not been so. A group of churches - among them Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and others - organize a sunrise Easter service to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. At Thanksgiving, a group of churches prays together annually. On Saturday evenings, a Roman Catholic Church offers Mass in a Lutheran church's sanctuary. An Episcopal priest serves as the pastor of a Presbyterian church.

At a certain level, these are unbelievable signs of generosity and Christian love - like a situation where two church groups pray together, the second of which exists historically and theologically in reaction against the first. These are all attempts to bring unity to the churches, waving the banner of John 17:11, Jesus' prayer to his father, "that they may be one, even as we are one."
But do these services and activities foster unity? Or are they outward and visible efforts, however sincere, that lack interior substance? Can "ecumenical" activity - as highlighted and encouraged, for example, by the World Council of Churches' "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity," marked this year Jan. 18-25 - "work" today?

Christians always have had both an essential call to, and existence in, unity. Since the earliest days following Jesus Christ's death, resurrection and ascension, this unity has been outward in form and inward in essence. Christians believed and dogmatized "that which is from the beginning." In the book of Acts, we read of Christians living and dying together, even holding all their possessions in common. We find in the letters and writings of those who learned personally from the disciples of Jesus - saints such as Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus and others - unity of faith and belief.

For these Christians, like their spiritual progeny especially found in the Orthodox Church, when some facet of faith and belief was questioned, councils were convened to determine what had been believed from the beginning. Throughout history, there have been many such councils, though seven have been called "ecumenical," meaning "from the whole Christian world." The first and last were convened in Nicaea in 325 A.D. and 787 A.D., respectively. Each of these councils dealt specifically with theologically pressing issues such as: Was Jesus both God and man? Or how does the incarnation of God affect our view of material things?

By 1054 A.D., the Christian East and West parted ways over a number of issues, the most important of which was authority: Who decides what and how? To this day, the Orthodox Church maintains that doctrine, biblical interpretation and other matters of the church are determined in council together (as described above), with reference always to "that which is from the beginning." Five hundred years later, more fractioning of the Christian West ensued with the Protestant Reformation, and such splintering continues to occur even to this day. I recently heard the most petty of such examples, where a congregationally run church actually divided over a disputed phone bill. Yes, truly.

Especially since the 16th century, schisms have run rampant in the Christian West, mostly over matters of authority. In almost all of these cases, splits occurred as a result of one group's insistence on its interpretation of Holy Scripture over the other's. Should babies be baptized or only adults? Is the Lord's Supper a memorial or a reality? Do the bread and wine change into the body and blood of Christ or not? Is the church hierarchical or local? The Bible speaks to all of these concerns. The trouble is, one can read just about anything he wants into the Scriptures. So who decides who is right? A question of authority.

Enter the contemporary ecumenical movement. At some point in the past century or so (the details of which are not within the scope of this writing), Christians of a variety of "flavors" have come to realize that their separation is not good. This is a noble insight. Not only is it not "biblical," but it also serves as a poor witness to non-Christians, who are not likely to be convinced of the truth of Christianity as a result of the squabbles and schisms of some of its adherents. And so there have been organizations founded, such as the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches, as well as scores of local organizations and initiatives, each of which has made efforts at re-establishing "unity" among the churches.

But is the church disunited? From the Orthodox Christian perspective, the answer is plainly "no." The church is one - still one - and professes to be so actually and truly when we recite the Nicene Creed (formalized nearly 1,700 years ago): "We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." The gates of hell, according to the Scriptures, cannot prevail against the church; neither is the body of Christ severed from the head. Nor are there many "bodies" of Christ. What makes the church one is that it believes, teaches and practices that which is from the beginning. And those who believe such show the same by their profession of faith and receive Communion together as a sign of that faith, demonstrating the essential oneness of the church. Anything else is bickering over personal interpretations of things.

From the earliest days, Christians have taught and recognized that a Christian cannot pick and choose what he or she believes. "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27). As a servant (or "slave" to be more accurate) of Christ, we voluntarily lay down our will for his.

The question Jesus asked St. Peter we also are asked: "Who do you say that I am?" And there is an answer. Since those days, Orthodox Christians have continued to believe and proclaim the earliest answer to that question. Consider the opening words of the First Epistle of St. John: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life ... that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." Or the words of St. Paul: "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you." (1 Corinthians 11:23). We believe what was passed along was what was received from the beginning.

Prayer services and "Weeks of Prayer for Christian Unity" will prove empty and lacking until every separated Christian and ecclesiastical group asks the hard question: "Who do you say that I am?" Or more specifically, "What have Christians always believed about Jesus?" Once answered, individuals and groups then must act on that finding.

In reality, as "nice" as joint sunrise Easter services seem, as pleasant as it may be to share an annual, generic Thanksgiving service and as amazing as it is that Roman Catholics serve Mass in a Lutheran church's sanctuary, these all share one fatal flaw: no unity of faith. After the sunrise, the groups all go to their churches to celebrate in their own way. At Thanksgiving, the Great Thanksgiving - the Eucharist of our Lord - cannot be celebrated together. A Lutheran may attend the Roman Catholic service in her own church building, but may not receive Communion. Because the groups do not believe together that which is from the beginning, their unity is and can only be external and temporary, a mask covering their persistent, fundamental divisions.

The church is one. It is the holy body of Christ, living and breathing from Pentecost to this day. Every person's task is twofold. First, one must find out for himself what he believes but shouldn't, or what he doesn't believe but should, about Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Second, he must unite himself to the church, wherein we find the beginning of our salvation while we breathe on this Earth, remembering that Jesus Christ left us a holy body, not a book.

There is, in truth, hope, and we need not despair. This is a narrow way; in fact, it is "the" narrow way. And yet, in the midst of the struggle, God is with us. If there is one "ecumenical" activity that can always and immediately bear fruit, it is serving those to whom Jesus referred to as "the least of these." All self-professing Christians need to serve the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the needy and the imprisoned together. In the end, our judgment on the last day will depend on it (John 5:28ff). Lord have mercy.

Father John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in the I'On Community. Reach him at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or 881-5010.

This article was printed via the web on 2/13/2006 9:16:18 AM . This articleappeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Sunday, February 12, 2006.

Great Lent is Coming! Great Lent is Coming!

2006-02-13T12:17:00.000-05:00

The Paul Reveres of Orthodoxy are passing through town: the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee (yesterday), this week which is FAST FREE (!), the Sunday of the Prodigal Son (2/19), etc. These are all announcements to us that the “end is near”. What end? The end of the routine of winter’s spiritual slothfulness (do I speak only for myself?) wherein I have grown lazy and self-indulgent in the pleasures of much food, the warmth of a cozy bed, and thoughts most centered on “what about me?”

These weeks hang a flashing yellow warning light over the highway of our routine life, and soon we will find ourselves at the crossroads of self and selflessness, first and last, greatest and least. More so, we will once again find ourselves at the intersection of salvation and self. Self so often seems to have the ‘best’ short term benefits, but ends in death—spiritual and actual. But will I choose salvation? Will I choose Christ? He stands at the door, always knocking. Will I let Him in? (Revelation 3:20)

Great Lent is the Christian School of Repentance, the academy which teaches us—through prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and the reading of Scripture—precisely both who we are (actually) and who we are called to be. If we don’t think we need a doctor, why go to the hospital—or as St. John puts it “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8ff).

Will we face the reality that we desperately need spiritual surgery? Will we finally submit to doctor’s orders? Consider some of the hymns we sing this time of year, and let’s help each other onto the stretchers!

"Brothers, let us not pray like the Pharisee; he who exalts himself will be
humbled! Let us prepare to abase ourselves by fasting; Let us cry aloud with the
voice of the Publican. O God, forgive us sinners!"

"The weight of my transgressions burdens my eyes; I cannot lift my gaze to the heights of heaven, O Lord! Accept me in repentance, as Thou didst accept the Publican. Have mercy on me, O Savior!"

"Where shall I begin to lament the deeds of my wretched life? What first-fruit shall I offer, O Christ, for my present lamentation? But in Thy compassion grant me release from my falls."

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

2006-01-21T22:36:00.000-05:00

This is my sermon for the Sanctity of Human Life Sunday as celebrated on January 22, 2006, by the Orthodox Church in America

Today Orthodox Christians celebrate the Sanctity of Human Life. As our own Fr. John Breck has made ever-memorable by his book title: The Sacred Gift of Life.

The Sanctity of Life extends from cradle to grave, and includes every millisecond in-between the two. Our beliefs, then, relate to conception, contraception, abortion…wellness and health, sickness and disease, “a Christian ending to our lives, painless, blameless, and peaceful” (as we pray), capital punishment, euthanasia, suicide, and death in general.

God alone has granted us life. He is the Author and Sustainer of it. It is He who breathes life into our existence (Genesis 1, 2). It is our task to be good stewards of it.

Let us be clear: we are not called to be determiners of who lives or dies. Rather, once alive, we are called to be good stewards of our own lives as well as defenders of the lives of those who begin, live, and die around us.

The Church believes that life begins at conception. This is not an optional concept for us. It is fundamental.

We celebrate Christ’s conception on March 25 (Annunciation)
Mary, the the Theotokos—the mother of God— by Joachim and Anna on December 9
St. John the Baptist, The Forerunner, by Zechariah and Elizabeth on Sept. 23.

By these feasts, by celebrating these events on these days, we show our belief about when life begins. There is no Christian option otherwise.

The One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, Jesus Christ, shows us the sanctity of all life by the way He spends His time with people, by his association with the ‘outcasts’, (Ones whom some today would call “worthless people” who have no ‘significant’ or measurable, or ‘meaningful’ life, and who ‘might should’ be put to death.)

Jesus had direct contact with lepers—many lepers—in one episode, 10 at once. And yet he had compassion on them, the outcasts of society. And even healed them—even the ungrateful ones!

Then there is the blind man in today’s lesson. There was even the blind man who was believed by many to be blind because of his or his family’s sins. (He wasn’t.) Jesus took pity on him, too.
And then there is the woman with the flow of blood. The unclean one. And the demoniacs in the graveyard.

Their lives were also sacred. Created by God. And tended to by Jesus personally.
With regard to ‘end of life’ issues, as we might call them today, there is the instance of the woman caught in adultery, who, together with the guilty man, should have been stoned to death according to the law. But Jesus showed mercy and spared her. Jesus is the Author of Life and the Sustainer of it.

Neither was Paul put to death, who as Saul was the leading killer of Christians before his conversion. Rather, as the ‘chief of sinners’ as we heard today, he repented and became the first great theologian, authoring the majority of the New Testament writings.

In all of these Gospel examples, we find that the Sanctity of human life is not an ‘optional view’ or an ‘opinion’ of the Church, but rather is the very essence of Jesus Christ. The sanctity of life is the undeniable God-revealed truth.

It must also be said that issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment are neither political issues nor women’s or human rights concerns. Rather they are serious moral considerations. Any Orthodox Christian who teaches, believes, or counsels others towards abortion, capital punishment or euthanasia teaches or believes that murder is a human option and denies that God alone is the Author and Governor of Life. As such, he or she is out of communion with Jesus Christ in the Church and must repent and change his/her mind.

NONE of this is simply ‘believe this or else’. We must always remember that as Christians we voluntarily take up the teachings of the Church because they are God-revealed. No one among us can create life ex-nihilo, and none of us can take life willy-nilly.

The teachings of the Church in this regard can be seen clearly among the ranks of the clergy. No one may be ordained to the ranks of the clergy who has ever taken a life. Likewise, any member of the clergy who takes a life—even by accident—forfeits his ministry. This is part of what we mean when we say “blameless” as when we pray for a “Christian ending to our lives, painless, blameless, and peaceful, and a good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ”.

Lest we, who have had not direct link to any form of murder about which I have already spoken, believe that we are free from today’s teaching—let us also remember the finer points of the Gospel:

“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.”

Who among us stands uncondemned?

We must likewise remember that, according to the Scriptures, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. So, we take part in the desecration of human life—our own and those around us!—when we

Live an overly sedentary life.
We do not exercise.
We eat horribly or excessively.
Are addicted to much wine or liquor or to smoking or drugs

These, too, require repentance and amendment of life! We must care for the life God has given!
All of life is sacred, and we are stewards of life!

We do and will fall short a thousand times in our lives, and we must deal with and accept the consequences of our actions. But the Author of Life, Jesus Christ, “the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8). And, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

This mercy has extended throughout time to murderers and sinners alike—remember among them:

Cain who killed his brother and was spared by God
Moses—who killed the Egyptian when he was young—and still was called to lead God’s people.
King David—who not only had Uriah killed, but committed adultery with his wife.
And many, many more—including St. Paul, whom I have already mentioned.

Hear what the Lord says through the Prophet Ezekiel (18:32), “…I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”

And let the words of today’s Epistle from St. Paul’s first letter to Timothy be our own:

The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners; 16 but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The Storm before the Calm

2005-12-20T10:37:00.000-05:00

WhatamIgoingtobuyformydad? WhenamIgoing-tofindtimetoruntheselasterrands? Icannotstandthe-trafficanylonger! Ohno!DidIgetsomethingformy-sisteryet? RunaroundRunaroundRunaround. Rush
RushRushRush. Does this seem familiar? This is the storm before the calm.

But, it can be fought, and conquered! Tuesday through Friday nights we will celebrate the Vespers and Canon of Compline of the Prefeast of the Nativity. Don’t get caught in the whirlwind of the details of shopping, cooking and planning. So often, we create the storm around Christmas by our own frenetic pace. Be still! Be at peace! B R E A T H E! Take a moment. Take 45 moments. Enter into the feast calmly with us…

Enter into the vesperal light of the quiet Church and pray with us as we anticipate the Nativity of our Lord.

O come, all you faithful,
Begin the celebration:
Sing with the magi and
the shepherds:
Salvation comes from the Virgin's womb,
Recalling the
faithful to life!

(Stichera from Lord I Call, December 20)

Schedule of Services this Week
Tuesday-Friday 5:30pm Vespers and the Canon of Compline
Saturday 5:30pm Vigil of the Nativity (Compline/Matins)
Sunday 9:10 (hours) 9:30 Liturgy of the Nativity

Letter to the Editor, published in the Post and Courier 12/14

2005-12-14T15:51:00.000-05:00

Christian principles

Hopefully, the Dec. 3 article about the execution of Shawn Humphries appeared on Page 7B of The Post and Courier (as opposed to a more prominent place) because we are ashamed to publish it as news. But, to quote an ancient saint, "Fie on the outrage!"

How many times a year do we read about citizens incensed that the Ten Commandments are not posted here or there or are removed from public view, and yet we consent, at least by our silence, to state-sanctioned murder? We do a fine job of "cleaning the outside of the vessel," as did the Pharisees, but we are morally bankrupt inside. On what Christian grounds do we defend capital punishment? And in South Carolina!

"An eye for an eye" is no Christian principle. Jesus himself made this clear: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well." (Matthew 5:38-44)

Jesus also said something about murder: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire." (Matthew 5:21)

Who stands uncondemned? Let him inject the first needle.

If we so fervently desire the "monuments" of Christianity - or at least of so-called "Judeo-Christian values" - to be displayed in public, perhaps we ought first to demonstrate that we are truly Christian people, as St. James, the brother of the Jesus, urges in his epistle: "Be doers of the word and not hearers only." (James 1:22)

Otherwise, we may find ourselves more than doubly damned. Lord, have mercy.

The Rev. John Parker
Priest-in-Charge
Holy Ascension
Orthodox Church
816 High Battery Circle
Mount Pleasant

What shall we offer Him?

2005-12-13T09:11:00.000-05:00

What shall we offer Him?

What shall we offer Thee, O Christ,
Who for our sakes hast appeared on earth as man?
Every creature made by Thee offers Thee thanks,
The angels offer a hymn; The heavens a star;
The wisemen gifts; the shepherds, their wonder;
The earth, its cave; the wilderness, a manger.
And we offer Thee a virgin mother.
O pre-eternal God, have mercy on us!
(Lord I Call, Vespers of the Nativity)

As online stores warn us of the final days after which “Christmas delivery” is not possible and local marketers tempt us to buy from them “the perfect gift for the person who has everything” (something that will wind up in a drawer or a closet and then at a yard sale as just some thing), we pause as we prepare for the Nativity of our Lord.

Rampant capitalism urges us in a relentless tide to buy, buy, buy, and to give gifts, to splurge. “You deserve it”. But the simple hymn listed above, from the Vespers of the Nativity, beckons us to something much different, far deeper, and of infinitely more value: The question, “What shall we offer Thee, O Christ?” Everything made gives thanks in some way, and humanity offers the Virgin Mother of God for this miracle. But what thanks do I myself give?

The Icon of the Nativity shows an ox and an ass peering into the manger. These animals do not appear in the Gospel accounts in Matthew and Luke. Rather, they are found in Isaiah 1:3, “The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand.” Do we recognize our Master as the dumb animals do? Will we be found on Christmas Day, peering into the manger, giving thanks to the King of Glory, receiving Him in the Eucharist as we give Him the only thing we can: ourselves?

40 Days of Simplicity

2005-11-23T11:37:00.000-05:00

By Father John Parker

With Rick Warren’s visit to Charleston still fresh in the minds of the multitudes that his appearance attracted, Orthodox Christians around the planet have begun, once again, a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in preparation for the Nativity of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. “Little Lent” or the “Nativity Fast” as it is variously called has been an annual Christian season for over 1500 years, and has been practiced in its present form for the past 900 years. The recent frenzies of “40 days” of this, that, and the other are perhaps well-intended (if not ingeniously marketed) efforts to (re)create a spiritual discipline which has not only been assumed, but has been a part of Christianity from the first days. Forty day cycles and spiritual efforts are no novelty to Orthodox Christians. Rather, they have always been a regular, and needed, spiritual discipline in the life of the Church.

A wise Christian once said, “he who does not know how to fast does not know what it is to feast.” And the practical life of the Church, in her calendar, reflects this verity. Easter, “Pascha” as we call it, is the chief celebration of the Christian year, at which we celebrate Jesus Christ’s holy Resurrection, His “trampling down death by death”. No one knows feasting better than Orthodox Christians on the night of Pascha. In the middle of the night after the celebration of Holy Communion, the tables are set as we feast on the delicious contents of baskets fat with meats, cheeses, cakes, and other delights from around the world. (Since our calendars are sometimes different, come and see this year—we celebrate the Sunday after Western Easter in 2006.)

At least since the early 300s AD, if not certainly before that, Christians have celebrated a season of fasting to prepare for this Feast of Feasts. Increasingly lengthy prayer services, long periods including whole days of strict fasting, and more focused almsgiving and service to the “least of these” are the marks of such a repentant season. By our prayer and fasting, we begin to see ourselves for who we truly are: selfish, angry, short-tempered, self-promoting, judgmental sinners. The spiritual discipline of fasting joined to prayer cleanses the soul. A fourth century monk described it this way, “If a king wanted to take possession of his enemy’s city, he would begin by cutting off the water and the food, so his enemies, dying of hunger, would submit to him. It is the same with the passions of the flesh: if a man goes about fasting and hungry, the enemies of his soul grow weak.”

We also learn, by our reading of the Scriptures and singing of special hymns precisely who God is: the Almighty, all-merciful, all-loving Creator of everyone and everything who welcomes home and forgives all those who turn back to Him from their wicked, sinful ways. The parable of the Prodigal Son comes to life for us, as we return to see ourselves as the “prodigal” and God as the benevolent Father.

For us Orthodox Christians, the preparation for Christmas—the Nativity of our Lord as it is more commonly called—is a mirror of the preparation for Pascha. Hence the name “little Lent”. So on November 15 every year, we begin together to forego meat, dairy, wine (alcohol), and oil, as a common fasting discipline which teaches us slowly, but surely, that our stomachs have begun to govern us. Pride and gluttony, along with self-satisfaction have taken us over. By our voluntary hunger and the rumbling of our stomachs, we begin to see our tempers flare and our sinfulness rear its ugly head. When we see our true selves in this way, we can reconvene our surrender to Christ. By such surrender, we begin anew to see our neighbor with God’s eyes, to serve with God’s hands, to hear with God’s ears. And thus we can also reconvene our plea for Grace. When our stomach rumbles, we make our prayer something like this, “Lord, I thank you that today I have the blessing to choose to be hungry. Help me in my bounty to serve those who are hungry today not by choice of their own…” This is the true meaning of the 40 day fast.

The Nativity Fast, like Great Lent, is not “40 days of individuality” where Johnny chooses to give up beer (which he doesn’t drink anyway) and Suzie gives up chocolate. No, inherent in the Fast is the understanding that no one is saved alone. One can only be saved in community. The Orthodox Church has been living ‘40 days of community’ for nearly two millennia.

During this season, we might even ask the question in contemporary terms, “40 days, what’s the purpose?” The purpose is Communion with God, and love of neighbor, epitomized in holiness—the Christian perfection to which our Lord Himself has called us, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) and “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).

God has taught us, through the prophet Isaiah, not only what the true meaning of fasting is, but has revealed Himself to us as the very fulfillment of it:

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard” (Isaiah 58:6ff).

And so, on December 25, we will once again celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ, the One who has loosed the chains, who has offered His very self as the Bread of life, and who offers life to those dead in sin. Our fasting, having come to an end, turns into feasting, as the light overcomes the darkness since the True light, Jesus Christ, has come into the world.

Thanksgiving 2005

2005-11-18T10:08:00.000-05:00

By Fr. John Parker
Appeared in the Moultrie News on 16 November 2005

If your household is like mine when I was growing up, Thanksgiving Day was an occasion of significant liturgy—a sacred family ritual repeated annually. At least from the time of my early teens, I remember arising on that Thursday every November as if it were a Sunday. Already my parents would have been working for a few hours preparing and stuffing the turkey which would begin to cook while we were off at church. Because of the inherent Christian themes of the holiday, without question we would attend the church service where we would sing those hymns which have become so famous around this celebration: “Come, ye thankful people, come…” The priest would wear his stole with the wheat and wine motif, evidence of our thanks for the harvest, with overt theological reference to the bread and wine of communion.

After church we would race home to check the turkey, whose pleasant, basted aroma had already filled the house in our absence. My mother would prepare the rest of the ritual meal, which remains nearly unchanged to this day: candied sweet potatoes served with marshmallows; green bean casserole topped with crispy, Durkee fried onions; curried fruit, cranberry sauce, and pitted black olives. There were only three times a year that we used my great-grandmother’s fine china: Christmas, Easter, and today. My younger brother and I were even given the privilege of drinking our milk or soda from the beautiful antique crystal glasses, whose rims were encircled in real gold. (They never went in the dishwasher!)

Equally a part of all this ritual was the watching of football, the removing of the electric carving knife—still in its original 1968 box, the sampling of the hot turkey put out to cool, and the pilfering of olives one by one before dinner (between my father and me). This, of course, was always followed by the rhetorical question, “Okay, who has eaten all the olives?”

Once the meal was served, we were seated. My father always said grace, beginning with his oft repeated words, “We thank Thee, Heavenly Father for all the many blessings…” Thereafter we would gorge ourselves, as if there weren’t going to be 10 pounds of turkey-and-fixins left over for tomorrow. Following supper, we would make room for two or three varieties of pie, topped with ice cream. The inevitable statement would finally be made: “I’ll never eat again.”

More and more in these United States, we know what it is to feast. Whether it be a Thanksgiving meal as I have described above (which is probably ‘average’) or a regular meal at a restaurant (where one plate could serve two or three), indulgence is on the rise. It is seen in our meals, in our house and car purchases, in our discretionary spending—feasting on ‘prosperity’. Indeed, even flat-screen and plasma televisions are becoming the norm, along with paying upwards of $100 a month for varying cable or satellite tv service.

But do we know truly what it is to feast? There is a teaching which says that one cannot know what it is to feast unless he or she knows what it is to fast—to lack, to be in need, especially voluntarily. If the plate is always more than full, if the cup always ‘runneth over’, if there is never a need, do we actually feast? Or has our feasting, once rooted in true thankfulness, morphed ever so subtly into gluttony in all facets of life?

Fasting—self-denial in general—is an all-but-forgotten practice in our society today. We are told by clever marketers that we “deserve” all kinds of things: a bigger house, a newer car, a fuller plate, a more lavish vacation. And to assist us in obtaining all that we “deserve”, sly money-lenders will give us all the credit we want in order to buy things now. I even noticed that one can use a ‘pay-pass’ at McDonald’s, originally designed to help streamline traffic on heavily traveled toll roads. One doesn’t even have to wait the short amount of time we once had to for a fast food burger.

Fasting and self-denial are not ends in and of themselves. The purpose of fasting is not to diet or to drop a few pounds, even though with fasting comes a certain weight loss. The goal of self-denial is not to pat oneself on the back and say, “hey, I went 40 days without eating meat.” Believe it or not, though, there is much that we truly can go without! Rather, the aims of these disciplines are these: to soften the heart, to open our eyes to see true need, to teach our tongue to speak words that build up and don’t tear down, to teach us that we control our stomachs and bodies—rather than our stomachs and bodies governing us.

If we are truly thankful, especially at this sacred time on our secular calendar, then let us show such gratitude not in word only, but also in deed. Yes, let us gather together in families and neighborhoods, enjoying one another’s company and thanking God, from whom all blessings flow. But let us not forget to fast in all sincerity—to deny ourselves for some length time, to break the bonds of instant gratification, in order to have our eyes and ears and hearts and wallets open to those in need—those who have no full choice regarding hunger, clothing, shelter, and basic human needs. And the occasions of such self-denial, let our prayer be, “O Lord, I thank you today that I am hungry by choice. Grant me through your abundant grace to go into my community and to share freely all that You have freely given me, that I may know truly what it is to feast, at the never ending Heavenly Banquet in your Kingdom. Amen.”

Building Holy Ascension

2005-11-15T12:02:00.000-05:00

November 15, 2005

Will you help us build?
See the renderings at www.ocacharleston.org/building.html

Christ is in our midst! God grant us a blessed fast. This week’s newsletter is a summary of Sunday’s all-parish meeting. Please contact Fr. John Parker or Chuck Bates if you have questions, concerns, ideas, suggestions, or corrections. In order to keep it as brief as possible, it is written in a rather staccato fashion. Please forgive me!

Building Status: building permits expected end of November, 1st week in December. Mike Colarusso to be our contractor. To sign not-to-exceed contract of $950,000. We expect construction to be less with value-engineering and gifts-in-kind at construction. Bank willing to loan us $500,000. Present building fund: $197,000.

Goal: We are seeking to raise an additional $300,000 by the Nativity of our Lord, December 25. Our efforts coincide with our 40 day fast beginning today.

The Plan: Chuck Bates and others have proposed to have each ‘giving unit’ (as the bank calls a family or single individual. I don’t like the term, but we’ll use it for sake of ease.) who is of a willing heart (see Exodus 35) take responsibility for raising an additional $10,000. This is not a contract or requirement; it is a mutual request of all of us. Some may raise more, some less. Some will participate, some will not. We are asking for willing hearts. By Christmas, we hope that, with everyone taking responsibility for a piece, we can finish with the full amount needed to build. We are not asking one another to give this money from our own pockets, although some may choose to do so. Rather, we are asking the whole parish to dig deep, think hard, and participate together to this end. Several ideas will be attached to this report.

Some Notable Moments: At the request of one parishioner, we passed around papers to all who would make an educated guess at what each could raise by 12/25. With sixteen of eighteen or twenty ‘units’ reporting, $84,200 was ‘offered’. A number of parishioners and friends were unable to join us Sunday. We are confident that we all will be pleasantly surprised by the end results. Let’s remember the end of the Exodus 35 story: so many were generous of heart and interested in helping that Moses had to ask the people to stop because they had too much to complete the tabernacle! Imagine!

These questions were raised: If finances are a struggle at this level, is this the building to build? We believe, after much prayer and many, many months of diligent labor that this is the building to build. Many hours have been spent by numbers of parishioners to choose this design over others. For practical as well as architectural reasons, it is neither wise nor possible to build the parish hall first, and then the church later. We would have to redesign the present plans to do so, which would likely cost at least $20,000. In the end, we would have a parish hall not much bigger than our present storefront, and thus would have paid a lot of money out and be no further along than we are today.

Is now the time? We believe that the time is now for many reasons. For much of this year, we have averaged 40 on Sundays, with attendance as high as 61 at Pascha. 57 attended this past Sunday. Statistically, we cannot grow beyond this in this size space. One option is to move, but we chose I’On because this is where the church will ultimately be. And presently, we are spending $1700/month in rent. This would be better spent in a mortgage of our own. Additionally, the cost of construction will not decrease, and the price of money will likely not decrease either. Two years from now, the struggle would be the same, proportionately to today. But we need the space today!

A Time to remember our past and think about the future: Many, many of our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents were called to the same holy task: those who are generous and willing of heart, draw near to build the temples of God in this country. It was not easy then—dollars were hard to come by and materials were expensive. Our relatives toiled long hours in mines and mills. They made thousands of dollars by selling hand-made comestibles. They dedicated immeasurable amounts of their free time to lay brick, pour concrete, paint walls, install tile, paint icons, etc. They gave large sums of what little they had to the glory of God. The legacy of their labors of love are sprinkled about the northeast and in other parts of the USA. Many of us visit, worship, and serve in these churches still when we return to our hometowns.

We are now the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. We have come to a ‘new’ land—the South (new to Orthodoxy, not us!). We have before us the same holy task that faced our forebears: to build the most beautiful Orthodox possible, to the glory of God, in which to worship Him, and by which to help introduce our neighbors to the fullness of the Christian Gospel. It is not easy, like it was not easy then. For a number of us, dollars are sparse and materials are costly.

We have put forth and incredible effort which has produced much fruit thus far. Already our small parish has raised over a quarter of a million dollars, of which over $196,000 remains in our bank account (the other has been spent on costs like architectural and engineering work, rent, etc.). There remains before us still a significant amount of work, especially as we prepare to take the step of faith to build.

I ask us all to take this fast more seriously and soberly than ever. We prepare ourselves to welcome the King of Kings into the world. We anticipate the moment of “God with us”—the coming of Emmanuael, Jesus Christ our Lord. On Sunday, we heard the lawyer in the Gospel ask, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” The central, communal way in which we love the Lord our God is by worshipping Him in the most beautiful place we can offer. The second is by serving Him through in the ‘least of these’—the poor, the suffering, the needy, the hopeless. The former we strive for in our building efforts and in our prayerful devotion in our present space. The latter is to be the fruit of the true fast. Let us not aim for one and neglect the other, but strive to Love God and Neighbor together!

God be bountiful to us and bless us, and let the light of His countenance shine upon us, and be merciful unto us!

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. John+

Nativity Fast

2005-11-08T10:37:00.000-05:00

The Nativity Fast begins on Tuesday, November 15, continuing for the 40 days which are completed with the Divine Liturgy on Christmas Day, December 25. “Little lent” is a time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as we reorient our lives once again to “the Orient from on High”, Jesus Christ. Prayer without fasting is incomplete. Fasting without prayer is dieting. Prayer and fasting without almsgiving is spiritual selfishness. Below are some very helpful sayings from the Desert Fathers which will help us to see the true nature and purpose of fasting:

Amma Syncletica said, “Just as bitter medicine drives out poisonous creatures, so prayer and fasting drive away evil thoughts” (#4).

Abba Poemen heard of someone who had gone all week without eating and lost his temper. The old man said, “He could do without food for six days, but could not do without anger” (#203).

Abba John the Dwarf said, “If a king wants to take possession of a city he begins by cutting off water and food and so his enemies, dying of hunger, submit to him. So it is with sinful passions. If a person goes about fasting and hungry, the enemies of his soul grow weak and surrender” (#3).

“It is better to eat meat and drink wine, and not eat the flesh of one’s neighbors through slander” (Hyperechius, 2).

One day St. Epiphanius…sent someone to Abba Hilarion with this request, “Come, let us see one another before we depart from this life.” When the old man came, they rejoice together in each other’s company. During their meal, they were brought a fowl. Epiphanius took it and gave it to Hilarion to eat. The old man said to him, “Forgive me, but since I received the habit, I have not eaten meat.” Then the bishop answered, “Since I took the habit, I have not allowed anyone to go to sleep with a complaint against me, and I have not gone to rest with a complaint against anyone.” The old man replied, “Forgive me, your way of life is better than mine” (#4).

Death, Halloween, and Christianity

2005-10-30T19:39:00.000-05:00

Ancient Christianity Confronts Death and Halloween
By Fr. John Parker

I remember well walking the streets of our cozy steel-mill suburb of Pittsburgh with our two and four year-old sons in a wagon, flanked by our neighbors and their children as we went off trick-or-treating. Without leaving even the first block I thought, “Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore!” Whole front yards had been dug up and were re-made to look like cemeteries with carved headstones. Adults lay in the homemade graves with chainsaws, jumping up and revving their power tools, scaring children to death. Others would hide in bushes with plastic (thank God) machetes, wearing ripped clothing and dripping with fake blood. When the children would approach, they’d stumble out. Of course other houses had the standard cobwebs, skulls and goblins. Any number of them had those yard decorations which look like a half-buried man trying to free himself from the crypt. Halloween there was all of this---not to mention the costumes of folks going house to house.

Lest we pridefully suggest that this doesn’t happen here—take a look around in your neighborhood. Such ‘decoration’ is on the rise even in the beautiful low country. One doesn’t even have to go outside. Just read the mail. How about the front page of a local costume store advertisement: “Angel of Darkness”, modeled by a teenage-looking girl, boasting a scant miniskirt—all black—with a mesh-like, low cut, v-neck top, complete with shimmering red lipstick and a 4 inch crucifix. All of this and more will be seen here in our town—children of all ages parading the streets, many dressed in the most gruesome, ‘realistic’ costumes.

Contrast this to the average contemporary funeral. Many adults won’t even let their children even go to the viewing of a deceased parent, grandparent, or friend. Others won’t let their children go to a burial. “I don’t know how they would handle death,” they explain. Or, more often, “they are too young to face death.” Today, strangely enough, most embalmed corpses look more alive than they did in the last months and years of their lives—an ironic contrast to the zombies and un-dead we’ll see on Halloween.

What is the lesson we learn from our society? It is okay to play dead. It is acceptable and fun to masquerade in gruesome costumes, to scare even the smallest child—or to subject one’s small child to such fright. And it is normal to pretend that real death doesn’t exist.

But from the most ancient times, this is not the Christian view. Death was never a ‘market niche’, as Halloween and funeral choices have become today. Halloween is the second most lucrative shopping ‘season’ of the year, while funeral options now range from putting one’s favorite sports team on a custom casket to having one’s dead relative or pet turned into a diamond. (How far we’ve come—from, “the ring was my grandmother’s” to “the ring is my grandmother”.)

Death was never entertainment. Consider a show advertised on primetime television on 10/13 showing a young woman referring to another woman’s attempted suicide by drowning in a tub “the most romantic” idea she’d heard of recently. The woman was attempting to be ‘one’ with her dead boyfriend. What does this teach the viewer about death? About life?

In the ‘old days’, two things were sure: death and taxes. Today, some evade taxes, and most attempt to evade death. Americans spend billions of dollars each year attempting to make the dead look living and the living look dead in late October.

Not a market niche. Not entertainment. No, death was, and is, a sad reality. Everyone who is born is guaranteed to die. Death is to be hated. According to St. Paul, “the last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26). Death is the ultimate enemy of man.

So, for 2000 years, the holiest Christians have taught us always to keep our death before us—to remember that we are going to die. An ancient Christian evening prayer says, “O Master who loves mankind, will not this couch [bed] be my grave?” Some monks throughout the centuries have even slept in coffins. But let it be understood that this wasn’t a game or a fettish. These prayers and actions were to remind a Christian that we have this life only (and in an unknown-to-us amount) to love and serve both God and our neighbor—to live life well, and in so doing, to prepare for our judgment. Do we live like this?

Halloween, in its present day state, links death with fear and fear with death. It is an evening, now prepared for as a ‘season’, which scars the mind, the memory, and the soul by its adrenaline-rush ‘thrills’ of haunted maize mazes, skeletons in the yard, and increasing gore. Whatever its connection is or was to ancient pagan rituals or baptized Christian fetes (the eve of Western Christianity’s All Saints Day, hence “All Hallow’s Even”—Halloween), this is no more. The simplicity of walking through the neighborhood dressed as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell to collect candy in an old pillowcase is rapidly being supplanted by horror, pranks, and in numerous places even a gruesome eve of Halloween often called “Mischief Night”. That evening is filled with violence, arson, looting, and crime.

Many funerals now, instead of being the committal of a family member into the hands of God, are now further displays of decadence and individuality, if not attempted ‘immortality’. Thousands and thousands of dollars are buried in the ground in high-end caskets, trimmed in the finest metals, sealed almost hermetically in lead or stainless vaults. So much for “dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return”.

Christians are called to remember death, not to fear it or commercialize it. In fact, Jesus Christ conquered death by his own death and resurrection. Orthodox Christians hymn this joyous truth every year, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” We all die, but that death does not have to be permanent. This is the Gospel. It is precisely this remembrance of death which leads Orthodox Christian to pray so frequently in their services, “for a Christian ending to our lives, painless, blameless, and peaceful, and for a good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ”.

More and more, our society is replacing reality with ‘virtual reality’, death with faux life, truth with lies. Perhaps, once again, we can recapture a night and even an industry devoted to imitating and commercializing death to a remembrance of this inevitable end to each of our lives, and in so doing, to live the virtuous life, loving God and neighbor.

Fr. John Parker is priest-in-charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Mt. Pleasant. He can be reached at frjohn@ocacharleston.org or by phone at 843-881-5010.

Purity

2005-10-10T14:31:00.000-05:00

Buried in Sunday’s Epistle reading from 2 Cor. 6 are two simple words, ways in which Christians are to commend themselves: “by purity”. Has purity been lost today? How do the following demonstrate or reject purity? Today’s fashion. Today’s movies. Today’s television. Today’s music.

Purity is a divine trait, a characteristic of holiness, to which every human being is called, especially Christians. We accept as willing servants of Christ to lay down our will and our sinful desires to be in communion with God.

Purity is a state of the heart. Purity is the deep desire to know nothing but God. To serve no one but Him. The pure inner state of heart is to be reflected outwardly in our dress, in our words, in our deeds—in every facet of our lives as a witness to the Purity of God.

To whom do the saints in the Icons point? To themselves? No icon of the Mother of God, or of any other saint, indicates, “look at me!” How much more are we who are living called not to point or draw attention to our selves, but rather to point to Christ? So, how do we dress? Do we call attention to ourselves? Are our clothes tight and revealing? Subtly or overtly seductive? On the other end of the spectrum, are they sloppy and torn? By our piercings and hairstyles are we trying to gain an image for ourselves? (These questions are for men and women alike!) Purity does not attract attention to itself. Consider even the words of the Prophet Isaiah, speaking of the coming Messiah, Jesus: “he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus didn’t come as some macho, super-buff sports star. He came as one we might (and do!) miss, if we weren’t looking for Him. The Mother of God was not a super-model, bone thin, in low-cut clothes, attracting attention to herself. Rather, she was humble, simple, unassuming and submitted to the Divine will in purity, chastity, and holiness. Should we be any different?

Garbage in, garbage out. Who are our models? Our Lord? His mother? The saints? More often than not, not these, but rather some stellar athlete, a diva, a supermodel or a Hollywood actor. When we fill our lives—our minds, our eyes and ears, our souls with secular media which promotes porneia (unchastity), adultery, gluttony, sloth, selfishness, lust, and pride, how can we expect to be made pure in an instant at the Chalice or at confession?

Purity is not a rejection of the body, or of sex, or of being in shape or of music or tv or movies in general. These all can be good. Rather, purity is the body, sex—life—rightly understood. It is the self—indeed the whole life—offered first in total innocence to God, and then, in measured ways to others. Measured both in quantity and type.

Where has purity gone? God grant is to recognize our rejection of it, and to turn and live in manners holy and pleasing to Him.