Feast day of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Grace like a flame shining forth from thy mouth has illumined the universe, and disclosed to the world treasures of poverty and shown us the height of humility. And as by thine own words thou teachest us, Father John Chrysostom, so intercede with the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls.

 

About the picture

The picture at the top of this blog is the Roman prison cell where St. Peter was held prior to his crucifixion on the inverted cross. The round hole in the floor is a spring–spontaneously appearing when the guards assigned to St. Peter believed in the Lord and desired to be baptized.

 

A proper order

This past weekend I had a wonderful conversation with my sister’s brother-in-law (what does that make him…my brother in-law-in-law?), a really smart guy and a fellow church nerd. I always enjoy the conversation with him, even if he is an unfortunate Calvinist, because I usually end up talking about Orthodoxy, which is my favorite thing.

We got to talking about the Great Schism and the nearly 1000 of separation between East and West. As we discussed the filioque–that key phrase “and the Son” that sparked, in part the split–I had an epiphany.

The western church does not know what to do with the Holy Spirit. EVER. It is always inviting Him in, asking for His help, or spending whole series of sermons and services trying to figure out Who He is and what He does. And I’m going to blame the filioque for that. Here’s why…

When they changed the words in the Nicene Creed from “proceeds from the Father and with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified…” to “proceeds from the Father and the Son and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified…” it made the whole thing linear–God the Father on top, Jesus in the middle and the Holy Spirit bringing up the rear–or it inverted the triangle, putting the Holy Spirit in a completely subservient position. In the Eastern Church, that relationship is more triangular: God the Father as the head and the Son and the Holy Spirit proceeding from Him. And it is easier to see unity in the three points of a triangle than in three dots on a line. And putting the Holy Spirit on the bottom of the triangle can cause one to see it as a sort of spiritual lackey.

Much of what constituted church in my protestant experience consisted of either being wary of too much Holy Spirit (Baptists…Holy Ghost) or obsessing over His every movement and trying to conjure Him up with praise-and-worship songs repeated ad nauseum and overly-emotional praying/hand-waving and even banner-waving.  And yet He remained elusive to most people, frustratingly mysterious in an almost stubborn refusal to be known. Scott mentioned the Pentecostals and how they seem to have it all figured out, but I reminded him that many of those denominations have a stubborn modalistic streak. Because they believe that God exists in one phase at one time–the Father in the OT, Jesus in the NT and the Holy Spirit now–there is no confusion because they are only dealing with the one way. But since that was long ago declared a heresy, and on that all orthodox Christians agree, that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

One of the things attractive to me about Orthodoxy was its balance: everything works in harmony. And as I talked with Scott, it dawned on me that part of that is that everything we believe flows out of that great statement of faith, the Nicene Creed, minus those three little words “and the Son.” We don’t worry about the “work of the Holy Spirit” in that we don’t spend a lot of time wondering where He is and what He’s doing. We are not spending tons of time inviting Him to come and worship with us or lead us in our worship. We know He’s there. We know exactly where He is and we know that He is part of what binds our Church together and does the work of the Father in us. The Orthodox view of the Trinity: God the Father (God above me), God the Son (God beside me) and God the Holy Spirit (God within me and within the Church).

An Orthodox prayer:

My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, My protection is the Holy Spirit. All Holy Trinity, Glory to Thee.

Thoughts?

 

Thoughts on my day…

May I spend my 36th year on this planet living like this…

MANIFESTO: THE MAD FARMER LIBERATION FRONT
by Wendell Berry

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion – put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

 

The need for unmercenaries

If you’re a Facebook friend, you’ve probably seen me tangle quite frequently over the need for health care reform and my support of government involvement in this area if the Church is not going to step forward and do its job.

As this debate has gone on, one of the things which has truly surprised me has been this debate over whether or not health care is a right. I think it is. I know it is. And I am absolutely gobsmacked by the inability of well-intentioned people, most of them God-fearing Christians to see this.  But the disagreement pushed me toward a deeper reflection of why I feel this way, particularly why I feel so strongly. It also made me reflect on my faith and its role in forming my worldview.

Because of the disagreements, I feel like I must offer some kind of explanation as to how and why I believe this. Here goes.

As an Orthodox Christian, I believe, with my whole heart, that we are made in the image of God. The story of creation and the fall is a story of the creation of man by a Holy and Righteous God who for some reason created us in His image, who put His fingerprints all over our souls and our minds. The fall is the destruction and defacing of this image. The story of redemption is about the restoration of that likeness, of making us back into that which we once were and are intended to be.

One of the ways in which that image of God reveals itself, one of the ways in which we are different from all other created beings is HUMAN DIGNITY. And it’s hard to define, hard to explain, but we know what it is and we know when it has been violated. One of the reasons torture is so wrong is that it debases the dignity of both the tortured and the torturer. All violent crimes violate that dignity. And abortion is the ultimate violation of the dignity–denying personhood before it is even realized.

Being able to take care of one’s self is an important part of that dignity.  Being able to provide for one’s own needs and the needs of those we love is also an important part of that dignity. Nothing violates it more than helplessness.  And being helpless in the face of medical needs, and I’m talking basic medical needs like stuff that needs antibiotics and having a tooth pulled, also violates that dignity.

When the uninsured are standing in line in the cold and dark outside of  a fair ground so they can get antibiotics for their bronchitis or having to file bankruptcy because they had the temerity to contract cancer, this violates human dignity.  It has been said to me “well, they can go on Medicare/Medicaid.” That requires that they not work, that they not be able to provide for their families and loved ones. And that too is a violation of human dignity. (An aside…I love it when this comment is made by those who criticize those who use our welfare system. The irony is often lost on them.)

The single mother working as a clerk at the Wal-Mart and then waiting tables at the Bob Evans so she can feed her children probably forgoes health care/health insurance for herself. She probably doesn’t get treatment for basic ailments that then become serious and violate the financial and physical setting of her family. The laid-off factory worker with a wife and three kids at home, unable to afford to continue his COBRA coverage, is forced to figure out what he’s going to do because the cap fell off his tooth and he’s in excruciating pain.

These things are an affront to human dignity. Therefore, these things are an affront to the image of God in us. Therefore, these things are an affront to God Himself. Jesus spent an inordinate amount of time healing the sick. There was a reason for that. One of the most moving stories in all of Holy Scripture is the woman with the “issue of blood” receiving grace and healing from our Lord. Her illness placed her outside the community, her dignity damaged by the pervasive loneliness and shame she no doubt felt, so ashamed she sneaked up to Christ and touched the hem of His garment while He wasn’t looking.

All these, the working poor, the mentally challenged who are kept healthy by Medicaid, and the underinsured who can’t afford their deductibles, established by a system counting on them never using the care they already paid for, all these are made in the image of God. All these are important to Him and all of these must be important to us. We have to do something. Health care, because it directly goes to the dignity of each person made in the image of God, is a right. And that right is our responsibility.

In the Holy Orthodox Church, there is a tradition of saints called “unmercinaries”–men and women who were either healers or physicians who contrary to the practices of their time DID NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT for their services.

It’s time.

 

For Salvation

Sunday I found myself at a wonderful little Missionary Church for the dedication of a family member’s children. It was truly touching and joyous event.  But of course, I couldn’t help but think of the first Sacrament of the Holy Orthodox Church–baptism, done most frequently to babies.

During the service, the pastor said “Of course, this is not for their salvation.” Oh boy. Here we go…

Yes…yes, it is. Even by the Protestant construct, it is, in fact, salvific.  Hang with me here.  Because these two Christian parents are taking this step, dedicating their children, promising to raise them up in the care and admonition of the Lord, those children will most likely come into contact with God’s love and grace in a way that so many children will not. They will hear the “Plan of Salvation,” they will be baptized. They will take communion. They will learn the stories of the heroes of the faith, and how to walk with Christ. They will be saved. So, one can argue that yes, in fact, dedicating your children in the Protestant sense is “for their salvation.”

And that, my friends, is sacramental. These things we do, these promises we make, these pledges to honor, to obey, to submit, to follow God on His terms, work for our Salvation. Period. Just like the “wages of sin is death” is not so much a legal description but rather a cold, hard statement of fact, it is true that, even apart from the Orthodox understanding of the transmission of God’s grace through the sacraments, Protestant actions are FOR SALVATION.

By any construct, salvation is a process, beginning at childhood and continuing until our deaths.

 

Muttering on the way to work

I always hint a bit about my work…mostly the ways it wears on me and leaves things sticking to me like burrs. In recent weeks, I lost another priest to parish conflict (bleh) but was re-acquainted with a priest I knew from my days at St. John’s. He’s a former police officer and bomb squad member so he’s kinda been there, done that.

During confession, yet one more time, I talked about my struggles with anger and just generally being a crappy person and Fr. George offered up the best advice–praying the Jesus Prayer on the way to work.

So for the past few weeks I’ve shut off my NPR and my CD’s and been saying, out loud, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

I cannot adequately describe what a difference it has made, just on my mindset. And that’s what Orthodoxy is about–changing me. Making me like Jesus. And if you want to get your mind off what everyone else is doing, put it on what you yourself need, everyday: Salvation, mercy, grace. Praying the prayer that has been prayed by others in the exact same mindset, struggling with the exact same things allows me to not worry about my words, or coming up with something nice to say to God, but instead to focus on what needs to be done. The prayer recognizes the position of Christ, the saving work of Christ and my constant need to submit myself to Him and what He wants for me.

So for the foreseeable future I won’t be catching up with the BBC. I’ll be throwing myself at the feet of my Savior, keeping things in proper perspective.

 

Blog is moving

But have no fear…it should mean easier posting, which could mean more posting. COULD mean.

http://rsgreen30.wordpress.com

 

Christos Vozkrese!

From the Paschal homily of St. John Chrysostom:

Let no one fear death, for the Saviour’s death has set us free.

He that was taken by death has annihilated it! He descended into hell and took hell captive! He embittered it when it tasted his flesh! And anticipating this Isaiah exclaimed, “Hades was embittered when it encountered thee in the lower regions.” It was embittered, for it was abolished! It was embittered, for it was mocked! It was embittered, for it was purged! It was embittered, for it was despoiled! It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!

It took a body and, face to face, met God! It took earth and encountered heaven! It took what it saw but crumbled before what it had not seen!

“O death, where is thy sting? O hades, where is thy victory?”

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!

Voistina Vozkrese!

 

Imagine with me if you will…

Christ died. Every. single. year. I am struck by that. Christ, one of the Holy Trinity. died.

From the Lamentations (Matins of Great and Holy Saturday)
Let awe and wonder shake the heavens
and let the earth’s foundations quake
For He who dwells in the heavens is laid
within a dark and dismal tomb
And numbered among the dead…

Can you imagine this from the point of view of those long-dead? From the perspective of the demons?

The hymns we sang tonight talked about the chaos that likely ensued when Christ descended into hell and freed the captives. For like two seconds it looked like evil and death had triumphed, but then He-who-created-the-world showed up.

So for me, for those of us here on earth, Christ is dead and in the tomb. But there’s so much more going on.