Saturday, August 29, 2009

Half Empty or Half Full?


Half empty or half full? We've all heard the analogy. Let me rework it. I've had the opportunity over the years to either be a part of, or at least be around, many different subcultures within the Christian community. From snake handlers to Sword of the Lorders to Jesus Freaks to fried chicken loving low country Baptists to painted up high gloss (or dressed down ) Rick Warrenites to high church Brooks Brothers Episcopalians, I've been around, been a part of, or seen it all. One thing that does stand out is that every group seems to have a unique definition of what being "good" is. All would basically ascribe to the basic tenets of the Ten Commandments, but each tweaks what is acceptable, and what is not. Many of the differences center around what we can eat or drink, or what we do with our money. In other words: can I drink alcohol or eat pork, can I smoke, can I drive a Cadillac or do I have to drive a Chevrolet, or how long does my hem line have to be, or do I even have to wear a dress at all, or can I wear makeup and, if so how much, can I play bingo or the lottery, and how much money do I have to give to the church?

It is commendable that people try to do good things. But, when they start tallying up their good points versus their neighbor's is when the trouble begins. Folks begin to see their spiritual glass as more full than their neighbor's if they think that they are doing more of the things that they believe to be good and less of the things that they perceive to be bad. The sad part is that many of the people doing the comparing (or being compared to) may not be that virtuous anyway. We may be blind to their faults, their sins, and their motivations. We might even have a misguided sense of what we should emulate, or what we should flee from. The result is a healthy dose of pride that has the effect of overriding any of the good that our "goodness" might produce.

On the other hand, the Orthodox glass is always half empty. Actually, the Orthodox glass is practically empty. There may be one little drop in the bottom of our spiritual glass. We are encouraged in a multitude of ways to compare ourselves first to the life and example of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then to the lives of those people who, by consensus, are considered "Saints". (By the way, we also accept the New Testament sense of what a "saint" is.) These are people who acquired a closeness to God in this life beyond others, and who are illuminated by the work of the Holy Spirit. They performed miracles of various sorts in their earthly life, and they and their relics perform miracles after they repose. Their bodies do not undergo decay and produce other wonders from within the grave.

Comparing ourselves to these people one realizes that our lives are incredibly far from where God wants then to be. There is no room for comparison, and there is no place for pride to spring up within us. At the same time, we are to stand in front of icons of these great saints and be reminded of how high the standard is. From their icons they beckon to us to walk a path that will lead us to where they are.

We are also prohibited from comparing ourselves to the person standing next to us in church. The story of the publican and the sinner standing in the Temple is taken very seriously. We are to be concerned with our own spiritual state and to cry out, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner." As the Lord Jesus Christ chastised St. Peter when we asked what was to become of St. John, so we are chastised when we become embroiled in someone else's spiritual business. We are encouraged to see our glass as empty, and devote our energies to living a Godly life, waiting to be filled by the grace and mercy of God.

It is a breath of fresh air to be around Orthodox believers. There is no competition, no sense of competition to be more "Godly", and no whispering about who is doing what. Come along with me and raise your near empty glass.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Story of St. Adrianos and St. Natalia


A name day is the day on which an Orthodox Christian celebrates the feast of his patron saint. If possible, one will attend Liturgy or another church service on their name day. Another tradition is for the family to include the saint's troparion and/or kontakion in the family's prayers. The icon of the saint is displayed prominently, usually on the family altar. Often, gifts are given to the person whose name day is being celebrated, as this day is seen to be more important than a (secular) birthday.

My wife and I were allowed to choose the names of a pair of saints who happened to be married. We did this because we had started our spiritual walk to Orthodoxy together and we felt that the story of this couple was a beautiful and moving one. Our name day is 26 August, and here is the story of our patron saints:

In the fourth century, the Roman Emperor Maximian cruelly persecuted all Christians. In a cave near Nicomedia in Asia Minor some Christians were hiding, and singing and praying the whole night to God. Maximian's soldiers seized these Christians, beat them and brought them in iron chains to the place of judgment, One of their chief judges, a young man by the name of Adrianos, seeing how patiently and how willingly the Christians suffered for their faith, asked what reward they expected to receive from their God for such tortures.' The holy martyrs replied: "It is written in Scripture that 'eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has it entered the heart of man those things which God has prepared for those who love Him'" (I Cor. 2:9). Hearing these words, Adrianos walked out into the middle of the holy martyrs and said to the scribes who were recording the names of the martyrs: "Write down my name also together with those of these holy men, for I too am a Christian and shall die for Christ God in their company!" And immediately the scribes sent a message to the emperor informing him that Adrianos had declared himself to be a Christian and was asking them to inscribe his name among those of the condemned.

On hearing this, the emperor marveled and was filled with rage; and, summoning Adrianos into his presence, he asked him: "Have you taken leave of your senses, Adrianos? Or do you also desire a wicked end?" "No, I have not taken leave of my senses," he replied. "But, on the contrary, l have left great insanity behind me and I have finally attained to true and full mental health." "Do not argue," cried the emperor . "It would be better to ask forgiveness, to acknowledge before all that you have sinned, and to cross your name from the list of the condemned." "From now on," replied Adrianos, "I shall entreat the true God, that He forgive me the sins I committed as a pagan." Enraged all the more by Adrianos' words, the emperor Maximian then commanded that he be weighed down with iron chains and cast into prison with the other martyrs, appointing the day on which he would give them all over to torture.

When Adrianos' wife Natalia was told of her husband's conversion to Christ and of his imprisonment, instead of being sad, she greatly rejoiced for she was secretly a Christian herself and she knew the joy which now filled her husband's heart. She ran to the prison and, falling down at the feet of her husband, she kissed his chains and said, "Blessed are you, my Adrianos; you have found such a treasure." When Adrianos was brought before the Emperor and threatened with torture if he did not worship the pagan gods, Natalia and the other martyrs encouraged him saying: "Having been found worthy to carry your own cross and to follow Christ, take care that you do not turn back and lose your eternal reward."

Adrianos courageously endured the tortures and was returned to the prison. Natalia, and other pious women, would come and help the prisoners, cleaning and bandaging their wounded bodies. When the emperor found out about this, he forbade them to visit the prison. But Natalia had such love for the sufferers that she cut her hair and put on men's clothing. In this disguise she was able to enter the prison.

But when it became known to the emperor what the women had done, and also that the prisoners had weakened greatly as a result of their infected wounds and were barely alive, he commanded that there be brought to him at the prison an anvil and an iron hammer, that he might break the shins and arms of the martyrs, saying at that time: "Let them not die the violent death usual for such men!" And when the torturers and executioners came to the prison with the iron hammer and anvil, Natalia, seeing this and discovering the reason for their arrival, asked the servants that they begin with Adrianos, since she feared that her husband, seeing the cruel torture and death of the other martyrs, would become afraid.

The torturers went first to Adrianos. Then Natalia, lifting up her husband's legs, placed them on the anvil; the torturers shattered the martyr's shins and broke off his legs. "I beseech you, my lord, you servant of Christ," said Natalia, "while you are still alive, stretch forth your arm that they might break it, and you shall then be equal with the other martyrs who have suffered more than you have!" Adrianos stretched forth his arm to her, and she, taking it, set it upon the anvil. The torturer, striking the arm, broke it off, and immediately the holy Adrianos surrendered his soul into the hands of God, unable to endure further torment.

Having slain the Holy Adrianos, the torturers went with the anvil and hammer to the other martyrs, but they themselves placed their arms and legs on the anvil and said: "0 Lord, receive You our souls"

After this, the emperor commanded that the bodies of the martyrs be burned, that the Christians might not take them up and remove them for an honorable and Christian burial. But hearing of the emperor's command, Natalia secretly took her husband's arm and hid it so that it would not be burned. When the servants of the tyrant kindled a fire and carried the bodies of the holy martyrs out from the prison to be burned, Natalia and the other pious women followed behind them and gathered up the martyrs' blood in their costly garments and in bands of cloth. In this way preserving it, they anointed their own bodies with the blood. In addition to this, the women purchased from the servants of the emperor the martyrs' garments, which had been dyed with their blood. When the bodies of the saints were cast into the fire , the women cried out with tears: "Remember us, 0 our masters, in your everlasting repose!" But Natalia drew near to the fire, to cast herself upon it, desiring to offer herself up with her husband as a sacrifice to God, but she was restrained

Later, a pagan nobleman desired to marry Natalia. She cried and begged God to save her from this marriage. Having prayed fervently, Natalia fell from exhaustion and sorrow into a light sleep during which the holy martyrs appeared to her in a vision and said, "Peace be unto you. God has not forgotten your labors. We shall pray that you will come to us soon. Get on a ship and go to the place where our bodies are and the Lord will make Himself known to you."

Following their directions, the blessed Natalia reached Constantinople and going to the church where the bodies of the holy martyrs lay, she fell down before them and prayed. She was so tired from the journey that she fell asleep and saw in a dream her husband Adrianos, who said to her, "Come my beloved, and enjoy the reward of your labors." Very soon after this Natalia died peacefully in her sleep. Although she did not shed her own blood, she is numbered among the martyrs for having co-suffered with them, serving and encouraging them in their heroic struggles for the sake of Christ.

TROPARION:

Thou didst esteem the saving Faith as wealth that cannot be taken away, O thrice blessed one / And didst abandon the ungodliness of thy fathers / Thou didst accept the words of thy spouse and wast made radiant by thy contest, O glorious Adrian, / do thou entreat Christ God for us, / together with the Godly minded Natalia.

KONTAKION:

Having laid to heart the divine words of thy Godly minded spouse, / O Adrianos, martyr of Christ, / thou didst run ardently to the tortures, / and, with thy wife, didst receive a crown.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Joy of Spectacles


30 little boys composed my third grade class at Sycamore Park Elementary School. Mrs. Aylor said that she would have no trouble handling us because she had raised boys, and boys that had gone on to West Point. And, she was right. She did handle us! I was happy to sit near the front of the room. This has been a pattern of my life that has been followed through public school, college, graduate school, and anywhere else that I find myself, including church.

At some point in that third grade year I complained to my mother that I was having trouble seeing what was on the black board (actually they were in the green phase at that time). So, off little Jeff went to the eye doctor. My mother was horrified to find that I had triple digit vision. In other words, I was nearly blind. (I think that she still experiences some unfounded sense of guilt over this.)

I will never forget the day that I went to pick up my new glasses. I can remember walking outside the office, and glancing down at the parking lot. I exclaimed out loud, "Mom, I can see the rocks in the road!" And, indeed, I could see the rocks in the road. Apparently, up until that point they had just been a gray mass under my feet. Apparently, the trees had been green blurs, and the blue ridge mountains..., well, you get the point.

Life was all new for me from that day. There was the downside of glasses steaming up on humid or cold days, worrying about rain drops, and such things. But, these were insignificant compared to the beauty of God's creation that I could now really see for the first time. And, I didn't have to squint at the board any more.

Not being in an Orthodox church is akin to this experience. The general forms and shapes are there. But, the detail, the beauty, and the mystery is lacking. The day I walked into an Orthodox service was a day very much like the day that I put on my first pair of glasses. There was no going back.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Spurgeon, Study, and Spiritual Diets


I am beginning to realize how difficult it is to overcome our preconceptions (or predispositions) about the spiritual life. For the last few years I have been on a path that has taken me away from my evangelical past. But, as I move forward in Orthodoxy I can look back over my shoulder and see methods and thoughts from the past that are still hanging around. One that leaps out is putting too much trust and emphasis on study.


Reading and studying are important. There are few things I would rather do than read a good book. And, coming into the Orthodox life, it is important to read the church fathers, the scriptures, and those more contemporary writers who are recognized as having something to say to a modern Orthodox community. A temptation is to think that reading a book somehow conveys the perceived spirituality of the writer upon the reader. Years ago, I read a book by the famous English Baptist preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon. It was entitled, "Humility and How to Get It". I joked that I read the book, but that it hadn't worked. Sadly, reading the treasures of Orthodoxy could be equally ineffective without living the Orthodox life.


I have become a great fan of the books of Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos. In his book, "The illness and cure of the soul in the Orthodox tradition" he emphasizes that it is not enough to be a part of the externals of the spiritual life if one expects to receive the healing of soul that comes through the church. Rather, one must come to experience the inner aspects of the faith, an ascetic lifestyle that leads from purification of the heart, to illumination of the nous, to deification.


In other words, there is a time honored way to come to know God. It is not a philosophy, it is not a religion, it is not an ideology, and it is not a method. The way is found in that spiritual hospital known as the Orthodox Church. The therapy that leads from purification to illumination to deification includes partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, but it also involves making a decision to live the ascetic life under the authority of a spiritual father.


It is not enough for me to read the books of Orthodoxy. It's not enough to go to an Orthodox seminary, or even get a degree. Having the information deposited in my brain is not enough. I have to appropriate what is said. It's like reading a diet book. Reading the diet book won't help my weight control. I have to read the book and then start eating the way the book describes. And, I have to do it over a long amount of time, not over a day or a weekend, and certainly not when I feel like it. This is ascesis, this is discipline.


I'm learning that study (which has it's place) is more of a western than eastern concept. Orthodoxy is experiential, not intellectual per se. Granted, there have been some intellectual heavyweights who have written some of the foundational books of the faith. But, their illumination, and their vision of God's uncreated light is what makes them spiritually relevant, not their intellect. Living the spiritual life (actually praying, actually fasting, actually almsgiving, actually hoping in God's mercy) on a consistent, minute by minute basis, is essential therapy for my soul. That is what the great writers of the faith have done, and that is what we must do. Without turning away from the junk in my life, and turning toward the kingdom of heaven I will never be the person that God wants me to be. None of us will. Reading and studying is not enough. Living the life, and trusting in God's mercy is the only way.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Eighteen Inches Between Heaven and Hell

I've heard many protestant sermons about the famous "eighteen inches between heaven and hell", the idea that it is one thing to understand intellectually what we need to know to be saved versus internalizing that information into our heart. A verse that is often quoted is St. Paul saying, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." The place of the intellect in this is probably the most obvious. You have to know what to believe before you can believe, and before you can act (internally or externally) on that belief. The "heart part" is the more difficult one (intellectually and practically). In a protestant sermon it generally refers to somehow internalizing the message of the gospel and then acting upon it. However, any explanation of how this works is generally omitted. There is no precision in explaining how the heart operates. Peter Gillquist, of Campus Crusade for Christ fame, realized (along with hundreds of others from that camp) after many years that there was something wrong with the message. People knew the Bible, they knew many applications of the scriptures that were to enable them to live Christ-like lives. People were taught "spiritual breathing" to appropriate the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives, yet somehow after looking at thousands of examples, it was clear that the "method" was not working. For some reason, the heart was not being touched. His final solution, along with hundreds of others, was to join the Orthodox Church.


Since becoming orthodox, I have learned of the "nous". This is our spiritual receptor, that part of us that allows us to be in touch with the Divine. This is the part of us that allows an affecting of our heart so that we can be changed in the ways that our Triune God wants us to be changed. It seems to me that if our spiritual shepherds do not even know about the nous, and do not know what part it plays in our lives it is very unlikely that these shepherds can aid us in our lifelong quest for life in Christ. These shepherds may have the best of intentions, they may love us, but they don't have the staff to fend off our spiritual wolves.


As Metropolitan Hierotheos has pointed out, "the existence of the true Church is demonstrated by its success in curing man. We know from the teaching of the holy Fathers that the Church is the spiritual health centre, the spiritual hospital that cures man When we speak of illness and cure, we mean that the nous is ill and that it is cured. The cure of the nous is not independent of purification, illumination and deification. The aim of the Church is to cure this cognitive centre, so that man may attain the knowledge of God, which constitutes his salvation. Thus the existence of the true Church is shown by the degree of success by the results of the therapy. If it cures man, if it diagnoses the illness correctly and if it knows the way and method of therapy, then it is the true, not the secular, Church." He points out many examples of success, but this is outside our scope.


My point is this: it is rightly said that there are those important "eighteen inches", but unless one knows how to move across them to the heart, and once there has some idea of what to do, it becomes a futile exercise. It is very much like a doctor announcing that someone needs surgery, but then doing nothing about performing the surgery or recommending one who can. It's not enough just to acknowledge the problem. The result of this is a lifetime of frustration, as one knows that he is not where he wants to be spiritually, but yet he does not know what to do about it.


There has been much written about the nous. There is much that can be said. Google it for starters. Pick up a good book: anything by Metropolitan Hierotheos, or talk with an Orthodox priest or monk. That eighteen inches can be bridged, and it is a lifelong process.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Wheelchair or Little Red Wagon?


When my son was a youngster he found himself in the hospital for some surgery on his knee. When it was time to come home the doctor told him to climb up into a waiting wheelchair which would take him down to our car. Ian was adamant (as only a small boy can be) that he was not going to get into the wheelchair. After a few minutes it was clear that there was some deep seated conviction that was keeping him from the wheelchair. Finally, the doctor (who was a good surgeon and a bit of a psychologist as well) asked Ian if it would be okay if he rode down to the car in a little red wagon. Well, the frowns were lost, and through the tears the smiles came out. He hopped in the wagon, and off we went.


After we arrived home I asked Ian why he was so upset about the wheelchair. He looked up at me with his big blue eyes and said, "Dad, there were a lot of children at the hospital who were in wheel chairs and none of them could walk. I knew that if I got in the wheel chair that I would become like them and I would never walk again." I still get a tear in my eye thinking about that moment, and the logic of a child that led to such a moment. There is humor, looking back some 15 years, but at the time it was no laughing matter.


Sadly, we all are prone to apply the same kind of logic to our life experiences. Our Triune God has a wheelchair, a medicine, a plan, or a path that is in our best interest. When we see what He has for us, we recoil in terror, thinking that it will in some way inhibit us, or hinder us, or permanently scar us to such a degree that we will be rendered less than who we want to be, or less than who others around us expect us to be.


In some form or fashion we reject his Holy Church, we reject the teachings of the Apostles and Church Fathers, we do not prepare and partake of His Divine Liturgy, we don't avail ourselves of the prayers of the saints, we don't fast and pray, we don't give as we are able to cover the needs of the Church or those less fortunate around us. And, as a result our sin remains, our spiritual health suffers. We don't trust God because we don't think He knows best. We fear (albeit with great conviction) what we don't understand, and we miss out on what He has in store for us.


The Orthodox Church is that hospital, that wheelchair, that doctor, that surgery that we all need. It is not for me to say who will reside forever in heaven, whether Orthodox, or Catholic, or Protestant. But, I would urge my non-Orthodox friends not to reject the Church because of faulty reasoning. Come to some services, check it out, read the consistent teaching of the last two thousand years, and sample the depths of Orthodoxy.


Thankfully, our God is a merciful God. When we reject His wheelchair, He usually has a little red wagon for us to climb in to. I pray that we would all heed His call.