Have You Lost Your Senses?

Several years ago, I began to think more about beauty.  No, this isn't going to be a "Confessions of a Middle Aged Woman" piece!  I am not talking about the type of beauty that is flashed in front of us hundreds of times a day, making us discontent with how God made our bodies and wanting more than anything to be a size 2 (okay, I'd be thrilled with a size 10).  I have done some thinking about beauty in our local churches.

I am still making this incredible journey from Evangelicalism/Protestantism to the Orthodox faith and encountering so many areas to reconsider and revisit.  During the Reformation, the anger and resentment toward the corruption in the Roman Catholic Church was so intense that many were eager to completely purge the church buildings of any reminders of the greed and opulence that was so visible in the cathedrals of the day.  Statues were destroyed, icons disfigured, vestments and liturgical elements were removed.  Protestant churches became very austere inside.  After all, the important thing was "hearing the Word of God".  These other things were not deemed necessary for salvation, growing in the faith, or worship.  Sola Scriptura - all we needed was the Word of God.  The altar was replaced with a pulpit.  Crosses (especially those depicting the crucifixion) were taken down or relegated to less conspicuous corners.  It was important to remove anything that would be a distraction or that would keep one from listening to the pastor's sermon or message.  Colors, stained glass, items made of gold, beautiful wood, richly painted icons, exquisitely carved statues, rich tapestries, candles and candelabras, incense, pew cushions of red velvet - all these could possibly interfere with our ability to concentrate on what is being said.  Our thoughts would be turned to material things and not the spiritual.

The reasoning sounds good.  But these sensory elements were not originally embraced in order to flaunt the wealth and power of the Church.  They were used to be reminders of the beauty and attraction of heaven in a world that was full of sin, corruption, death and suffering.  God insisted on such beauty in the tabernacle of the Old Testament.  The tabernacle was to be a reminder, a representation, a model, of what is going on in heaven.  On a smaller scale, this perspective was later incorporated in the synagogues where the Jews worshiped.  Likewise, when the early church became established in the first thousand years after Christ, the liturgy and surroundings were modeled after the Jewish synagogues.  These elements were considered very important because they helped to engage all the senses in worship - not just the brain.  It enabled worshipers to, just for a portion of their week, enter into the beauty, majesty and wonder of what occurs in heaven continually.

A month ago, Frederica Mathewes-Green posted an article in Touchstone magazine.  In Lettuce Pray, she ponders the impact of the multi-media on our children (e.g., even Christian media such as Veggie Tales) and makes this observation:

. . . there was once a time when the most astounding experience a child had each week was worship. It began as he entered a building uniquely designed and beautified to glorify God. There he would hear music unlike anything he encountered in daily life. There would be (in many of our traditions, anyway) bells and candlelight, vestments and sumptuous fragrances, and images of Christ and the saints which would greet his eyes wherever he looked. He would hear stories of the lives of the saints, and those would be some of the most exciting stories he ever heard, providing daily examples of real-life heroes whom he could emulate. All in all, going to church would be the most sense-flooding experience a child had all week.

What have we gained by removing so much beauty from our churches and making them multi-purpose facilities which can be changed from worship service, to youth group rally, to concert hall?  Where can you go to be reminded of the beauty of God, his transcendence, his power?  Many evangelical churches have limited worship to one sense - hearing; hearing the music and hearing the Word of God.  The surroundings and decor are without excess or ornamentation.  There is little to observe up front or in the surroundings.  What about the other senses which God has given us and wants us to use - seeing, touching, tasting, smelling?  Are these not as deserving as the one?

I believe that God intended us to use all of our senses in worship.  He created them for our good and to use them for His glory and adoration.  Think about it next time you worship on Sunday.

The Gift of Gifts

November 15th marks the first day of the Nativity Fast for the Eastern Orthodox Church.  As with the Great Fast that precedes Pascha (Easter), this is a time (40 days) of abstinence and spiritual reflection in preparation for the Nativity of Christ on December 25th.  So my thoughts turn toward Christmas.

One of my favorite books through the years has been a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions entitled The Valley of Vision. I have been reading one of the selections each day during my evening prayers.  How fitting that the one I read two days ago was about the Gift of Christ himself.

O Source of All Good,

What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts,

thine own dear Son, begotten, not created,

my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,

his self-emptying incomprehensible,

his infinity of love beyond the heart's grasp.

Herein is wonder of wonders:

he came below to raise me above,

was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love:

when I cannot rise to him he draws near on wings of grace,

to raise me to himself.

Herein is power:

when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart

he united them in indissoluble unity,

the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom:

when I was undone, with no will to return to him, and no intellect to devise recovery,

he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,

as man to die my death, to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,

to work out a perfect righteousness for me.

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds, and enlarge my mind;

let me hear good tidings of great joy,

and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,

my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,

my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;

place me with ox, ass, camel, goat,

to look with them upon my Redeemer's face,

and in him account myself delivered from sin;

let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child to my heart,

embrace him with undying faith,

exulting that he is mine and I am his.

In him thou hast given me so much

that heaven can give no more.

Cot Bearers

I was reminded this morning of the importance of regular eye exams and updating prescriptions for your lenses when it is necessary.  Over time, we will become accustomed to whatever comes through the pupils of our eyes and even begin missing the finer details around us.  Indeed, we may even miss seeing something altogether!  This morning, the Lord let me look through some different lenses.

Three of the Apostles - Matthew, Mark and Luke - include the account of an event that happened during Jesus' ministry in Galilee.   The story is not an obscure one.  Children who are exposed to any of the New Testament stories and parables invariably know this one too.  It is the dramatic event of four friends and a friend of theirs who was paralyzed (Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, and Luke 5:12-16).  A side note: isn't it interesting that there were four men who carried him?  It would take that many to lower a "bed", cot, or pallet through the roof - each one perhaps holding a corner.

There are, of course, many angles from which to view this miraculous event early in Jesus ministry - the power of friendship, unbelief vs. belief, forgiveness of sins, determination, perseverance, faith, etc.  But as I read this passage this morning, the message that rang out loud and clear for me was the power and importance of intercessory prayer for those around us. Prayer is not mentioned anywhere in the passage nor discussed.  But the very act of these dear friends carrying their friend to Jesus - one who was not able to travel there on his own - highlights the importance of bringing individuals before the throne of grace through our prayers.  Christ honored the efforts, love and faith of these four men by forgiving the sins of the paralytic and healing him physically.  Spiritual and physical healing.  Nowhere does it say that it was the faith of the man who was paralyzed - he was helpless.  In this case, he needed those around him to "carry him" to the Lord.

What an amazing and humbling perspective of our role and privilege in bringing others to the throne of grace for mercy and healing.  All of us know individuals who are struggling, in pain or burdened with the cares of this world.  We have the opportunity to be one of the "cot bearers" for them - lifting and lowering them to the feet of the Savior.   He will take it from there.

For those of you interested in reading about present day "cot bearers", Abbot Joseph (Mt. Tabor Monastery in California) has written two wonderful accounts of the ministry that monks have in praying for others:  Monks at Prayer (part I) and Monks at Prayer (part II)

But what about John?

Sometimes my lack of curiosity astonishes me.  I've been a Christian almost 40 years.  I have heard sermons on a variety of topics by a long list of preachers and teachers.  Anyone want to guess how many times I have heard the story of Jesus' birth, the wise men, Herod's anger, the slaughtering of innocent children, and Mary and Joseph's flight into Egypt?  In all of those retellings and reenactments, I never once asked myself, "What happened to Jesus' relative, John, when all the children under two were being slaughtered?"  John, born to Mary's aunt and uncle, Elizabeth and Zechariah, was only 6 months older than Jesus.  How did God protect him from this barbarous slaughter of King Herod?  We know that an angel appeared to Joseph and told him to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt for a period of time.  But what happened to Zechariah, Elizabeth and John?  Obviously, John was protected in some way.

There is nothing in scripture that gives us an answer.  But there does exist a marvelous account that has been passed down through the ages and held dear by Christians for centuries.  Let me share the events that transpired back then.

When King Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messiah, he decided to kill all the infants up to two years old at Bethlehem and the surrounding area, hoping that the new-born Messiah would be among them.

Herod knew about John's unusual birth and he wanted to kill him, fearing that he was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Elizabeth, when she saw her pursuers, began to implore God for their safety, and immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their pursuers.

In these tragic days, Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from him the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet, having stabbed him while he was between the temple and the altar (MT 23:35). Elizabeth died forty days after her husband, and John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel. (taken from The Orthodox Church of America website.)

What an amazing demonstration of God's protection for His great messenger, John the Baptizer!  Just as Jesus' life was spared from the unbridled fury of Herod, John's purpose and ministry could not be thwarted.  And what a moving example of dear Zechariah and his wife as they knew the importance of this child that was given to them in their old age.  They were willing to die in order that God's kingdom might be ushered in.

This is only one story that we don't typically hear from the pulpit or in the Sunday school class.  Think of how many more there are and how many we will hear about in eternity!  Glory to Jesus Christ!

Drinking from the Fountain

‘Blessed is one who has despised all earthly and perishable things and acquired love.’
Such a person’s reward increases every day.
Such a person’s reward and crown has been prepared, the Kingdom of heaven has been given them.
All the Angels call them blessed;
all the Powers of heaven praise them;
the choirs of the Archangels receive them with joy.
For them the gates of heaven will be speedily opened,
and they will enter with boldness, take their stand by the throne of God,
be crowned by God’s right hand, and will reign with him for endless ages.

- St. Ephrem the Syrian

Love is terribly important to God. It is his essence. It is who he is. How can we refuse to acknowledge it? How can we choose to ignore it in our own lives? How can we repeatedly fail to call upon it? We see love as an option - whether to give it or not to another person. Typically, we develop this attitude over the years because we have been deeply hurt by those not exhibiting love toward us. Oftentimes, such injury is incurred from those whom we thought we were close to and shared a commonality and communion in the faith. We thought we were under the umbrella of love, but then lightning strikes the umbrella. We stand holding a charred assemblage of sticks and vow to never go out in the rain ever again.

Thus our hesitancy toward loving those around us begins to take shape. Our life experiences tend to strengthen our distrust and suspicions of people rather than our compassion and openness toward them. On the other hand, there are those I have known who seem to have an endless capacity to love all who cross their path in life. I have observed at the same time that these individuals are quick to forgive and eager to hope for better things in others and life situations. They are resilient and not deterred by potholes. I'd like to think that they were blessed with a "sunny disposition" and I was born under a thundercloud (after all, I grew up in Ohio). Differences in temperaments can be a good excuse for people like me, but they are never mentioned in scripture as an opportunity or justification for lack of faith in situations. Indeed, God uses all kinds of temperaments to accomplish his purposes. Quite frequently, he uses the very weaknesses of a certain temperament to show forth his glory and power. There goes that excuse.

Our English word "love" covers so many emotions and situations that it hardly has any true meaning anymore. God, however, is very specific in what love is and is not. Contrary to our typical perception of love being strictly an emotion, God often describes love in actions (1 Cor. 13), not feelings. But this isn't to be a list of good behaviors we should adopt as Christians. Rather, if we aren't seeing these type of actions in our life, then perhaps we need to examine our relationship with the Source. For love must come from the One who is Love. We can manufacture a pretty good substitute on our own, but it does not produce lasting results.

There are times that I wish I could just wake up in the morning and have love pouring out from my spirit. But life drains us of energy and can be discouraging to our spirit. God knows that we must refuel every evening and every morning. He is eager to meet us and strengthen us. We must make the time. We must daily go back the Fountain of Life that we may never thirst:

"Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst...the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)

The Samaritan woman was weary of the daily labor of getting water herself and carrying it home. God waits for us to become weary of our own methods of love and to come to him. He waits to transform us.

His Hand is Open

Anxiety - a displacement of my daily confidence in the wrong things. (statement made by Father Stephen, Glory to God for All Things)

Anxiety has followed me throughout my life. I naturally gravitate toward those things I can touch and see that give me the illusion of security and confidence. I like to know that I have enough money in the bank. I like to have my pantry full. I like a choice of clothes that all fit. I like to have a house that is comfortable and affordable. All these things make me feel good and take away temporary anxiety. I know I have a backup plan or "extras" or "more than enough". I don't want to worry about shelter, clothing or food.

But what situation does God prefer for me? A life where I am continually, hour by hour, dependent on his hand for all things - food, shelter and clothing. It is not because he is selfish and wants me as a slave in his kingdom. He desires this for me because only then can I truly know his infinite love and care for me! He cannot truly reveal these things through just providing me with a monthly paycheck. He desires to restore to me the relationship for which I was created in the beginning - a relationship with him. He is my heavenly Father and desires to care for me as a Father does a daughter. He wants to show his love for me and reveal glorious and mighty things which I cannot fathom in the small and controlled world which I have created.

I do have a choice: 1) a controlled environment, created by me, where I will know what to expect and how I can survive day by day, or 2) an uncontrolled (in the respect that it is not controlled by me!) environment, sustained by God, where He delights in caring for me and showing his might and power to me and through me by providing for my every need. One is very predictable and inevitably boring. The other is completely unpredictable and a treasure chest of surprises. One requires very little of me. The other requires everything. One is dependent on my intellectual and material resources. The other is dependent on the riches and power and wealth of the God of the universe. One requires no one outside of myself. The other requires a relationship with the Creator and Redeemer of my soul.

When the options are put in words, the choice seems obvious. And yet...we are afraid. Afraid that God will not pull through for us. Afraid that he will take us where we don't want to go. Afraid that he will abandon us and then we will have nothing and no one. Afraid that he will require too much of us - more than we can bear. Afraid that we will fail - in our eyes and the eyes of others.

What assurance would convince us? He has done everything possible to prove his love for us - including becoming incarnate and dying a horrible death in order to conquer death and restore us and all creation to its original purpose. What more would we ask of him? He has gone more than the second mile. He has gone to hell and back for us. And we cannot trust him. What could we possibly possess that is of greater assurance and promise than what He has to offer?

We pride ourselves in our rationality and logic, but our behavior defies both. If we weigh the choices in the balance, there will be no doubt as to which is made of true gold.

You are not Alone

There was a boy, named Hyacinthus. He lived in Caesarea in Cappadocia (modern day Turkey) and was raised in a Christian family. The Roman emperor Trajan (ruled 98-117 AD) enlisted the young man as his "cubicularius" (chamberlain). This was an official charged with the management of the living quarters of a sovereign or member of the nobility. The emperor was unaware that Hyacinthus was secretly a Christian.

One day, while the emperor and his entourage were offering sacrifices to idols, young Hyacinthus remained at the palace, shut himself in a small room, and prayed fervently to the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the servants overheard him praying and reported to the emperor that, although Hyacinthus was entrusted with an imperial position, he did not honor the Roman gods and was secretly praying to Christ.

Hyacinthus was brought to trial before Trajan, who tried to persuade the young man to deny Christ and sacrifice to the Roman idols. But Hyacinthus remained steadfast and declared that he was a Christian. He was whipped and thrown into prison, where the only food given to him was what had already been offered to the idols. They hoped that he would be overcome with hunger and thirst and eventually eat. Hyacinthus did not eat the food, and he died after thirty-eight days. When they came to torture him again, they found his dead body. But when the jailer walked into the cell, he saw two angels in the cell. One covered the saint's body with his own garment, and the other placed a crown of glory on his head. The young Hyacinthus suffered for Christ in the year 108 AD in the city of Rome. Later, his bones were transferred to Caesarea in Cappadocia (modern day Turkey). He is remembered for his courage and faith on July 3.

This image of the angels, brings to mind a quote earlier in the week that gave me pause:

Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honour your patience. - St. John Klimakos

What difference would it make in my life if I truly acknowledged the presence of a guardian angel in my life? How would I live differently?

First of all, having an angel - that amazing, powerful and incredibly beautiful creature - assigned to me is a thrilling thought. No gift of such splendor and quality has ever been given to me. This would be like being given a royal sword that had been crafted by the best bladesmith in the world, tried by fire, and known worldwide for its beauty and sharpness. I am not worthy of such a gift.

Secondly, knowing the power of angels, that they are servants of the Holy One and strictly organized and commissioned by God and the Prince of Angels, Michael, I am moved with tremendous gratitude that God would protect me with such force, power, and diligence. Scripture says that God will protect me as the "apple of His eye" and hide me under the "shadow of his wings" - Psalm 17:8. Our heavenly Father is intimately involved in my protection and care on a daily basis. His mighty angels are assigned to ensure that this happens.

Thirdly, I would never feel alone or vulnerable. Even physically removed from other people or in a dangerous situation, I would ever have the presence of my guardian angel to comfort and strengthen me. He will jealously guard and defend me. Yes, death may still come upon me, but not because my angel failed to protect me. Death or harm cannot come unless God allows it for his purpose and for his glory. Even in the Valley of the Shadows, my angel will not leave my side. As thousands of saints and martyrs will attest, these mighty warriors of the heavenly host remain with us and help us in the transition from this life to the next. We are never abandoned for one second.