OrthoAnalyika Show: 18 July 2010
EPISTLE: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18.
Listen to how St. Paul begins today’s lesson; “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
As the goal of the Christian life is joyful unity with one-another and God through Christ, divisions – especially divisions in our Christian families and parishes are willful denials of Christ. To use old fashioned words that speak the truth more directly, such things are sinful and heretical blasphemies.
St. John puts the same message in a slightly different way (using the metaphor of light), saying; “He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now.”
How can we have unity, how can we share light, if there are divisions and darkness in and among us? We cannot – it is a logical impossibility. A thing cannot be full of light if there are blots and shadows inside it. A thing cannot be whole if it is broken into parts. Claiming otherwise is nonsense (which is why the Church calls it sinful and heretical blasphemy).
This unity, this perfect light, is something that all humans long for; it is the answer to loneliness and suffering; it is the promise of unending peace in the midst of war and the promise of comfort in the midst of torturous pain. And it is not just a promise of future things, like some sort of dangled prize meant to keep you slogging through to the end: it is something that you are meant to begin to feel, realize, and share even today. And our Christian families and parishes are meant to be the sources of this change.
Which, by the way, is to say that divisions and darkness are more than just bad choices, they keep us from that which we truly need (which is , once again, why the Church calls them sinful and heretical blasphemy).
So how do we get there? How do we heal the divisions between us? How do we allow real love and light grow between people who currently feel such enmity and dislike for one another? How do we stop lying about our relationship with Christ and begin doing the things that Christians must do to realize and share their inheritance?
Last week I gave you an exercise that would get you started: the strong must bear the infirmities of the weak. Then I said that all of you are strong, meant to bear both the infirmities of one another and of all those who come through these open doors. Just as the rich are meant to give up things that they might want to buy in order to pay the “fair share” of those who are not; just as those with extra time are meant to give up things they might want to do in order to take up the slack of those who do not; so too are all of us to sacrifice our own preferences in service to those who are not strong enough to sacrifice their own.
This week, St. Paul pushes us even further, showing us just how serious this commitment to humility must be if we are to really become perfect in unity, love, and light. He does this at the end of today’s lesson, when he writes; “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
There are many ways in which “the message of the cross is foolishness”, but we tend to use it in the self-congratulatory sense of “I know that what I do – calling myself a “Christian”, getting my children baptized, going to Church on Sunday mornings and so on – doesn’t make sense to you, but that is because you are perishing in ignorance … while I am being saved.”
But this isn’t what St. Paul means at all (St. Paul does not waste time proclaiming sinful and heretical blasphemy): he is challenging those who have created and put up with divisions within the parish at Corinth to embrace the Cross. He challenged them to embrace the Cross because it is through Christ’s own suffering on that Cross that Christ made our unity possible, and it is through our own voluntary suffering that we join ourselves to Him in light and perfection. Often when we speak of “taking up the Cross”, we mean those burdens that life has put on our shoulders. But is this what Christ did? Was He simply accomplishing the difficult task His Father gave Him? Or did He go to the Cross to voluntarily suffer for the shortcomings of others? Others who were sinful, others who were weak… while He Himself was both pure and strong?
Such Charity is foolish in the eyes of the world. It says that the strong and innocent do not quietly suffer for the weak. It says the strong should either use their power to their own benefit, or, if they want to be good, they should use their power to strengthen the weak or improve their situation. But is this the way of the Cross? This is what many Jews expected the Messiah to do – but is this what He actually did? Using power in this way may feel righteous, but it is not what the righteous are called to do. [Tolkein’s example of Galadriel?].
The righteous are called to be charitable and humble, to endure suffering even for the weak… even for those who are wrong… even for those who attack them.
There is no way to truly enjoy unity, perfection, and light except through Christ; and the way of Christ and of real power is the way of the Cross. Every other way is sinful, heretical blasphemy. Which is to say that every other way will not work. Now take up that Cross and follow Him.
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On leaving a place for the dead:
The Jews leave a plate for Elijah at the Passover Seder.
Ukrainians have blessed the tradition of the place for the dead by leaving it for Christ (incarnated through the poor).
The tradition is beautiful, but it needs to be treated with a kind of Christian intentionality that is often missing. Part of this is the fault of academics and journalists who place greater value on the authenticity of the pagan origins of a custom than on the way it has later been baptized and interpreted. But the articles in “Letters from Heaven” show how this can inform even religious tradition. This is one of the benefits of our study of ghosts. Other traditions that need to be seriously considered are things like lunch with the dead and various customs associated with death (mirrors? portraits?). I’m not saying they should be buried, only that they need to be evaluated and reinterpreted through the perfect light of Christ (paganism is beautiful, but the Truth does not shine so brightly through it as it does through Orthodoxy).
A couple of readers sent in their paranormal experiences – thank you! Send more!
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News
The unification process struggles on in Ukraine. First came the EP’s guidance for all OGoQCS’s to join become regular by joining the Canonical Church. Immediately on the heels of that, the MP declared that there no longer was a “Ukrainian problem” (which means, for example, they recognize the canonicity of the UOC-USA). Now, seemingly pursuant to the EP’s guidance, we have this: The “Council of the UAOC defines principles of behavior to facilitate its canonical recognition”. But in this sinful world with every action, there is a reaction: “Visit of Patriarch Kirill demonstrates tendencies of post-Soviet Orthodoxy, states Archbishop of UAOC”. Unfortunately, it easy to spin the MP’s “pan-Russian/Rusyn” agenda as being anti-Ukrainian; but at some point unity requires both repentance, forgiveness, and charity. Is it possible for Ukraine to admit that Kyiv gave birth to the broader Orthodox culture of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia without giving up her distinctiveness? Of course she can – and take the humble pride of being the the birthplace of this broader culture! As a political scientist, I wonder if part of the cultural/ideological challenge has to do with legacies of imperialism. Such an idea is easily palpable to Americans (and Russians) in large part because we have recently been at the center of an empire (territorial for Russia; cultural for the USA), whereas Ukraine suffered as a result of imperialism. The calls for tolerance, compromise, and plurality are heard by victims of imperialism as a warning that their identities are about to be attacked – even when such a thing is not intended. This has an effect here in the USA, as well – the OCA found it very easy to become evangelical and open up to (native) Americans; whereas other groups have been 1) slower to do this and 2) suspicious of the OCA’s true motives. Given our history and openness, if anyone practices imperialism here, Americans will catch wind of it, expose it, and rally against it; let’s hope we balance this with charity. [an aside – one of the great American myths is that we are great in part because people bring the best of their cultures here, but leave their grudges/agendas back in the old country… this may be broadly true, but there seem to be some folks who want to bring their agendas here and others who bring their ancient animosities… this makes me wonder who is really capable of bringing about the administrative unification of Orthodox here in America].
Less serious news: new shoes! My feet now know vol’ya! Vibram Fivefingers (black KSO). I really like them.
What apps do y’all love? My favorite games are Boggle, Yatzee Adventure, , Pocket Tanks, and Final Fantasy. My kids love Jelly Car, Dora, Dragon’s Lair, Sonic 2, and Siberian Strike. Pani is partial to Sodoku2Pro. I am also a big fan of 1Password, the app for my bank, Marvel, VerseWise RSV Holy Bible, and Coast 2 Coast. One day, I’d like to get our own app out there – with audio and text of a basic prayer rule, etc.
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Vol’ya Segment:
Interview: Pan-Orthodox Monasticism in New England.
Fr. Peter Preble, priest of St. Michael Romanian Orthodox Church in Southbridge, MA, host of a weekly internationally syndicated radio show, Orthodox chaplain at Harvard University, chaplain of the Dudley Fire Department in Dudley, MA, chaplain in the Massachusetts State Militia, adjunct professor of Psychology at Nichols College in Dudley, MA, member of several pan-Orthodox internet communities, active blogger (www.frpterpreble.com), twitter and FB evangelist, co-host of the independent podcast “Facing East”, and host of the AFR podcast “Shepherd of Souls”. And now, as if that did not keep him busy enough, he is now the leader of a new monastery here in New England, the St. Columba Monastery in Southbridge, MA. If you would like to get in touch w/ Fr. Peter about his work or about monastic vocations, you can reach him at priest@stmichaelorth.org.
