Monday, June 30, 2008

Feast of St Peter and Paul

FEAST OF STS PETER AND PAULToday the Church commemorates two chiefs of the Apostles, St Peter and Paul, St Peter the patron saint of Rome, and both St Peter and Paul, the patron saints of Antioch.The Church commemorates the legacy of the lives, zeal, and missionary efforts of these two saints and chiefs of the Apostles, that ultimately ended in martyrdom in Rome.We can read about St Peter and Paul in the book of Acts, and read the writings of both in 1 and 2 Peter and the Pauline Epistles. Here are some of what they wrote. Their writings and the testimony of their lives are a legacy of zeal and love for Christ and others. May we have that same zeal to love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, souls and strengths, and love our neighbor, sharing the Good News with everyone, just like Sts Peter and Paul.1 Corinthians 1:18-2518 For 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. 19 For it is written:“ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”[a]20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[b] foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.1 Corinthians 12:31-13:1331 But earnestly desire the best[d] gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. 1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.1 Peter 1:3-93 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen[a] you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.Troparion Tone 4Leaders of the Apostles and teachers of the world,/ pray to the Master of all to grant peace to the world/ and great mercy to our souls.Kontakion Tone 2Thou hast taken the firm and divinely inspired Preachers, O Lord,/ the leading Apostles, for the enjoyment of Thy blessings and for repose./ For Thou hast accepted their labours and death/ as above every burnt offering,/ O Thou Who alone knowest the secrets of our hearts.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Pentecost

Happy Feast Day!
I thought I'd share a few thoughts about the feast day of Pentecost. This is one of my favorite feast days of the Church, coming 50 days after the glorious celebration of Pascha, the resurrection of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. It's one of my favorites because being the cumulation of the Paschal cycle, this feast recounts the pouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, and the Apostles response by going out into the world to preach the Gospel to all nations. We celebrate our victory over death and sin at Pascha, and we who partake and avail ourselves of this victory, begin to experience life as God intended it to be, in a union of love with Himself, with others, and with the world around us, and begin to experience the healing of our broken, wounded hearts. How can we keep this to ourselves? How can we take this Good News, put it in a box, and place it on a shelf. No, if we, for example, find a cure for a terrible, terminal illness, do we keep this information to oursleves, or do we share it with as many people as possible, getting the word out in as many ways as we can? How much more with the Gospel! I love the troparion of Pentecost. This hymn expresses two things, one, that true wisdom comes from God, and that even unlettered fishermen can become more wise then the most erudite scholar, and how the Apostles became fishers of men, drawing the world to God.
"Blessed art Thou O Christ our God, who has revealed the fishermen as so wise, by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit, through them, Thou hast drawn the world into Thy net, O Lover of mankind, glory to Thee."
I also think of how Pentecost is a reversal of the tower of Babel. The story of the tower of Babel, as many may know, is from the book of Genesis. The people, because of pride, wanted to build a tower to reach the heavens. God put a stop to their attempts to build this tower by confounding their language, causing them to speak many different languages, thus, rendering them unable to communicate with each other. In this one way, human kind became more separated and alienated from each other. However as the kontakion for Pentecost says;
"When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, he divided the nations. But when he distributed the tongues of fire, he called all to unity. Therefore, with one voice, we glorify the All-Holy Spirit!"
On Pentecost we have the final fulfillment of the mission of Jesus Christ and the first beginning of the messianic age of the Kingdom of God mystically present in this world in the Church of the Messiah. For this reason the fiftieth day stands as the beginning of the era which is beyond the limitations of this world, fifty being that number which stands for eternal and heavenly fulfillment in Jewish and Christian mystical piety: seven times seven, plus one.

Thus, Pentecost is called an apocalyptic day, which means the day of final revelation. It is also called an eschatological day, which means the day of the final and perfect end (in Greek eschaton> means the end). For when the Messiah comes and the Lord's Day is at hand, the "last days" are inaugurated in which "God declares: ... I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." This is the ancient prophecy to which the Apostle Peter refers in the first sermon of the Christian Church which was preached on the first Sunday of Pentecost (Acts 2: 1 7; Joel 2: 28-32).

Once again it must be noted that the feast of Pentecost is not simply the celebration of an event which took place centuries ago. It is the celebration of what must happen and does happen to us in the Church today. We all have died and risen with the Messiah-King, and we all have received his Most Holy Spirit. We are the "temples of the Holy Spirit." God's Spirit dwells in us (Rom 8; 1 Cor 2-3, 12; 2 Cor 3; Gal 5; Eph 2-3). We, by our own membership in the Church, have received "the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit" in the sacrament of chrismation. Pentecost has happened to us.
We go back to praying "O Heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who art in all places and fillest all things, treasury of good things and Giver of Life, come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O Gracious Lord."
This makes me think of how the secular world some times has this dichotomy between God and the world. In Orthodoxy we do not have this dichotomy. As we say "who art in all places and fillest all things." Everywhere we are, every place we go, we are surrounded by God, there is no place where He is not. As the psalmist says, "Where can I go to flee from your Spirit, and from your presence, where can I hide, behold up in Heaven, You're there beside me, in the depths of the darkness, you're by my side." We proclaim in this prayer that God is in all places and fills all things. We do not exist on our own. "In Him we live, and move, and have our being."
We do not see the world rightly if we see it apart from God. It is difficult for us, sometimes due to our modern habit of thought, to think of things existing only relationally - but this is the teaching of the Church. When we are united to Christ, we do not become something other than we were created to be - we finally become in fact what we were created to be.

We do not exist alone - we are contingent beings. The truth of our existence is found only as we are known in relation to God and to one another. Thus love, rather then rational thoughts becomes the most fundamental existential reality. We would say, as Orthodox, rather then "I think, therefore I am", but, "I love, therefore I am."

"Blessed art Thou O Christ our God, who has revealed the fishermen as so wise, by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit, through them, Thou hast drawn the world into Thy net, O Lover of mankind, glory to Thee!"


Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I would like to add a few links for anyone to check out regarding OCF.
The first one is the website of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at UMBC
http://orgs.umbc.edu/ocf/cms/index.php
This site has old info from last semester, but will be updated in the very near future!

the other site is the website of the National office of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, of which the OCF at UMBC is a registered chapter.
http://ocf.net/

And finally, UMBC itself, an Honors University in Maryland!
http://umbc.edu/

Introduction to Domine Miserere

Hello!
This is to introduce the world to my new blog, Domine Miserere, Latin for "Lord Have Mercy".
This will be a blog of my observations, opinions, and thoughts as a Chaplain for the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and as an Orthodox Christian trying to live his life for Christ. I will be blogging from time to time about my experiences as a chaplain for the OCF, my observations, thoughts, and sentiments regarding the world around us, and what it means to follow Christ in 21st century in the U.S.A.
I hope this will become a place for folks to come to be edified and become closer to God, each other, and the world around us. All are welcomed! Blessings!
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory be to Him forever!