Mission Monthly Newsletter June 2003

...Meditate on These Things. Phillipians 4.8

"…your soul will find nourishment even when singing [the hymns of the Church.] It will welcome the divine principles enclosed in them, and your mind will rise to [understanding] by means of words… the time you spend in church will be like that in heaven itself with the powers on high."

            St. Simeon the New Theologian  

Christ is Risen!  Indeed, He is Risen!

     A recent conversation showed me once again how powerful the words of our Orthodox liturgical services are.  I can’t say what the celebration of Pascha is like in other Orthodox communities or countries.  I do know that in this country, at least within the non-Orthodox Christian culture, the celebration of “Easter” seems to end as quickly as it begins.  Orthodox Christians in this country have many great challenges facing us, one of them being a conscious commitment to sustain the celebration of Pascha for the full forty days until the Ascension of our Lord.  While on the night of Pascha and the days immediately following it is easy and natural to ride the wave of enthusiasm where everything is “Christ is Risen!”, it is a challenge and a discipline to sustain this zeal for three, four and even five weeks!

     An awareness of this challenge has rendered positive results in this community.  I hear people talking about this struggle, this joy!  The conversation I mentioned above specifically had to do with an awareness of the joy of Pascha, the desire to sustain this joy and the thankfulness for the Church’s liturgical emphasis which intentionally keeps us caught up in the richness and potency of Pascha through the repetition of the special Paschal hymns and melodies throughout the entire season.  Whether it be the “Christ is Risen” hymn itself or one of the many other hymns of Pascha, the joy is there as we are reminded over and over again of the meaning and consequence of the “Feast of feasts and the Holy Day of holy days.”

     Yes, Orthodox Christians are greatly blessed by this gift the Church has given to Her children.  However, we have to be in church, attentively, frequently and on time, if we want to be fed by this abundant feast for the soul.  It is one thing to want something; it is another thing to do what is necessary to acquire it.  When a man needs a job he will do what it takes to find one.  When a woman wants to advance her education she will sacrifice many things to achieve her degree.  When a teenager wants a car he will find a job to earn its price.  When a child wants a toy she will complete her chores quickly to get her allowance.  We are motivated creatures when it comes to achieving the goals of this life.  Can we say the same about our motivation to pursue the goals of the spiritual life?

     In order to receive God’s merciful nourishment one needs to be willing and ready to repent and to accept the new life that God promises to those who seek Him.  It is not easy and there are many struggles and sacrifices associated with it.  We all want the blessings of this new life but we know that with joy there is also sorrow; with pleasure there is also pain; with contentment there is also anguish; and ultimately with life there is also death.  We must always remember that “Christ is Risen” was preceded by “It is finished!”

     As Orthodox Christians are we ready to submit ourselves to the wisdom and authority of the Church to guide us to the Resurrection through the Cross?  In general, though I believe that many Orthodox Christians of western culture have a good conscience towards faith and virtue, most of us have little willingness to submit to any authority other than ourselves.  Be it a child to his parent, a student to her teacher, spouses mutually to one another, an employee to her boss, or a man to his God, self-determination is the bedrock of enlightenment and free enterprise, and it is a veil behind which we hide from the precepts of obedience, self-denial, and spiritual and physical chastity.  We fill our eyes, our ears, our mouths, our minds, and all our senses with virtually every kind of materialism, opinion, entertainment and leisure, and still have the irrational notion that if we maintain our “spirituality” we will be alright in our relationship with God.  If St. Simeon affirms that our awareness of God will be nourished even by simple exposure to hearing and singing the services of the Church, can we not conclude with urgency that there is great danger in our casual exposure to the sensual messages of the world, especially if we are not combating this exposure through a frequent liturgical life?

     Beloved, “Christ is Risen!” is not just for Pascha just as “heaven itself” is not just for the world to come.  Let us get ourselves to that place of nourishment, God’s Church, continually exposing ourselves more to the things of heaven and less to the things of the world.  Only then can we come to understand and embrace the joy and necessity of the Cross and, in an even more powerful and sustained way, the true delight of “Christ is Risen!”