Friday, March 19, 2004
"Are you born again? If you were to die tonight, would you find yourself in heaven or in hell?"
If you are or have been, an evengelical Christian, then you have probably had this question asked of you. Or, you have asked this of many people after you became "born again". Before I was Orthodox, this made perfect sense. Salvation is rather simple: believe on Christ, and your salvation is guaranteed. No spiritual work(uuuuhhhh...did I say works?) was needed. Sure, there were sermons admonishing me to "keep up the faith", examine my heart before the once a month communion, but no real spiritual path was given for me to follow on a daily basis. Oh I forgot, there were devotionals and the Bible, but I picked and chose what I wanted to read as I was "lead by the Holy Spirit". It didn't matter that the day before I had been angry at my wife and yelled at her, or was prideful, passed by a homeless man on the street and didn't offer any money when my wallet was full. None of this matters. I am going to heaven, right? because I am "born again".
The Orthodox Church teaches that salvation is not so simple. It is a mystery. Each of us are given "talents" to invest in our lives on this earth as the parable says. Some are given little, others are given a lot. Each will be judged accordingly. Sure, John 3:16 is true, but taken out of context of what the rest of the Bible says(and as an Orthodox Christian - Her Tradition, early Church Father writings, hymnidies, Father Confessor guidance...etc. etc) about salvation, missing the "point" could be dangerous.
I was thinking this morning of the rich man that came to Jesus and asked what he must do to be saved. Jesus answered and said that all of the commandments must be followed diligently. The man answered and said that he had been diligent. What is amazing is that Jesus agreed with him. But what did Jesus say next? Go and give all of his riches away and follow Him. The man turned away, disappointed. Here was a pious man and yet Christ wanted something more. Not just simple belief in Him, or even ascetic practice of His commandments. But a true denial of all for Christ's sake.
Salvation is not a simple process where you pray a prayer of belief and the deal is done. It is ongoing; a process. I would never say, though, that someone wasn't saved. That is only for God to judge. But I caution believing that a simple mantra can save. I am afraid to ask, "what must I do to be saved?"
Thursday, March 18, 2004
The Mother of God and Her Protection?
One of the most difficult dogmas of the Orthodox Church has now been completely accepted by me: the Most Holy Theotokos! This is how:
My brother was recently deployed to Iraq. He is part of the National Guard's 81st brigade that left March 12th. We have all known that this what he would be doing, but the reality hit us hard last weekend. My (not so little anymore) brother is in a war zone where there are no "front lines". Like he told me when he called me from Kuwait, "You can never be complacent. You gotta' watch your back." He is really scared and we are scared, too.
Before he left I gave him a cross to wear. I told him that wherever he is at or whatever he is doing and he's scared, he just needs to touch the cross and ask for God's protection. I think for Joel, he hasn't taken God as seriously as he is now. He told me that he prays often.
I also pray to God for Joel's protection whenever I think about him. But I also pray to the Mother of God. There are hundreds, thousands of stories where our Holy Mother was petitioned for safety and She answered prayer. The Orthodox Church encourages this. I recently read "Father Arseny", and there are many stories of this. Up until this point, I had accepted that there is special honour reserved for Mary because she is the Mother of God. I had accepted this when I became Orthodox. However, I didn't let that really sink in until now. She is referred by the Church as the great Interecessor before Her Son for us. She is also our Mother. She watches over us. If we pray for her protection, she will.
It all makes perfect sense to me now. After seeing the Passion, this was even more confirmed. This incredible woman carried our Lord and Saviour in her womb and then raised Him. She could not have been any other than Holy to allow this. Otherwise, she would have been "burned" by her very Divine Child. It is a known fact that as a small child, Joachim and Anna gave her up to the Church to be raised in a pious and Godly manner. Mary took this very seriously and lived a life of piety and Holiness that none can compare. She "prepared" Herself for the indwelling of the Son of God. She is "more honarable than the Cherubim and more glorious beyone compare than the Seraphim"! It is good and right to pray to Her. I have comfort knowing that She watches over Joel.
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Mel Gibson's, The Passion...
I broke down and saw it yesterday. What did I think? Well, I will begin with what I liked. It was well-done. The cinematography, the music, the acting and the movement of the film was like a well choreographed dance. They all complemented eachother very well. It was beautifully tragic. For being one of Mel's first(or very first, I can't remember), he did a splendid job!
Now, what I didn't like. There seem to be two layers to this film. One is the above, and the other, a Christian agenda. I knew from all of the media hype, that this movie had affected a lot of people. Life changes or some sort of miraculous change in thinking was to occur after watching. I was weary of this. Not that I don't want a change in my thinking or a life change, but I am suspicious of this Western idea of overnight change and renewal. Suffice it to say, that didn't happen to me. Right from the beginning scene in Gethsemane, I lost the connection between the actor "man" and my Lord and Saviour "man". This actor "man" missed the mark. I could not get around the fact that this was an actor, not Jesus. So subsequently, everything that happened from that point on(the unjust trials, the beatings, scourgings, verbal and physical abuse and finally the crucifixion) were happening to the actor "man". It was just a movie to me. Which brings me to the what bothered me most about the film.
It is just a film. Mel Gibson's film. I used to LOVE watching movies. There was something about them. I could not watch a movie unless I could hear every word sound and see every picture frame. If someone wanted to talk during the film(when I rented and watched at home), I would either completely stop watching or tune the person out. I completely immersed myself. Eventually I came to see this as a form of escape from me; from life's reality. It was safe for me to live through other people's reality, but not my own. Eventually I came to see this and began to refrain from watching the type of films that would enable me to do this(any action film, science fiction, suspense thrillers and some horror). I began to watch dramas(which could still be a problem) and documentaries. As a result of this, and focusing on my own reality, I did not feel the need to do this so much anymore. Now when I watch any of the films that I used to enjoy, I find myself wandering, not able to get into the film. They seem silly to me now; even laughable(any of Stephen Segal's flicks, heck, any action film!) All this to say, that I just could not get past the fact that this was what it seemed Mel wanted me to do: immerse myself into the reality of his portrayal of Christ. No way, "not gonna do it", didn't happen.
Really, as I have been learning as an Orthodox Christian, allowing Christ to change me does not come externally but internally. This movie was external. Yeah, it is good to see what Christ did for us(die for us, not just our sins, but more importantly, to conquer death!). But when that focus is not done in the context of ourselves, it becomes the ends and not the means. The real movie should be playing in my heart(sounds corny, I know) not on some movie screen for me to cry my eyes out for two hours and then walk away. Christ said that men will know that I am His disciple when I "have love, one for another". To love others as Christ has loved us. A striking example of this is when Christ washed His disciples' feet. Incidentally, this is acted out every year in our Church during Great Holy week. But again, I have to be the one washing others feet, not watching someone else do it.
That is part of my take for now. I am still processing the film. It did get me thinking about some things which I will try and put into words at some point. I leave with a quote from a friend of mine, "pain is something sacred that one should not watch while eating popcorn and drinking soda".
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Community and Decision Making
I was reminded today of another of the many reasons why I became Orthodox: community. I had lunch today with one of the members of that community. I wanted to talk to him about some things that have been troubling me for the past year. It was a great conversation. Decision making came up. We were talking about how important it is that when confronted with a problem, it is crucial that you come to a decision about how you are going to deal with it rather than just ignore it, hoping that it will go away. The problem I was talking to him about had become a huge mess because a decision hadn't been made. It was encouraging to talk to him.
It is such a blessing to have a community, with an Orthodox ethos, to rely upon. This is incredibly helpful when a decision must be made. I am not alone. I have my Father confessor, my Godfather, and my fellow faithful. In my falibility, I can hopefully find a place on the infalibility map.
