There was a young man in Soviet era Leningrad (St Petersburg) who attended church every Sunday. He knew that he was being watched by the KGB; the priest at the church was always under surveillance to prevent him from teaching anyone else about Christ and the Orthodox Faith. The priest was constantly harrased by the KGB, with such tactics as phone calls and confrontations, warning him that teaching and training a priest was a crime. Such was the bravery of this young man and his priest that it didn't stop them.
The young man attended all of the services faithfully; he sang in the choir every week. It seemed, however, that the only people attending the services regularly were the old women of the area, which the KGB did not deem as threatening to the state as a young man of spiritual conviction. At times, this would depress him; other times, he felt blessed because of it, knowing the persecution the faith was undergoing.
There was one service every year, however, that the otherwise empty church would be overflowing; Pascha, which is known as Easter in the West. Then, it seemed that either the KGB gave permission to attend or that people just didn't worry about it. No matter, for in a story reminiscent of the birth of our Savior, there was literally no room.
This service would attract all sorts of people from around the area; not only did the faithful old ladies attend, but so did the mobsters, the drug dealers and addicts, the prostitutes, the gamblers, the thieves, and in general, those who most people would look at in a manner that was suspicious at best, and overly judgmental by nature.
These people would come in and not necessarily disrupt the sacred service, but they certainly would be loud and perhaps irreverent. Most certainly the majority were drunk as the entered the church, and they brought the boisterousness of the party into church with them.
This made the young man a bit envious. While he regretted not his decision to be faithful, he did not understand how such people could only come to service once a year, and even then make it into something he did not think it should be: a continuation of a party on the street. He wasn't as angry at them as he was hurt. How could they disrespect that which he was working so hard to keep available to them, even at the risk of imprisonment? It seemed that they were mocking not only him, but God also.
He decided to confess. He knew his feelings were hurting only him; those who reveled in the manner they did were not suffering from his pain whatsoever. As he told his priest about his feelings for all he was doing, all they both were risking, and how he felt their bravery was being mocked every Pascha, his priest gave him a loving lesson that he carries to this day.
His priest reminded him that those who go to church every week are already seeking Christ, and Christ is always with them for it. Sure, they will sin and fail, but it is much easier for those who walk so closely in the faith to be lifted by Christ and put back into the way of good. It is those very people; the thieves, prostitutes, mobsters, drug dealers and addicts, and gamblers and others that Christ came into the world to save. It's not that those who walk in the faith don't need Christ as much; those who do not simply need Him more sometimes. Christ will always be ready for those who need Him most, including those who may walk away, and for those who live the faith, Christ will be there also, but He also knows we are there for Him. We who walk in the faith have already seen; we have already experienced His mercy, and do so every week. We commemorate the Crucifixion and Resurrection every Sunday. We remember, and need such reminders less. We remember, and are blessed for it every Liturgy. It is those very people who walk away from Him that Christ died for. It is our job to remember that always and to remind others of that when necessary. It is those very people who only experience it the one time a year who need the joy of the Resurrection more on that day than the faithful. Sometimes, that one day is all they joy they have.
This young man understood. He went to seminary and studied and prayed. He became a priest, despite the best efforts of the KGB to prevent it. He is a most beloved priest, for I personally see the love that his parish has for him every week. They defend him with a passion reserved for those they love most. They come to his aid as much as he comes to theirs.
If only we in the West knew what he went through, perhaps we wouldn't take our worship so lightly.
Christ Is Risen!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Missionaries to Alaska, Tradition and Ritual, and Dale Murphy
Ok, my first guess is that the last name one would expect to see on a blog about Orthodox Christianity is Dale Murphy, a retired baseball player who is not Orthodox. In fact, the last place you would expect to hear about him is in an Orthodox Christian service. However, we must also remember that it has been said (though I admittedly am taking this WAY out of context) that "the last shall be first", so, here is the name Dale Murphy appearing on a blog about Orthodox Christianity for all to see.
A little background is quite necessary. Dale Murphy was indeed mentioned in the homily given at an Orthodox Vespers service I attended back in 2011 (January if I recall) by the priest serving that night. Father (and this particular priest is a baseball fanatic!) talked about how, when he watched his own brother coming up to the plate, it reminded him of watching Mr Murphy come to bat, and how he always did the same ritual; the tapping of his spikes with the bat, the tapping of the plate with the bat, the sleeve tugs, and more I can't remember. He talked about his brother doing what is hero did. He then tied it all in to how ritual is important in the faith as it reminds us that we are all connected by the same rituals to those Orthodox Christians who came and went before us 1000-1500-1700 years ago. To lose the ritual and tradition is to lose sight of what makes us Orthodox, not only mechanically and outwardly, but spiritually and other worldly. It means we would lose our theosis.
I was reminded of this homily this past week, Holy week, the week between the Entry into Jerusalem and Pascha, as I was reading a book called "Alaskan Missionary Spirituality". In one of the earliest chapters, a comparison is made between the missions of Father (now Saint) Herman and New Valaam spreading the Gospel to the Aleuts and the Protestant method of spreading Protestantism to the Natives in the "Lower 48". Where the Protestants spread the Gospel through fear of hell and force of cultural extermination, through the replacement of Native American Spirituality with Christianity, Father Herman and his aides accepted that the natives of Alaska already had a sense of God as creator, but were unaware how their traditions were fulfilled in Jesus. Where the natives of the lower 48 were turned upside down in their beliefs, Father Herman showed how their beliefs were not in opposition to Christianity, just incomplete without Christ. Where the natives of the lower 48 were told their beliefs were in contradiction with the Gospel and must be abandoned, Father Herman taught that their beliefs were now summed up in the history of Jesus. Father Herman showed that their ceremonial rituals were an understanding of God, and how Orthodox rituals were the understanding not only of Jesus but of the early Christians. What Father Herman did was not only miraculous, it was long lasting. Alaska is quite entrenched in the Orthodox Faith even to this day among the natives, though there has been erosion since around 1867. We see the fruit of the lower 48 with every relic of the Natives past.
Of course, I have over simplified what I read in the book, in part because I am still absorbing its lessons and in part that I would rather encourage you to read this book yourself instead of me giving you a Cliff Notes version, but also because of how both that homily and this book tie into this holiest week of our liturgical year. We are going through our Bridegroom Matins and other services not because they are meant to please God (though we pray they do) but to REMIND us of Him and to educate us; just as the Native Alaskans used their rituals to educate their children of their spirituality before Father Herman. We go through these services to remind us of Our Savior and His mission, not only when He walked this Earth, but as it is now that He has sacrificed himself and sits at the right hand of the Father. We go through these things because it reminds us of who we are in Christ's mission, and what our part in it is to be. When the Hymn is finally sung "Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life", we are reminded that this mission continues and must continue.
Our Orthodox ancestors passed down their rituals, and the Alaskan Natives passed down theirs, and Dale Murphy inspired someone to copy his rituals to become a better hitter in baseball. Three different types of rituals from three different sources all for one same purpose: to keep us centered on the task at hand.
Christ Is Risen!!!
A little background is quite necessary. Dale Murphy was indeed mentioned in the homily given at an Orthodox Vespers service I attended back in 2011 (January if I recall) by the priest serving that night. Father (and this particular priest is a baseball fanatic!) talked about how, when he watched his own brother coming up to the plate, it reminded him of watching Mr Murphy come to bat, and how he always did the same ritual; the tapping of his spikes with the bat, the tapping of the plate with the bat, the sleeve tugs, and more I can't remember. He talked about his brother doing what is hero did. He then tied it all in to how ritual is important in the faith as it reminds us that we are all connected by the same rituals to those Orthodox Christians who came and went before us 1000-1500-1700 years ago. To lose the ritual and tradition is to lose sight of what makes us Orthodox, not only mechanically and outwardly, but spiritually and other worldly. It means we would lose our theosis.
I was reminded of this homily this past week, Holy week, the week between the Entry into Jerusalem and Pascha, as I was reading a book called "Alaskan Missionary Spirituality". In one of the earliest chapters, a comparison is made between the missions of Father (now Saint) Herman and New Valaam spreading the Gospel to the Aleuts and the Protestant method of spreading Protestantism to the Natives in the "Lower 48". Where the Protestants spread the Gospel through fear of hell and force of cultural extermination, through the replacement of Native American Spirituality with Christianity, Father Herman and his aides accepted that the natives of Alaska already had a sense of God as creator, but were unaware how their traditions were fulfilled in Jesus. Where the natives of the lower 48 were turned upside down in their beliefs, Father Herman showed how their beliefs were not in opposition to Christianity, just incomplete without Christ. Where the natives of the lower 48 were told their beliefs were in contradiction with the Gospel and must be abandoned, Father Herman taught that their beliefs were now summed up in the history of Jesus. Father Herman showed that their ceremonial rituals were an understanding of God, and how Orthodox rituals were the understanding not only of Jesus but of the early Christians. What Father Herman did was not only miraculous, it was long lasting. Alaska is quite entrenched in the Orthodox Faith even to this day among the natives, though there has been erosion since around 1867. We see the fruit of the lower 48 with every relic of the Natives past.
Of course, I have over simplified what I read in the book, in part because I am still absorbing its lessons and in part that I would rather encourage you to read this book yourself instead of me giving you a Cliff Notes version, but also because of how both that homily and this book tie into this holiest week of our liturgical year. We are going through our Bridegroom Matins and other services not because they are meant to please God (though we pray they do) but to REMIND us of Him and to educate us; just as the Native Alaskans used their rituals to educate their children of their spirituality before Father Herman. We go through these services to remind us of Our Savior and His mission, not only when He walked this Earth, but as it is now that He has sacrificed himself and sits at the right hand of the Father. We go through these things because it reminds us of who we are in Christ's mission, and what our part in it is to be. When the Hymn is finally sung "Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life", we are reminded that this mission continues and must continue.
Our Orthodox ancestors passed down their rituals, and the Alaskan Natives passed down theirs, and Dale Murphy inspired someone to copy his rituals to become a better hitter in baseball. Three different types of rituals from three different sources all for one same purpose: to keep us centered on the task at hand.
Christ Is Risen!!!
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