Monday, December 30, 2013

Monday Morning in the Desert

"Some brothers asked Macarius, 'How should we pray?' He said, 'There is no need to talk much in prayer.  Reach out your hands often and say, 'Lord have mercy on me, as you will and as you know.' But if conflict troubles you, say 'Lord, help me.' He knows what is best for us and has mercy.'"

(Quoted at p. 160 of "Where God Happens: Discovering Christ in One Another" by Rowan Williams).


Monday, December 23, 2013

Monday Morning in the Desert - Christmas Edition

During the Advent and Christmas seasons, we hear a lot about angels.  An angel appeared to Zechariah, telling him that his wife would bear a son named John (who we know as John the Baptist).  How did Zechariah react? "[H]e was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him." (Luke 1:10).  What was the angel's response to his fear? "Do not be afraid." (Luke 1:13).

The angel Gabriel then appeared to Mary to tell her that she was to bear one who would be "called the Son of the Most High", what was hear reaction? She was "perplexed".  (Luke 1: 29).  And what was the angel's response? "Do not be afraid." (Luke 1:30).



 The Desert Fathers and Mothers had the same sort of apprehension whenever they believed they encountered an angel: "The hermits said, 'If an angel really appears to you, do not accept it as a matter of course, but humble yourself, and say, 'I live in my sins and am not worthy to see an angel.'" (From p. 165 of "The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks" translated by Benedicta Ward).

The kind of humility expressed by Zechariah, Mary, and the Desert Fathers and Mothers in the presence of a divine messenger contradicts our expectation that God will always answer us when we call, and give us what we want.  The Lord is not our great "Santa Claus in the sky."  Instead, we are called to trust that God is with us ("Emmanuel"), and to remember the words of the angels: "Do not be afraid."
 
 

Monday, December 16, 2013

A Reflection on Tragedy and the Liturgy

As I reflected on the one year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, I found these words that I posted to my congregation's Facebook page one year ago:  

"Many times I have found that when words fail me, the liturgy of the Church helps me to pray. The liturgy of Morning Prayer (Matins) gives us words to pray when we are at a loss for words following the events of yesterday:

"In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace." (The Song of Zechariah, also known as the Benedictus, from "For All the Saints - A Prayer Book For and By the Church")."


One year later, we still dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. When our faith is shaken by events such as the shooting in Newtown, and when our minds have difficulty grasping how to deal with such a tragedy, sometimes it is all we can do to cling to the words of the liturgy.  In the midst of the shadows and the darkness, they remind us of hope - a hope that one day, the dawn from on high will guide our feet into the way of peace.

Monday Morning in the Desert

During this Christmas shopping season, there are many signs around us of "conspicuous consumption" - a/k/a "keeping up with the Joneses".  The Desert Fathers and Mothers offer a healthy corrective to that mindset:

"Abba Poemen said that a brother who lived with some other brothers asked Abba Bessarion: 'What ought I to do?'  The old man said to him: 'Keep silence, and do not be always comparing yourself with others.'"

(From p. 72 of "In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers" by John Chryssavgis).

Monday, December 9, 2013

Monday Morning in the Desert

Abba Poemen said: "Evil cannot drive out evil. If anyone hurts you, do good to him and your good will destroy his evil."

(From p. 101 of "The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks" translated by Benedicta Ward).

Friday, December 6, 2013

Christian Spirituality and the Five Senses - Sight

Iconoclasm is alive and well today in the Church.

If that word is not familiar to you, the term "iconoclasm" simply means the rejection of visual images (paintings, icons, statues, etc.) that are intended to depict something that is sacred.  The last great ecumenical council of the Church prior to the schism between East and West (Second Council of Nicaea, 787 A.D.) declared that iconoclasm was contrary to the Gospel.

Historically, iconoclasm was usually based on a deliberate theological decision (usually based upon a misapplication of the commandment against the use of "graven images").  Theological iconoclasm is still around in some parts of Christianity.  I tend to think, though, that much of the iconoclasm of today is not based on theological reasons; instead, I suspect that allegedly practical reasons are the driving force behind much of modern iconoclasm.  Those practical reasons range from a belief that artwork costs too much money, to a desire to have a worship space look like something "modern and familiar" instead of "foreign and ancient".

Therefore, churches like this one are rarely being built these days:


Instead, more and more churches like this one are being built, particularly in America.



The former picture depicts the interior of Frauenkirche, the "Church of Our Lady", which is the Lutheran Cathedral in Dresden, Germany.  It was destroyed due to the Allied bombing campaign toward the end of World War II, but it was recently rebuilt, with glorious results.   The latter picture is a typical, modern, sterile worship space which looks more like the interior of an auditorium or shopping mall than a sacred space.

Not all churches, of course, can build something like the Frauenkirche. However, as this little home icon display shows, you can do a lot with a little, even in a small space. 




Regardless of whether modern iconoclasm is "theological iconoclasm" or "practical iconoclasm", it is harming the Church.  The use of our sense of sight to see the holy is an important part of our faith.  .

Why?  Just a few days ago (December 4th), the saint of the day was St. John of Damascus.  It was his theological writings that formed the basis of the decision made at the Second Council of Nicaea to reject iconoclasm.  He wrote:

"In former times, God, who is without form or body, could never be depicted.  But now, when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see, I do not worship matter:  I worship the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake, who willed to take his abode in matter; who worked out my salvation through matter. Never will I cease honoring the matter which wrought my salvation!.... Because of this, I salute all remaining matter with reverence, because God has filled it with his grace and power. Through it my salvation has come to me."

(St. John of Damascus, "On the Holy Images", I, 16, translated by David Anderson, in St. John of Damascus on the Divine Images).     

Since this is the season of Advent, we use the word "Immanuel" a lot in Church these days.  "Immanuel" (also spelled "Emmanuel") simply means "God with us."  Because God is with us, why not use our gift of sight to view something that conveys that divinity to us?    

Monday, December 2, 2013

Monday Morning in the Desert

"A hermit was asked, 'What us humility?' He said, 'It is if you forgive a brother who has wronged you before he is sorry.'"

(From p. 163 of "The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks" translated by Benedicta Ward).