orthodox-church – St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church

One Man’s Trash…

Daily Readings: Is. 33:22-34:1; 1 Corinth. 1:18-24; Matt. 24:27-36
Ընթերցուածքներ` Եսայ. ԼԳ 22- ԼԴ 1; Ա Կորթ. Ա 18-24; Մատթ. ԻԴ 27-36

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” In a society of abundance my dears, there are very few things that we would purchase used. Vintage, antique, collector items, and so forth have certain value yet, for the most part, when we go to a garage or yard sale, maybe a thrift store or Church bazaar, honestly, unless we are looking for something specific, there is a lot of trash. Used, abused, worn out things that clearly the seller just wants to get rid of. But it is interesting that while I may go to one of these sales and see trash, someone with an expert eye will look and see value and treasure. I remember once going to a Church festival yard sale in New York and didn’t find anything valuable. Whereas Yeretskin (my ife), who was with me, saw these white dinner plates that caught her eye. Turns out it was a full dinner set of the well-known British Spode fine bone china. For me, it was plates and weight that I would have to carry; yet, for someone who understood the value of the craftsmanship and prestige, it was valuable. The plate didn’t change; it was the perspective of the person who viewed it.

No one wants trash. Yet the underlying premise of the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” emphasizes, while someone else may see value, there are things in life that we view as unwanted, unnecessary, and we discard them. Sadly, the truth is we use this same approach towards each other and other people. We see certain members of society, of our own community or family members, priests, laity, elders, youth, and so forth as trash, as ugly. We look at beggars, and prostitutes, junkies, and alcoholics as lesser. We look at those who vote different than us, who dress, speak and act strange as lesser. As uneducated, stupid, foolish and devalued. And while no one likes to be called foolish or stupid, no one wants to be seen as garbage, yet we even treat ourselves this way. We look at our scars, our sins, our addictions, our mistakes, the cracks and worn-out marks on our hands and think we are worthless. We hold up in esteem those who are educated, who dress well, who speak eloquently, who fit our own ideologies of proper and valuable. We look at celebrities and influencers, who hide behind filters, and think they are valuable, not I.

Yet, my dears, in the same manner that the value of the plates did not lessen because I didn’t understand rather it was the one who understood their value that made them important, for God, our value is not defined by the world. St. Paul even reminds us that God uses the foolish, the undervalued, the rejected, to reveal Himself. (vv.20-21) “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?…Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 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.” God sees us not for our foolishness, brokenness, or sins, God sees us not for our achievements and wealth; God sees and loves us because He knows our value. Evil has convinced us that sin and shame has made us worthless, yet, through Christ Jesus, we are called to understand that we are in fact priceless. We are love and transformed, not by anything we do but by God. The plates I saw at the Bazaar didn’t change outwardly. Yet, they were valued for what they were, when they were used for their purpose.

Likewise, us my dears! When we in faith humble ourselves, when we repent and turn to God, when we pray and read Holy Scriptures, outwardly we may not change, our scars may not disappear, and society may still think of us as foolish. Yet, we will live purposefully for God’s kingdom; we will become the very instruments that declare God’s love for all, our value will be revealed. In the same way, the Holy Cross my dears, is for us. Today in the Armenian Church we celebrate how St. Queen Helen discovered the Holy Cross of our Lord. The Cross which was a tool of death, humiliation, shame and fear. Yet, which through the blood of Christ was transformed to be a sign of victory and life for us Christians. No, the wood did not change, and yes, historically Roman’s continued killing criminals on the Cross. Yet, through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus we understand, that physical death is temporary; that shame and sin do not have the final verdict on us. That the love of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit sees where our true value is – not determined by language, skin color, IQ or wealth. But by the image and likeness of God in which we were originally created.

Yes, for the rest of the world the cross, we, our faith may be trash, may be foolishness, may be something that would rather be discarded. However, for us foolish ones, we who are born of the Holy Font, who receive the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, we, who look to the empty tomb, no matter how used, abused, worn out we feel, we know with certainty that the love of God for each one of us is where our value lies. Each person’s value lies. Therefore, we pray for God to open our eyes to this truth; we turn to Him asking to be healed, and to us to be revealed, not our worthlessness according to the world but of our pricelessness according to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we are embraced in the love of our Heavenly Father, and by the Holy Spirit our eyes are illuminated to see with a new perspective that for the world we may be trash, but to God we are His treasure, Amen!

What Qualifies Us

Daily Readings: Is. 20:2-21:6; Gal. 4:3-18; Lk. 4:14-23
Ընթերցուածքներ` Եսայ. Ի 2- ԻԱ 6; Գաղ. Դ 3-18; Ղկ. Դ 14-23

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Sitting in an interview, James nervously answered each question he was given. “What are your strengths? What are your challenges? Why makes you fit for this position?” Then the final question – “where do you see yourself in 5 years?” Most of us my dears, have faced these questions. Whether in a job interview or in our self-reflections, we have in some way pondered about our strengths, our weakness or challenges, about what makes us a good fit and ultimately, where we see ourselves in the future. Yet, the truthfully, I wonder if we have ever placed these questions within the context of our faith. Within the daily practice of being a Christian, how many of us have wondered where our strength is, where do we still need to strengthen? And knowing ourselves, have we ever thought why would God place me in the position or environment I am in? And where does this all lead?

Throughout the Holy Scriptures, we read of how God repeatedly chooses the most unlikely candidates. King David, who was a shepherd, Joseph – a rejected brother who would rule over Egypt, Moses – an adopted son who had a speech impediment; what about Rehab, who was a prostitute but who later helped the Israelites win their war; or even the 12 Apostles, fishermen, tax-collectors, murderers, and rebels. None which in a job interview would be the preferable candidate, and yet, God chose them. Each with strengths certainly but with weakness and challenges that would make us pause and think – clearly, they are not the best fit. Yet, all who, when they trusted God, saw the fruitfulness of their faith not measured in years but in growth of faith. And this my dears, is where we fit.

God our Heavenly Father, has a place for each one of us. Christ Jesus died for you and I, calling each of us towards a meaning and purpose. When we respond to God, when we through confession, repentance, prayer and humility trust God, the Holy Spirit descends upon us and guides us to understanding that meaning and purpose. In the Gospel today we read of how Christ in the Synagogue read the words of Isaiah (Is. 61), “the spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sign to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (v.18-19) Christ here is revealing to us, why He has come into the world – to preach to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, acceptance to the oppressed and declare the year of the Lord. And yet, Christ is also revealing to us, that when the Spirit of the Lord is upon us, we too are charged with this meaning and purpose.

The poor to whom Christ has come to are not merely the materially impoverished – but the Gentiles, those who do not have the laws, the prophets, those who don’t know about the love of God. There are plenty in the world who do not know this love today, and we are called to preach to them through the life we live. The brokenhearted to whom Christ comes to heal, are the Israelites who though they were the chosen people, have placed their trust in others, leaving them hurt. There are plenty in our own families, Church communities, who are baptized, or who came to Church at one point and yet, have now gone astray and are searching for something deeper. To them we are often the only example, the only invitation to come back. The captives Christ liberates, the oppressed are those who have fallen victim to the lies of this world; politics, material wealth, sex, drugs and money. Those who believe freedom is in these things and yet, who have now become slaves to those. It is to them we are sent out to be an example of, in our weakness, in our own shortcomings, to show that true freedom is only through Christ. The blind are those who can’t see their errors, things I just mentioned. That their trust is misguided, that they are trapped, and hurt in darkness. Yet, by the light of God, their paths are illuminated.

Yes, this is why Christ has come, and this is why Christ calls us. To live faithfully, and purposefully. And before we worry that these are too lofty or difficult. My dears, it is only by the Holy Spirit, says, St. Irenaeus, that we can live in this way. The Holy Spirit that anointed David as King, gave Joseph wisdom as a ruler, that guided Moses through the desert, or moved Rehab’s heart to the truth, and descended upon the Jordan River, and upon the Apostles in the Upper room, the same Holy Spirit that descends upon us in our baptism. How we live therefore, by that Spirit, is how we faithfully fulfill our purpose my dears. “We must love others and pray that no soul be lost, that all may enter into the Church.” (St. Porphyrios) By loving ourselves and repenting, by loving our children and teaching, by loving others through how we treat neighbors and peers or the strangers in the street, those who are different than us, who are on the wrong path, who are blind to the truth, who have become slaves to their darkness. Love of God liberates us not litigation of policy.

My dears, what are our strengths? What are our weaknesses? What makes us fit for this position? Knowing my past my dears, I often wonder why God allowed me to become a priest. Perhaps some of us, if not all of us, knowing our own past, might wonder how God could ever use us? Through His love for us, Christ Jesus, reminds us, that when the Holy Spirit is upon us, it is no longer us but God’s light through us. And when we are faithful, 1 year from now, 5 years from now, 10 or how ever many years we have left on this earth, what we will see is the year of the Lord (v. 19) declared. We will become the reason and person God uses for His Holiness. In humility, prayer and repentance ask for wisdom, understanding and hope. Love and pray for all, so that as one body, as the Holy Church, as the children of our Heavenly Father, we will bring glory to Him, with the Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Examine Your Closet

Daily Readings: Is. 17:7-14; 2 Corinth. 13:5-13; Mk. 11:27-33
Ընթերցուածքներ` Եսայ. ԺԷ 7-14; Բ Կորնց. ԺԳ 5-13; Մկ. ԺԱ 27-33

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

How many of us my dears, in our closets have a shirt or pair of pants, something that after we lost weight or grew out of, we still have for some reason. We hold on to because “you never know.” Or the contrary, you have something that’s far too small motivating us that we’re going to one day weare it. It’s interesting because our church fathers actually say that the food in your fridge, the leftovers, the clothing in your closet, the shoes in your room, that you do not use are in fact sinful because they could be used by those who do not have. What we need above all else, when we look at those clothing those shoes is to ask, and be honest with ourselves, why are we holding on to those things?

In the letter of Saint Paul today to the Corinthians, he begins by telling us, examine yourself, test yourself, do you not know yourself that Jesus Christ is in you? In other words, look at the life you live, look at your closet, look at the things that you are holding on to such as your past, perhaps your present. Why and what purpose does it serve? Is it Christ, is it Christlike or is it something else, of a life in the past? which we have no more control over, perhaps we live with regrets, or is it something that we are unsure of what may come in the future?

Last week, I spoke about Christmas and Halloween decorations in stores, and well another thing that happens in this time of the season is movies. Every few years, for Christmas we get another version of which movie? Ebenezer Scrooge! Ebenezer Scrooge who is this wealthy, very evil for a lack of word, man who is visited by 3 ghosts – the past, the present and the future, warning him, asking him examine yourself; look at the life that you came from, look at who you are now, and where is it going to lead? Ebenezer Scrooge eventually comes to the realization, what am I doing? Why am I holding on onto those things in the past that have filled me with bitterness today that in my future will, eventually lead me to loneliness, isolation and fear.

I don’t think any of us have a ghost that visits us, showing us our past, present and future. But we do have ghosts, shadows, we all have skeletons, we have things in our closet that we’re holding onto that we are fearful of either letting go, or we hold onto because we’re unsure of what the future will bring. My dears, what are we holding on to in our closets? What kind of life are we living, what are we filling it with? In the Book of Wisdom of Solomon, he writes, “my children have you sinned” in other words is your closet full of the past of things that you wish you could let go or things that you’re holding onto, “have you sinned? Go and don’t add more to it.” Flee from sin, pray for your former sin but flee from it as you would flee from a snake because when you approach it, it will bite you.

My dears, it doesn’t say live with regrets, it doesn’t say be angry about your past. Christ tells us to repent; Christ tells us to live as He commands us, and St. Paul tells us to recognize that we must begin by that self-examination because he continues that Christ Jesus is in you. What does that mean? What does it mean to have Christ Jesus in us? Keep Jesus in our closet right, only use them unnecessary? No, my dears! To have Christ Jesus in us, as Saint Paul says, is to ask are we living as Christ guided us and directed us in humility. In kindness, in mercy, and compassion. Are we imitators of that? The saying goes, and I know many of you have heard it, that “Saints around us our Saints because they sinned yet, trusted God, all saints have a past, and all sinners have a future.

Yet, the sad thing and the difficult thing my dears is that when we hold onto that past, we allow that past brokenness, that sin, that large clothing, that small clothing, that thing that we are afraid to let go, we allow that to define us, rather than Christ. My dears, there is nothing that defines us, there’s no greater love, there’s no greater mercy, there’s no greater compassion, than of God. His love is greater than any brokenness that we might bring, addiction, hopelessness, despair, depression, murder, lies, cheating, adultery, idolatry, bring what it might be, without adding to it as Solomon says, without focusing on it and think that because we’ve messed up, because we’re broken, that we might as well just keep adding to it. Rather examining yourself, and ask how ever broken I am, is no is not greater than how powerful and loving and merciful my Lord Christ is. For there is nothing greater than that.

Therefore, examine yourself, let go of that piece of clothing, give what you have access of to others. Examine the life you live every day, not just in church but every where and ask is it Christ that is in me? Is it mercy and compassion and forgiveness that comes from me? Or is it something else that I’m holding onto. Hold on to our Lord, hold on and recognize that when we are humble, when we come asking for forgiveness, nothing defines us more than the love of God, nothing is greater, not our broken past, our difficult present or our uncertain future, than that which God has already done through His Son, Christ Jesus through whom we come into communion with the Father and Holy Spirit, and through whom we learn to live not just Christians here, not just as Christians when life is easy, but Christian’s healed of our past, strengthened in our present and prepared for the future, Amen!

“But”

Daily Readings: Is. 49:13-23; Gal. 6:14-18; John 3:13-21
Ընթերցուածքներ` Եսայ. ԽԹ 13-23; Գաղ Զ 15-18; Յով. Գ 13-21

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

I love chocolate chip cookies, “but” I want to manage my sugar. In the 14^th century, French Philosopher Jean Buridan proposed a paradox question, where he illustrated, a dog choosing between equal portions of food. Overtime the experiment changed to “Buridan’s Donkey” yet, proposed the same paradox – choices vs. the idea of our “but.” The experiment was as such, a hungry dog, or donkey stands at an exact equal distance between two identical piles of food. The animal must make a choice – left pile or the right pile. However, as the animal moved towards one choice, the other choice becomes further away. So, the animal stands completely still, makes no choice, and starves to death. Out of fear of losing out of the other option, the animal chose neither and died. A rational person would pick one except for the fear of “but”.

This is true my dears of all of us. We want to be healthy, but we want to eat, drink and make choices that hurt our health. We want to be educated, but we want to go out with friends, be lazy, and relax. We want to be financially stable, have money to be comfortable in the long run, but we splurge on unnecessary things that fill our life with only momentary pleasure. And what is far more detrimental my dears, we want to be faithful, we want to grow in our faith, but we find reasons why we don’t pray, why we don’t attend Church, why we don’t read our Scriptures and why we don’t do what God commands of us. Sadly, what happens is we never reach our goals, we do not become healthy, we don’t find stability, we don’t grow in our faith and eventually we die. No, I am not speaking of physical death. Death is something we cannot avoid, yet what about spiritual death?

Today the Armenian Church along with all of Christendom celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Cross, which the world tells us is weakness, is a “crutch for the weak”, is a tool of death. Yet, St. Paul calls the Cross foolishness for those who are perishing yet for us faithful it is freedom, “by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” And we as Christian’s, who claim and proclaim faith in Christ Jesus our Lord must choose what is the Cross for us? Faith is not forced upon us, driven by fear, or culture. Faith in God is not a point system, where we tally “being good” vs. “being bad” and therefore God will either punish us or bless us. Faith is not personal opinions, picking a choosing what fits our way of life.

My dears, faith in Christ, being a Christian, is Communion, healing, rehabilitation and transformation. It is about actively choosing the Cross, choosing God, choosing His love. It is about coming as we are, broken as we are, weak or strong as we are, defeated or successful as we are according to whatever standard we have used to govern our life and through repentance, responding to the grace and love of God. To exalt the Cross, meaning to lift it up, is realized through the choices we choose to make, the side we pick to live by. “But” I want this, I want that…does not work with our Christian faith. For Armenians and all Orthodox Christians, being a Christian is not merely a title or a phrase we say, but it is an entire lifestyle.

Will we struggle? Will we have questions? Will we make mistakes? Absolutely! That is why the love of God is greater than our shortcomings. His love that sent Christ Jesus, His Son into this world to save us by the Cross. Yet, just as the thieves on the cross, one chose to reject, while the other accepted Christ, just as the saints even in the face of hardship chose to live faithfully, yet, so many who live in “worldly comfort” choose to reject God, likewise we must choose. Our choice will either feed us or leave us hungry and broken. That is why St. John in the Gospel says our choice is ultimately what brings judgement to us. v. 19-21 “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.”

My dears, we daily stand between two choices; we are in Buridan’s paradox. In our everyday decisions and especially when it comes to our faith. Which direction will we move? What decision will we make? Will we stand still, leaving us unsatisfied, hurt and broken? Will we choose what the world tells us and eventually starve our faith? Or will we choose to exalt, glorify and lift up our Cross, follow God, ask questions, feed and drink from His Holy Altar and strengthen our faith? The choice is our, “but” we must recognize that it is our choice.

By the grace and love of our Lord, every day we have another opportunity to repent, to turn and choose God. To live in His love, by His commandments. To pray for wisdom, and to do His will, in how we treat ourselves, how we treat others, how we date, raise our families, dress, think, work, and so forth. Faith is a response; faith is a choice. God our Heavenly Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, has chosen us, “but” what will we choose? Amen.

“I don’t know…I want to Learn”

Daily Readings: Is. 7:10-16; Gal. 3:29-4:7; Lk. 2:1-7
Ընթերցուածքներ` Եսայ. Է 10-16; Գաղ. Գ 29- Դ 7; Ղկ. Բ 1-7

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Within the Church, we have many symbols, images and icons which tell us a story. Initially that is why icons were so popular in Churches, because they teach, remind us of important lessons and so forth. In the same way, when we look or share pictures from our past, we need to often tell a back story, explain what is going on, so people can understand what is happening. Today as Armenian Orthodox, and yesterday all other Orthodox Churches, celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary. When we look at the icon of this feast day, what do we see? When St. Mary entered dormition, the Apostles and other Christians naturally held a funeral. The story of how St. Mary passed, and her assumption by Christ which comes to us from the early Church, tells us of how angelic prayers and singing was heard around her tomb and that when her tomb was reopened, her body was no longer there but had been assumed into Heaven. That is what we see in this image. Yet, in this icon we see something strange; A man, who appears to be in pain, with both his hands cut off. Why and what is this?

According to Holy Tradition of the Church which dates all the way back to the 5^th-6^th century, a Jewish priest named Jephonias, who was hostile to Christ and His followers, attempted to disturb the procession of the Apostles carrying the Theotokos to Gethsemane. And so he tried to overturn the bier, the place St. Mary’s body lay, and at that moment the Archangel Michael appeared and struck with his sword, severing his hands. Confronted by this terrible wonder, Jephonias immediately repents and confesses his faith in Christ, and prays asking for forgiveness from St. Mary. Through the intercession of the Theotokos, his hands were miraculously restored, and he stood up and joined the procession as a believer. And so, in this scene, in this icon of St. Mary what can we learn? What does this picture teach us? And more importantly, apart from a story, what can we learn to take with us in our walk of faith?

A couple of days ago while having coffee, I had an interesting conversation with a man who had grown up in the Evangelical Church but had since become an atheist. He remarked that one of the issues he had was that when he had spoken to pastors in the past asking questions, every answer they gave was baseless or far-fetched; they seemed to want to answer even if it made no sense. It had annoyed him that they just couldn’t say, “I don’t know.” And this is true for many of us. We all want to have the answers; and we want to be right. We want our opinions to matter and for us to be heard. Yet, one of the greatest virtues and qualities that we learn from Holy Scriptures is humility. The recognition to say, “I don’t know.” We don’t have all the answers, yet, because of pridefulness, arrogance and ego, we insist on our way, we think we have the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and while our intensions may be pure, we cause hurt to ourselves and perhaps to others. We begin to become careless and hopeless.

You see this Jewish priest in the icon who did not know Christ. And rather than be humble and say, “I don’t know”, he insisted on his own way, for which he was punished. Yet, the story does not stop there because ultimately, he did repent, he did humble himself and recognize, he didn’t know and he was wrong. And this is the virtue my dears, we need not just in our day to day but especially in our faith. As Christian’s yes, we know and believe in God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; we know and believe that God the Father is the author of all life and creation, we know and believe that Christ Jesus, God the Son, came and died on the Cross for our sins and was resurrected on the third day; we know and believe in the Holy Spirit that breathes life into us, guiding us forever and that by faith, which we live daily we respond to all that God does.

Yes, we know and believe that Christianity in the Orthodox Church is the fullness of faith, yet, we also know and believe that we still know nothing. As Socrates says, “I know that I know nothing.” That just because we believe in God, it doesn’t make us better than those who do not. Just because we come to Church, light a candle, say a prayer, leave a donation, volunteer at soup kitchens, etc. doesn’t make us greater than the beggar in the street, or the atheist at the coffee shop. My dears, that is why St. Mary the Mother of God is so beloved. Not for external knowledge, not for stature, or some arbitrary characteristic; not because she had all the answers. Clearly she didn’t which is why in the Gospel she questions the angel. Yet, her humility, even when she wasn’t sure is why look to her. Humility in trusting God above her own abilities and limitations; Humility to remain faithful, even if she wasn’t theologically trained. Therefore, in life and even in death, St. Mary ultimately points us to this virtue of Christlike humility.

Today’s feast, therefore, and this icon is a lesson for us of humility and reverence especially when it comes to our faith. Humility to say, “I don’t know” and reverence to say, “I want to learn.” Learn to love as Christ calls us to love, even those who don’t love us back. Learn to forgive and pray for, even those who have hurt us. Learn to trust that God cares for us, lifts us out even from the grave, even when the world says we have not value, we have no voice, we have nothing to offer. Like Jephonias, we are called to repent, humble ourselves, and approach God with faith. Learn from the lives of the saints my dears, learn to read the icons, and symbols in the Church as tools that guide us to Christ. Ask questions and say, “I don’t know.”

Pray for wisdom and God our Heavenly Father will teach us, illuminate our hearts and minds to know the truth, to know His love, to know Him. And God will make us into icons for others to learn from about faith. Not with our answers but with the stories of our lives. And with humility and reverence we will approach His Holiness and be washed by His grace to live a life that brings glory to Him, with the Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Our Transfiguration

Daily Readings: Zech. 14:16-21; 1 John 1:1-7; Matt. 16:13-17:13
Ընթերցուածքներ` Զաք. ԺԴ 16-21; Ա Յով. Ա 1-7; Մատ. ԺԶ 13- ԺԷ 13

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

If you ever have an opportunity to travel to either the North Pole or South Pole, you will find that the sun only appears for about 6 months out of the entire year. If you were to visit on the latter 6 months of the year, you would constantly be surrounded by darkness. In some parts of the world, such as Utqiaġvik, Alaska, they lose the sun for about 2 months out of the year. It is so dark, that one might think that the sun does not exist. This kind of darkness severely disrupts the human body’s circadian rhythm and triggers lethargy, weight gain, and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Not just physical hardship but even feelings of anxiety, depression, and fear can easily enter a person’s heart and mind when you’re surrounded with such darkness. The truth is most of us will not be traveling to the North or South Pole and if we were to go to Alaska, it is highly unlikely, we would stay long enough to suffer these symptoms.

However, growing up as a child, as we develop and grow, we regularly face this kind of darkness. When a parent or loved one leaves the room, we think that they disappear. We are worried that we are left alone, that there is no one there to help us. We think our parents don’t exist; in the same way we might think the sun does not exist. But we know that this is not true. We know that the sun is still there, whether it may be hiding behind clouds, or we are in a part of the world that is experiencing a unique rotation, or in the middle of the night – the sun is still there. Likewise, a parent who is in the other room is still there.

Today is the Feast of Holy Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. We read in the Scriptures that Jesus Christ was transfigured or transformed and radiating bright light on Mt. Tabor. Three of his apostles, Sts. James, John and Peter witness him being flanked by the prophets, St. Moses and Elijah. However, the Church Fathers express a unique point of view that perhaps we ourselves have not been conscious of. St. Paul in Heb. 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Therefore, God never changes. In studies of ethics and philosophically people will argue that if God is, who dictates good and evil, what if God was to change his mind? God does not change his mind arbitrarily. St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine and many of the Church Fathers say that this kind of contradiction is not within the realm of divinity. Therefore, just as the Sun is always there regardless of the darkness we may be experiencing, our parents are in the other room even if we don’t see them, likewise God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is constant, never changing and always present.

If we look at the entire reading which our Holy Church has designated for today, we see that it begins with Jesus Christ asking the disciples, who do people say that I am? Prophet, teacher, healer, etc. Until Christ asks, “But whom do you say that I am?” You who follow me, who learn from me, eat with me, etc. who do you say He is? To which the Disciples respond, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ tells them that this is revealed to them by the Holy Spirit that this is revealed to them by their faith. A few verses later we read of Christ’s transfiguration. My dears, how do these two event tie together?

In the same way, after the Sun rises from darkness we would say, the sun is back, or when our parent walks back in the room, a child would say mom and dad are back, likewise, we in our limited human language say Christ was Transfigured. Yet, Christ is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow and therefore, it is not He who is changed, but rather, He is revealed to us through the opening of our eyes in faith. Opened to see that He was always there. Christ is in the Old Testament Laws – for which Moses stood by Him; Christ is in the Prophecies – for which Elijah stood by Him. Christ is here, my dears – which is why we stand here. And so it is we who must be transfigured today, opened, renewed, washed, and mature. To recognize that in physical darkness the Sun is still here; and in times of spiritual Darkness, God is the Son is still here. To know that when mom and dad walk out the room, all we must do is call for them and they will come to our care; and when we feel broken, isolated, hurt, and lost, if we call out to our Heavenly Father, He will come to our care.

My dear brothers and sisters, how are we transfigured today? Who do we, who pray, follow, sing in the choir or serve on the Altar, who gather in Church say Christ Jesus is? In times of darkness, do we still know that the light is there? Our transfiguration begins here my dears. By faith our eyes are opened. By reading, learning and living these words in repentance, we are renewed. By stepping into Church, coming to this Mt. Tabor, the Holy Church, we see Christ revealed to us, and then walking out these doors, and living in such a way that reflects that truth. St. John for this writes, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Yes, the world will feel dark at times, we will feel hurt, and devalued; yes, mom and dad may not always be there to help us, we will feel lost. But God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. God is revealed to us. His light shines upon us. His grace and mercy, transform us. How will we be Transfigured today?

Stop Focusing on the Tares

Daily Readings: Isaiah 2:5-11; Rom. 8:30-10:4; Matt. 13:24-30
Ընթերցուածքներ` Եսայ. Բ 5-11; Հռոմ. Ը 30- Ժ 4; Մատ. ԺԳ 24-30

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

One day, a young man inherited a beautiful gold antique pocket watch from his beloved grandfather. It was ornate, with a beautiful chain and a heavy weight. The mechanism in the watch was intricate and masterfully crafted. The young man loved his grandfather and now loved this watch and wanted to show his appreciation for it. He was careful with it, making sure it was always properly set so that he could keep perfect time. Because you can’t carry a pocket watch in shorts and t-shirt, the young man even changed his outward attire, so that he could wear the pocket watch on his vest regularly. Everyone would comment on how he had changed; he was on time, he dressed nicely, he behaved maturely, yet, no one knew it was because of the pocket watch. One day, as he passed through a doorway, his watch fell out of his vest pocket. Worried he had damaged the watch, he frantically looked all over and saw no blemishes. Undisturbed he placed it safely back in his pocket and went about his day. Several days later, as he sat on the chair admiring his watch, his finger suddenly caught a small blemish on the chain of his watch. Heartbroken that his watch had been damaged he examined it closer. The scratch was almost invisible to the naked eye and yet, he couldn’t help but focus on it. Every time, he touched the watch, he felt like the scratch was gnawing at him. Eventually, he became disheartened with the watch and stopped carrying it with him, began changing his clothes, and stopped being on time and eventually he started being careless with his behavior. The watch still kept perfect time, but for this young man, his entire focus was on the scratch that no one could see and only he knew was there.

My dears, in today’s Gospel reading, Christ set before us “another parable.” By starting with these words, Christ is telling us to focus. Focus on the important teaching before us; in this case about the Kingdom of Heaven, which he likens again to seeds being planted. While this parable is one many of us know very well, unfortunately, a lot of times when we read our Bibles we lose our focus. The Scriptures are not one dimensional and the more we read, the more we see. For example, in today’s parable many of us focus on the wheat and tares; of how the devil came and planted bad seeds among good seeds. Yet, when they sprouted, the master told the servants to let them grow together and once matured, at the harvest they would be separated. Likewise, God created us good and the devil planted the seeds of sin into our life. On the last day, we will be separated for judgement based on our fruits. Yet, my dears, there is more to this parable that needs our attention because sadly too many of us focus only the surface level; we focus too much on the bad people.

In the same way the young man focused on the scratch and grew in contempt for the watch, likewise, we tend to see the bad things in this world, the darkness, and we begin to judge it. Or perhaps in our own lives, we see our addictions, our struggles, our shortcomings, and begin to think that what’s the point, we’re just going to fail. Yet, my dears, God created all of us for good. As we read in Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” We are all created in God’s image and likeness far more ornate and beautiful than anything else, even the most beautiful pocket watches with all its intricate mechanisms. While yes, we acknowledge that sin has polluted the world, and Scripture teaches us this, yet, our focus should not be on the negative, but on the how and why my dears.

In v. 25 we read, “but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” These men are us; while we, humanity slept, the enemy came. This isn’t saying don’t sleep or bad things will happen, rather, those who “slept” my dears, are those who become careless, lazy, and indifferent to God. It is here my dears, that we need to focus. Not on the evil of others, not only on our own struggles but on what kind of life we live that has made room for the enemy to penetrate our hearts and minds, to plant seeds of fear, doubt and sin. What Christ is speaking about here is not lack of energy, but spiritual laziness and carelessness: acedia, slothfulness. Our Church Father’s remind us that this laziness is when we have no prayer in our life, no active growth in faith; when our eyes seek others rather than look up towards Heaven. We work hard, we are devoted to family, etc. yet, spiritual laziness and indifference is when God becomes secondary.

There is a story about St. Anthony, the Great Dessert Father, who when struggling with slothfulness cried out to God in prayer, how could he overcome his laziness. All of a sudden, he saw a man just like himself, a little distance from him who sat down to work. St. Anthony watched the man work for several minutes when suddenly, the man stood up from his work, knelt for a moment and began to pray. Just has quickly as he had stopped to work and pray, he again sat down to work. The great saint watched this man do this every few minutes, when he realized God was telling him, “Do this, and you shall be saved.” This doesn’t mean my dears that while we work in our office, or in class, or driving the car, we need to stop every few minutes and pray. Perhaps for some of us it does. Yet, for all of us, we need to be honest with our selves, how much energy, and time, strength and hope do we place in our prayers, in reading Holy Scriptures, or the words of the Fathers? How much of our focus is on God vs. on work, and the material world, or on the faults, the scratches, the blemishes in our life that blind us to the love of God? Even when coming to Church is our focus on Him, His Word, or on everyone and everything else?

My dears, when we become lazy and indifferent in our faith, overtime the enemy, Satan will penetrate our heart and mind with seeds of sin. We will judge the world, be filled with contempt and sorrow. Those seeds will impact how we behave, how we think, how we live and eventually who we are. When we live in faith, we change, the world around us is changed. If a watch changed the man and his behavior, imagine how faith can change and transform us. Pray daily, purposefully and regularly. God our Heavenly Father does not leave us but stays with us. The master gardener, Christ Jesus came to save us from those evil seeds. Therefore, pray that the Holy Spirit will keep us alert and vigilant, protected and guarded not just physically but spiritually, emotionally and mentally from all harm. And by the grace and love of God, only the good seeds, only good fruits will flourish in us, through us and for us. Glory to God for all, Amen.

On Earth and In Heaven

Daily Readings: Acts 23:12-35; 1 John 5:13-21; John 12:12-23
Ընթերցուածքներ` Գործ. ԻԳ 12-35; Ա Յով. Ե 13-21; Յով. ԺԲ 12 – 23

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

© The Thomas Kinkade Estate. All Rights Reserved.

Lewis Carroll in 1865 wrote an iconic children’s novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The story follows a young girl named Alice, who falls down a rabbit hole into a world filled with strange creatures. This story is often interpreted as a story about a parallel world hidden beside ordinary reality. The “parallel world” idea comes from how Wonderland mirrors reality while still being a bit different. With strange characters and personalities, the world feels like stepping into a dream version of reality. Yet, by the end, Alice awakens from the experience, suggesting Wonderland may have been a dream — though the story leaves open the possibility that it was a real alternate world reached only through imagination.

This idea of parallel realities exists in many areas of our life my dears. In movies like the Matrix, in literature such as Alice in Wonderland or Chronicles of Narnia. While these are imaginative stories that have something deeper to teach us, who among us has not wondered if this world is all that there is? Is there another reality, another timeline, other worlds like ours? This imaginative questioning is especially alive in children. Have you ever seen a child look into a mirror? They wonder with amazement at the reflection staring back at them. Is that real? Is it another person in a world behind the mirror? As adults we know that the person in the mirror is us, reflecting with light. As for parallel realities or universes, I’ll leave to our imaginations and to film yet, within our faith my dears, I would argue we in fact do believe in an invisible reality, one that this life directly impacts.

When we come to Church and confess our sins, what does the priest say? “…By the command of the Lord in the Holy Gospel, whatever is forgiven on earth is forgiven in Heaven.” This comes to us directly from Holy Scriptures from the words of Christ to His disciples (Matthew 16 & 18) teaching us that what we do here directly impacts us in Heaven. When we step into a Church, we are surrounded by icons, smell of incense, music, beautiful liturgical services, and we are taught from childhood that in Church we don’t talk loudly, we don’t cross our legs, we dress nicely, we don’t chew gum, etc. This isn’t because these things make us into bad people. Rather, again looking to the Holy Scriptures, when we step through the doors of the Church, we step out of the world and step into the presence of God, into the Kingdom of Heaven. We come into a new reality; a parallel reality. That is why from Isaiah we read of how seeing Heaven, he witnessed the angels singing and worshiping God “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Host; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Is. 6:3) and the Book of Revelations (4:8) as St. John lifts our eyes up to Heaven to witness this truth again. So my dear when we are in Badarak, when we step into Church, the name of the Church or the address listed does not matter; the priest and people don’t matter because even in an empty Church, we are all worshipping together, in the Kingdom of God, with all the angels, with the saints, with all humanity – we are worshiping God. We are in a parallel reality.

One day a priest saddened by the reality of his small empty Church decided to resign. He had tried his best, preached, visited, taught the Gospel but his community wasn’t growing, very few people attended services, they were aging, tired, and this led to him to be discouraged overtime; after all he is human. In his prayers he asked God for a sign hoping that even if his Church was empty, he hoped that his prayers were being heard. One Sunday morning he got ready to start Badarak and as the curtain opened and he turned to give that sign of peace, the Church before his eyes was full. The choir was full of people he recognized and of whom he did not. There were priest standing near him, praying with him and the Church was filled with warmth, light and prayer. Uplifted by this was a joyous celebration, he prayed fervently, he gave Communion, offered up his sermon and felt the power of God working through Him. At the end of Badarak, as he turned to do the final dismissal, the Church was suddenly completely empty with only a few of his older parishioners still there. The priest however did not lose heart but recognized, when we pray in Church, we are surrounded by the cloud of witnesses as St. Paul teaches; our prayers are heard, not just in this reality but in the presence of God.

What we do here is what is taking place in the Kingdom of Heaven my dears.. That is also why in the sacraments of the Church we emphasize, what we are doing visibly here, has an invisible reality in the presence of God. As we are reborn through our baptism, as husband and wife 2 become one, as a priest is bestowed with authority to forgive on earth – my dears, invisibly occurs in heaven. So yes, we are gathered in Church here today, in this reality and we are praying. We are praying for answers, and we are recognizing the love of God the Father through Christ Jesus, God the Son who died and is resurrected, who ascends into Heaven. Yet, my dears this love is not just limited to you and I, just to those who come to Church, who think and look like us. This love is not limited to this reality. God’s love is for all creation, for all time. Christ saves not just humanity but all creation that mourns because of sin. As we read, (Lk. 15:7) “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Teaching us that when we choose to live in sin, when we choose to hate, and remain unrepentant, the angels in heaven are saddened; yet, when we repent and come to God, they celebrate. What we do in this world, impacts the Heavenly world.

Today in the Armenian Church we are celebrating an invisible reality in the Kingdom of Heaven. For the Armenian Church it is known as Second Palm Sunday. This is a uniquely Armenian feast day and is told to us by St. Gregory the Illuminator, who while in the pit of Khor Virap his guardian angel visited him each day. However, on the fourth day of the Ascension, the angel did not appear. When St. Gregory asked where he had been the following day, the angel explained that on the fourth day of Ascension the angels celebrate and rejoice in the presence of Christ, of His entrance into the Eternal Jerusalem. While there is no scripture to verify this unique feast day, as we saw throughout many scriptural passages, what we do in this life is reflected in Heaven, our prayers here are reflected in the Kingdom of God; as we gather to celebrate here, the angels and saints celebrate in Heaven.

I say all this my dears to ask an important question because though it may seem imaginative or philosophical, the truth there is a deeper reality that if the material world ripples into the Divine world like a stone thrown into the water, what impact are we leaving in this reality? What life are we living, what decisions, what choices, what prayers are we echoing in this world that reflects in the parallel invisible world that is the Kingdom of God? When God created earth, He created it as a blessing for us through which to prepare us for what is to come. To prepare through prayer, humility, love, mercy, compassion; to prepare us through worship, through Holy Scriptures, through faithfulness. If the angels in Heaven serve and celebrate our faithfulness and yet, mourn and pray for our sinfulness, how do we, the children of God behave and live when the world chooses to reject God’s love, to be disobedient and remain dark? Do we pray for them? Do we look with compassion and serve in humility? For what we do in this world, reflects the Kingdom of God my dears for all to see, in all realities echoing over eternity. The man in the mirror, the imagination of parallel worlds and timelines, while fantastic and entertaining begs the question, whether fictional or real, what kind of reflection, what kind of ripple do we leave?

My dears, come and enter into the Kingdom. Come and pray; come and repent. Attend and learn the Holy Scriptures and worship not just in the Church building that may or may not be empty; but worship in the Kingdom of God. In His real presence, under His real love. And when we worship here, step back out of this invisible world, out of the Kingdom and step into the material world and live a life that reflects this place of forgiveness, healing and love, for others to see. For angels celebrate with us, the saints pray for us and what we do in this life, in this reality, directly impacts what will happen and what is happening in the invisible world to come. What will we see?

Blinded to What Really Matters

Daily Readings: Acts 20:17-38; 1 John 3:2-6; John 9:39-10:10
Ընթերցուածքներ` Գործ. Ի 17-38; Ա Յով. Գ 2-6; Յով. Թ39 – Ժ10

Christ is Resurrected from the Dead – Blessed Is the Resurrection of Christ
Քրիստոս Յարեաւ ի Մեռելոց – Օրհնեալ է Յարութիւնն Քրիստոսի

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

In 2001, Alex Zanardi a famous Italian world class driver, was involved a horrific accident that resulted in the loss of both his legs. He was on top of the world, with accolades, trophies and success, heights that many aspire to but very few achieve. Until it all stopped; He lost control, and his car swerved across a grassy area and onto the track crashing into a fellow driver going 200 mph. In a moment, Alex lost his ability to make a living, to work, to enjoy life. What value he brought into the world disappeared in that split second. Though he lived, his recovery was painful as he experienced periods of deep depression even while working towards rehabilitation. Even as he looked for tools to make a transition back to some form of normality, he struggled finding properly fitting prosthetics. What value did Alex have in this world after losing so much?

My dears, so many of us place such high value on our physical abilities or inabilities, on our appearance, on what we have and do, compared to what God calls us to. Think about how and when we pray? We ask for healing over physical ailments, we ask for success and achievements in material endeavors and plans, we pray for peace, love and fulfillment in ways defined by the world. While there is nothing wrong with praying to be healthy, praying to find peace, love, and hope in our day to day, working and asking for success, yet is this where our value lies? Christ did not die for us so that our value would be determined by those things. In the same way, a parent loves their child regardless of what they achieve in life, likewise our value as the children of God is not limited to what we wear, or what we achieve. That is why St. John addresses us as, “Beloved, now we are children of God…” (v.2) Children to whom, by the grace and love of God through Jesus Christ, our true self and what that means is revealed. Which is why, St. John continues, “it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” See Him and be seen. Know God and see Him in ourselves and others.

Yet, so many of us, still choose to not see, choose to place our value and limit ourselves to what the world sees as important. And so Christ tells the Pharisees that, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.’ Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, ‘Are we blind also?’” The Pharisees are thinking like us, they are seeing their value in their physical ability of blindness. They are associating physical health, or material status as something far for valuable because for the Jewish people, any disability or failure was seen as a form of “punishment from God.” That is why a few verses back, in Jn. 9 the Disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” In fact, it is right after this miracle of the blind man being healed that the Pharisees question Jesus about physical blindness. No, the Pharisees may have not been physically blind, yet, because they lived according to the flesh, having misplaced their trust, choosing sin of pride, and arrogance, Jesus is saying they were blind to the truth; they chose to be blind.

My dears, God doesn’t punish us with sickness. God doesn’t allow hurt, darkness and pain in our life because we sin. And God does not limit our value more or less, based on our abilities, disabilities, achievements and failures. Yes, those things exist in our life. Sickness, failure, darkness, addiction are a painful consequence of the sin that has polluted the creation of God. Yet, despite all that poison God still loves us all. Despite a rebellious child, a true parent continues to love. And God the Father, in His Divine love for us sent His Son Jesus Christ to suffer all that darkness and failure, to be devalued according to this world. Not abandoning Him, God also raised Christ from the tomb defeating the power of sin. And God did so to reveal also to us, that we are also His beloved children, and He will raise us out of our failure, our brokenness and darkness. Christ Jesus opens not just our physical eyes but heals our spiritual blindness from the lies of this world. Christ removes not just the stone that covered the tomb to reveal the truth of the resurrection inside, but removes the stones that cover our eyes to reveal our value.

Just as our value is not limited to our physical healing, likewise healing, what God offers is not about physical healing rather, He opens our heart and illuminates our spirit. Reminding us not to be ashamed of our failure, of our hurt, of our blindness. Reminding us to be ashamed of choosing sin and remaining in blindness; ashamed of the lies we tell ourselves, our pride, our arrogance and hatefulness. Ashamed and cautious, not about what we physically look like but of how we choose to live apart from God. For we say we believe in God yet, we don’t know the Holy Scriptures, we don’t pray honestly, we don’t love, we don’t forgive, we don’t see – and so we remain spiritually blinded. Yet, despite all this, God reminds us ultimately that in humility His love is revealed for us not determined by those external things but the internal – the image and likeness we bare. And that we have a chance every day to repent, to turn to Him and ask to be healed of our blindness, to see His love.

Alex Zanardi, eventually changed. No, life did not get easier, no he did not get his legs back, he had to change his life, but he did not allow his limitations to be a limitation on the strength of his spirit. He joked about how the awkward prosthetic made him feel taller, or that he no longer worried about smelly feet or washing his socks. Eventually Alex went back to racing, driving a modified race car. To be a positive change, Alex discovered, the loss of his feet made room for the strength of his hands. He learned the difficult sport of handcycling, a three-wheeled bike that uses hand cranks instead of foot pedals. In 2011, he won the handcycle division of the New York City Marathon and continued on to win two gold medals and a silver medal at both the 2012 Paralympics in London and the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. He did not allow his limitations to blind him to his true value, no matter what the world said.

My dears, no matter what the world says about us, regardless of our limitations, our sickness, our shortcomings, regardless of our achievements, physical attributes, money and statues – our value is not limited nor determined by those things. God loves us all and God desires to heal us all, to be whole and holy. Let go of the hate; let go of the pride; let go of what the world tells us is important and trust in God. Repent and return to His love. Learn the Scriptures, come to Church with questions, live in Communion seeking true healing, and our spiritual blindness will be lifted. Yes, we may need to change how we live, how we act, how we dress, and so forth and this may be difficult. Rehabilitation and repentance often are. Yet, when we let go, we open ourselves to more. We open our hands to do the work of God, to be made whole and Holy. We open our heart and mind, to recognize love and mercy. We open our eyes and see the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, with whom we too are risen out of darkness and blindness. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, may our eyes be opened to His love, so that we will see and recognize that we are the beloved children of our Heavenly Father, to whom with the Son and Holy Spirit is due glory now and forever, Amen!

Did You Hear It?!

Daily Readings: Acts 9:23-31; 1 Peter 2:1-10; John 2:23-3:12
Ընթերցուածքներ` Գործ. Թ 23-31; Ա Պետ. Բ 1-10; Յով. Բ 23 – Գ 12

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen

If a tree falls in the woods and no one’s there to hear it, does it still make a sound? This philosophical question is perhaps one we’ve all heard. The answer is of course yes, it makes sound vibrations though there is no one to receive those vibrations and therefore, the sound is not heard. In science this concept of sound vibrations is actually quite fascinating because it begs the question, are those vibrations powerful enough to make an impact in the world around them even if no one hears it. In science, this is called string theory, which proposes that the fundamental elements of the universe, the things that exist in other words, are not made up of particles, but rather minuscule, vibrating strings of energy. Meaning the entire universe is made up of vibrating energy, what we call frequency, much like a sound wave. Yet, what is so fascinating about this is if we take this theory and apply it to the question I asked about the tree falling in the woods, we can reword it to ask, what in the woods created the sound vibrations and what came of it?

And this is an important question to ask my dears as Christians, not philosophically or scientifically but practical for our lives. Because if science suggests that the entire universe is made up of these vibrations, we need to ask what is the source of those vibrations? For us Christians we know that this was God. In fact, what do we read in the Book of Genesis about creation? How did creation take place? “God said…”Creation was spoken, by sound vibrations, into existence. Even though we were not there to hear it, those vibrations caused life. Ps. 33:4 – 6 we read, “For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. God created all through His Word, through speech. Last week we even read in Jn. 1 – “in the beginning was the Word…All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

And speech, or word to create is one of our shared qualities with God. In fact, in Armenian what do we call animals? Anasun, literally “non-verbal”. Yet, if the entire universe as we believe was spoken into existence, which even science affirms, these sound vibrations are what make up the universe and all in it, and we as humans differing from all animals of creation likewise speak, regardless of who is there to hear it, what kind of vibrations, what words, do we speak and put out into the universe? You see my dears, this question is neither scientific nor philosophical, it is personal, because we are responsible for what comes out of our mouths, we are responsible for what we create. And this is not limited to merely words. We are responsible for what choices we make, which likewise leave an impact in this world. The saintly Mother Theresa says, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

Regardless of if anyone hears our words, or thoughts, if anyone is on the receiving end of our actions, we leave an impact in this world. Our words, and our actions my dears, leave a vibration and imprint in this universe. Sometimes we don’t even realize this until it’s too late. I remember once getting cut-off in traffic and I used angerly responded with a slur in Armenian, only to hear my son laughing and repeating the same word all of a sudden. So often I hear people say, “oh this is my sin,” “or this doesn’t hurt anyone else.” Yet, as a body, if I have a headache, my entire body is uncomfortable. Likewise, we through our choices not only impact our lives but also those around us. Even the words we use about ourselves, in the privacy of our mind, impact us.

A famous Japanese doctor, Masaru Emoto, conducted an experiment where he would expose water to negativity and hatred. He would use negative, hate filled words, play harsh music, or share unkind thoughts towards a body of water. In another container, Dr. Emoto would play classical music, speak kind and loving words, sharing positivity. At the end of the experiment, he froze both samples of water and examined the participles. In the negative water, he discovered broken, and ugly ice crystals, whereas in contrast with the positive water he found beautiful harmonious structures formed. My dears, does my life leave positive or negative, violent or loving, Godly or sinful impact? As children of God, we are created by the harmonious, kind, loving Word of God. Through sin, the negativity and hatred of the world, pollutes are very being. We fill our lives with anger, hatred, we hold on to hurt, we abuse our mind, and our body, we listen to evil words and thoughts, we go after things that ultimately leave us far worse, broken and unsatisfied. Yet, through His Word, Christ Jesus, God calls us out of the darkness. Our creative God renews us through His Holy Church, through the Holy Scriptures – through His love and mercy.

And in our Psalms, we call out, “Lord if you open my lips, may I sing your praise.” Sing your praise not just in the Church my dears, but with our words, with our lives, sing His praise by forgiving others, sing His praise by forgiving ourselves, sing His praise by our choices in accordance with His commandments. Come and be reborn, washed of iniquity through the Holy Baptismal font, be the Holy Priesthood that God calls us to be through His Word, as St. Peter writes to us. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) Declare the wonderful deeds of Him! Create, speak, do, so that when the world sees us, when the world feels the vibrations we leave, even if they never personally know us, they will personally know God. Whether or not there is any one there to hear the sound of a falling tree, God sees. Whether or not the there is any on there to see or hear our actions, God sees. And through us, the universe is impacted, the love of God is shared, the light of God is brightly shined, and all creation, verbal or non-verbal, will glorify or deny Him. By the Word of God, Jesus Christ, by the love and mercy of our Heavenly Father, through the grace of Holy Spirit, let us open our minds with compassion to do His will, let us open our mouths in praise, Amen!