In this Nativity season, as we all hurry off to find presents, trees and décor, rush to make arrangements – who will visit whom, where and on Christmas Eve or Christmas – it is often easy to forget Jesus at the center of it all.
As the Church approaches her two thousandth birthday, we once again celebrate the birth of He Who deigned to leave His heavenly throne to be born a poor boy in a backwater town, His mother delivering Him amongst farm animals in a cave.
In the two thousand plus years since His birth, many icons have been written of Him with His mother Mary. According to tradition, St Luke was the first to depict the infant Christ with her.
This video does not portray all of those icons, but the many styles are well represented. So just take a moment, click play, and remind yourself of why we celebrate. Say a prayer. Give thanks. And marvel at what God did for us.
As St Thalassios the Libyan writes, “There is a new wonder in heaven and on earth: God is on earth and man is in heaven.”
This is all in fun, folks. But having come from an Evangelical-Pentecostal background from my days with John Wimber at Calvary Chapel/Vineyard Christian Fellowship – (go ahead, take a breath) – I couldn’t help but laugh aloud when I saw this.
Props to Fr. Joseph Huneycutt for posting this on his Orthodixie blog. That’s where I first saw it.
Following the responses to my post about Halloween – there was a nice discussion on it on Facebook – I have a few more thoughts.
The excursion to Hallelujah Night at Harvest was pleasant enough. It was essentially a volunteer run carnival with lots of booths where the kids could play games and come away with candy. Mostly harmless. Most of the costumes on the kids were tame, too. Superheroes, fairies, etc. There were a few teenagers with skulls or excess cleavage – I don’t know if it was more than the outside world or not. But there was still very little to redeem the evening.
Harvest, like most Evangelical churches, could hardly be distinguished from a secular business campus. The buildings – save for one, small and easily-removable cross on the concert hall, er, sanctuary – was the only thing to denote it as Christian. The building interiors were sufficiently devoid of Christian markings to stave off Roman or Soviet persecution.
There was a play, an adaptation of Hairspray. Except in this version the girl wanted to tell the world about Jesus. When she got nervous she repeated “I will only think of Jesus.” I don’t believe she ever did think of him, only that she was going to. Same with telling the world. She only told the cameras that she would tell the world. And, the truth is, God is in the present moment, not our intentions for the next.
One of the commentators on Facebook noted that her family has celebrated All Souls Day in keeping with Roman Catholic tradition for the last several years. I like that. It connects to the origins of the holiday. Halloween is All Hallows Eve, after all. And Hallelujah Night is just a by-word for Halloween. No tradition, nothing particularly Christian, just a Hebrew word with similar phonemes at the front end.
Of course, it might just be that I missed our own tradition. I put the light-up vampire Tigger in the yard, and Carol’s students from past and present knock on the door. It’s a neighborhood thing. And maybe that’s what it should be. At Hallelujah Night people gathered away from home next to those they didn’t know. And here, we see our neighbors and friends. Scary.
November is here. The pumpkins are going in the pies and the turkeys are getting nervous.
I’ve rounded up a number of interesting celebrations and memorials that happen in November. So whatever else happens this month, you can’t claim that one day is just like another. Black Friday alone should tell you that.
This month’s birthstone is topaz, and the flowers are chrysanthemums. But my favorite part is Turkey Day, er, Thanksgiving.
If there are any that you think should be on here, just let me know. (And, honest, I didn’t make these up – not even National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day.)
November – American Diabetes Month / Epilepsy Awareness Month / National AIDS Awareness Month / National American Indian Heritage Month / National Long Term Care Awareness Month / International Drum Month / Peanut Butter Lover’s Month / Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month / National Novel Writing Month / Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month / Lung Cancer Awareness Month / National Homeless Youth Awareness Month / Crohn's & Ulcerative Colitis Awareness Month / Movember (Australia & New Zealand)
November 01 – All Saints Day (RC) / End of Daylight Savings Time / National Author's Day / Stephen Crane born (1871) November 02 – All Souls Day (RC) / Day of the Dead (Latin America) / Election Day (US) / National Deviled Egg Day November 03 – Sandwich Day / Housewife’s Day November 04 – Waiting for the Barbarians Day November 05 – Apostle Patrobus of the Seventy (Orthodox) / Guy Fawkes Night (Britain/New Zealand) / Gunpowder Day November 06 – William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (Anglican) / Saxophone Day /Marooned without a Compass Day November 07 – National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day / National Bookstore Day November 08 – Synaxis of Archangels Michael, Gabriel & All Heavenly Hosts (Orthodox) / Dunce Day / Bram Stoker born (1847) November 09 – Chaos Never Dies Day November 10 – National Heroes Day (Indonesia) / Forget-Me-Not Day November 11 – Veteran’s Day / Air Day November 12 – National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day November 13 – St. John Chrysostom (Orthodox) / National Indian Pudding Day November 14 – Apostle Philip of the Twelve (Orthodox) / Children’s Day (India) / Operation Room Nurse Day November 15 – Nativity Fast Begins (Orthodox) / National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day November 16 – Apostle & Evangelist Mathew (Orthodox) / Button Day November 17 – Take a Hike Day November 18 – Martyrs Plato, Romanus & Barulas (Orthodox) November 19 – Prophet Obadiah (Orthodox) / International Men’s Day / Great American Smokeout (Third Thursday) / International Philosophy Day (Third Thursday) November 20 – Revolution Day (Mexico)/ Absurdity Day November 21 – Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple (Orthodox) / World Hello Day November 22 – Apostles Philemon, Archippus & Onesimus of the Seventy (Orthodox) / Start Your Own Country Day November 23 – National Cashew Day November 24 – Great Martyr Catherine (Orthodox) November 25 – National Parfait Day November 26 – Thanksgiving Day November 27 – Black Friday / National Pins and Needles Day / James Agee born (1909) November 28 – Make Your Own Head Day November 29 – Square Dance Day / C.S. Lewis born (1898) November 30 – Apostle Andrew, the First Called (Orthodox) / St. Andrew’s Day (Scotland) / Stay at Home Because You’re Well Day / Jonathan Swift born (1667)
Image: "The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe
As part of being grandparents, Carol and I are attending the Hallelujah Night celebration at Harvest megachurch in Riverside. You know, Greg Laurie, Harvest Crusades – that Harvest. And for our grandkids, I’m happy to do it. But honestly? I don’t get it.
The Vatican has come out against Halloween as anti-Christian, now that the event is appearing in Europe. Many Protestants agree. Maybe some Orthodox agree, too. I don’t know. But I do know that the modern event of Halloween is more Great Pumpkin than pagan. It’s more treats than tricks.
When my grandfather (1900-1981) was a teen, they would do such tricks as disassembling autos and rebuilding them on peoples’ rooftops. He used to tell me that one. Watch Meet Me in St. Louis sometime. The film takes place in 1903-4 and the tricks are just as mean. Yet, for all of that, there is no practice of the occult.
When my children were young, I explained the difference between pagan witchcraft and the mythical witches of cartoons and much literature. We had fun and ate chocolate. That’s the point.
Also, complaining of the holiday’s pagan origins supports an anti-Christian argument. Many have attacked western Christians for celebrating Easter. After all, Easter was a pagan celebration of the spring equinox. The claim is that Christians merely co-opted the holiday, the Osiris myth, and applied their own Galilean twist.
In the east, of course, we have never used the term Easter. The celebration of Pascha (Passover) has always been known by that name. Does the western term sometimes slip into vocabulary among the Orthodox living here? Sure. But it’s only to avoid explaining the term to people who already look at us like we’re evil, or worse, Catholic.
And that’s my big problem. Orthodox, Roman or Protestant, we’re all Christians. Yet we have knee jerk reactions over Halloween, Pascha vs. Easter, or if someone is a pre-tribulationist or not. (This last is a line of belief under 200 years old, and strictly western and Protestant.)
Oops, there I go. I’m guilty too.
While being dragged to Rome to be martyred, St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote that “wherever Jesus Christ is present, we have the world-wide Church.” That’s still true. It always has been. So let’s not freak out about pagan origins, whether of Halloween or the term Easter. Let us show people that we are Christians – and they will know this by our love, not our infighting.
This one is hard to resist. I was referred to the trailer on YouTube by Twitter buddy @istlogio2. The link lead me to the German Orthodox Church website. Who knew? Anyway, as the German website says, “Ignore the politics of this film trailer and simply enjoy watching Oktoberfest in the Orthodox Christian Palestinian town of Taybeh.”
Note: Today’s post is from my wife, Carol. It’s a short speech she’s giving tomorrow. When she asked me to look it over, I immediately wanted to share it here.
He's not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. He's in the sound of the gentle breeze.
How many times do we try to find what we want in the mighty places only to discover that what we need is found in the quiet places?
We want or stress over the most ordinary of things – will my children grow up to be good citizens and love the Lord? Will I be able to meet all of my obligations every month? Will this war ever be over? Am I doing my best at my job? Will God really allow me in heaven some day?
I think of stress, or wanting, as trying to literally lift the world with my hands over my head all by myself. But it gets too heavy and I falter. I keep going as long as I can, feeling the weight of it all imploding back on me. Then I drop the ball and I think, Oh, no, I've done it now. But instead of being blown away by the wind, or becoming trapped under the rubble of an earthquake, or being burnt to a crisp after a fire, I feel a great relief. I take a deep breath. And as I exhale, the stress flows out of me as if on a gentle breeze.
It's when I am at the end of me that I find God blesses me with His strength – which takes a while, since I'm pretty stubborn.
Maybe it's just that it's a human thing to think we can do it all by ourselves. I know little Jake, my 3 year old grandson, feels he can do everything by himself. The other night, he loudly insisted that he could untie his double-knotted shoes all by himself. He became frustrated. Finally, after much tugging and pulling, he allowed his mom to help. And then it was calm.
Jake and I are in good company. In 1 Kings 19, [3 Kingdoms 17 in the Septuagint]Elijah is having a bit of trouble with the local queen, Jezebel. She wanted to kill him. I think that would be pretty stressful. Elijah did what anyone would do. He ran away. But God found him. He always does that. Thank God.
It was when Elijah was ready to crawl under a rock that God reminded him that even a mighty queen was no match for the Spirit in the gentle breeze. We get reminders like that all through the bible. (I especially like the resurrection part.)
As I was putting this speech together I was thinking that maybe I shouldn't bring God into it. But then I thought, how could I leave Him out when He is such a huge part of my life? God, to me, is not an abstract thought, He is the living, loving, and perfect creator. I'm not perfect by any standard, but I don't let that stop me from accepting God's grace.
The other night, Gabby, my daughter-in-law, wanted to get the kids to bed early so that they'd be better rested in the morning. She was trying to get them to the bedroom. The girls were a bit reluctant. Finally, Kelci, the oldest, came running into my den where I was typing this speech. She hugged me and told me that all she wanted was the nee-naw-nee-nay song. It's a song my mother sang to my siblings and me. Then I sang it to my sons and now I am singing it to my grandchildren. Once she heard the song, she was able to relax and go to sleep.
Once Elijah rested and was tended to by the angel, he was ready to go face Jezebel. Once we drop the ball, we are ready to feel God's grace in the gentle breeze. Once we come to the end of ourselves, we are able to gain God's strength.
Those mighty places of our wants? They are nothing without the Holy Spirit. The next time you find yourself needing to untangle a knot or you want to flee from all the stress of the world, remember that you already have what you need. Just listen. It's in the sound of the gentle breeze.
This past week Khouria Kyra Lewis posted an interesting story on Facebook. She doesn’t know who wrote it, but I’m including it here anyway. It makes a simple, yet profound point. One easily lost if dismissed as an abstract. However, if you apply it to your relationships with those around you, the impact can be great. Here it is.
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like." The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I don't understand."
"It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. While the greedy think only of themselves."
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