The Mass

Autumn through January is a time in the Liturgical calendar unequalled to any other time of year.  Come visit! Come and see!

Autumn through January is my personal favorite stretch of the year and I am quite aware that I am the anomaly here.  No problem.  But I would point out that many theologically rich festivities are embedded throughout this period and well worth our observation.  It is, above all, a time for us to draw inward–not to “withdraw from one another, but–to gather in around hearth and fire, more intimately than usual with those you know and love, to worship and meditate more introspectively.  If you’re in doubt, then by God’s grace, let me help you along and lead you into an epoch of rich reflection.
fr. Theo
 

Yup.  Just like the ol’ ketchup commercials using (was it Carly Simeon’s?) the tune by the same name, “Anticipation”– so I find myself, as always anticipating my favorite stretch of the long year: September through the beginning of January.  It is the period of HolyDays (not just holidays).  It is the period where creation enacts, by the will of The Creator, what might be the most extraordinary and powerful object lessons from which humanity could ever/will ever derive its best good.

As Summer wanes, Autumn kicks in and though it is, in reality, a slow death–creation zings to life with a fiery splendor unparalleled by Spring.  Like one last explosive flare of consuming hues, the Fall comes–a final dance–seductive, soothing and beguiling.  We seccumb to the lure of earth’s incense: the perfume of leaves and loam, baptized by rain.  We draw into our homes and prepare for the end.  All the celebrations, all the feasts circle around the ingathering of all that has been–what has been sown.  Meanwhile, in the back of our minds, as we praise the God “Who giveth,” we are fully aware that the same God, “taketh away.” We become hypersensative to the fact that life is fleeting, beauty and youth are deceptive.  Evenso, we are weary and ready for rest (sabbath).

Then Winter is upon us.  The trees are bare and the ground is barren.  And yet, God does not leave them unadorned.  He dresses them in the splendid lace of frost and snow.  He slaps us cold in the face with bracing temperatures and we feel more alive than ever!  All our celebrations/feasts acknowledge that barely beneath the thin veil of frozen soil, life is gathering, building up to a detonation to be witnessed only in a season to come.  Perhaps there is more “faith” in the bleak  midwinter than at any other time.

To know me at all is to know that I have always loved the seasons now before us.  If you do not instinctively embrace and love these seasons, try, at least, to sample my vehement passion for them–try them on and see how they feel; experience what good they might do your spirit.

“Oh great and wonderful God, Father in Heaven! We acknowledge that all things have their beginning and their existence in You–all things…this includes our very breath; each and every one.  The seasons You have made; they come and they go.  Life, Lord–it comes and it goes.  But those who love You, we shall endure forever! In the meanwhile, we watch the designs of Your Almighty hand and stand amazed, bow in worship, sing our praise!  Great is the Lord, our God! Through Christ Jesus, the First and Second Advent, Amen.”

Keep in mind that I am not a Quantum Physicist (and, in fact, there are an infinitesimal few) Let me further state that I am to QP what an accidental paint spill is to Rembrandt.  But I am intrigued.  QP seems to fly in the face of most other science and humbly but magnificently point out that “Horatio! More things are in Heaven and Earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy.

Hmmm…extreme physics reaches to the bottom of the “matter abyss” and discovers at subatomic levels…NOTHING! Nothingness, if you will.

It is at that point that I reflect upon the Word of God that “all things are created IN HIM and BY Him (continue or) have their being in Him.” (paraphrase).

It is at that point of quantum physics–the discovery of nothingness–which faith must and does kick in. At this point one must consider that we are “no more” (nor less) existing for any other reason than because the Creator wishes us (or thinks us) to exist. We are his thoughts–or thoughts within His thoughts (if we have free wills). And some decide they think they can eternally or momentarily exist outside His thoughts, without His thoughts, or despite His thoughts. But even the q-physicists can tell you, outside what is there is only “nothing;” death.

And so, as theoretic as all this might be, it shoots the crap out of Darwinianism, because it is non-organic–sans matter. It is all about faith and some other essence of “being.” And the Supreme Being takes us (His wandering thoughts?) on and loves us and beckons for us to be reclaimed and become “friends”–that is, have relationship.

Mind blowing really.

Or is that too far out? LOL

Western culture has spent the last few decades disparaging and despising much having to do with the decade of the 1950s and/or traditional values and expectations.  I have been privy to many dialogues and harangues surrounding this topic.  I have heard a great deal on how the culture of the 50s misled and failed to prepare people for “real life” and the troubles of the world.  I have heard people speak bitterly of “Leave it to Beaver” and white-picket fences: such facades masking the real pain, darkness and needs of our society.

There have been times when I too was caught up in this attitude and disdainfully referred to “goody goody, lets-be-positive, rosy-spectacled” expectation of life as “Pollyannish.”

Now it is 2008 and ironically I find myself the priest of a Gathering where we are living a revival straight out of Pollyanna—directly lifting from the pages of the Happy Game.  We are the church of “let’s keep it simple, saints!” 

Our evangelism is taken from Paul’s admonition to live quiet lives, minding our own business, tempting our neighbors to inquire what it is that sets us apart!  Our program (not that I’d usually call it that) is to be Christ’s community and in so doing to learn faith, hope and above all else, love.  Beyond our collective worship experience, we exist to prefer one another in love and earnestly, passionately seek relationship with one another and thereby learn the way to greater relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

I fully understand why we experienced a season wherein we despised the age of the innocence; child molestation, dirty politics, drug addiction and family violence were raging just beneath the shallow crust of our Walt Disney world.  And so there came a season where we pushed to put it all on the table and to tell the honest truth about our dirty little secrets.  We confessed that all was not well and we could no longer live with the elephant in the living room, pretending to ignore the pachyderm presence.

But now we have come nearly to the full extension of this pendulum swing.  We’ve laid our sin and unrighteousness on the table.  We’ve gone beyond that and embraced our darker demons over our lighter angels.  We have realized the Orwellian prophesy, using “new speak” to call all that is bad, good—and all that is good, bad.  We have passed the marker where we apologize for not having loved the sinners beyond their sin (e.g. homosexuality, divorce) and have now fully embraced the sin and renamed it acceptable.  The truth is that the pendulum has so over-swung the extension of its swing, that to speak of holiness and what does or does not please the Father is seen as insufferable and unGodly in the greater circle of religious life in America.  All the while, the “program” churches continue to produce their shows, parties and functions.

The other day I accidentally found myself watching the film, Pollyanna.  I laughed and wept as I was reacquainted with the innocence once lost.  But I rejoiced too, for I knew in my heart that a person or a group of people could ban together and resurrect a wholesome society. Having delved into the depths of our darkness, but we needn’t remain there.  We at the Mass keep it pretty darn simple.  Life is short: live well, love well.  Love God, love your neighbor. In doing this, the Law and Prophets are realized.

I think the season our culture has been enduring is a little like growing up in the natural.  We get into our teens and hate our parents and think they can’t do anything right.  We may be rather rebellious, but through our youthful eyes it might also be true that we are spying out some significant matters, and it would be best if they were dealt with (e.g. there are real hurts and injustices which require our attention, especially if we are to call ourselves the Church of Christ).

And so, on behalf of those of us upon this mission: to live in the world but not be of the world—I raise a loving cup to Pollyanna, Leave it to Beaver, Father knows best, Andy Griffith and all the rest and say, “Welcome back.  We’ve missed you.”

Freedom is never free.  You might be the recipient of some good or act and not have to pay a price–but somebody had to pay for it somewhere.  This is a concept (to be acknowledged and to be thankful for) largely lost on the present age.  In the spirit of acknowledging cost and fostering a grateful heart this Independence Day weekend, I submit the following:

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of “empire building” by George Bush.

He answered by saying, “Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders.  The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those who did not return.”
 

You could have heard a pin drop.
 
Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American.  During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, ”Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has pulled?  He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims.  What does he intended to do, bomb them?”  
 

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly, “Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people.  They are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities.  They have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day.  They can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.  We have eleven such ships.  How many does France have?”
 

You could have heard a pin drop.
 
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference which included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies.  At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries.  Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks, but a French Admiral suddenly complained that, “…. Whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.”  He then asked, “Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?” 
 

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, “Maybe it’s because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.”
 

You could have heard a pin drop.
 
A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour.  Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.  At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. 
 

“You have been to France before, monsieur?” the impatient customs officer asked, rather sarcastically.   

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.  

“Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.” 

The American said, “The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.” 

“Impossible.  Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!”  
 

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look.  Then he quietly explained, “Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in ‘44 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find any Frenchmen to show it to.”

You could have heard a pin drop
 
What Is a Veteran?
A ‘Veteran’ — whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve — is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America,’ for an amount of ‘up to, and including his/her life.’

That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that fact.

Somebody very important to me (tho’ I see very little of him through the years, wrote this (excerpt of his email) to me today.  He nailed me with love and understanding. But I suppose, I know, many of you could take these words to your own heart. So do that! Take them to your heart and be encouraged.  Especially if you are on this journey with The Mass–for you must take an immense amount of heat at times for the path y’all have chosen.

fr. Theo

Sometimes you just have to sit down and think about all the great things you have done in the lives of those you have touched and rob a little strength from that energy. You do great things!

You have always struggled with man’s interpretation of God’s Message.  You wrestle with man not God. That is a good thing. You always walk down the same path as me though brother.  I have always placed little value upon the flawed skewed vision we have of God. Our path is Christian.

To the Orthodox that is a peculiar question?

First, the word Sodzo means both saved (as in preserved) and healed.

Second, the concept of salvation is not a single day, but a life process–we are being saved.  There is, of course, the Celebrated Day you first placed faith in Jesus.  There is, of course, that day or time in which you will see Him face to face and be changed once and for ever into His perfect likeness–and enter into Eternal Sabbath.  But for us, here and now, “Are you saved?” is not exactly the right question.  “I am being saved,” is a correct statement and my place in God’s eternal family is sure and secure, so long as I adide in this.

But the initiation is what I think the evangelical mind is concerned with–as we all ought to be.  As indicated there is that day wherein you first place your trust in God and place yourself beneath the Mastery (Lordship) of Jesus, God’s Son.

All the Holy Writings indicate that there were elements to this process.  They didn’t always come in any particular order but all were part of The Plan.  It would be pure heresy to leave any one out.  The are listed here in a particular order, but as I said, you can find them being implemented throughout ACTS and the Epistles and the Apocrapha in any variety of order.

1.     Faith & Belief  The day, the time, in which you place your trust in and belief in the fact that Jesus is God’s Son incarnate and that God’s provision for holy union, your re-adoption into His eternal family, rests entirely upon the Lordship of Jesus.  This is both an acknowledgement of the heart and mind, followed by a number of obediences. Perhaps the first being to say aloud from the heart, “Not my will, Father, but Your will be done in my life!” This is all, of course, predicated upon the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus. There is no absolution from a permanent death sentence without the shed blood of the Lamb of God–sacrificed for all the sins of mankind from age unto age, time unending.

2.    Repentence.  Here the process begins, for to repent isn’t to say “I’m sorry.”  To repent is to say, “I’ve been choosing my own roads in life and they’ve left me terribly lost, broken and basically messed up.  I am turning back to You, Father and to Your Way.  What would You have me do?”  This is repentence and we find ourselves, throughout the process, returning to this place of pentitent prayer time and time again.

3.   Baptism.  This is a public, outward demonstration of obedience.  This is the Euangelion “The Good News Proclaimation” that Christ is risen and that He has mastery over my life.”  The first best administration of this is through total immersion in water.  If this isn’t geophraphically possible or not practicle due to life circumstances (a person in their death bed or a disciple is very sick), it is the historical tradition of the church to administer baptism by sprinkling or pouring water upon/over the new believer.  The idea of putting off baptism would be eroneous to the early church–except for people somewhat ruled by superstition (e.g. Constantine).  Baptism is essential in salvation for no other reason than it is what Christ and the Apostles said to do in obedience to the Calling.  This testimony is greatly affirmed though all the church fathers (those who were brought up directly under the guidance of the Apostles).

4.   Chrismation.  All things being equal, immediately following baptism (though records indicate that the order of these matters was often jumbled up) the presiding elders of the Gathering would lay hands on the new believer, often anoint them with oil and ask for the Holy Spirit to descend upon them as He did upon Christ at the Baptism of Jesus and empower the believer for life in Christ.  Crismation, is seen in sub-demonstration when, according to James 5, a person seeks a prayer cover from the Gathering and her Elders lay hands upon him or her for the absolution of sin and healing from all sickness.

Amidst all these and following all these, is the matter of daily walking in the Holy Spirit and fulfilling the Gospel call to love as Christ has loved and to pursue holiness.  “Working out y’alls salvation with fear and  trembling.”  It’s a life process, where there are sacraments and ordainances laid out for the Believer to embrace.

fr. Theo

In the Age of Modernity, people placed trust in an Intellectual hierarchy–an informational data base existing in other humans (for the church it was the clergy) who had devoted themselves to study of the Bible and other related texts, data, etc.

Part of Post-Modernity is a break-down of trust in the acceptance of such systems or arrangements.  The conundrum for post-modern ecclesiology is this: the body of Christ still needs to trust her leaders and to conform to the unity of the body of Christ, let alone the Gospel of The Christ, Jesus.

I understand the break down.  The authority base of modernity–the preachers, elders, etc–ruled the Modern Age by standing at lecterns, stomping the podium and laying guilt trips on people.  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a vengeful God!” There was this cartoon illustration that accompanied the message of a man being dangled over hellish flames.

Well “DUH” if the flock and the out-churched didn’t look at that and say, “And where is the Love?”

And so the pendulum swings and the church and her leadership are rendered spineless. Frantically and desperately pouring herself out in acts She hopes will be perceived as love–far too often she appears absolutely akin to the world.

Your secret life matters not.  Your rage and hostility towards your family–well, that’ just the way you are.  Speaking of, you homosexuals (men and lesbians), we understand it’s just the way you are. We’ve evolved now and understand that the Bible was composed with cave-man biases that no longer apply.  A truly LOVING God understands this and will get on board with us.  Unhappy marriages? We understand that you all need to be truly happy before you can become righteous in the Lord–so go ahead with divorce before even attempting a Gospel of Reconciliation.  And speaking of holiness and righteousness…what are those really? Aren’t they really a very personal thing? and I’ve no authority to speak into your life?

At The Mass, let it be understood that we are called to holy and righteous living.  At The Mass there is ecclesiastical authority.  At The Mass there are expectations. 

It isn’t enough to say “I believe.” If I say I believe the house is collapsing around me, and make no move to evacuate, you’ve got to question my sanity–or at least question whether or not I really believe the house is falling in.  If I say I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that I belong to Him, then there ought to be evidence that I’ve placed myself willingly beneath His Mastery (that is, Lordship) and that my life is inwardly and outwardly transforming into something other-worldly.

This doesn’t mean a return to pulpit pounding, guilt trips and insistence on present moral cultural norms. It does mean this: NO APOLOGY for the holiness of God and for the Light unto which we are called.  It is because of this, in part, that we worship by embracing ancient forms–now so foreign to our day and age.  It yanks us out of the daily grind, the daily hydraulic press of conformity to this world and reminds us: God is separate and stands apart. He isn’t tainted by darkness and sin and death and evil.  We are.  We need Him.  And so we bow before His altar; His holy table of Good Gifts (Eucharist).

This is why we are a Eucharistic Community.  This is why we are The Mass.

“If God watches out for children, drunks and fools, then I have a 2/3 better chance for divine intervention in my life than most other people.”

Lenny Castellaneta, from his book 1225 Mistletoe Lane