Are We Getting Better Yet?

Some long-time friends and I have been exchanging emails back and forth about the condition of our world, the New World Order, and UFO's. It all started out so innocently, but then we suddenly became engaged in trying to figure it all out. Being the token religious freak in the group, I added my two cents.

Basically, I summed it all up by saying this: Satan rules the affairs of this planet. I know that is a shocking statement, and I am not saying God does not rule or has no control, but to sum up the Biblical world view in one short, pithy sentence: We gave Satan, the enemy of our souls, the dominion to rule this planet by choosing to obey him rather than God when we ate of the wrong tree.

Many consider this a fairy tale, and truthfully, it kind of sounds like one, but let's summarize what all of the internet chatter and history in general have taught us:

1. The rich and powerful oppress and exploit the rest of us. This has been true since the beginning of time. Doesn't sound fair, and since God is just and fair, this would not be indicative of His rule, so, it must be the rule of a sinister, evil force. Given all of the New World Order talk all over the internet these days, sounds like the same old song of Czars, Kings and Sultans having all the power to rule their lands, just being played out on a grander scale now. Why would this happen now when America has proven to be a prosperous enterprise for everyone involved -there would be no reason to suddenly change this money-winning formula. I think it is because it is not enough to be rich and powerful, but to be the the richest and most powerful. It is not about our happiness and prosperity, it is about theirs. However, if they can keep us all fat and happy while they do whatever they want, so much the better for them - it keeps us quiet that way, sort of like a "Brave New World" system.

2. Aliens. This is one of the most insightful articles on alien visitations I have ever seen: http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_shostak_visit_020627.html. Makes no sense that they would visit us, unless they accidentally stumbled across us like a scout ant finding food, and then sending the entire ant community to come and feed on us. On the other hand, if they are evil spiritual beings (as this article indicates: http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/alien_abduct.aspx), and their purpose is to draw us further from God, then again, it aligns well with my statement that Satan rules the affairs of this planet.

3. Mass confusion - Red states, blue states, unions, no unions, God, no God, evolution, devolution, truth, no truth. The list goes on. We should expect this sort of confusion and progressively getting worse scenario if in fact we are a fallen race. We wouldn't expect a terminally ill person to get better each day, but would expect their condition to worsen until death. In the same way, as our "fairy tale" points out, we didn't choose Life, but because we chose the other tree, the Tree of Life was barred from us so we wouldn't remain in this fallen condition forever. In that sense, death is a merciful act - can you imagine how deteriorated and gruesome life would become if our fallen condition perpetuated forever?

So, there you have it folks - not rocket science to see that history plays out our fallen human condition in the hands of a sinister, evil force whose aim is to keep us from life-saving truth. Everything else is simply ornamentation on the same ugly frame of a lost and dying humanity in search of a drop of life-giving water to sustain us one more day. We all need hope to give meaning and purpose in our arduous journey toward our graves, and our hope needs to be rightly placed, or we will certainly be disappointed again and again.

May you find the true meaning of the Incarnation of the Uncreated God into His created world and all the implications of this act during this joyous Christmas season!

The Spirit Behind the Crucifix

I have a friend who is a Protestant missionary in Bolivia. His Christian background is heavily Charismatic, and, with that background, he tends to suspect "spirits" behind events and circumstances. Although I appreciate his sensitivity to the spiritual world, something I think more Christians should be attuned to, it seems as if his focus is on the evil spiritual world. One day, he was telling me how people in that area worship the cross. He said he was curious "what spirit was behind that crucifix."

I was curious why he would think there was an evil spirit on a crucifix! I guess the real question for him and for all of my Charismatic friends is this: If an evil spirit can reside on an object, why can't the Holy Spirit also reside on an object? I think it is clear from the book of Acts that the Holy Spirit does "attach" Himself to physical objects, such as Paul's handkerchief. Can someone know that a person is worshipping a cross, or can an evil spirit attach itself to a cross and deceive someone who is calling out to our Savior who has conquered death through death - the crucifix being the very image of the cross where he disarmed the powers and authorities, triumphing over them (Col 2:15).

The cross is a holy thing. Holy things have the Holy Spirit on them. The Spirit does manifest Himself in the world giving great glory to God and affirming the reality of His kingdom. My missionary friend has never been to an Orthodox Church before. I wonder if he would relish in the abundant saturation of the Spirit of God seen in every corner and heard in every hymn, or wriggle at experiencing the Real Presence of God perhaps for the first time ever.

Will God Ask If I Was Orthodox On Judgement Day?

I recently told a friend of mine I had converted to Orthodoxy. After a brief conversation about Christianity, his reply was, "Well, I don't think God is going to ask you whether you were Orthodox or Lutheran or Baptist when you see Him." I agreed. I don't think He is going to ask you anything about your denomination, but instead, you will stand there with your soul bared, and everything you are, to the core of your being, exposed. It will probably be a scary and embarrassing moment for most. What church you attended may not be as important as how well did your church prepare you for the day you stand vulnerable before the radiant, glorious and all-consuming fire of the living presence of God. How well did they train you to fight the forces of evil which war against your soul? Did your church challenge you to crucify and put to death the misdeeds of the flesh and control your passions?

As I pointed out to my friend, there are coaches who train you to a level where you can enjoy a sport. There are others who are more competitive who train you to win games. Then there are those who train at the Olympic level where their athletes are the best of the best, trained to finish the race with the victor's crown, to "run in such a way as to get the prize".

I knew a guy who played football in high school. He was really good and had a lot of fun playing the game. He went to college on a football scholarship. He said at this point, football stopped being fun. They were analyzing films and plays - they were making it more of a science than a sport. The pro level was even more intense, at which point he decided to go into pharmaceutical sales.

In the same way, Orthodoxy, when practiced fully, is intense. As my priest has said before, if Orthodoxy were just one of many right ways of practicing Christianity, it is the wrong way, because so much more is demanded of you. However, if it truly is the Olympic way, the way of the victorious martyrs and crown-bearing champions, then there would never be a need for God to ask if I am Orthodox or any other denomination. I will have been fully trained, fully discipled, presented "before His presence without fault and with great joy" because I have followed the Way laid out before me, passed down from Jesus to the Apostles to the entire Church for all generations to come. If any have strayed from this Way through a "different Gospel", then they have left the original Way, and horrifically trained others in their same errors leaving weakened souls in their wake.

May God have mercy on us all.

How Do We Know What Jesus Looked Like?

A Messianic Jewish friend of mine and I were talking about icons. He has a big problem with them. I told him that the Jews were forbidden to make an image of God because no one knew what He looked like. Since God became flesh in Jesus Christ, we know exactly what He looks like, as Jesus is the image of God and the exact representation of His being. I asked him, "Do you think that of the thousands of people that saw Him, not one person drew or painted His picture?" His response was surprising since I consider him an intelligent and articulate individual. He said, "Don't be so sure of it."

But, for the sake of argument, let's say he is right. Supposing no one ever painted a picture of the actual Jesus, does this mean that His image is still not captured in the icon? People who knew Jesus well didn't recognize him after His resurrection until the Lord decided to "reveal" Himself by breaking bread. People who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty and visit the sick also don't recognize Jesus either. Does this mean His image is not in the world? Does the mean we have no point of reference to the God-man, the one made flesh for all to behold?

I think the truth of the matter lies in the icon image itself. It shows this man to be the Word of God, the Great I Am, the Almighty, the one who was humiliated, crucified, risen and ascended. The one who blesses and teaches us. He is our healer, our portion and our cup, the One Who Is and Who Was and Who is to come. My friend would certainly never deny these truths about Christ, and yet, despite any particular artistic detail regarding the accuracy of His physical features, the icons proclaim all of these realities and more - the Spirit of Truth rests upon them.

The same can be said for all of the other icons - they represent the truth of the Faith and the reality of the Kingdom of God, of a life that never ends, and of the living stones that make up the heavenly temple. It has been said so well before by many others, but Paul says it best when he says in the book of Hebrews that we have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect. Our icons help us keep this focus - on things above and not on the things of the earth.

Saved By Faith Or By Works?

During a recent conversation with a Baptist acquaintance of mine, we compared notes on how we view salvation. The general perception in the Protestant world is that Catholics and Orthodox alike are 'works' oriented. I only reinforced this perception when I told him I did not believe in 'once saved, always saved'. He immediately replied saying, "So, salvation is a crapshoot then."

He had withdrawn from the faith back in his college days but has been strongly living out his Baptist faith since then. We had to end our conversation abruptly because I had to get back to work - but I sent him this reply to assure him salvation is not a crapshoot...

It was great talking to you this morning - I wish we could have had more time to fill in the details of this engaging topic, but I couldn't just leave you with the impression that salvation is a "crapshoot" in the Orthodox world. So, I am sending you this email to hopefully clarify things.

Salvation is a gift. It is the most wonderful gift ever. It is also an incredibly expensive gift. As one of my pastor friends put it, "Salvation (grace) is free, but not cheap". With this gift comes responsibility. To whom much is given, much is required. The parable of the talents emphasizes this point. Jesus also emphasizes this point in another passage -

"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes...Remain in me and I will remain in you..."(John 15:2ff)

This passage goes on to say "if you remain in me..." and "if you obey my commands...".

We are responsible. We are to remain in Christ and feed on Him. We are then loved by the Father and bear much fruit. He is our salvation. Bible study and reading are important, but it isn't our salvation - Christ is our salvation. We feed on Him in the Eucharist, through purposeful and intentional prayer, through fasting to identify with his sufferings and to continually soften our hearts toward Him, and through repentance and confession to purge our souls of pride, to "prune our branches". These "touch points" of grace, of God's Presence on the earth, are what empower us to love, to give, to obey His commandments and bear much fruit. This is why the Orthodox Church places heavy emphasis on regular church attendance, keeping the church fasts and following a disciplined prayer rule. This is what keeps you on the path, what keeps you humble and in obedience to God's perfect will. If you stop doing these things, then it is a crapshoot, because you have left the well-trodden path laid out before you to assure your growth and to bear much fruit.

Grace, from an Orthodox perspective, is God's empowering life and energy. So, to be saved by grace means appropriating that life and energy toward good works which he has prepared in advance for us to do. To neglect this empowering life and energy is to neglect our salvation -

"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?" (Hebrews 2:1-4)

So, yes, we can stray from the path, and it is a dangerous place to be. Thank God that he put you back despite your wanderings. There is a sure road to salvation, and not everyone who calls Jesus "Lord" is on it. It isn't a crapshoot, but a path of discipleship, obedience and humility in Christ and in the Church He established to produce saintly beings whose lives bring Him glory in this age and in the age to come. You stay on this path, then your salvation is assured, but if you leave it, only God knows whether you will be saved, as it is not up to me, or my priest, or anyone else to judge someone in that regard.

I want to leave you with one of my favorite New Testament passages that summarizes this theme perfectly. It is 2 Peter 1:2-11:

"Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Since Peter states that we should be eager to make our calling and election sure, it emphasizes how important our responsibility is to stay on the path.

As always, it was great talking to you. I hope this clarifies why our salvation is neither a crapshoot, nor something to take for granted.

God's peace my friend,

Nicodemus