www.stmichaeluoc.org
www.orthoanalytika.org
Colossians 3:4-11
St. Luke 14: 16-24
The Forefathers
Today is the second Sunday before the Nativity in the flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. On this Sunday, which we call “The Sunday of the Forefathers”, our hymns remind us of all those who came before the blessed Incarnation of God. We remember all the great Fathers and Mothers, starting with those who predate the Law, to include: Adam, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob; as well as those who came after the law: to include Moses, Aaron, Joshua, [Deborah, Ruth,] Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, [the three holy youths], and with them the twelve prophets [Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obidiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, &Malachi], Elijah, Elisha, and all the rest; and concluding with Jesus’ immediate ancestors and contemporaries, Zachariah [ & Elizabeth], [Joachim, & Anna] (the four of whom adorn the back walls of our temple); Christ’s cousin, John the Forerunner & Baptist; and Christ’s Mother, Mary the Bohoroditsa.
Among these, special attention is paid to the Patriarch Abraham, to whom God said, “in thy seed shall all of the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). While the immediate meaning of these words to Abraham dealt with the establishment of the Jews as the people of God; the greater “blessing” God is describing is the coming incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ, which will also be effected through Abraham’s seed. The Jews were a “blessing” to the nations by their witness to the true God and their prophesies of the Messiah; but Christ the Messiah is the greatest “blessing” because through Him all nations could not only know of Christ, but also be redeemed through Him.
It is this greater meaning that allows St. Paul to say that those who confess Christ as their Savior and thereby become one in His Body – the Church – are no longer “Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free”. The Jews were set apart from all the other nations. The Jewish scriptures describe how they were contaminated and led astray when other peoples were allowed into their midst. But now the blood of Christ and His Glorious resurrection allow all who so desire to gather together in Him; and from within Him, to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them [also] in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” so that everyone (through Him and Him in us) can become partakers of His Divine Nature (2 St. Peter 1: 2-4).
The Banquet.
God worked through the forefathers to prepare the world for the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, so that through Him we all might be saved from an eternity of separation and sin. Thanks to them, He has come and laid the banquet before us: we have but to answer his call. We just have to answer his invitation to join him at his feast. He has sent his apostles out into the “highways and hedges” of this world – even to the Blackstone Valley of New England – so that we, too, may be fed, filled, and redeemed.
But who will come? Will you join Him at the feast?
Given the hunger in this world it is difficult to understand, but there are many who refuse this invitation. In the parable, it seems absurd that people would rather attend to mundane matters than feast with their Lord. But how much crazier is it for people to go about their lives in the normal manner here and now when Christ Himself is offering the only food that truly fills and the only drink that truly quenches? How can we just stand God up when He has prepared everything for us and our salvation? How can we dismiss Him so easily, so rudely?
The Holy Fathers teach us that the services and prayers of the Church are our best teachers. Among these, the Divine Liturgy is paramount; and the Anaphora is its most sacred section (anaphora means “carrying up” or offering; it is when the Holy Spirit comes down and brings about the change of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ). The first priestly Eucharistic prayer of the Anaphora (which is found in the red books in the pew, but not in the white ones, which do not include any of the priest’s prayers) makes clear what our attitude towards this invitation to salvation should be:
- It is right, in truth, to sing to You, to bless You, to praise You, to thank You, and to worship You in all places of Your dominion; for You are God Ineffable, Inconceivable, Invisible, Incomprehensible, existing forever, ever the same – You and Your Only-begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit, You brought us out of nothing into being, and when we fell, You raised us up again and did not cease doing everything until You led us into Heaven and granted us Your Kingdom to come.
- [For all these things we thank You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit: for all things that we know and do not know, for blessings manifest and hidden that have been granted to us. We also thank You for this liturgy which you are please to accept from our hands, even though You are surrounded by thousands of Archangels, by tens of thousands of Angels, and by the Cherubim and Seraphim – six-winged, many-eyed – soaring aloft on their wings …]”
- Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of Sabaoth, Heaven and earth are filled with Your glory, Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!
“Hosanna” literally means “please save now”. For the forefathers, it was a plea that the Messiah would come quickly to deliver them. But the Messiah has now come – indeed He is still here – so the word “hosanna” has been transformed into a song of praise and adoration to God for the salvation He offers to us through His Son. The entire Divine Liturgy is devoted to this reality – in fact, the very word “Eucharist” means “Thanksgiving”. And while we have many blessings, it is God’s gift of His Son that is – or at least should be – the thing for which we are most grateful.
The Invitation
Are you grateful for this gift of salvation through Jesus Christ? If so, do not spurn the invitation to the celebratory feast! The Lord is inviting you now to accept His salvific grace; to be freed from your sin, to be granted life in abundance, and to feast with the saints and angels in His loving presence.
He is calling you now. You may indeed be busy, but I seriously doubt that you can honestly and rationally say that you have something better to do. Say “yes” to Christ now; and reaffirm that choice henceforth through your every action and decision; strengthen it through your prayer, love of neighbor, evangelism, and fellowship with His people. Your decision will then become less a point in time, or even a series of points, but points transformed into an integral of sanctification leading you towards an eternity of bliss.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
====================================
Introduction: Christmas on 12/25 or 1/7?
While the majority of Orthodox Christians in the world use the Julian (aka “Old”) Calendar for liturgical purposes, the majority of Orthodox Christians here in the West join our heterodox and secular neighbors on the “New Calendar”, which is 13 days ahead.* However, a minority of Orthodox dioceses in the West - especially those formed by diaspora from “Old Calendar” countries - remain on the “Old Calendar” here and now. So while it may be somewhat interesting to trivia buffs that groups of nations celebrate Christmas on different days (because “December 25th” falls 13 days apart), the real fun happens when the differences are not between nations, but within them.**
Our parish of St. Michael’s is on the Old Calendar. This is our second Christmas here (and on the Old Calendar), and I thought I might share some observations on what life is like on the Old Calendar. This will not be a deep theological discussion (as if I were capable of such a thing!): my bishops seem to treat the issue pastorally, and I follow their lead in this as is all things. But even pastorally speaking, I do have to wonder: 1) how it effects our witness/credibility to observe the vernal equinox 13 days after the solar event actually occurs; 2) to say how nice it is to celebrate Nativity outside the corrosive influence of commercialism; and 3) how odd it is to celebrate the birth of Christ twice each year. Having said that, let me take just a moment to work out some thoughts on what our mix of calendars reshapes the structure of our Nativity Lent.
The New (Old) Advent.
In the Orthodox Church, we work ourselves up for the big feasts. We call these times of preparation “fasts”. The most well known fast is the “Great Lent” before Pascha/Easter, but Nativity/Christmas has one, too. The Nativity Fast (or Advent) is not as well-developed liturgically as Great Lent, which has week-long commemorations, special Sundays that everyone knows, special services, etc; but it does have some structure. The two Sundays before nativity have special themes (the Forefathers and Fathers, respectively) which are augmented by saints days and feasts throughout the fast. These combine with other, less traditional, things to give those of us on the Old Calendar an interesting “New (Old) Advent” Calendar.
Here is an outline of what I think it looks like for many of our faithful:
The Beginning of the Fast: St. Phillip’s Day (and Thanksgiving).
St. Phillip is commemorated the day before the 40 days of Nativity Lent begin. For this reason, Nativity Lent is often referred to as St. Phillip’s Fast or “Pilipivka”. St. Phillip is celebrated on 11/15, which falls on 11/28 for people using the Old Calendar. While some of our folks may know about St. Phillip’s Day, in practical terms, Thanksgiving (and not St. Phillip’s Day) serves as the last holiday before the start of the Fast.
Thanksgiving, which is rightly embraced and celebrated as a Christian feast, has become the equivalent of Western “Fat Tuesday”, or, better yet (when you factor in the act of purging the fridge of leftovers) Orthodox Meatfare. This is true regardless of the possibility of Thanksgiving falling on 11/28. While 11/28 is technically the beginning of the fasting period, the fact that Thanksgiving is a movable feast (ranging from 22-28 November) defacto makes the beginning of Nativity Fast movable, as well. I don’t think it would would be practical or useful to insist our faithful fast on Thanksgiving when it falls during the Advent fast. There are some who strongly disagree with this position, but I think they have forgotten our evangelistic imperative to bless everything we can as we sanctify our given cultures (after all, we did this when we first selected the end of December to commemorate the Nativity in the first place).
The First Big Milestone: St. Nicholas Day.
St. Nicholas is commemorated on 12/6, which is 12/19 on the Old Calendar. He is one of the few Saint days that gets remembered in any consistent fashion (e.g. we get no more than a handful of people at the services for the Feasts of the Presentation of the Birthgiver of God (12/4) and of the Conception of the Birthgiver of God (12/22)). There are many other saints commemorated during Advent, but I really think St. Nicholas is the only one 99% of our parishioners really pay attention to. In the Old World, St. Nicholas day would be when children received modest gifts (often into their shoes).
Some Orthodox in the West try to use gift-giving on St. Nicholas day as a way to isolate Christmas/Nativity from the commercialization of Santa Claus and his reindeer. While I like this, I do not think it will be successful. I am afraid that the idea of unwrapping presents has been completely captured by the jolly man in the red robes. Instead, if we are not careful, secular pressures will have the perverse effect of extending the commercial Christma$ $ea$on forward to St. Nicholas Day and, at least for those on the Old Calendar, backwards to Nativity; turning the entire Advent period into a hedonistic buying binge.
St. Nicholas Day is a delightful time in all of our parishes. It is when we begin singing carols (both religious and secular), and really enter into the “spirit of Christmas”.
The Next Major Milestone: “American” (or “Western”) Christmas.
One of the most interesting thing I learned after being assigned to an Old Calendar parish was how many of my parishioners celebrate Christmas on 12/25. I don’t know what to make of it, but this is a real sign of assimilation. I think the primary mechanisms of our this assimilation have been intermarriage with heterodox Christians, the conversion of family members away from Orthodoxy, and (to a far lesser extent) conversion of families into Orthodoxy. The (blessed) desire to celebrate this wonderful feast with families has been seriously bolstered by the commercial pressures that also focus on the 25th of December. Families on the Old Calendar love the fact that they can celebrate this important feast with their heterodox families without compromising their Orthodox Nativity worship and traditions. After all, Christmas has become much more of a family celebration than a church one, even for religious Christians.
My personal opinion is that communities on the “Old Calendar” should treat “Western Christmas” the way Orthodox communities on the “New Calendar” treat Thanksgiving (which always falls during Advent for them): it is a Christian celebration that can easily be blessed for our sanctifying participation. I believe that the cost of breaking up the fast is more than made up for by the benefits of participation.
Ideally, the decline in commercialization after “American Christmas” would allow our folks to begin concentrating on fasting and other preparations once it is over. Unfortunately, this is preempted by a “holiday” that is much harder to embrace, at least in its secular form: New Years.
The Next Major (albeit lamentable) Milestone: New Years Eve/Day
At best, this is a secular feast; a chance to celebrate the hope of a new year with friends and family. I list it here because I am not presenting an “ideal type” of what Advent should look like; I am describing how are actually done, even among our more active and pious parishioners.
FWIW, there is an “Old Calendar” New Year celebration called “Malanka”, but it is as secular as ours here on the secular “new” calendar (but at least it falls outside the fast!). The actual liturgical new year (Indiction) is on September 1st, but the true “spirit” of New Year (i.e. the hope of a new era) is celebrated at Pascha. As for New Year’s Eve parties, good people can bring holiness to almost every occasion, and I know that they can and do witness Christ to their friends and families at New Year’s Eve parties. But I would prefer that we celebrated it within the spirit of the fast rather than stepping outside it for the evening.
Peace at Last: The Eve of Nativity (& Nativity itself).
People might notice small changes to their worship on the two Sundays before Nativity, but the Eve of Nativity is when everything really hits home. After Great Compline, a beautiful and solemn service punctuated by the singing of Nativity carols, many families gather together for a traditional “Holy Supper”. There is no Santa, there are no reindeer, and the anticipation has nothing to with presents showing up under the tree. Everything and everyone focuses their attention on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. On Christmas morning, everyone goes to Church to celebrate the Nativity Liturgy. Again, the focus is on Christ, not on satisfaction of selfish wants (our own or others).
This is where the Old Calendar celebrations really outshine those on the New.
Continuing the Celebration: The Twelve Days of Christmas... and Theophany
After Nativity, we have a week of fast-free celebrations,followed on January 20th with the celebration of Christ’s Baptism. This is a very popular feast that concludes with the blessing of water. For the next week or two thereafter, many folks will invite the priest to their homes to bless them with the holy water.
Conclusion
I am a pastor, not a theologian (and a young and foolish one, at that). On questions for which Orthodoxy offers more than one correct or useful answer, I will always go with the one that I think will bring my community into a closer relationship with Christ. This means that one size will not fit all; what works in one parish may not be best for another. We have to understand the dynamics of our local culture; then we have to work within it in order to grow it into something that is even more salvific both us and the generations who come after. For the Orthodox in America, the calendar may be analogous to using the Old World language: useful and salvific in some parishes but not others, and less so over time. Then again, keeping the “Old Calendar” may be a way to maintain harmony in “mixed” communities and provide a better tool for evangelizing the heterodox.
Regardless, let me conclude with a brief practical point that verges on theology: if we are to universally adopt the more accurate secular calendar as our own, we should do it for the date of Pascha, too. The current “compromise” system is unwieldy. But that is the subject for another entry.
=========================
* Actually this is imprecise. The “New Calendar” is not quite the same as the Gregorian calendar used in the West. The proper name for the “New” calendar is the “Revised Julian Calendar”. Still, this is mainly a difference without a distinction (at least until 2800 when they, too, will begin to diverge).
** In fact, given how little most people allow their liturgical calendar to influence their lives, Christmas/Nativity is the only time they would even notice they are on different ones than their neighbors. Easter/Pascha often ends up on a different date, too; but the movable date and the fact that even Orthodox on the “New Calendar” use the Old Calendar for computing the Vernal Equinox, only serves to complicate matters.
No comments:
Post a Comment