Christmas Reflection 2011

Beloved in the Lord,

“And the Logos became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

On Christmas day, the Church proclaims to humanity the good tidings of the birth of the Savior who is “Light of Light, True God of True God, begotten not created… who, “for us men and our salvation came down from heaven and was Incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man” (Confession of Faith).

Holy Scripture, the hymnology of the Church, and the Orthodox Christian icon help us to focus on this, the greatest of mysteries. “He who knows no beginning now begins to be, and the Logos is made flesh” (Doxastikon of Christmas Orthros).The Divine Logos, “He who by nature is invisible is seen today in the flesh”. “He lowered the heavens and came down to fashion corrupt Adam anew” (hymns from the Lity authored by John the monk).

St. Paul writing to the Galatians proclaims that God sent forth His Son, “so that we may receive adoption as Sons” (4,5). To the Romans, he speaks of the consequences of this salvific miracle: “If we are children of God, then we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17).

Studying the icon of the Nativity, we learn that Christmas is a Paschal mystery which culminates in the passion, death and Resurrection of Christ. The Incarnate Savior is seen in a sepulcher–shaped manger. He is wrapped in a winding burial cloth foreshadowing His repose in a sepulcher hewn from rock following his Crucifixion (Luke 23:53). The infant Jesus is not placed in a cradle, but on an altar of sacrifice symbolizing His death. The icon of the Nativity, however, points beyond darkness and death. A brilliant ray of light and an image of a dove pierce the darkness of the cave to symbolize the presence of the Holy Spirit. Above is the hand of the Father, the source of life. On the altar lies the incarnate Christ. In the poverty and misery of a manger, the three persons of the Holy Trinity appear. God is present and makes Himself known.

It is of paramount importance for us “to arise and behold the divine condescension from on high that is made manifest to us.” (Sticheron of the Sixth Hour). This is indeed difficult. The obstacles to Christian faith and practice raised by secular culture have unquestionably affected our lives. We are immersed in an environment beset by cynicism, apathy and selfishness — in a society that has lost its spiritual roots. Our culture has no time to reflect upon the “reason for the season.” It is reported that 98% of the references in various media highlight the impact of Christmas on the economy, on travel, on retail sales, etc. Few stories refer to the Son of God. Sadly, the media is only part of our culture which is determined to push Christ out of our sphere of interest. Public and private schools throughout America have removed references to Christmas from the classroom. The lyrics of traditional Christmas songs have been changed. ‘Silent Night’ has been changed to “Cold in the Night”. “We wish you a Merry Christmas” has been changed to “We wish you a swinging holiday.”

Under the influence of hedonistic consumerism, Christmas has lost its true meaning. Recently, shoppers filled retail department stores beginning at midnight in what has come to be known as “Black Friday”. Regrettably, some individuals — armed with pepper spray cans! — proved that they knew the price of everything and the value of nothing. The wisdom of the world claims that happiness comes from what you own, how much money or influence you have, how important other people think you are. St Paul reminds us that we celebrate the birth of Him who, “through he was rich, yet for your (our) sake became poor, so that by his poverty you (we) may become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). We celebrate the birth of Him who asks us,“what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? (Matthew 16:26)

Christmas has always disturbed the conscience of the materialistic world. It has always challenged those who are on a frantic race to enrichment at all cost. It has always challenged those individuals whose selfishness and greed exploit the dignity and rights of their fellow human beings.

My brothers and sisters,

This Christmas, let us pause from the hustle and bustle of our daily routines to be alone with God. To pray. To read Holy Scripture. To read and reflect upon the beautiful hymns of our church which help us to focus on the Christmas miracle. Let us turn off our radios and televisions, our IPhones and IPads and everything else that is electronic. Let us hear the voices of the archangels proclaiming the birth of the Savior. Let us close our eyes to the blinding lights of the world so that we may see the light emanating from the cave in Bethlehem.

May that light radiate in our hearts and enlighten our minds this Christmas and every day of the New Year 2012.

With Archpastoral love

in the Incarnate Lord,

M E T H O D I O S

Metropolitan of Boston

Easter Sunday is not like any other day, but one that arrives after midnight with a singular sacredness and grace.  It comes with a joyous, salvific message.  Easter—or more correctly “Pascha”, is the manifestation of God’s love for us.  It is a love that we see clearly in Christ the Savior who suffered, died on a cross of pain, and who arose on the third day that we may have forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.  It is our Savior’s Resurrection from the Tomb that becomes our Passover, our Pascha, for as our hymns read this evening, “Christ has brought us from death to life, and from earth to Heaven” (Paschal canon, ode one).

Darkness is the realm of the Devil, of Satan, the Father of Lies and the Prince of Darkness.

Darkness shrouds our lives with loneliness, addiction, pain and resentment.  It permeates every aspect of our lives.  It seeds controversy and division which result in troubled marriages, dysfunctional families and broken friendships.

In his darkness Satan encircles the world in what seems to be an endless cycle of controversies, of violence and wars—-of conflicts in which Cain kills his brother Abel time and again, both literally and figuratively.

The devil is the source of satanic lies and vindictiveness which emanate from unbridled egos.  He is the manifestation of selfishness, of racism and hunger, of homelessness and hopelessness.

It is this darkness that the unwaning light of the Lord’s Resurrection shatters.  In the seemingly impenetrable gloom of hopelessness and death, the Resurrection of our Savior comes as an eruption of blinding light.  The lifeless Tomb of darkness which held captive Adam and Eve and all their descendants is thrown open by Him who is Life itself.  The Risen Lord leads our Passover—our “Pascha”.  A new creation is born.  As St. Peter teaches in his first Epistle, “By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1,3)

Our hymns this evening joyfully proclaim, “A sacred Pascha has been shown forth this day.”  We celebrate Pascha tonight.  It is the Lord’s Pascha, “Pascha Kiriou Pascha”.  It is also ourPascha, our personal Passover as the Risen Lord leads all of us in this Cathedral from a state of darkness to light, from sin to righteousness, from sadness to joy, from death to life, from this transient world to the everlasting Kingdom of God.

The first Passover led God’s people from Egypt to the Promised Land.  Our Lord’s Resurrection—the new creation of the world, the new Pascha—delivers us from the bondage of spiritual death.  As we chant this evening, the Lord leads us “to life and from earth to heaven as we sing the triumphant Paschal hymn “ (the Canon of Paschal ode one)

In the Church, we live the Paschal Mystery by communing the precious Body and Blood of the Risen Lord during the Divine Liturgy.  It is this renewing power that the Church shares in every time and in every place.

And so my brothers and sisters, let us advance fearlessly into a world mired in darkness armed with the blazing light of our Lord’s Resurrection.  Receiving the unwaning light from the life giving Tomb, let us embrace one another and bear the light to all who await a personal Pascha.

More than 300 attended a joint event of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston and the American Jewish Committee’s Boston office titled “Passover & Pascha: How Greeks and Jews Shaped Each Other’s history, Culture and Faith” held at the Maliotis Cultural Center on March 2.

The audience was welcomed by His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios who reminded everyone that the Greek Orthodox-Jewish American Dialogue in Boston was initiated by the then Consul General of Greece in Boston, Constantinos Orphanides.  Among his remarks, Metropolitan Methodios said: “It is such a pleasure to welcome you to this evening’s program, the first in a series dedicated to enhancing relations between our two communities, the Greek American and Jewish American.

“The Greek and Jewish worlds have made an indelible impact on each other’s histories, cultures, and faiths.  Jewish Passover and Greek Orthodox Pascha present the opportunity to explore this historic encounter as we enhance our understanding of our shared history, traditions and interests.  This is a wonderful opportunity to learn and appreciate how what we do here in Greater Boston is part of a global tapestry of relations.

“My sincere prayer is that we may enhance our understanding and friendship as we appreciate more fully our two historic traditions.”

Greetings were also offered by the AJC Boston Director Rob Leikind and Rabbi Dan Liben, President of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis.

The program was moderated by the Rev. Fr. Demetrios E. Tonias, Pastor of the Taxiarchae Church in Watertown, MA and Ecumenical Officer of the Metropolis of Boston.   He presented three questions:  (1) Language is an important if not critical component to the maintenance of cultural identity.  Nevertheless, both Greeks and Jews in their religious life have appropriated from the other.  What are some of the linguistic influences of the Greek language on Judaism and Jewish thought and what are some of the Hebraic linguistic influences on Christianity?  How does the linguistic influence appear in the celebration of Passover and Pascha in particular.  (2)  Many have noted the similarities between the Greek symposium and the Jewish Passover celebrations.  In a similar fashion, the Paschal feast is, in many ways, associated with the celebration of the Jewish Passover, as in the determination of the date of Pascha.  Could you expand upon some of the Hellenistic influence in the Passover Seder and the Jewish background of the Passover feast?  Religious syncretism was pervasive in first century religious life both before and after the destruction of the Temple.  Jewish and Christian leaders were well known for their desire to maintain boundaries in the respective religious communities.  As we discuss the historical celebration of the feasts of Pascha and Passover, what similarities and differences do you see between Jews and Christian celebrating their respective feasts in the religiously pluralistic environment of 21^st century America and that of their co-religionist counterparts who lived 2000 years ago? Addressing the questions were the Rev. Fr. George D. Dragas, Professor of Patrology at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and Pastor of the St. John the Baptist Church in Boston, and Professor Jonathan Klawans, Department of Religion and the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies at Boston University.  Both received enthusiastic applause by the audience.

The program concluded with performances by the Rokdim B’Keif Israeli Dancers and the Metropolis of Boston Youth Dance Group.  Both groups received resounding applause by the audience.

Thanks to George Stifo for the image and title.

” Your Eminence,

“It is with great joy that I greet you this evening in this Cathedral chapel where we have gathered to celebrate the Feast of Saint Andrew, Patron Saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and of this Metropolis.

“Far away in the city of Constantinople, Cardinal Kurt Koch is leading a delegation of clergy representing His Holiness Pope Benedict at the Phanar.  For years now here in Boston, we emulate the example of our Mother Churches that celebrate together the Feasts of their Patron Saints—Saints Peter and Paul in June and Saint Andrew in November, saints whose memories inspire us to be a witness to our Christian Faith in the world in which we live.

“Our two Churches have pursued with great dedication the path towards the reestablishment of full communion which was enjoyed during the first millennium.  The theological dialogues between our two churches—-the international but also the dialogue of theologians here in America, have enabled us to grow in friendship and mutual respect.  Our two Churches courageously face difficult issues which remain as obstacles in our journey to full communion.  Despite these difficulties we continue to work together in the service of God’s people.  In these challenging times our two Churches continue to defend the dignity of the human person.  They continue to affirm fundamental ethical values.  Our two Churches continue to promote justice and peace and respond to human suffering throughout the world, especially hunger and poverty.

“Your Eminence, the clergy and laity of this Metropolis are thankful to God for your courageous leadership of the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and for the sterling example you provide men and women of all faiths”.

Sometimes when I post about this stuff I get negative reaction from certain Orthodox people.  There are usually two types of criticism:

-Fanatics who believe we should not talk to non-Orthodox and keep everything to ourselves.  I pretty much have nothing to say to these people.

-Well-meaning but, I believe, misguided believers who say “we can’t even keep our own house in order and we are reaching out to the RC church?”.  The idea here is that the church in America is not administratively unified, so shouldn’t we take care of this first?  I look at it this way:  We are unified – any Orthodox person can worship and receive communion in any canonical Orthodox church, and hopefully all are welcome everywhere.  The administrative stuff?  This is the last thing we need to get hung up on, but it is being taken care of in its own due time (and when you are talking Orthodox time, well, that can take a bit).  And we pray for the unity of all and are called to ecumenism.  With everything else that is going on, we still should find the time to reach out.  Thankfully here in Worcester and in our Metropolis as a whole we do.

Here is the picture: