Party like it's A.D......NOW!!!

"Is it A.D. yet...?"
- A shepherd in Monty Python's "The Life of Brian"



Seven years ago, around this time of the year, most of the western world appeared to be in a state of panic. A surprisingly high number of people had sequestered into underground bunkers with stockpiles of weapons, food, gasoline and bottled water - preparing for the "Apocalypse." When "every" computer in the world would stop working - planes would fall from the sky - safes at banks would no longer open - cars would not run - electricity would cease working, and thousands of other "cataclysmic" events were expected to happen.

I have never ceased to be amazed at this phenomenon, when people confuse the measurement of something as being the real thing, or as I often describe it, as the situation when it appears to be perfectly logical that because furniture is made out of trees, trees must be "made" out of wood!"

I've seen this happen several times in my life. For example, when England "went metric," it was reported that angry drivers started asking if they needed to swap out the gas tanks in their vehicles so that they could accept fuel in litres instead of gallons!!!

As we now know - no planes fell from the sky and only a few banks had a problem opening their safes - (due more to broken locks or lost keys than to a technological breakdown), and what a shock when those angry drivers found out that they could pour litres of gasoline into their tanks just as easily as gallons! However, the lessons we can learn from observing these experiences are very valuable.

WORDS AND WISDOM - DOCTRINE AND TRUTH

The good news is that as thinking beings we tend to classify things according to our understanding and by so doing, we are able to learn about new things or develop skills through comparison to that which we already know. When we are dealing with practical matters in life this capability is vital.


The bad news though, is that in our efforts to pass on our classifications and definitions from generation to generation, we have replaced the reality of the thing with its definition. So we tend to mistake words for wisdom, and doctrine for truth. So, as Jesus taught, the traditions of men should not become more important than the truth of God, and children of God should not fight over the "correct" literal interpretation of a biblical word or passage, but rather rejoice in the meaning of the entire gospel message, that the Kingdom of heaven is now here with us, and that the "sting" of death is overcome.

DOGMATIC GRACE

Last week I was reading the book, "Orthodox Dogmatic Theology" by Michael Pomazansky, which you might think would be rather boring and perhaps very fundamentalist in its content. But, as I've found to be true in most of the Eastern Orthodox theological works - it reveals an opposite frame of reference. As I was reading the book I was stopped in my tracks by this ancient quote from St. John Chrysostom:

"God loves us more than a father or a mother or a friend, or anyone else can love, and even more than we can love ourselves, because He is concerned more for our salvation than even for His own glory."

- St. John Chrysostom (Commentary on Psalm 113)

In the traditional Orthodox Christian understanding, "dogmas" are not laws - they are merely the opposite of "opinions." So they are statements that support experience, as opposed to ideas or theories scientifically proposed. In this context the classic Nicene Creed is not only a statement of beliefs - it is the "Symbol" (Creed means Symbol) of the Christian faith based on the shared experiences of the early followers of Christ handed down from generation to generation as a means of remembering and appropriating the truth of Christ's advent.

As a Christian I should never mistake the symbol for the reality of God's present activity in the world. As Jesus constantly demonstrated to the Pharisees and religious "authorities" of His day - nothing can or should interfere with God's work in the world - especially our religious "beliefs."

LITTLE LESS LENT - MORE PASCHA

So, what have I learned from the "Millennial Madness" of 1999/2000? I've learned that I should try to live with more of an attitude of celebration that "Christ is in our midst," as if it's Pascha (or Easter), and less like it's the season of Lent and I'm mourning His death and separation.

Let's party like it's A.D. NOW!!!!

Today the virgin gives birth to the transcendent one,
And the earth offers a cave to the unapproachable one.
Angels, with shepherds, glorify Him.
The wise men journey with the star,
Since for our sake the eternal God was born as a little child!

- Nativity Kontakion

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.