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New blog post: Daily Digest for April 24th https://konicki.com/2009/04/24/daily-digest-for-april-24th-2/ [#]
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New blog post: April 25 – Red wine by Jerzy Żuławski https://konicki.com/2009/04/25/april-25-red-wine-by-jerzy-zulawski/ [#]
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New blog post: I agree with Bishop V. Gene Robinson? Yep. https://konicki.com/2009/04/25/i-agree-with-bishop-v-gene-robinson-yep/ [#]
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New blog post: Pascha – a restoration https://konicki.com/2009/04/25/pascha-a-restoration/ [#]
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New blog post: 2009 Easter Pontifical Divine Liturgy in Holy Etchmiadzin https://konicki.com/2009/04/25/2009-easter-pontifical-div … [#]
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New blog post: Third Sunday of Easter — B https://konicki.com/2009/04/25/third-sunday-of-easter-b/ [#]
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First reading: Acts 3:13-15,17-19
Psalm: Ps 4:2,4,7-9
Epistle: 1 John 2:1-5
Gospel: Luke 24:35-48
[I]f anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
He is truly risen! Alleluia!
Lawyers can be annoying:
Lawyers can be annoying. Watching the news, reading the papers, we see lists of people who have broken the law, who have done all sorts of things, some very evil. There, at their side, is the lawyer, the man or woman intent on getting them off-the-hook.
We get upset because these lawyers, these highly educated and highly paid people, are in the criminal’s corner, supporting the wrongdoers.
Advocacy for the guilty:
Those annoying lawyers are advocates for the guilty. They support and give comfort to the guilty, going so far as to say the guilty are innocent. No wonder people get upset; no wonder people write lawyer jokes:
Q. —What is a criminal lawyer?—
A. —Redundant.—
Jesus is that annoying lawyer and judge:
Interesting that St. John is telling us that we have an Advocate in heaven. The word advocate is another term for lawyer. In fact, in the Polish language, the word Adwokat is the term used for lawyers.
A law dictionary published in 1867 notes that an advocate, from the Latin word advocatus, means: One who is called upon to assist or defend another; a defender, patron, or protector…[one who] plead[s] another’s cause in court.
My friends: Jesus is that annoying lawyer. He is the lawyer that advocates on behalf of the guilty. He is the One who pleads for us and defends the guilty —“- that is us — before His Father.
He died for the righteous and unrighteous
St. John and St. Peter, in fact the whole of the New Testament points to the fact that Jesus, the Righteous One died for, was sacrificed for, the unrighteous. His advocacy begins with His blood, the blood that washes away our sin. St. John reminds us:
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
Isn’t that the core assurance? Isn’t that the most important thing in our lives?
People can’t believe it. In Romans 5:7-8 we read:
Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man — though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die.
But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
Can we understand that? People don’t believe it and are incredulous because Jesus, our lawyer, died for us —“ died in defense of the guilty.
We have no ability to approach God on our own, to somehow cover our sins. There is nothing we can do to compensate God, or the members of our community, for the evils we have done, whether big or small. But there —“ look —“ there is Jesus, our Advocate, our lawyer. He is standing in our corner.
Jesus brings us before the Father. He stands by us, allowing us to stand tall, to stand as free men and women in the court of heaven. Because Jesus is at our side, because He is our lawyer, our debt has been paid. Our sins, our guilt, all of it, every nagging and biting little evil we do —“ gone! I know I am guilty, but because of Jesus I am free.
The prophet Isaiah put it beautifully (Isaiah 53:5):
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,
and with his stripes we are healed.
He calls all but there is a requirement:
Back to my lawyer friends -—“ let’s consider our annoyance.
Perhaps, and I think this is key; it is because there is no requirement for amendment. When we see lawyers say: ‘I got my client off’ we think that the guilty have walked away from their crime. Society hasn’t been compensated for the wrong they have done. With Jesus the compensation has already occurred. Our lawyer has paid our debt in advance.
Our protection lies in what we preach and teach:
St. Peter told the people in Jerusalem:
—Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.”
Like those hearing St. Peter, we are called to make a dedicated and concerted effort in cooperating with our lawyer, Jesus Christ. Jesus needs our cooperation, our humility. He has paid our debt and in return requires us to acknowledge our guilt and to work with Him in amending our lives.
Amendment of life:
Our message is a message of hope. Jesus is our advocate. He stands with us, has washed us clean, has paid the debt in full — for us. He defends us before the Father. He is here for us, so that we may stand as free men and women. We need only desire it; we need only cooperate with Him. We who cooperate are on the path to heaven, a path open to all. Jesus told us that:
repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Let’s open ourselves to that message of hope. Let us place our confidence in our Advocate. Let us go forward with a clear message: our sin has been washed away, we are committed to amending our lives, and we have forgiveness based on our repentance and cooperation with Jesus. His truth, His teachings are our reality. His way is the way to heaven.
Those who say, “I know him,” but do not keep his commandments
are liars, and the truth is not in them.
But whoever keeps his word,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
Brothers and sisters, let us keep His word, repent, and be forgiven. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is our Advocate and our hope. Amen.
Krisdos Haryav e Merelots
Ohrnyal e Harutyounun Krisdosee
Christ is Risen from the Dead
Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ
Thomas Smith, who Twitters here, points to an interview with Armenian author, poet, theologian, and gardener Vigen Guroian from American Public Radio’s Speaking of the Faith.
The interview with Mr. Guroian, entitled Restoring the Senses, explores Easter as “a call to our senses.” Mr. Guroian discusses “his Eastern Orthodox sensibility that is at once more mystical and more earthy than the Christianity dominant in Western culture….”
Other features include a beautiful picture of the Pascha liturgy of the Armenian Orthodox Church from the Church of St. Hripsime in Echmiadzin, Armenia, a selection of hymns and chants on the SOF Playlist, and a series of short videos on life in the Orthodox faith at the time of Pascha: Easter in Sarajevo; Cyclical Time on Mount Athos; and Images of Eastern Orthodoxy — iconography and church architecture with Russian chanting.
From the Los Angeles Times: Gay Episcopal bishop visits Studio City
In response to a question about how the parish should respond to the passage of Proposition 8, the bishop suggested that churches could begin mending the split on same-sex marriage by having clergy get out of the civil marriage business altogether.
Robinson, who supports gay marriage, said he favors the system used in France and other parts of Europe in which civil marriage — performed by government officials — is completely separate from religious vows.
In the U.S., the civil and religious are often combined, with the cleric signing the government marriage license.
“In this country, it has become very confusing about where the civil action begins and ends and where the religious action begins and ends, because we have asked clergy to be agents of the state,” he said.
Last summer, Robinson and his longtime partner had their civil commitment ceremony blessed in the church. He said that “untangling” the roles of clergy and government in this country would focus the discussion of same-sex marriage on civil rights rather than religion.
“The church is infringing on the secular society and trying to enforce its beliefs onto the entire culture,” he said. “If we can get these two things separated, we can assure every religious group, no matter how conservative, that they will never have to bless these marriages.”
“I think we could actually gain some support from our detractors if we could make this separation clear,” he said…
The one statement I disagree with is: “…we can assure every religious group, no matter how conservative, that they will never have to bless these marriages.” No Church has to do anything the government demands of it as it is, nor can they be forced to, even under penalty of law. If Church is true to its faith — faith in God, not government, adherence to God’s commandments, not man’s, then it will reject falsehood whatever the penalty. A long line of martyrs and confessors attests to that.
To that point, I have commented on the Church’s complicity with government in prior posts and won’t re-cover that territory. In short, the co-mingling of faith, politics, and governmental administration is in-and-of-itself a wrong. The Church should encourage the good that governments do, but should do so without acquiescence to an agenda beyond that immediate good. Churches must use care so as not cloud their message. Yoking themselves with unbelievers’ (2 Corinthians 6:14) agendas detracts from the Church’s mission.
Reading Bishop Robinson I am reminded of a post by former blogger, the Rev. Jim Tucker (unfortunately his posts are no longer publicly available), in which he discusses marriage and the motivations of young couples who appear in church for the pomp and circumstance, never to cross the threshold again once married. Bifurcating civil co-habitation contracts from ecclesiastical marriages would do a lot to end the extravagance and expense associated with “marriages for show.” Do couples come to church intending to embark upon a life of faith, or do they come intending to embark on a one night party? In many cases I fear the later. They are caught in a moment blinded by expectation and rarely consider the consequences. That unthinking action, that type of marriage, is more harmful to the institution of marriage than any myriad of civil co-habitation contracts.
Do civil co-habitation contracts open the slippery slope which posits that once “gay marriages” are allowed all evil will break loose, to wit: polygamous marriages? From my perspective the same rules apply. If people want to enter into a civil co-habitation contract of any form then let them. The problem with such arrangements as practiced by fundamentalist Mormons is that they are a.) abusive and b.) an excuse for latching onto the public dole via welfare and Medicaid fraud. A good civil co-habitation contract and the enforcement of current laws would rule those options out. I don’t see many willing to enter into such a contract if it forces them to give up X% of their estate should the contract fail.
In the end a person who believes is required to subject themselves to the teaching of the Church. That choice, one we each must make with our God given freedom, doesn’t make life easy and demands sacrifice, but is essential to our call to be faithful. We are all called to make the choice, not “a” choice, but the choice.
The recent Miss USA controversy is a case in point. Miss Prejean stood by her Church and its teaching. For that she was ridiculed by those who do not believe in freedom of conscience or expression — the new communists and overlords. The words of Keith Lewis, Co-Executive Director of K2 Productions (the sponsor of the Miss California USA) in the organization’s Official statement regarding Miss CA USA 2009 final answer controversy better reflect the attitude of those who love and respect freedom (emphasis mine):
I am proud of Carrie Prejean’s beauty and placement at the 2009 MISS USA pageant. I support Carrie’s right to express her personal beliefs even if they do not coincide with my own. I believe the subject of gay marriage deserves a great deal more conversation in order to heal the divide it has created.
Freedom is beautiful. The overlords…not so much.
Hey! to that red, homemade wine,
that we drank, standing in the doorways of pubs
in the alpines on high!… I was young
and desired your mouth, girlIt has been years and years pass yet gain:
different wines and honey mead
held in my hand, but this divine wedding
was mine only once … Hey! hey! my tears flow! …Do you remember? (No wonder that, I am crying, —
me, once the bold one…) One eye flickers
and in my mouth the flavor of your mouth burns …then – never again! Hey, homemade wine!
silent pubs on the alpine ridge!
years of your youth! vanish before the world …
Translation by Dcn. Jim
Hej! to czerwone, to wieśniacze wino,
któreśmy pili przed progiem gospody
w alpejskich górach!… Jakże byłem młody
i jak pragnący twoich ust, dziewczynoMinęły lata i znów lata miną:
różne się wina pieniły i miody
w ręku mych, ale takie boskie gody
raz tylko miałem… Hej! hej! łzy mi płyną!…Czy ty pamiętasz? (Nie dziw się, że płaczę, —
dawniej się śmiałem…) Jedno oka mgnienie
i na mych ustach twoich ust płomienie…potem — już nigdy! Hej, wino wieśniacze!
cicha gospodo na alpejskim grzbiecie!
lata wy młode! rozpierzchłe po świecie…
From Poklosie poezje, 1894-1904 by Jerzy Żuławski.