Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Female Prophets: Types of the Fallen and Fruitful Church - Lazar Puhalo

The Twelve Great Feast Days:
A Verbal Iconography

When we enter an Orthodox Church, we do not encounter images of the 12 stations of the Cross but the icons of the 12 great feast days. This is because we understand that the entire life of Christ, from his incarnation to his resurrection and ascension, are intimately a part of our redemption and salvation. There is a concept that we consider heretical that understands our redemption and salvation as a juridical execution demanded by God.

However, our redemption and salvation are something completely different than this. The Incarnation of Christ is the beginning of our redemption since he took on fully and completely our human nature in order to redeem his human nature from its alienation from the Divine nature. In Himself, Christ, having the Divine Nature, took on our human nature and, in Himself, reunited the human and the divine, a unity symbolized by the “garden of Eden,” which was lost with the fall of mankind.

We had already discussed the icon as Scripture and demonstrated how to read the canonical icon in such a way that it gives us a deeper insight into the Scripture. There is another form of iconography, one that is presented to us by the Church. The events revealed in the 12 great feast days are a form of verbal iconography. The stories of the events presented in these feast days are really presented in an iconographic form, a verbal iconography. Examining the details of the stories presented in the 12 great feast days presents us with this verbal iconography that, like the visual icons, gives us a deeper insight into the mystery of redemption and salvation. The 12 great feasts also help us to maintain the understanding that it is the entire life of Christ and not simply an hour on the cross that is an integral part of the process of our redemption.

The Birth of the Virgin

The birth of the Virgin is really the beginning of the cycle of the 12 great feast days. There is an ancient symbol we use frequently in illustrations called the “Etimasia,” the “preparation of the throne.” The birth of the Theotokos is precisely the preparation of the throne for the incarnation of God. Christ, being divine by nature, took on our human nature literally. It was not a fiction, an image or likeness of our nature, but our complete human nature in all its fullness. He took on our flesh and blood, our human body, and not a mere likeness or image of our humanity.

This necessitated taking on our flesh and the natural way in the womb of a mother, whence we all receive our flesh and blood.

Female Prophets:
Images & Revelations of the Church

There is a further revelation in this. The Cappadocian fathers and the "Shepherd of Hermas” all understand the Old Testament female prophets as images and revelations about the Church. The Church came into existence with the creation of Eve and Adam and was symbolised as “the Garden of Eden.” With the story of the fall of Adam and Eve from Paradise, we understand that the Church fell into barrenness and fruitlessness. An alienation between the Divine and the human nature took place.

The Old Testament female prophets foretold the redemption of the Church and its renewal.
When God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a holy nation, the fulfillment of this promise could only take place through his lawful wife, Sarah. In this, she became a prophetess and the mother of the holy nation. The promise could not be carried out through Hagar and her offspring but only through the lawful wife of Abraham, the prophetess Sarah, for, the promise was equally given to her.

Hannah

When the priests who served in the Tabernacle, the sons of the judge and prophet Eli, fell into corruption and debauchery, the elderly Hannah, an old and barren woman unable to bear a child, but by a miracle of God, gave birth to the prophet Samuel who would become the replacement for the corrupted and degenerate priests. Hannah was a prophetess who, like the others, revealed the barrenness of the fallen Church but, through her miraculous birth-giving, revealed the coming of the true high priest, Jesus Christ, who would perfect and fulfill the priesthood.

Anna 

Anna was the last of these great prophetesses who would be a type of the fallen Church. Barren, unable to produce the fruit of the womb, she would also be touched by a miracle of God. Being unable to produce a child was an especially heavy burden for Anna and her husband Joakim because they belonged to the priestly caste, so it was considered more shameful for them not to have a child.

As a barren old woman, Anna was also a type of the fallen Church. With her miraculous birth-giving, the revelation and prophecy suddenly pass from a barren old women to a young virgin – Mary, the mother of Christ.

Mary

As a fruitful, childbearing young woman, Mary is a type of the Church and, therefore also a holy prophetess. She is a type of the redeemed and restored Church of the living God. She is the one chosen out of all ages and generations to be the "mother of God" in the saving incarnation. It is from her that Christ will take on his flesh and blood and his human nature. She is the "throne prepared from all generations" for God the Word.

It is fitting in the ekonomia of God that humanity should fully participate in its own redemption, and Mary the Virgin becomes the forerunner of humanity’s participation in the redemption of humanity. Christ has presented to us, through his Church, which is called the "body of Christ," the redemption of humanity from its alienation from God.

We are not forced to accept this redemption, but we are called to enter into it freely. Mary exemplifies this when she freely chooses to be the obedient servant of God in the saving incarnation. She is the initial participation of humanity and the work of our salvation. All that follows in the life of Christ begins on this foundation, and every step in the life of Christ is the process of the working of our redemption and salvation.

The incarnation, the birth of Christ, is the foundation of our redemption. The death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ are central but not isolated. The incarnation of Christ in the womb of the Virgin is the manifestation of God's co-suffering love for mankind. This is why the feast day of the "Nativity of the Virgin Mary" is the beginning of the cycle of the 12 great feast days. She is the throne prepared in the will of God from the beginning of the ages for the saving Incarnation. We should celebrate the feast in this context.

The Nonviolent God Is No Mere Projection — Richard Murray

Sometimes I hear the concern from critics that those who advocate for the non-violent nature of God are just projecting their own ideas and desires onto God.

But, here is the thing. Left to my own nature and personality, I definitely AM an eye-for-an-eye guy. I grew up wrestling in school and fighting in bars. I both drew blood and lost blood. So, my own natural bent toward reactionary violence is quite honed, hostile and ever-ready. And, engaging in the verbally violent cross-examinations that practicing law demands has done nothing but show me how to even more effectively shred people who are attacking my clients. 

But, when I first recognized 25 years ago that Jesus lives within me, and that He wanted to transform my heart, things changed. The God who turns the other cheek at my sin-- bar none, has also called me to do the same toward all others-- bar none. And by turning the other cheek, He doesn't ignore the sin at all. Rather, Jesus deals with it directly by overcoming all-evil with all-good.

"Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, give the extra garment, love your enemy, pray for those who despitefully use you, THAT you may be sons of your Father in Heaven, for our loving God sends bountiful rain and replenishing sunlight on both the good and the evil, the just and the unjust, THEREFORE be ye perfect AS as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:38-48.

My point is that it's counter-intuitive and contrary, at least in my case,  for my nature and personality to project non-violent attributes onto God. For me to advocate a non-violent image of God is not projection at all since I am not that way by inclination. Projection is a psychological transference of our OWN qualities or faults onto our image of another. In fact, in a way, its Jesus who is projecting His own divine qualities ONTO and INTO us. And that's a good thing.

Beyond Alienation: The Theology of the Octoechos - Lazar Puhalo

THE THEOLOGY OF THE OCTOECHOS
Vladika Lazar

    The hymnology of the "Octoechos” [the “Eight Tones”] continuously focuses us on the alienation of man that occurred in paradise. Satan tempted Adam and Eve, not merely to eat the fruit of the tree, but to lose their trust in God and break the bond of love that united them with their Creator. Although they had been created in the image and likeness of God, they were led into temptation by the promise that they could become "like God." When they accepted this temptation and this false promise, they accepted a counterfeit in place of the gift that God had given them. This incident marks the birth of egoism, which became the root of alienation and all human conflicts and experiences of alienation, not only from the Creator but from other human beings as well.

    Man is a created being, and only God is immortal by Nature. Man can have an immortal soul only by grace. When we became alienated and out of communion with the only Source of life, our mortality took hold. Death is not a punishment given by God. When God told Eve and Adam that if they ate of the tree before he gave them permission, they would “surely die,” He was not prescribing death but describing what would happen if they alienated themselves from the only source of life. The knowledge allegorically ascribed to the tree was intended for mankind “in the fulness of time.

    In this hymnology, we are reminded of the incarnation, the cross and the resurrection as solutions to our alienation, as a deliverance from the power of the fear of death with which Satan holds us in bondage. We also confess Christ to be our true God, one of the Holy Trinity, born of the Father eternally, before the ages. We also proclaim the Virgin Mary to be the “Theotókos,” the one who gave birth to God in the flesh, the one from whom he took upon Himself our human nature, in Himself breaking down the wall of alienation between the human nature and the Divine nature. Christ redeemed us, first of all, from our alienation, conquering the power of death, which was the foremost mark of that alienation. Ransoming us from the power of death, Christ redeemed us from bondage to Satan.

 This Sunday, the 13th Sunday of Pentecost, we sing the hymns of the fourth tone. Although there are several translations from the Greek of these hymns, they all contain the same thoughts and teachings. Let us look at the verses in the hymnology of the fourth tone.

TONE 4

THE VERSES THAT FOLLOW THE CHANTING OF THE PSALM "LORD I HAVE CRIED OUT TO THEE”

 (1)We ceaselessly worship Your life-bearing Cross, O Christ our God, and we glorify Your third-day resurrection; for by this, You have renewed our corrupted nature and revealed to us the way to heaven. You alone are good and the friend of mankind [or, “the lover of mankind.]

 (2)When You were willingly nailed upon the cross, O Saviour, You healed the wound inflicted by the tree of disobedience. When You descended into Hades, You trampled down the bonds of death, as You Are the all-mighty God. Wherefore we worship Your resurrection from the dead, crying out for joy ' glory to You, the Almighty Lord.

 (3)By your death, O Lord, You demolished the gates of Hades and dissolved the realm of death, liberating humanity from corruption, granting the world life and incorruptibility, and great mercy.

 [In these three verses, we are given the key to understanding the mystery of redemption. It begins with the incarnation, in which Christ brings the human nature back into communion with the Divine nature, redeeming it from its alienation. The mark of that alienation is death, and on the cross, Christ ransomed us from the fear and power of death through which Satan held us in bondage. Ransomed from death, we are redeemed from the power of the Evil One. The gates of Hades are demolished and the gates of Paradise are reopened. The cross has become both the weapon against Hades and the key that unlocks the gates of Paradise.]

 (4)Come, all nations and peoples, and let us praise and glorify the third-day resurrection of our Saviour through which we are set free of the bonds of death and by which we have received life and incorruption. Let us cry out, 'O Lord who was crucified, buried and rose again, save us by Your resurrection, O only Friend of mankind’ [or, Lover of mankind].

 (5)Truly, both angels and men glorify Your third-day resurrection, which has illumined the whole universe and redeemed us from bondage to the enemy. Wherefore we cry out, 'O all-powerful Bestower of life, save us by your resurrection, O only friend of mankind. [or, Lover of mankind.]

 (6)You have demolished the brazen gates, O Christ, and shattered the bars [of death], raising up our fallen human nature. Wherefore, we cry out with one voice, 'Glory to Your Resurrection, O Lord.'

 [Let us proclaim again that Christ is one of the Holy Trinity, begotten by the Father before the Universe and time, and incarnate, taking on our human nature through the womb of the Virgin, bringing it into communion with His Divine Nature, rescuing our human nature from bondage to death and alienation from God]

 (7)Your timeless and pre-eternal birth from the Father and Your incarnation through the Virgin is ineffable and beyond understanding; Your descent into Hades is overwhelming to Satan and his angels. You trampled down death and arose on the third day, granting incorruptibility and great mercy to mankind.

 [Confessing Christ's fleshly descent from David the prophet in His incarnation, we see that he calls upon mankind to participate in his own salvation, first of all through the holy Virgin Mary, his assumption of our nature and our call to fulfil the will of God in our own lives. We acknowledge that he is restoring all creation, as Apostle Paul says (Rm.8-19-21 ). We will later learn that at His coming again, He will not destroy His creation but transfigure it, recapitulating it along with our human nature. He has come, first of all, to find us lost sheep, rescue us and bring us back out of our alienation into communion with God. We proclaim in song the dispensation (ekonomia) of God, Who sent his only begotten Son into the world to rescue and redeem those who have been lost. In the words of Saint Athanasios the Great, “He became man so that man could become God,” that is, so that the alienation of our human nature from the Divine nature could be healed and, as Apostle Peter tells us, we have “exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)]

 (8)Through you, O Theotókos, David the prophet has become the ancestor of God in the incarnation. In prophecy and in prayers, he sang to Him who works miracles through you, prophetically proclaiming, 'the Queen stood at your right hand." For God has shown you to be the mother of life as He willed to be incarnate from you, renewing the creation, created in his likeness, corrupt and suffering, seeking and finding the sheep that was lost, bearing it on his shoulders to present it to be Father, numbering it among the heavenly hosts and saving the whole world, for he is Christ Who reigns and bestows great and abundant mercy.

 THE APOSTIKHA

 

A Response to Deconstruction - Lazar Puhalo

Many Christian theorists believe that humanity is a collection of Karl Capek's Robots, or mechanical robots, empty and waiting for the right programmer. The inner strength that man finds within himself is there because he is created in the image and likeness of God.

Part of a response to deconstruction is not to see weakness in the person but to recognise an inner strength in the one who has the courage to undertake the deconstruction, and surmise that they have the same strength to rebuild. They do not need reprogramming but someone to walk with them with integrity, respecting their integrity, not seeing them as yielding to inner weakness but giving them credit with having the inner strength to rebuild a more certain and firm structure on the foundation of Christ without having pressure to include the rejected building material (which would compromise the integrity of the rebuilding) and hinder an honest rediscovery of Christ.

A recognition that if Jesus is not Christ, he may be only an emotional affectation. "Jesus" by itself is an emotional slogan, Jesus has meaning because he is Christ. The Incarnation can be an emotional slogan without a meaningful non-juridical reason for it. The juridical understanding is one driver of deconstruction. Redemption from alienation rather than saving man from the Father's wrath is a necessary understanding. Man is the prodigal son to whom God lovingly sent a rescuer rather than passively (and angrily) waiting for our return and penance. Walking with one who is going through the often traumatic process of “deconstruction” with self-recognition rather than some maudlin and often condescending “compassion” is appropriate.  

"The One True Church" - Bradley Jersak

My ecclesial journey has included 20 years with the Baptists (via my parents), 10 years with the Mennonites (via marriage), another 10 years with renewal movement folks, including a church plant focused on the margins (mainly people with disabilities, addicts in recovery, etc.), followed by a slow journey into Orthodoxy (via my monk mentor, Lazar Puhalo). Over the years, I have learned to retrieve and appreciate the gifts I received from each of these communions. I am committed to both interchurch fellowship and interfaith charity.

 

So when I run into some Eastern Orthodox believers who insist they are the "one true church," I confess that I sometimes struggle to be kind. My pushback at that lingo includes the following points, which I stand by as I write this:

 

1. People claiming to be the "one true church" are obviously sectarian. Indeed, a pair of them knocked on my door this week. Is that what we're doing now? Are we a cult?

 

2. My great-uncle Karl was a faithful Baptist minister in Czechoslovakia. He was arrested and tortured for his faith. Meanwhile, Orthodox priests were in active collaboration with (or actual members of) the KGB and other Communist secret police forces across Eastern Europe. Please don't presume to tell me Uncle Karl wasn't a "true Christian" or brother in Christ.

 

3. The current Patriarch of Moscow (the world's largest Eastern Orthodox community) is currently in bed with Putin's imperial agenda. During his homilies, he has promised absolution and eternal life to recruit soldiers for the invasion of Ukraine. This is the very definition of anti-Christ.

 

4. I also follow the Orthodox maxim, "We know where grace is. We do not know where it is not." I.e., We believe that we encounter Christ and experience his grace in our communion. We do NOT believe Christ limits his grace to our communion. He is the Light of the world.

 

5. I say all of the above as an Orthodox believer. Relatively speaking, we have too many priests and not enough prophets. I love our liturgy, our theology, our spiritual fathers and mothers, our Psalms and hymns, and our icons and incense. BUT we follow Jesus, not ANY hierarch, canon, or trend that exults ourselves and creates an us-them division with other followers of Jesus Christ.

 

Why? Because to exclude and belittle other believers is an act of direct defiance to the express will of Christ revealed in his High Priestly prayer (John 17). That prayer reveals his deepest desire: that we would be one as he and his Father are one. To defy his will is rebellion. 

 

I know the counterarguments around so-called "false unity." I've heard them all for 20 years now. Every one of them is nothing other than an excuse to narrow Christ's new commandment ("Love one another as I have loved you) to the point of willful disobedience. In the earliest days of my catechism, I was taught that to turn away from love is heresy. It is not to be Orthodox. And if faithfulness to Orthodoxy requires a turn from love, then Orthodoxy is no longer Christian. So please, let us all choose our path most carefully. 

 

What I've said here feels like more than just pushback. Perhaps it is even a shove against the anti-ecumenical rhetoric that once alarmed me but now bores me. So I suppose I'd better get my heart right. And in the meantime, I'm happy for any friends who promote and nourish the unity in the Body of Christ.

 

Here is what I have learned in the Orthodox Church and a good reason for me not to wash my hands of it. I'm quoting word for word:

 

"The one true Church is found wherever we see moments of communion--even between a Hindu and an Atheist. It is visible in this world, not as an institution, but in these exchanges of grace with the Other. And it is incarnational because we meet Christ in them as the Holy Other.

 

"The problem, then, is not so much people leaving 'the church' as it is trying to avoid the discipline of gathering in the mess of a liturgical family, where we encounter those in whom we see our own limitations and stupidity--where we share the same Cup with other sinners, 'of whom I am the chief.'" 

 

That challenge will keep me busy for a lifetime.  

Where Do We See Jesus? Jessica Boudreaux

“White people, you have to understand this: Jesus does not look like you!”

This was the opening line and the perpetual refrain of one Sunday’s sermon at a church that boasted of their intense inclusivity and rich diversity.

After recently moving from the conservative, rural American South to the liberal cityscape of the North, I was quite excited to see (almost all) the churches here openly proclaiming their inclusivity and diversity, which was a stark contrast to what I had been used to ‘back home.’ And I eagerly began visiting some of these places in hopes of finding a community where I finally felt that I belonged. Surely, if they were all so inclusive and welcoming and diverse, there would be space for me to come just as I am—and not having to work hard to merely ‘fit in’ with the crowd.

But suddenly, Jesus doesn’t look like me? He only looks like ‘other people’ who don’t look ‘like me’? I found out later, after emailing the pastor, that my hidden ‘diversities’ were not part of the specific diversities they were intending to include. I was welcome to ‘find a place to fit in’ (but not add to) their existing ‘diversity.’

St. John Chrysostom said once that if we cannot find the face of Jesus in the beggar outside the Church doors, we will never find Him inside the Chalice or the Bread.

I would like to add to this the idea that if we can’t also look around at all the people who have somehow managed to drag themselves inside of the church doors—including ourselves—coming in all the ways we find ourselves broken and in need of the Healer’s Touch (because, why else would we have come to church, if not because we ourselves are seeking to participate the Resurrection of the dead?) and see in the faces of everyone the Face of Christ, we are still missing the point.

In the area where I live, almost every church is proud to proclaim their inclusivity and diversity and how welcoming they are to “others.” To me, this sounds dangerously like the prayer of the Pharisee, relative to the Publican, in the parable Jesus tells us: “I (as part of the ‘us’ group) welcome and include you (as part of the ‘them’ group) into ‘our’ church!”

Inherent in this (probably well-meaning) invitation is the implicit assumption that—you are not like me, but I am being Jesus-like and am willing to include you into my group. Despite the particularities of what group it is that is seemingly being included, the statement is ripe with the division that is still being promoted. “There are those like us, and there are those who are not,” we seem to say.