Easter Homily

"Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord. You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet. The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness. Let no one grieve over his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed; let no one weep over his sins, for pardon has shone from the grave; let no one fear death, for the death of our Saviour has set us free."       

~ St. John Chrysostom

For good relationships are heaven anywhere...

Neither do walls nor rich furniture make a home...But where there are good relationships, where love binds the family together and to God, there happiness is always to be found.

For good relationships are heaven anywhere.

But the fire of love must be kept burning warmly and brightly with the sweet wood of sacrifice. In teaching us to cross the "I" out of life, our Lord tells us the secret of happiness. 

Divine love seeks to give rather than receive, to serve rather than to be served, to love rather than be loved, and will sacrifice anything for the beloved. Only then does love become a clean and holy fire in the heart.

Saint Seraphim of Sarov
Nineteenth Century

St. Seraphim quote found at Close to Home

For this sore throat Sunday after Easter

St. John Chrysostom's Pascal Homily

If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let him enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival.

If anyone is a wise servant, let him, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord.

If anyone has wearied himself in fasting, let him now receive his recompense.

If anyone has labored from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If anyone has come at the third hour, with thanksgiving let him keep the feast. If anyone has arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; for he shall suffer no loss. If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near without hesitation. If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour, let him not fear on account of his delay. For the Master is gracious and receives the last, even as the first; he gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, just as to him who has labored from the first. He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one he gives, and to the other he is gracious. He both honors the work and praises the intention.

Enter all of you, therefore, into the joy of our Lord, and, whether first or last, receive your reward. O rich and poor, one with another, dance for joy! O you ascetics and you negligent, celebrate the day! You that have fasted and you that have disregarded the fast, rejoice today! The table is rich-laden; feast royally, all of you! The calf is fatted; let no one go forth hungry!

Let all partake of the feast of faith. Let all receive the riches of goodness.

Let no one lament his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn his transgressions, for pardon has dawned from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Saviour's death has set us free.

He that was taken by death has annihilated it! He descended into hades and took hades captive! He embittered it when it tasted his flesh! And anticipating this Isaiah exclaimed, "Hades was embittered when it encountered thee in the lower regions." It was embittered, for it was abolished! It was embittered, for it was mocked! It was embittered, for it was purged! It was embittered, for it was despoiled! It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!

It took a body and, face to face, met God! It took earth and encountered heaven! It took what it saw but crumbled before what it had not seen!

"O death, where is thy sting? O hades, where is thy victory?"

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen, and life reigns!

Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!

For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the First-fruits of them that slept.

To him be glory and might unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Fourth Sunday in Advent

I am not worthy, O Lord and Master, that You should enter under the roof of my soul; but since You in Your love for men do will to dwell in me, I take courage and approach. You command I will open wide the doors which You alone did create, that You may enter with love as is Your nature, enter and enlighten my darkened thought. I believe that You will do this, for You did not banish the Harlot who approached You with tears, nor did You reject the Publican who repented, nor did You drive away the Thief who acknowledged Your Kingdom, nor did You leave the repentant persecutor (Paul) to himself; but all who had been brought to You by repentance You did set in the company of Your friends, O You Who alone are blessed always, now and to endless ages. Amen.

~St. John Chrysostom~

St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church

We took a few hours yesterday to visit St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in the nearby town of Jackson.

Have you ever been in an Orthodox church? I have, but I was not prepared for the beauty that surrounded me when I entered St. Sava's. It was as if I had entered an entirely different world.

My mother-in-law and I enjoyed the company of the deacon of the church. His stories of God's provision, told with humor and with awe, made him a terrific docent.

This is on the ceiling. I had seen pictures online, but trust me when I say: it is NOTHING like it is in person. It takes your breath away.

Beautiful is such a weak word. Staggeringly gorgeous? Closer.

If you are heading through Jackson, California, the church is on the frontage road to Highway 49, on the east side of the highway. Call ahead if you would like to see inside (contact numbers are on the website.)

To see photos of the painting process, click here

A Bright Sadness: Visiting the Orthodox Church during Lent

The church is dark. Circles of light glow from the vigil candles on the walls and the prayer candles that are lit and placed tilting in humble sand. The dark wood shines, though; it is a deep enough darkness that bits of light become bright. The saints on the walls remind us that we are not alone; we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

Women in scarves gather to the left, old and young, inquirer and cradle-born standing side-by-side. Men in black vestments or rain jackets gather to the right, chanting with rich familiarity or reading with hesitancy. The black vestments have flickers of gold, both dark and luminous.

Majestic and humble are co-existing this night in a beautiful and mysterious way.

The specificity of the confession is deep and honest. No skimming over, no subtlety. But then we sing, over and over, “God is with us” as another continues reading. GOD IS WITH US!

As we leave, the rain is unleashed with fury once again. We jog to the car, passing blossoms big and small on the trees in the church courtyard. They are pink and yellow and white in the lights overhead; as we speed past, the fragrance is like incense to bless us on our way.

This Orthodox world is full of physical pictures of spiritual things: light shining, dark filling, fragrance of blessing wafting in the air. The service stays with me long after I return home to the smell of dinner and the sound of skirmishes and speech practice and guitar strumming.

God is with us.

* Fr. Alexander Schmeman referred to Lent as a "bright sadness."

Recommended

Letters from Heaven

Poems by Ginny Eliason Silva
Illustrated by Susan Kelly Von Medicus

From Amazon:

With its beautiful artwork, its accompanying poems, and its many other special features, Letters From Heaven is much more than an alphabet book-it’s a book your children will enjoy for years to come!

The illuminated letters in this alphabet are Irish Uncale Majuscule, an ancient script which was developed during the sixth to ninth centuries. The illustrations are done in the medieval manner using gold leaf on red clay and egg tempera color work. The imagery combines traditional saints, narrative, and symbols of the Eastern Orthodox, Roman and Anglican Catholic Faiths.

Each illumination is accompanied by an original poem reflecting on the spiritual subject being introduced.

A short, simple prayer is included in each letter, which can be used as a meditative reflection on the subject of the illumination.

A special “Symbol Quest” key at the back of the book explains the meaning of many traditional Christian symbols, and encourages children to search the pages of the book to find these symbols.

Children aren't the only ones who will enjoy this book.