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Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

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  • Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

    Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church






    This thread is meant for Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox, believers and non-believers alike. These are my musings on the Sunday lections of the Armenian Church and are simply my understanding of them. I encourage everyone who has even an inkling of interest in the Bible, the Church and her teachings, and the Church Fathers - regardless of your beliefs - to participate in this thread.

    I wish for this thread to reach people from all belief backgrounds/faith traditions. Please be respectful of each others' beliefs, for attacking someone's beliefs is tantamount to attacking who they are as a person. This does not mean there is no room for disagreement, I only wish for people to be understanding of one another in the process.

    May God bless you all. Աստուած օրհնէ':

  • #2
    Re: Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

    October 11, 2009

    Is. 19:1-11. Gal 2:1-10. Mk 12:35-44.
    ________________

    "And the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out and I will confound their plans; and they will consult the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the wizards; and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master; and a fierce king will rule over them, says the Lord, the Lord of hosts."

    Is. 19:3-4

    Why does Isaiah prophesy so harshly towards the Egyptians? We must see the Egyptians in the light of the Book of Exodus. To the Israelites and to the God of Israel*, Egypt represents everything that is anti-God. They are enslavers of God's people (Ex. 1:9-11), worshippers of foreign gods who pay no heed to human dignity (Ex. 1:13-14).

    This is the "spirit of the Egyptians" which must be "emptied out", and indeed this is the spirit which must be emptied out in all of us. As the passage shows, the only way this spirit can be "emptied out" is for them to be delivered to "a hard master" and "a fierce king".

    In our lives this "hard master" and "fierce king" is Jesus Christ. Although loving and compassionate, His way of life is demanding and He his rule is strong. He would rather us have to be "emptied out" in this way, this spiritually violent way, than be totally and utterly spiritually destroyed.

    (Note: The God of Israel includes Christians, as we are considered the "New Israel").
    ________________

    "But because of false brethren secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage - to them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you."

    Gal. 2:4-5

    This passage shows us a glimpse of what St. Paul had to go through on a daily basis. Enemies were not only limited to the outspoken Pharisees and Scribes of the day, but also to infiltrators within the Church. It also shows that Paul was not disheartened that some of his fellow "brothers" were trying to bring him "into bondage", for he knew that Christ had suffered likewise before him. His zeal for the gospel is unparalled and every Christian should strive for the same strength and courage for the sake of the gospel.
    ________________

    "And [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, 'Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living."

    Mk. 12:41-44

    You will hear many TV fundamentalist Christians stressing the importance of giving a 10% tithe of their earnings to charity and the church. We can see from this passage that Jesus requires much more than us to give up a mere 10% of our income. In fact, it is nothing but a pittance to Him, not respectable in the sight of God at all.

    Does He call us to be charitable and merciful to the poor? Of course! But one must consider who are the poor first. Yes, they are the people without money but they are also - and I would say even moreso - the ones who are "poor in spirit" (Mt. 5:3). What then is Jesus calling for us to do? He is calling us to a higher spirituality, to give to God out of our own spiritual poverty as humans that require logic and reason and evidence and for things to be "made plain" to us. If we are as spiritually poor as the widow in this passage, and yet love God with all our hearts and strive to follow Him and bear our crosses, ours is truly "the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 5:3).
    Last edited by yerazhishda; 10-14-2009, 03:41 PM.

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    • #3
      Re: Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

      Originally posted by yerazhishda View Post
      Why does Isaiah prophesy so harshly towards the Egyptians? We must see the Egyptians in the light of the Book of Exodus. To the Israelites and to the God of Israel*, Egypt represents everything that is anti-God. They are enslavers of God's people (Ex. 1:9-11), worshippers of foreign gods who pay no heed to human dignity (Ex. 1:13-14).

      (Note: The God of Israel includes Christians, as we are considered the "New Israel").
      Isn't the modern day Israel the new Egypt? Israel enslaves the world (we are all God's people), they have no respect for their neighbors or human dignity for Palestinians so they represent everything that is anti-God. I think more importantly one has to understand the politics of the day to properly assess the importance of the statements made in scripture.
      "Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." ~Malcolm X

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      • #4
        Re: Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

        So how is it exactly that a religious person can be charitable to the poor in spirit?

        By the way, I commend you for making this thread, at least we have a place to discuss these issues now.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

          Originally posted by jgk3 View Post
          So how is it exactly that a religious person can be charitable to the poor in spirit?
          Sometimes just saying hello or making small talk to the person at work that looks like he/she doesn't have a friend in the world and is about to go postal. I hope I'm spared if that day ever comes. Little human connections like that make a difference... I've worked in environments where some people would just pass by without even acknowledging your existence, like a cold breeze passing by.
          "Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." ~Malcolm X

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

            Originally posted by KanadaHye View Post
            Sometimes just saying hello or making small talk to the person at work that looks like he/she doesn't have a friend in the world and is about to go postal. I hope I'm spared if that day ever comes. Little human connections like that make a difference... I've worked in environments where some people would just pass by without even acknowledging your existence, like a cold breeze passing by.
            Definitely agree.

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            • #7
              Re: Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

              Its no secret that i am not a religious person but i am forced to attend church for a variety of different reasons from weddings to being draged there by my believer wife once in a while. While in church i have seen many different styles of preaching and noticed that different people like different styles. I have seen classy and gracious types and also militant screamers, and each one has its own followers. I was at church last april 24 when we had i think four different preachers from the four different churches here in detroit and i was expecting something special from such a gathering but what i got was something very disapointing and flat out outragous. One guy did a recital of a loooooong poam while screaming as loud as he could, another younger preacher actually stated that it was the lack of faith on the part of the armenian people that brought on the genocide thus we deserved it. While the first guy was tasteless and chose the wrong poam for the wrong occasion and used the wrong delivery (rendering everyone in front of him wet and everyone around him deaf) the second younger guy blasted his own ancestors calling them unfaithful and blaming them for the genocide that befell them. Both speeches were delivered in Armenian and when i heard the second one i wanted to get up and shut that mf up but my wife held me back and to my amazment no one around me had any kind of reaction at all. This is when i realised that hardly anyone understood what that shmuck was saying because he was talking in Armenian. When i asked my friend later if he noticed what that guy said he was like no i didnt notice that. Obviously those attending were there for show and either didnt understand armenian enoughf to comprehend the speech or simply didnt care or understand what was being said. I think it is obviously a bad sign that one can become the head preacher of a church while insulting the victims of the genocide but what i think is worst is that nobody other then me (a agnostic) seemed to care. I mean this was not taken out of context or anything, the guy literaly said god punished us by inflicting genocide on our people for losing the faith in him. Like god didn't notice the thousends of churches on every freakin corner? I think going to church has become more of a showing off thing then anything else now, people not only dont get spiritual fullfillment there but they no longer even expect it. They tune out everything and pay more attention to what they are wearing. Middle aged women were wearing basicly nightclub outfits to church with skirts that bearly covered their underpants and blouses that allowed you to see the scars from the latest boobjob. All this would be tasteless enoughf if the women wearing these close had the bodies for them but most were fat wrinkled salulite. Even if i was religious i think i would have a hard time finding spiritual satisfaction from the churches i go to.
              Hayastan or Bust.

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              • #8
                Re: Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

                People make the church, the church doesn't make the people (unless the people are part of the 700 club, lol). Church for Armenians is a social gathering mixed with gossiping, a fashion show and free food. I just go on occasion to light candles in memory of my grandparents. I do enjoy looking at the architecture though and our churches do have some magnificent designs. You're right about the nightclub outfits... but hey, even priests need something to help keep them awake during a 3 hour service. Maybe that's why we need this thread.
                "Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." ~Malcolm X

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Meditations on the Sunday Lections of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church

                  Originally posted by KanadaHye View Post
                  People make the church, the church doesn't make the people (unless the people are part of the 700 club, lol). Church for Armenians is a social gathering mixed with gossiping, a fashion show and free food. I just go on occasion to light candles in memory of my grandparents. I do enjoy looking at the architecture though and our churches do have some magnificent designs. You're right about the nightclub outfits... but hey, even priests need something to help keep them awake during a 3 hour service. Maybe that's why we need this thread.
                  Bah try lecturing from 9:00am till 4:40pm with one 10 minute break in between the two classes.
                  Hayastan or Bust.

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