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Month: October 2007

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Perspective, Political,

They’re not speaking for us

…but he is:

The complex of considerations weighed heavily on Rabbi Howard L. Jaffe of Temple Isaiah, who after weeks of thought decided to back the genocide resolution. —It’s very hard for me to support a position that could be detrimental to Israel,— he said. —But for me as a Jew, I have to take seriously Jewish values, and they require us to do what is right and righteous.—

From the NY Times in Armenian Issue Presents a Dilemma for U.S. Jews

The article discusses the conflicts that have arisen between various Jewish communities in Massachusetts and a couple of national Jewish organizations that are advocating against recognition of the Armenian genocide.

The problem with organizations like the ADL, AJC, and AIPAC is that they claim to represent the interests of all people of a certain ethnic group. That’s not bad in and of itself. The fight for respect is a worthy fightHeaven knows that the Polish American Congress has long rallied against anti-Polish defamation and the mis-characterization of Poles, Polish-Americans, and Poland, especially in the MSM.

That being said, such organizations are often self-perpetuating institutions, supported by a small percentage of the community, and held to the fore by those who make a living off that support. Unfortunately, that’s a recipe for loosing sight of the people’s needs as well as their voice.

In the Massachusetts case, the people took back their voice. True freedom of expression recognized.

Christian Witness,

Bridges between the earthly and the divine

From the Buffalo News: A stunning makeover at St. Stephen Serbian Orthodox Church

Lackawanna church getting a lush coat of imagery

After more than 50 years, the spartan whiteness inside St. Stephen Serbian Orthodox Church is steadily disappearing beneath a lush coat of luminous Christian imagery.

A huge portrait of Jesus Christ haloed in gold leaf now peers from overhead. Dramatic scenes out of the Bible, such as the healing of the paralyzed man and the raising of Lazarus, are depicted on other sections of the curved ceiling.

The Rev. Theodore Jurewicz, a master iconographer from Erie, Pa., is about a quarter of the way through a stunning makeover of the Lackawanna church. When completed, the ceiling and walls will be covered with 22 scenes of biblical feasts and miracles, as well as paintings of numerous Christian saints and martyrs.

For Orthodox Christians, the colorful icons are not mere paintings: They are considered essential elements of the worship experience and bridges between the earthly and the divine.

—We call icons windows into heaven,— said the Rev. Rastko Trbuhovich , pastor of St. Stephen.

Icons have graced the iconostasis —” a screen that separates the nave from the sanctuary —” since the 90- year-old parish opened a new church at Abbott and Weber roads in the 1950s.

Those icons were —written— by the late Rev. Kiprian Pishew, a legendary iconographer who trained students in the Russian-Serbian style at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville in Central New York.

Jurewicz, 57, was one of those apprentices and is now himself highly regarded in the world of iconography. The parishioners of St. Stephen waited at least a decade for him to become available for their project, figuring that he would be the best iconographer to integrate new frescoes with the old…

An interesting bit of history. Right next door to St. Stephen Serbian Orthodox Church is Our Lady of Bistrica Roman Catholic Church (Croatian). Interesting neighbors during the Balkan wars – they actually got along amicably and with Christian charity.

Current Events, Perspective, Political

What might have been

It looks like some Democratic members of Congress are backing off their support for the Armenian Genocide resolution (see: Support Wanes in House for Genocide Vote from the NY Times).

It seems odd in light of the President and Congress honoring the Dali Lama (see: Bush and Congress Honor Dalai Lama in Plain View also from the NY Times).

Bush and the Congress are willing to go toe-to-toe with the Chinese who, as of this point in history, can literally squeeze the United States until we cry (i.e., they own all our debt and can ravage our economy). See particularly: China may lead US economy to collapse dumping US dollar from Pravda.

This past August, two Chinese government officials highlighted China’s massive U.S. dollar holdings (which include treasuries) and how it supports the value of the U.S. currency. They also noted that Beijing could use those holdings as a political weapon to counter congressional calls to revalue the yuan and impose trade sanctions on Chinese goods. Chinese state media referred to the country’s stockpile of U.S. dollars as its economic —nuclear option,— capable of destroying the dollar at will.

It would seem that we have more to fear from China than from an almost third world Islamic state like Turkey who depends largely on U.S. support (upwards of $26.5 billion in economic and military aid, not counting other “special” aid programs that specifically target Turkey and IsraelU.S. Department of State: Turkey 09/07 and CRS Report for Congress, Foreign Aid: An Introductory Overview of U.S. Programs and Policy, Updated April 15, 2004).

I think a hint to the sudden change-of-heart among the few can be found in the various articles that circulated in recent days. They noted that Turkey would cut off logistical support for the U.S. war effort in Iraq. It appears something like 30% of the fuel and 70% support materials going to our troops in Iraq go through Turkey. For instance, from CNN:

“More than half of the cargo flown into Iraq and Afghanistan comes through Incirlik Air Base, and this base would be a key component of any plans for redeployment of our troops in the future,” they wrote.

Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, the director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Pentagon planners are looking at “a broad range of options” to keep food, fuel and ammunition flowing to U.S. troops in Iraq if Turkey blocks Incirlik.

“We’re confident that we’ll find ways to do that,” Ham told reporters at the Pentagon. “There’s likely to be some increased cost and some other implications for that, and obviously we’d prefer to maintain the access that we have.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates echoed lawmakers’ concerns last week.

“About 70 percent of all air cargo going into Iraq goes through Turkey. … About a third of the fuel that they consume goes through Turkey or comes from Turkey,” Gates said.

Now if the Democrats were smart they would do all they could to anger the Turks. Let them cut off our supply chain. This might just be the thing that needs doing in order to capsize Mr. Bush’s war. We would end up like the Germans, stuck in Africa or Russia at the far end of the supply chain – only saved because we should be smart enough to get out while we can.

Time to bring ’em home.

But then again, no Democrat wants to end the war either. If they did, they would cut Mr. Bush’s supply of money and material, whatever it takes.

Homilies,

The Solemnity of the Christian Family

God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good.

As we walk through our readings and Gospel for the Solemnity of the Christian Family we should continually focus on the fact that God created everything good.

It is easy to loose that point. We can look at our lives, our jobs, relationships, politics, our fellow Christians, and wonder —“ if He made everything good, including His Church, why do things look so bad?

Starting at the first chapter of Genesis it is easy to see the good. The earth was clean, new, and beautiful. Man had not transgressed. Things were humming along.

It didn’t take long for that scene to break down. Man focused on what he wanted over and above what God wanted, and there you have it, sin.

As we read through Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians we even begin to wonder about the Church. It starts off simple enough:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord.

and

Fathers, do not anger your children.

But then we get into this whole slave and master wording.

We get nervous —“ there’s a lot of history there, especially for us as citizens of the United States. We look at those words and we are struck with images that are painful, and fully loaded with repercussions that reverberate to this day.

We stop listening to what Paul writes and we replace his meaning and intent with our preconceived notions.

These difficult words have but one meaning.

As Christians we must do God’s will. God’s will and Jesus’ teaching are the only thing that matters.

Children are to obey their parents, not out of subjugation, but because they desire to live life the way God intends it to be lived.

Fathers are not to anger their children, not because they take a weak, comme ci comme í§a attitude towards their children’s behavior, but because they are to be fathers as the Lord God is our Father. Fathers are to train their children and instruct them as the Lord trains and instructs.

Being a master or slave is meaningless, and the institution of slavery is nothingness in light of the Kingdom of God.

Regardless of our state in life, our position, our relative degree of freedom as classified by the government, we are to live only as Christians.

Status, that is being a child, father, slave, or master, is all worthless classification. That classification only matters if we take our focus off our roles in the Christian family.

Brothers and sisters,

Now think for a moment.

Isn’t compromise our national motto? We all learned that the United States Constitution was developed in a spirit of compromise. Federalists, states rights, House and Senate, three part government, checks and balances. It all works out because people compromised.

The same thing happens in other life situations. Whether a project at work or school, what we’re serving for dinner, the running of the Parish Committee, or our domestic lives; regardless of the things that happen in life, we tend to focus on making peace and on compromising. We even misquote Jesus —“ the whole thing about being a peacemaker.

That, my friends, is peace at the cost of living the way God intends.

We loose by compromise. We break faith. We focus on what we want over and above what God wants. We sin.

What God created is God’s way. God’s way, the way He wants us to act, behave, worship, live, and believe is the perfect way. He looked at it and said it was good.

What God seeks, and the whole reason for His coming as man, was that God wants us to know and follow His way. He gave us the word, and showed us how to live it. He seeks the only reality that counts: man and God living together in complete harmony.

My brothers and sisters,

Jesus never saw compromise as an option.

Paul said that we must live life in accord with our baptism, as the Christian family.

Jesus didn’t tell the Pharisees that He saw their point. He didn’t tell adulterers that he understood their plight. He simply said, repent and follow Me. If you do that, you have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven.

When Mary and Joseph found Jesus sitting in the temple before the teachers, and questioned Him, He simply said:

—Why did you search for Me? Did you not know I had to be in My Father’s house?—

Jesus told them —“ don’t you see, this is how things are supposed to be.

God created everything good, and asks us to live in unity with the way of life He personally taught us.

How we live, what we profess, what we do with our husbands, wives, children, co-workers, fellow parishioners, friends and enemies all has to be in accord with God’s way, without compromise or abandonment.

When He looks to us, the Christian people, the Christian family who maintain and follow His way, He will say:

‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’

Those will be the sweetest words we will ever hear, words so sweet they are worth any cost.

Amen.

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