Sacred Images

In my faith tradition---not where I am now, but in my tradition---we use icons to remind us of what is sacred and in order to make real and better communicate to us what we read in the Bible and what we hear and sing or chant from our traditions. It is not that we pray to the icons or think of them as magic. It's better said that we believe that there are saints, that death does not hold the saints as prisoners, that the saints can intercede for us in the state they inhabit now just as they could when they were living with us, that we don't know all of the saints, and that we pray through icons (rather than to them).

Here are three images that hold what I think of as a common sacred theme that illustrate what I'm trying to say.

The first image is a Coptic icon of the Nativity of Christ. Note that Jesus, Mary, and the wise men have dark skins and that Jesus is giving a blessing. The second image is from Appalachia in the years of the Great Depression. I think that the photograph was taken by Dorothea Lange, but I may be mistaken. The same synergy (dynamic interaction and cooperation) is there as it is in the Coptic icon. The third image comes from Kristin Kennedy of Virginia Lee Studios in Southwestern Virginia. There again is synergy, and the man is looking at us much as one of the wise men in the Coptic icon is.

These are sacred images for me, each in their own way. There is tenderness---and it comes from something great that is both within us and beyond us. There is synergy. There is hope and faith---and faith is always the "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." And there is the reality that the Jews were oppressed at the time of Christ's birth in a manger or a cave and that today in Appalachia people live in colonial or semi-colonial conditions and that it is not always easy to find doctors to provide prenatal care and deliver healthy babies.

I imagine that the woman in the coal camp either had a midwife or a company doctor and that her baby was delivered at home, a house rented from the company and paid for by a miner's labor. And I know that conditions changed because people borrowed some courage from the saints and left their Egypts, not fearing the coal operator's anger, and persevered on picketlines because they had a vision of a country of their own. (Hebrews 11)

These are also sacred images for me because carrying and bearing and caring for a child and supporting a family are all hard work, and honest work is scared. We all have within us a precious icon of God, the imprint of God's work and love and solidarity. Our responsibilities to one another are thus sacred or are sacramental. And if we look carefully and give ourselves time, we can see something of God in everyone.

I might have chosen a photograph from Kristin Kennedy's outstanding work showing a mother holding her newborn, but I wanted to make an additional point. It's okay to think of God as feminine or as both feminine and masculine or beyond gender. It's okay to think of God as a Sacred Parent or as Father or as Mother. Mary held Jesus in her arms. Joseph likely held his son as well. 

An excellent quick presentation on art and Christian faith

What Makes an Artistic Representation of Christ True? - Chris E.W. Green

Four images of Christ that speak to me:

 Guerilla Christ, By Alfredo Rostgaard

 

Saint Nicholas Vilimirovich on death and resurrection and an icon with a question

But it is said: "How do the dead stand?" And in what body do they come? (1 Corinthians 35:15).

Paul the Apostle knew in advance and rejects the objections that the unbelievers will make regarding the resurrection of the dead. Even today, the non-believers who have not seen with material eyes the miracle of the natural resurrection, and much more spiritual resurrection, ask: “How will the resurrection of the dead take place? "

And the messenger follows: "I fool! What you plant does not live until it dies. “ (1 Corinthians 36:15). Unless a seed is planted in the ground, the plant will not grow, and in another expression something completely different will come out of the seed. Non-believers see with their own eyes but they do not see, so they ask, “How does a dead man do?” "

How ? The same way Jesus did. He descended to life in the grave and came alive. Even nature demonstrates the resurrection from the dead, in the lord of the living. The universe becomes easier for us and for us to have our resurrection, he himself raised from the grave and before that resurrection he laid up a dead man in the grave four days ago, and the son of a widow of Nayne and the daughter of Yairus.

The unbelievers ask, “What type of body will the dead rise? “In the kind that God wants. With God there are many types of bodies. The apostle Paul divides all bodies into two categories: earthly and heavenly. Therefore, those who died in earthly bodies will wear heavenly bodies: the corruptible will replace the corrupt, the immortal will replace the dead, the beautiful will replace the ugly. In this celestial body man will recognize himself and others around him, and distinguishes himself, whether he is dressed in gay rags or wearing royal purple. O Lord, the fruit of the womb, do not hand us over to eternal corruption, but as sons of royalty, we are dressed in immortality. Amen

From the Progressive Methodists Facebook page: Love the sinner or love our neighbors?

Hymn 560 in the United Methodist Hymnal is titled “Help Us Accept Each Other.” It is a catchy little tune of self-congratulation that is indicative of a church that no longer has anything left to say. If Jesus came so that we would merely accept each other, then there’s no good reason for him to die on a cross. You only kill someone when their very being in the world threatens to upend everything you think you know about the world.

The “church of acceptance” leads to the fundamentally unchristian sentiment of “Love The Sinner, Hate The Sin.” We all know we’re supposed to love sinners, that’s what Jesus did. And yet, Jesus does not call us, his followers, to love sinners, but to love our neighbors.

The distinction is important. “Loving sinners” places us in the position of power in regard to others whereas “loving neighbors” reminds us that we, ourselves, are also sinners.

 

All of God's creatures means ALL of God's creatures...

 

She really is receiving a blessing...

 

Starting Up On Sunday---One

 

Prayers to Saint George

I missed the Feast Day of St. George on April 23, but there are other Feast Days for St. George on Nov. 3, 10, and 26 according to this website. See the prayers below---and please feel good about praying to St. George often. He is an ecumenical saint revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews in some places.

I substitute "those who suffer from wears, terrorism, natural and environmental disasters, abuse, addictions, unemployment, imprisonment, hard and dangerous labor, injustice, exploitation and forced migration" for "Orthodox Christians" in these prayers

 

Holy, glorious and praiseworthy St. George!

We who are gathered in thy church (or: on thy feast) and venerate thy holy icon,

beseech thee, as a known intercessor for our longings:

pray with us to God, Whose loving kindness we implore, mercifully to hear us entreating His goodness,

and not to abandon our requests which are needful unto salvation and life;

that He might grant victories over adversaries;

and furthermore we pray thee abjectly, thou holy Trophy-Bearer,

to strengthen the Orthodox Christians in their battles, by the grace given thee;

crush the power of insurgent foes,

that they may be disgraced and brought to shame, and their presumption shattered;

may they know that we have Divine help, and thy mighty defense made known unto all in sorrow and trouble.

Entreat the Lord God and Maker of all creation to deliver us from eternal torment,

that we may always glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Amen.

Prayer II

O holy Great-Martyr and Wonder-worker George!

Visit us with thy swift help, and entreat God Who loveth mankind,

that He not condemn us sinners according to our iniquities,

but rather do with us according to His great mercy.

Despise not our prayer, but seek for us from Christ our God, a life quiet and pleasing unto Him,

wellbeing of soul and body, fruits of the earth in all their abundance,

and that we might not turn to evil the good things bestowed upon us by the all-generous God,

but rather make use of them unto the glory of His holy name,

and the glory of thy mighty intercession;

may He grant the Orthodox Christians to overcome their enemies,

and strengthen His community with enduring peace and bliss.

And especially may He guard us round about with the ranks of His holy Angels,

so as to deliver us, after our departure from this life,

from the snares of the evil one and his fearful torments in the air,

presenting us without condemnation before the throne of the Lord of glory.

Hear us, O passion-bearer of Christ, George;

and without ceasing, entreat the Master and God of all, One in Three Persons,

that by His grace and love for mankind we may find mercy to stand with Angels and Archangels at the

right hand of the Righteous Judge,

and ever to glorify Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Amen.

The Altar And Iconostasis In An Orthodox Church

 

Jesus, Mary and the angels...

 

For Our Friends Who Celebrate Easter/Pascha Today

 

Flower of the Week of Pain

This is Holy Friday for Orthodox Christians. For Orthodox Christians In the holy lands of the Mideast today and Holy Week signify particularly hard spiritual (and sometimes political) struggles. Time can be forgotten in the fasting and spiritual work of this week. I have included a clip from an icon of the crucifixion as a reminder. The following note and photo came from Palestine; Every year in the holy lands sprouted in the season of the Week of Pain and it is a red flower symbolizing the blood of the Lord Jesus crucified for us inside it a black cross symbolizing the mother of the Lord Jesus for us and this cross is surrounded by a small thorn symbolizing the thorn crown and this flower withers after resurrection in the fifty period.

Encouragement for Orthodox Christians on Holy Friday

 

The special beauty and poetry of Great Thursday for Orthodox Christians...

It's Holy Week for Orthodox Christians. Below are two photos and messages from Palestine. I seldom edit these posts because I like their poetry and I think that they can be understood and appreciated as they are. 

Thursday Evening

As the evening we enter from the light of the Great Thursday to the pain of Friday, the day of Christ's pains and death and burial, when the Liturgy Friday evening begins with the service of the Gospel of Pain, which is the Friday magic prayer. As Jesus followed us on the Great Thursday to the High, we follow him on Great Friday to the Glorious Glorious.

Today's service is very old, its notes go back to early Christian times, to the prayers of the Church of Orchlem and three elements included:

- The first consists of sailing, readings and night eviction from the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Resurrection where the grave of Christ is;
- The second includes prostration for the remains of the Holy Cross;
- The third includes prayers and recitations in the same place of iron.

This day is not just a symbol of copper and a symbol of it, it does not stop when it comes to past. It is a day when evil shall prevail, but it shall be defeated at the feet of the Lord Jesus.

Ahead of this redemption event that the Lord Jesus Christ hoped for by his voluntary sacrifice on the cross raises the following question: We who call ourselves Christians, should we not often make our own logic as the logic of this world that ruled Jesus by death?

Which side would we stand if we were living in the Oracle of Pilates Days? This is the question that addresses us with every word from Great Friday service.

Today is the Day of the Decoration of this real world, not the Symbolic, and the Day of our true Religion, not the weather.

It is a revelation of the nature of this world that favored and still favors darkness over light, evil over good and death over life. This is the world that Christ condemned to death has condemned himself to death. And we are as much as we accept his spirit, sin and betrayal to God as we are condemned.
And this day remains the day of redemption with excellence, for the death of the saviour has appeared a death to save us. Christ's death is the peak of revelation of His mercy and love. And in the end he is my salvation because he breaks down the very fountain of death itself: evil. Through all his pains, Christ alone was victorious because evil cannot do anything against him

We also received this:

Great Thursday

1- Thursday morning
Great Thursday enters us into the secret secret of the Great.
Today's prayers are defined by four events:
1- The Lord's Last Supper with His disciples.
1- Washing the feet of the pupils.
1- The Lord's prayer in the body.
1- The betrayal of Judah.

The first two events reveal the love of God in the world. The third event reveals the obedience of Jesus to God the Father until death. While the fourth event, the betrayal of Judas, reveals the secret of sin which is the deviation of love and distorting it towards something not worthy of love. This is the secret of sin that pushed Christ to the cross.

Thursday as we remember Jesus' final hours with his disciples, handed over and judged by Jewish and Romanian authorities. Therefore, the main topic of this day is "Loving to the End":

“Jesus knew that the hour had come to pass from this world to his Father, he loved his own, whom in the world, loved them to the end” (John 13:21). Love to the end extends to death, to the broken body and bloodshed, this is the truth that Jesus announced at the secret dinner with his disciples where the secret of the pride founded a secret counselor advising them to eat his body and drink his blood and make remembrance of what He did on this last dinner.

This is how we are, in every holy place, fulfilling what Jesus commanded us to do. So on this day Jesus presented his body and blood as a lie, and he entered into his pain. It remains that the secret meaning of dinner is that "It is not by bread alone that man lives", but by the bread that comes down to us from above that is full. May God give us food and drink in Christ Jesus.

Three photos of icons to meditate on...

Every human being is an icon of what is holy and beautiful.

Every human being carries an icon within them.

Every human being is made in the image of our ancient first parents, who came from the earth, and who were fashioned by God.

By taking human form and sending prophets and giving us saints and martyrs and teachers God gives us the means to have a bit of heaven here below and to dust off and cleanse the icons within us.

One of our primary tasks and difficulties is to see ourselves as icons and to find the icons within us and in others. Another difficult task is to feed, clothe, protect, and stand in solidarity with others that their icons may shine all the better in justice and freedom.      

 

May we conquer our sins and transgressions!

 St. George

Encouragement and support for those who celebrate Easter on April 24 with a message from Palestine

 

We buried him with the grace of death, even as Christ raised from the dead, by the grace of the Father, so shall we ask you to be alive? Romans 6:4.

There is an interesting phenomenon among many Christian traditions today which are performing religious duties during special holidays while neglecting their spiritual lives throughout the rest of the year. But God never intended for worship to be limited to certain times of the year. While Easter is a great time to remember Christ's death and resurrection in particular, let this truth become your life. Let us celebrate the resurrection of Christ, and the completion of the new life He has given us every day! Pray that God deepens your daily walk with him by reminding you of the new life He has given you.

Prayer and stillness in order to take good action...

 

It was God's blood which was shed upon the cross...

 

O, Gracious God....