Entries in Life

Last year, I was excited about two documentaries: The Singing Revolution and As We Forgive. Both of these movies offer alternative ways to see the world.

The Singing Revolution is a revolution unimaginable to most Americans. Most of us cannot imagine freedom without blood. Especially as we're in the midst of a war, surrounded by "Support Our Troops" bumper stickers, revolution without bloodshed seems, well, crazy. Crazy enough that a small documentary about one has done pretty well in theatres this past year and managed a place on the marquee amongst larger studios blockbusters. You may not have heard of it, but that isn't because it didn't come to a theatre near you.

Likewise, As We Forgive is an alternative path to justice. The movie tells the path some Rwandans chose after Genocide, after Gacaca courts, after the system had done everything it could. It tells the story of genocideers working to rebuild homes of their victims. The can't bring back the families they killed, but they can ask forgivess. Sometimes, the victims can even forgive. This stands in stark contrast to most American's sense of justice, where we can only imagine victim families giving victim impact statements in a court room, never living in a house built by, and next door to, their husband's murderer.

And as a new year starts, I discovered a new documentary project that I can get excited about. God's Garden is a documentary about the one man's discovery of genuine African Christianity. Not "white man's religion", but a Christianity that came to Africa before Europeans even knew it existed. An Ethiopian priest introduces him to St Moses and it changes his life.

I love documentaries like this. They challenge our view of the world and suggest that, yes, there is another way, a way of peace, forgiveness, change, and love. This is a good reminder when the way we so often choose is with violence, retribution, stasis, and resentment.

You cannot be too gentle, too kind.

Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other.

Joy, radiant joy, streams from the face of him who gives and kindles joy in the heart of him who receives.

All condemnation is from the devil. Never condemn each other…

Instead of condemning others, strive to reach inner peace.

Keep silent, refrain from judgment. This will raise you above the deadly arrows of slander, insult, and outrage and will shield your glowing hearts against all evil.

— St. Seraphim of Sarov

(Via)

I've spent the past month or so really thinking about this.  I'm not sure I'm man enough to "keep silent" -- it seems close to impossible for me to keep my mouth shut at times, even when it would be in my best interest to "refrain from judgment".

It is almost as if St Seraphim wrote this as s gentle rebuke specifically for me.

Χριστός Ανέστη! Αληθώς Ανέστη!

Христос Воскресе, радост донесе!

Christ is Risen!  Truly He is Risen!

Yesterday was Pascha, Orthodox Easter.  After 40 days of fasting and living like vegetarians, we came home from Church Sunday morning — and by "morning" I mean it was 1 AM when we got home — and had a nice roast lamb.  Then the kids popped in a Mary Poppins video (after The Hogfather, the movie I wanted to see, scared them too much) and I promptly fell asleep.

Check out this fun Pascha song from Serbia. "Christ is risen, and brings the joy!"  (Father Stephen has the translation.)

It is only my imaginary relationship with Christ (if the Church is invisible it is little more than imaginary). It is the visible character of the Church, and the possibility of boundary (everything visible has some boundary) that creates the “problem.”
…
The Problem of the Church is that there is one. Whatever free associations man has created, there still exists a Church whose life is rooted in that first community in Jerusalem and stretches through the centuries into the present. It is not a problem to be solved - but it is a challenge to the fiction of invisible Churches and boundary-less associations.

(From The Problem of Church)

Recently, it was pointed out to me that I was not entirely respectful of the way someone chose to “dedicate” their child in church. While it is true that I should have kept my mouth shut, this issue has come up more than once in discussions with family and friends — many of whom are Protestant.
And I’ve always been caught short when they confront me about this. It’s a hard nut. On the one hand, I do believe in the “holy, catholic, apostolic Church” and I believe that this visible Church — by which I mean the Church with the visible, historic line of apostolic succession — is the Church.
On the other hand, I love my family and friends. I respect their work (many of them work “in the ministry”). I don’t want them to feel like I’m pushing them away or, worse, condeming them to hell. I absolutely do not want to project the image that I am, in any way, superior to them.
So what do I do?

I don't know.
Just reading The Problem of Church helped me understand the problem a little bit better for myself. It also gives me a point of discussion with friends and family.