Year: 2015 (Page 1 of 9)

The Dark Side of the First Christmas

December 24, 2015 / Robert Arakaki / 14 Comments

Slaughter of the Holy Innocents

Normally, the Christmas season is viewed as a time of holiday cheer. Of twinkling lights, fragrant pine trees, peppermint candy canes, eggnog drinks, gingerbread cookies, happy songs in the air as people go shopping for gifts, and the smiling children eagerly anticipating opening their presents. But for many the year 2015 has been a year filled with tragedy and loss. A sense of darkness and mourning hangs heavy in the air as we draw near to Christmas Day. We learn of terrorist attacks abroad, mass shootings at home, gruesome beheadings, children kidnapped by terrorists, thousands fleeing from Syria attempting to gain entry into Europe, and Christianity being eradicated in the Middle East. How then should Christians approach Christmas, a time normally filled with holiday cheer?

We can reflect on the dark side of the first Christmas. This is an aspect of Scripture that is often skipped over by pastors in the Christmas sermons. However, a close reading of Matthew and Luke’s accounts of the birth of Jesus Christ yields unexpected parallels with today’s harsh reality.

Joseph in Doubt

Mary’s unexpected pregnancy was a scandal and almost brought about her divorce. Joseph wanted to divorce her quietly until God sent an angel to him in a dream. Being a righteous man and of great faith Joseph took Mary as his wife (literally “woman”) and took care of Jesus. (See Matthew 1:18-25) In the Orthodox Hours of the Nativity is a passage that captures Joseph’s confusion and outrage over Mary’s inexplicable pregnancy:

Thus saith Joseph to the Virgin, What is this thing, O Mary, that I behold in thee. Verily, I am surprised and perplexed, and my mind is dazzled. Wherefore, henceforth from this moment be thou secluded in secret. What is this matter, O Mary, that I behold in thee? For thou hast given me instead of honour, disgrace; and instead of gladness, sorrow; and instead of being extolled, thou hast brought me blame. Therefore, I cannot bear the reproach of men, from the Temple of the Lord I took thee; from the priests I received thee as innocent of all blame. What then is this thing I behold?

One cannot help but be startled by the blunt language used by Joseph. Following this hymn is a response from the Old Testament Scripture:

The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the Gentiles for thine inheritance. (Hours of the Nativity, Nassar p. 375)

For Joseph the miracle of the Incarnation almost caused him to stumble, but his willingness to trust in God resulted in his becoming a saint.

Palestine was under the heavy hand of big government in the form of the Roman imperium. Thus, Jesus was born into occupation territory and enjoyed none of the political privileges like that enjoyed by a Roman citizen. A government census forced Joseph and Mary to leave their home in Nazareth and travel all the way to Joseph’s ancestral home in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-2). One can imagine the upheaval of large number of peoples traversing the land to register with government authorities; Joseph and Mary in the late stages of pregnancy waiting in long lines to meet with government officials. The census was not for the benefit of the people. Ancient rulers relied on census for taxation purposes.

Palestine at the time was under the rule of Herod, a “client” king of the Romans (Barnett p. 72). Herod’s basis for rule was tenuous. Although a “local” ruler, his ancestry traced back to the Idumaeans, the descendants of the Edomites. Because he could not claim descent from David’s line his claim to the throne was vulnerable to counter claims. In recognition for Herod being a valuable ally to the Romans, the Roman senate gave him the title “king of the Jews.” So it is no little surprise that when the Magi showed up asking: “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2) that Herod’s usual paranoia would ratchet up considerably. First, he resorted to guile hoping to use the Magi as scouts to locate the Christ child. Then when he found himself thwarted he went on a murderous rampage ordering the slaughter of all boys two years and under in and around Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).

Holy Family in Flight: Joseph Carrying Jesus, Mary on the horse, and James the Brother of the Lord. Source

Jesus was a political refugee. Joseph was warned in a dream to take the Child and his mother and to escape to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14). Most likely, Jesus spent his infancy in Alexandria where there was large population of Jews (Barnett p. 100). After a few years of relative safety Joseph sought to return to Judea but fearing the new ruler Archelaus took his family further north to Galilee. In AD 6 the Romans in response to complaints against Archelaus annexed Judea bringing the heartland of Judaism under direct Roman rule. Direct Roman rule would bring the horrific capital punishment crucifixion and a string of procurators including Pontius Pilate who would one day order the crucifixion of the Christ Child.

Joseph the Betrothed

Often overlooked in the Christmas story is Joseph the Betrothed. What is striking about him is not the angel speaking to him in dreams but his decency and his steadfast courage in the face of danger. He took Mary as his wife. He led his family into exile. He gave Jesus a family life and taught Jesus his trade, carpentry. Common decency goes a long way and becomes all the more valuable in times of upheaval and turmoil.

Born in Dark Times

Thus, the first Christmas was a montage of the angels appearing to shepherds in the field, the Magi paying homage to the Christ child, and the grief stricken mothers of boys slain by Herod’s soldiers. Jesus was born in dark times, into a time of upheavals and mass murders. The humility of Jesus’ birth can be seen in its obscurity. There was no welcoming celebration in anticipation of his birth but rather Herod’s menacing paranoia and stealth on the part of his parents. Isaiah’s prophecy hints at the darkness and the suffering of the times Jesus was born into:

The people living in darkness

Have seen a great light;

On those living in the land of the shadow of death

A light has dawned.

(Matthew 4:16; cf. Isaiah 9:2; NIV)

Another Old Testament prophecy, one by Jeremiah, anticipated Herod’s slaughter of infant boys in order to prevent the birth of Christ.

Rachel Weeping

A voice is heard in Ramah,

Weeping and great mourning

Rachel weeping for her children

And refusing to be comforted

Because they are no more.

(Matthew 2:18; cf. Jeremiah 31:15; NIV)

The Virgin Mary Grieving Over Her Son

Herod’s killing of the infant boys was a replay of Exodus 1 where Pharaoh ordered the killing of Jewish boys in order to preserve his hold on the throne. Just as Pharaoh sought to kill Moses, who would deliver the Israelites, so Herod would seek to kill Jesus, the Second Moses who would deliver all humanity. Rachel’s unceasing lament foreshadows the Virgin Mary’s grief on seeing her own son hanging on the cross.

A few days after Christmas, on December 29, the Orthodox Church remembers the deaths of the Holy Innocents.

Infant Martyrs of Bethlehem

Troparion – Tone 1

As acceptable victims and freshly plucked flowers,

As divine first-fruits and newborn lambs,

You were offered to Christ who was born as a child, holy innocents.

You mocked Herod’s wickedness;

Now we beseech you:

“Unceasingly pray for our souls.”

Beyond the usual holiday cheer lies the dark side of Christmas, but beyond that lies the promise of Christ’s resurrection. Let us remember that Christ was born to save us from our sins and from Satan’s rule. Mourning and grief are very much part of the Christmas celebration. Orthodox Christians observe the forty days Nativity Fast to prepare spiritually for the birth of Christ. The Christmas Matins service anticipates the themes of darkness, sin, and Christ’s victory.

Grant forgiveness, O Christ, to us who have been in the darkness of our deeds of error since the night, who eagerly praise thee, since thou art our Benefactor; that thou mayest hasten to us and preapre for us a good way, wherein if we walk we shall find glory and honour.

Verily, Jonah when he was in the depth of the sea, begged to ascend to thee and to be rescued from the tempest. But as for me, having been pierced by the arrows of the tyrant, in thee I seek refuge, O evil-destroying Christ. Hasten thou to me and deliver me hastily from my negligence. (Christmas Matins, Nassar p. 405)

The Christmas services teach us that in times of darkness God is at work bringing about our salvation.

Given this “darkness” to so many both now and in history, it is a good lesson for us to take in. How often we mis-read our trials and sufferings! The Church, over the centuries has learned to view the events of Christ’s birth in a far broader and more monumental context — the Incarnation of the 2nd person of the Godhead to redeem a lost and darkened humanity. God has become flesh and dwelt among us! God is with us in our afflictions. So evil murderous rulers, political refugees, grieving mothers, brave fathers are all part of the Christmas story. They represent the dark side of Christmas often overlooked. Let us remember that our suffering and the sufferings of the world are among those “light affliction” which God even now might be working for great and unimagined Glory.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

References

Paul Barnett. Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times. IVP Academic. Downers Grove, Illinois.

Rev. Seraphim Nassar. Divine Prayers and Services of the Catholic Orthodox Church of Christ. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. Englewood, New Jersey.

Further Readings

IconReader. “The Nativity Icon.”

Orthodox Church in America. “Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord.”

Orthodox Church in America. “14,000 infants (the Holy Infants) slain by Herod at Bethlehem.”

Pravoslavie. “The Holy Infants of Bethlehem.”

Baptism = Normative Occasion of Justification?

December 9, 2015 / Robert Arakaki / 12 Comments

Water Baptism

From Vance:

“In my church tradition, baptism is considered the normative occasion of justification, but not the cause of justification. Does this view differ substantially from baptismal generation as understood by the Orthodox?”

My Reply:

Thank you for your interesting question about baptism as a “normative occasion” versus it being a cause of justification.

The first thing that struck me about your question is that it is narrowly focused on justification rather being more broadly focused on salvation. A lot depends on how we understand salvation and how justification relates to salvation in Christ. Where Roman Catholicism and Protestantism tend to understand salvation as consisting of the forgiveness of sins (legal justification), Orthodoxy has a much broader understanding of salvation. For us salvation goes beyond the forgiveness of sins to include enlightenment, release from Satan’s rule, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, becoming part of the people of God, joining in the heavenly worship, the resurrection of the body, and being joined to Christ the Son of God. Furthermore, baptism in Orthodoxy does not stand alone but is normally part of a sequence of services and sacraments. Baptism in Orthodoxy is preceded by the rite of exorcism in which one renounces Satan; baptism is followed by the sacrament of Chrismation in which one is sealed with the Holy Spirit, followed by sacrament of the Eucharist. I understand that in Roman Catholicism and in much of Protestantism baptism is a standalone ritual but for Orthodoxy baptism is part of a rich tapestry of the Church’s liturgical life.

Red Light Flashing

So when you asked if baptism was the normative occasion of justification or the cause of justification a little red light started flashing in my head. The question seems to frame baptism in terms of the forgiveness of sins and nothing else. It seems to frame the problem in terms of our having broken God’s law and our standing before God the Judge who will sentence us to hell unless satisfaction is paid. Behind this is a concern for the minimal requirements for the forgiveness of sins. You wrote to me privately that according to Roman Catholicism baptism is valid even for children whose parents are of another faith and unaware of the baptism. I’m not an expert on Roman Catholic theology or canon law, but I can tell you that this cannot happen in Orthodoxy.

Orthodox Baptism

In Orthodoxy a child is brought into the Orthodox Church through his/her parents and their godparents. Baptism is a social act; it is not a mechanistic ritual. In Judaism a boy is circumcised on the eighth day and is then made part of the Jewish faith. The assumption is that he will be brought up in the Jewish faith and when he is of age he will make his own choice to keep the Jewish Torah. Similarly, in Orthodoxy the assumption is that the child will be brought up in the Orthodox Faith and when he or she is of age they will make their own choice. Some will continue on in the Orthodox Faith while others sadly will cease to be active in the Faith or even abandon it. In Orthodoxy there is no “once saved, always saved.” Orthodoxy believes that it is possible to lose one’s salvation. Orthodoxy does not reduce justification by faith to one particular moment but sees it as a process whereby one puts one’s faith in Christ day by day, moment by moment until the end of life. In Orthodoxy just as important as faith in Christ is faithfulness to Christ even to the point of martyrdom.

Baptism + Chrismation of Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa (2015)

Baptism + Chrismation of Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa (November 2015) Source

If you want to understand how Orthodoxy understands the connection between baptism and justification (remission of sins), the best thing to do is read the text for the sacrament of baptism. One thing you will note as you read the text below is the language of spiritual warfare. This reflects a theology older than the legalism of Medieval Catholicism.

Let all adverse powers be crushed beneath the sign of the image of thy cross. (Thrice.)

We pray thee, O God, that every aerial and obscure phantom may withdraw itself from us; and that no demon of darkness may conceal himself in this water; and that no evil spirit which instilleth darkening of intentions and rebelliousness of thought may descend into it with him (her) who is about to be baptized.

But do thou, O Master of all, show this water to be the water of redemption, the water of sanctification, the purification of flesh and spirit, the loosing of bonds, the remission of sin, the illumination of the soul, the laver of regeneration, the renewal of the Spirit, the gift of adoption to sonship, the garment of incorruption, the fountain of life. For thou hast said, O Lord: Wash ye, be ye clean; put away evil things from your souls. Thou hast bestowed upon from on a high a new birth through water and the Spirit. Wherefore, O Lord, manifest thyself in this water, and grant that he (she) who is baptized therein may be transformed; that he (she) may put away from him (her) the old man, which is corrupt through the lusts of the flesh, and that he (she) may be clothed upon with the new man, and renewed after the image of him who created him (her): that being buried, after the pattern of thy death, in baptism, he (she) may, in like manner be a partaker of thy Resurrection; and having preserved the gift of thy Holy Spirit, and increased the measure of grace committed unto him (her), he (she) may receive the prize of his (her) high calling, and be numbered with the first-born whose names are written in heaven, in thee, our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood; emphasis added)

I’ve quoted just one passage in the service of Baptism. There are other lengthy prayers as well. The point here is that the Orthodox understanding of the purpose of baptism much richer than the Protestant understanding.

Your question whether baptism is the cause of justification makes me uneasy. Bottom line, Jesus Christ is the ultimate cause of our justification and our reconciliation with God the Father. This speculative approach or concern with the causal mechanism of salvation is alien to the New Testament and the patristic consensus; it reflects the thinking of Medieval Western Christianity. In Orthodoxy the sacraments are often referred to as “Mysteries.” Faith in Christ entails a personal relationship with Christ, that is, one accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, one commits oneself to living according to the teachings of Christ. The Orthodox approach to salvation is relational and organic. Fundamentally, salvation consists of being united to Jesus Christ and following Christ in the context of life in the Church, the Body of Christ.

Baptism can be understood as a covenant ritual in which one enters into a covenant relationship with the Suzerain (Lord). This is the significance of the questions asked:

Dost thou unite thyself to Christ? (3 times)

Hast thou united thyself unto Christ? (3 times)

Dost thou believe in him?

I believe in him as King and as God.

In other words justification from the Orthodox point of view does not result from certain ritual action or by mentally assenting to a certain doctrine about Christ’s death on the Cross, but from a personal commitment to Christ. When we are baptized we are joined to Christ much like an unemployed man when hired is no longer an independent agent but now part of a huge corporation and accountable to the Owner.

So the answer to your question is really both. When we are baptized we cease to be autonomous individuals or renegades, but are now newly enlisted soldiers in Christ’s army. So in that sense the enlistment becomes the causal mechanism by which he is brought into the army. So when the soldier takes an oath to serve in the King’s army that oath taking becomes a “normative occasion.”

To use a different analogy, is the wedding the cause of marriage or the normative occasion of marriage? The answer is both/and. But if one wishes to be legally and technically precise the answer in the State of Hawaii is the moment both parties sign the marriage certificate.

To sum up, baptism is both the “normative occasion” and “cause” of our salvation in Christ (which includes justification—the remission of sins). This is because in baptism we are joined to Jesus Christ the Savior of the World. Ultimately, it is Jesus who is the cause of our salvation. Jesus saves us by his Incarnation, his death on the Cross, his descent into Hades, his third day Resurrection, his Ascension into heaven, and his sending the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Justification (forgiveness of sins) is just one aspect of our salvation in Christ. The forensic focus of your question is quite understandable in light of your church tradition (Church of God, Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement) which has roots in the Protestant tradition. This goes a long way to explaining why your church’s understanding of baptism diverges significantly from the Orthodox Church’s understanding of baptism even though both have much in common.

Robert Arakaki

See also:

“Is Infant Baptism Biblical?”

A Tale of Two Gospels

November 28, 2015 / Robert Arakaki / 40 Comments

“And was-given to-him [the] book of-Isaiah [the] prophet” Source

By Stefan Pavićević.

Stefan Pavićević

If there’s one thing I really think Protestantism has gotten wrong, it would be the way it treats the Bible. Now, before I continue, I want to assure the reader that my intention is not to bash Protestants, because I have many friends who are good Christians and Protestants, people I deeply respect and love as my brothers and sisters in Christ. My point here is not to be rude to Protestants or to even try to set out the logical outworking and problems with Sola Scriptura per se. This has been done over and over there is no need to repeat it here. I want to offer a fresh perspective and look at things a bit differently.

Protestants would often say that they believe in the true Gospel, making it clear that they are not like those who believe in a false Gospel. But, what is the true Gospel? And what is a false Gospel? Some would say the true Gospel is that Jesus Christ died to save us from our sins. I see nothing objectionable about that definition. But tell me, what major Christian denomination, group or church doesn’t believe that? Why then, do Protestants insist that Roman Catholics or Orthodox do not have the true Gospel? Then the Protestants would add a number of other qualifications for what counts as the true Gospel, and what doesn’t. Then different groups would come up with different descriptions of what the true Gospel really is. And now we have chaos!

What they don’t see is that they have made an abstraction of the Gospel. They have set up a neat logical and abstract system which they call the (true) Gospel. However, this approach is always bound to fail. Why? Because it misses the most central fact of Christianity: the Incarnation. Now, I don’t want to even remotely imply that they have rejected the Incarnation. But I am concerned that they may have turned the Incarnation into an abstraction, an idea.

We are abstracting whenever we go from what is tangible and particular to what is universal and remote to our senses, accessible only to our intellects. Such is our idea of God, abstract and indirect. But we are not abstract concepts. As living breathing human beings we need tangible reality, not abstract reality. That is why we need the Incarnation.

The Word of God Became Flesh - Icon of the Annunciation. Source

The Incarnation — The Word of God Became Flesh for our salvation Source

The Incarnation is the most important event in world history. This event has cosmic consequences. The intangible, inaccessible, unlimited God became tangible, accessible and limited in order to save us. Not only did he share in our suffering, and tasted our bitter grief and death, but He revealed His Divinity in His very own flesh. God became a living breathing human being who walked on earth (1 John 1:1-3)! The Gospel is the Incarnation. Jesus Christ is the Gospel.

Thus, the Gospel is a living, tangible reality of sharing in the life and sufferings of the Word of God, so that we may share in His most blessed divine life. This life consists of the experience of and in the Church, a life of ascesis, prayer and partaking in the Holy Mysteries, the Sacraments. Our life in Christ and the life of countless of others, especially those who have reached the light of deification, this is what the Gospel is. The light of deification means that the Gospel is more than a teaching, it is a reality that will profoundly change who we are. It is the continued life and incarnation of Christ in His Church.

That is why we need to heed the advices and most divine words spoken to us by the prophets, the apostles, the fathers, and all the saints, as they speak to us. These are not formulas and algorithms for salvation, but words that are life eternal, that ought to be practiced and lived. We don’t need an abstract Gospel, we need a tangible, incarnational Gospel! We need Emmanuel, God with us!

The capital “W” Word of God is not the Bible, it is Christ Jesus, our Lord who is the eternal Word (Logos) of the Father. The Bible is not the way, the truth, and the life, it is Christ who is the only way, truth and life (John 14:6). The Holy Scriptures are profitable unto salvation only when through them we encounter our Lord Christ. The Bible doesn’t have the answers to all questions, nor is it a textbook of correct belief and right living. Yet, for some Protestants it is as if reading the Bible is all one needs. As if reading the Bible is enough to be true Christians, with sound and correct belief and right living. As if those who read the Bible can never become heretics. But what about history? What about those who fought against heresies and who have spent their whole lives on defining the landmarks of orthodoxy, can we just ignore them? Can we ignore the history of the Christian Faith, risking the grave danger of repeating the mistakes and the errors of the past?

Whenever someone commits himself to a strict, literal reading of the Scriptures, divorced from the actual life of the Church, they are not only reading the Bible in a superficial and profitless manner, but they actually sever themselves from the communion of saints and from communion with Christ. The Bible is called the Word of God only by analogy, because it is Christ who is the True Word, and the One the Scriptures testify of.

Now, someone would say: “Stefan, you’re painting with a broad brush.” I realize there are people from traditional Protestant churches who don’t read the Bible in the literal way. But my point still stands as I’ve noticed that this trend of reading the Bible literally is very popular among many Protestants. This is especially true for those with an evangelical bent, regardless of the denomination they may formally belong to. Our tale of the two Gospels illustrates my point perfectly. There is the true Gospel, and there are false Gospels, according to many Protestants. They approach the Bible as if it has come down from heaven and has become Emmanuel, God with us. But it is a Person, the Word of God, who came down from heaven. (John 1:14) Just as Jesus Christ took on flesh in the Incarnation so likewise the Incarnation continues in the Church the Body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) It is at Church, the Body of Christ, on Sunday mornings that we meet God. We first hear God’s word in the Scriptures and then at Holy Communion we go up to feed on the body and blood of Christ, the Word of God made flesh for our salvation. Jesus said:

I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:53-54)

Where Protestant worship emphasizes the Gospel as the written word of God especially through the sermon, Orthodox worship emphasizes the Gospel as the Incarnate Word of God who gave us His Life on the Cross for our salvation and incorporates us into His Body, the Church. For the Orthodox Christian the true Gospel is not just a message to be intellectually understood but a life of worship, discipleship, and ascesis in the context of the Church, the Body of Christ.

I propose that we distinguish between the tangible, incarnational Gospel and the abstract intellectualized Gospels. The former is the true one, because it is rooted in the life and experience of the Church even as she lives and experiences the life of Christ, whereas of the latter I need not comment.

And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor. 3:4-6)

Stefan is a cantor at the Macedonian Orthodox Church. He is interested in arts, music, philosophy, church history, patristics and theology, as well as computer science (in which he is majoring). In the free time, he likes to read books (he’s an avid Lord of the Rings fan), listen to Orthodox chant as well as secular music, or just hang out with friends. When it comes to Orthodox theology, his main interests are in St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Maximus the Confessor and St. Dionysius the Areopagite.

See also:

Stefan Pavićević — “The Mystery of the Church and My Search for Truth” 24-January-2015

Year: 2015 (Page 1 of 9)

The Dark Side of the First Christmas

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Baptism = Normative Occasion of Justification?

A Tale of Two Gospels

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