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| April 2010 | Download the latest edition of spirit  |
The Heart of Orthodoxy
This year marks the 22nd time I've shared Holy Week and Pascha
with the members of our community, and once again I was amazed by the depth of meaning
and feeling that the services of Holy Week awoke in me and, I trust, in you as well.
But one of my most memorable Holy Week experiences came on Palm Sunday. I met a young boy
that morning who is related to one of the families in our community. He came to church with his
mother, and it was his first time in an Orthodox service. He totally loved the Liturgy, took it all in,
and announced to his mother that he wanted to convert to the Orthodox faith!
That young boy got it. He got what Christianity is all about. Some churches preach with
words, and words, and more words. We preach the Word-become-incarnate. We preach
Christ, and him crucified and risen! So we use symbols and images, and we engage the senses,
because Jesus himself used images and symbols to teach; they're called parables. Palm Sunday
itself is a parable, a profound image of how God enters our lives.
Christianity is most alive when it recognizes the power of symbols and images. The young visitor
on Palm Sunday responded to the non-verbal communications going on during Liturgy. I would
have loved to hear that he wanted to convert because of my sermon. Isn't that the way most people
"convert"? At least that's the assumption - and maybe that's true in churches where preaching
is the only significant thing that happens. But I firmly believe that it wasn't my sermon our young
visitor responded to.
The heart of Orthodoxy is not a sermon, but an image: the image of "God with us." It's an image
that takes many forms. But regardless of the form, the reality is always a sense of union with God.
Sometimes it takes the reaction of a child to open our adult eyes to what is right in front of us. The
fullness of grace has been given to us. Nothing is lacking-except perhaps you, if you have drifted
away over the years. You can always come back. And who knows? Perhaps when you come back you might experience Liturgy
with the same wonder our Palm Sunday visitor did.
Fr. Constantine Sarantidis