Today we read in the gospel account that the disciples were hiding behind closed doors after Christ's resurrection. This hiding was due to the external threat of the Jews. We of course in our current situation, can relate to them. We too are hiding behind closed doors due to the external threat of the coronavirus.
We, like the disciples, are hiding despite us experiencing Pascha and are haunted by varying degree of fear, anxiety, and stress. Returning to the Gospel account, Christ appears behind these closed doors and blesses the disciples saying 'peace be with you' while they are in this state of fear and, for Thomas, doubt.
Similarly, Christ has been appearing to us behind closed doors, through our streaming services and our celebration of Pascha in our homes. Obviously, Christ physically being present in His resurrected body to the disciples is not the same as watching the liturgy on a screen. Yet, Christ offers us the same peace amidst all the fear, anxiety, worry, sickness, and stress as He did to His disciples. As we see in the Gospels, many encounters with Christ after His resurrection show Him blessing others with His peace. It seems that Christ’s peace is uniquely connected to His resurrection.

As I’ve been reflecting upon peace in light of the Resurrection this week, I discovered that I frequently ignore the centrality of peace within our faith. As I started to dig into this however, peace is central to our faith, and I found example after example of this being true. The first example we see is when Christ appears to His disciples; He doesn't bless them by saying 'Love be with you' or ‘Power be with you', but He says, 'Peace be with you'. We see in Galatians 5:22-23, peace is one of the primary fruits of the spirit. Amazingly, if you look through the Divine Liturgy, peace is the most commonly mentioned fruit of the spirit, being used 35 times, whereas love 30 times, kindness 19 times, and joy only 5. Countless other examples from both the new and old testaments, our liturgical life, theological writings, and the lives of the Saint's point to the fact that peace is a cornerstone virtue of our Christian life. This then begs the question, what is this peace? What is this peace that Christ gives to His apostles and to us after His resurrection? St. Maximos the Confessor explains it so simply and beautifully "Peace is truly the complete and undisturbed possession of what is desired." Isn't this true? "Peace is truly the complete and undisturbed possession of what we desired." Christ's peace has the ability to finally satisfy all of our deepest desires in a complete and unshakable way. This is underscored when we look to both the Greek and Hebrew words for peace. εἰρήνη in Greek, has the root word εἴρω which means to join; and thus when we acquire Christ’s peace, we are joined to Him. Shalom in Hebrew expresses the idea of wholeness, completeness, and tranquility in the soul that is unaffected by outward circumstances or pressures. This is why the beatitudes say 'blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God' (Matthew 5:9). When we acquire true peace we are jointed to Christ, are fulfilled by His presence and are complete; we truly become children of God; we have reached the end state that we all desire. This is why Christ offers His peace to the disciples when He first comes to them and to Thomas; when Christ offers His peace, He is offering Himself to us. The peace of Christ is communion with Him. When we focus our desire towards Him everything else fades away and we are set as ease. When we accept His sovereignty over all things, both in heaven and earth, everything falls in its proper place and our worrying stops. When we realize our weaknesses and sinfulness simultaneously with His forgiveness and healing we quell our anxieties and simply sit in His presence. And when we experience His love and we respond in love we experience heavenly peace. All of this is summarized by St. Paul in Philippians 'the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7). This is a peace that goes beyond emotional feelings and intellectual certitudes since it surpasses all that this world can offer. It is only Christ’s peace that can guard our hearts and minds against every affliction so that we can finally have lasting contentment, tranquility, and stresslessness. This peace is the actualization of God’s grace within our lives which is why St. Seraphim of Servo says, 'Acquire peace, and thousands around you will be saved.' It is this peace that turns people into saints, and how the good news of resurrection shines in a dark world.

My dear brothers and sisters, it is in this time of pandemic that the peace we receive from our Lord is continually being attacked and we must stay focused on the reality of the resurrection to maintain it. Like Thomas, we can begin to doubt our Lord and His resurrection. We lose the peace He offers to us because we stop desiring our Savior and start desiring to only be freed from the negative symptoms we are experiencing right now. We bind our sight to only earthly things rather than look heavenly and so we cannot see the transcend peace our Savior extends to us. We are stuck only seeking temporary peace from our immediate suffering rather than everlasting peace. I too have been struggling to hold on to Christ’s peace during this time as we are continually assaulted through the news, disruptive social distancing, and our unrelenting thoughts. However, we need to continue to spend time reflecting on the amazing reality that the resurrection opens up to each and everyone one of us. We need to dwell on the reality that Christ, through His resurrection, has overcome all that we face and will face in our lives. Such reflection will help us put all things in their proper perspective and have a vantage point of eternity. We start to understand that the temporary sufferings are but a burst of steam on a cold day that will dissipate quickly in light of eternity. This is why the saints show us that while they were persecuted, martyred, starved, and experiencing all forms of tragedies they never lost their peace. They fixated their entire soul on the reality of who Christ is and what He has done through His resurrection and thus gain an indestructible peace. It is when we internalize Christ’s peace that we internalize the reality of His Resurrection and through it can overcome the hardships of life. This is the reason why we need to spend time in prayer to connect with our resurrected Lord. We internalize His grace through prayer, so we don’t fall into continual fear and worry. This is why we resist distractions that misguide our desires away from communion with the living God. This is why we persevere in our Christian faith and take it seriously, so that we will have the Prince of Peace dwelling in our soul. We do these things so that we are joined to Christ to allow His peace to made manifest within us so we can “be of good cheer. Since He has overcome the world.” (paraphrase John 16:33). So let us today do what the liturgy tells us, to ‘lay aside every earthly care, so that we may receive the King of all’ who grants us eternal peace.
Amen

​Deacon Steve Tussing

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

As we come upon the dawning light of the Sun of righteousness during bright week, we continue to be hindered and constrained by the current pandemic. This of course does not diminish the reality of Christ's resurrection and it's potency but, as we have talked about before, it limits our ability to celebrate this awesome reality.

To continue to offer you all encouragement during this time, I came across the practical spiritual wisdom of C. S. Lewis who gave a sermon to a class of students at Oxford during the start of World War II. I found an article that took this C. S. Lewis' sermon and adapted it for our current situation. I found both the adapted article for our pandemic life, as well as Lewis' original sermon helpful as we continue to move forward through these challenging times. I pray they will be as beneficial to you as they were to me.

​C. S. Lewis’ Advice To Students During A Pandemic Will Do All Our Souls Good Right Now

Learning in War-Time by C. S. Lewis - Oxford 1939

This coming Saturday we celebrate Lazarus Saturday, the day when we recount the raising from the dead one of Jesus's closest friends. The Gospel reading for the day, John 11:1-45, and the icon of this blessed day recounts this amazing miracle in word and image powerfully for us. While reading the passage and in looking at this icon, something jumped out to me in light of our current pandemic crisis I'd like to share with you. I hope it will be as encouraging to you as it was to me.

When we look at the icon of Lazarus being raised from the dead, we see that the stone has been rolled away, the tomb has been opened and Lazarus is just starting to emerge; burial clothes and all. The gospel says that 'the dead man came out, his hands and feed bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth'. This scripture combined with seeing Lazarus in the icon gives you a sense that it is a bit of an awkward situation for Lazarus. By the divine power of Jesus, Lazarus has been brought back from death. Immediately after this incredible miracle, we have a very human moment of Lazarus hobbling out of the tomb. The image of awe and wonder from a person being resurrected is mixed with that same person hopping out of the tomb in a clunky and goofy manner must have been a unique sight indeed.
 
With this in mind we return to our present reality. We are just days away from Christ's resurrection, Pascha, the most incredible event in all human history that unlocks the path of salvation to all of us. And yet we are in the midst of a horrible pandemic that requires that we not gather and that we practice unfamiliar behaviors like social distancing. The reality is we WILL experience the resurrection of Christ, and there is no way to diminish or reduce that in any way. However, this will be an awkward Pascha for all of us; we won't get to participate in the Divine Liturgy together in person, receive the Light, break the fast together, or have our traditional Pascha celebrations as a community. My dear brothers and sisters, we are like Lazarus. We have been raised by Christ's resurrection but we will celebrate this joy, figuratively speaking, a bit clumsily, as we are still bound by the bandages of this pandemic. We will celebrate Pascha but through streaming services, we will experience the overwhelming joy of death being conquered but will sing 'Christ is Risen' in our homes, and we will break the fast together but from afar. Just like Lazarus, the tightly wrapped 'bandages' of the pandemic keep us home-bound and makes celebrating the Paschal beauty awkward and different than how we normally do, but it does not diminish the reality of Christ's resurrection. Day by day the bandages of this pandemic will be removed and one day we will be able to move about freely to come to Church, return to our normal lives, and be together with one another, just as Lazarus was reunited with his family and friends who loved him so much. Until then, let us not lose sight of the mystery of the resurrection of our Lord, stay connected best we can, and keep seeking Him through the trial upon us all.

Kalo Pascha my brothers and sister!

Dn. Steve

Dear Ones,
Thank you again for your prayers and your patience during this anxious time!
This year, for the first time in our history as a parish, we will be celebrating Holy Week and Pascha in our homes rather than here at Holy Resurrection. As difficult as that will be for all of us, we need to remember that whatever our circumstances, Christ is risen from the dead and that Holy Week and Pascha will be celebrated. 

I want to remind you that in the not so distant past, Holy Week and Pascha were celebrated in Nazi concentration camps and Communist gulags. Our grandparents and great-grandparents have prayed under trees and in barracks, turning bed sheets into vestments and tin cups into chalices. They whispered memorized prayers and used their imaginations to re-create the experiences of Church they had hidden in their hearts during times of war and persecution. This year we must do what they did, bringing Holy Week and Pascha celebrations into the relative peace and safety of our homes. We have a bit of time to think ahead and prepare about how we’re going to do this.

I have provided a number of excellent resources to help you celebrate Holy Week and Pascha at home. I encourage you to look over them today and put together a plan for your family. Some of the ideas might be too ambitious or impractical, but don't let that deter you. Think about the things you normally do, like eat pancakes on Lazarus Saturday, and do them at home instead. Participate in the live-streaming of the services as if you were here.

This will take great effort on your part. However, by now, we should be use to exerting greater effort during Holy Week and Pascha. It won't be easy, but it can become the most memorable Holy Week and Pascha of our lifetime. I especially want to encourage the parents of school-aged children. I wish these resources were around when our kids were young. You can do this!

We are given an opportunity this year to bring Holy Week and Pascha into our homes – something we should do every year! May the Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus guide us, guard us, keep us and protect us during this difficult time and may nothing ever rob us of the joy that comes from knowing that death has been conquered and that Christ is Risen!

​With love in the Risen Lord Jesus,
Father Jerry

As I am writing to you Dear Ones this message, our state is basically “locked-down”, and people are mandated to stay home and shelter in place. Non-essential businesses are temporarily closed, the streets are nearly empty of cars and people; and many, if not all, events have been canceled. The theaters are shut down, March Madness is canceled, and toilet paper is in short supply. Yesterday (Monday), as I drove through downtown, it seemed like a Sunday instead. Actually, it’s been two weeks of Sundays, so it seems. Our normal rhythm of life has been majorly impacted and a new, but temporary, “normal” is emerging. We are asked to make changes and do things that perhaps we don’t agree with, for the common good. We are mandated to change our entire style of life in the midst of a situation that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Sounds a lot like Great Lent to me! When the services, hymns, canons, and prescriptions of Great Lent were originally composed, we lived in a relatively small, mainly rural community within one organically Orthodox world; the very rhythm of one’s life was shaped by the Church. Great Lent was “visible” then in the culture. During Lent, the whole society accepted a certain rhythm of life, certain rules, which kept reminding the individual members of that society of the Lenten season.

In Russia, for example, one could not forget Lent if only because of a special Lenten church bell ringing; theaters were closed; and in more ancient times, the courts suspended their activities. By themselves, all those externals were obviously unable to force people into repentance or toward a more active religious life. But they created a certain atmosphere-a kind of Lenten climate-in which personal effort was made easier. Being weak, we need external reminders, symbols, signs. We are no longer living in an Orthodox society and no Lenten “climate” can, therefore, be created on a social level. Or can it? In the Orthodox worldview, the home and the family constitute the first and most important area of the Christian life, of application of Christian principles to daily existence. It is the home and family that shapes our fundamental worldview, that orients us for daily life.

​How Lent is kept at home with our family, therefore, is of great importance. If Lent is an opportunity to recover our faith, it is also an opportunity to recover our true selves and true life. It is by abstaining from food that we rediscover its sweetness and learn again how to receive it from God with joy and thanksgiving. It is by “slowing down” and cutting back on our socializing, that we rediscover the ultimate value of human relationships. It is by taking Lent seriously by participating in the Lenten services, fasting and praying, practicing silence and stillness, giving alms, etc., that we can attain to truly keeping Lent. It might sound strange, but there seems to be a silver lining to this global pandemic we are facing-we are having the Lent we should have. May the reminder of it be blessed!

Father Jerry