Chrismation

I went to John and Amy Holder's Chrismation this morning. With William (5?) and Carolyn (8?), their two darling children and the sponsors for each of them, they went to the front of St. Catherines. Part of the Orthodox ceremony is to recall baptismal vows, renouncing Satan and all his ways, but with a difference. The Orthodox really mean it. They don't just renounce him, they spit three times, blow three times, say the words three times, acknowledge that they have said the words three times. Having seen it, the repetition now seems essential. Episcopal and Methodist formal ceremony omits the repetition. The moment blows by too fast. If you are going to do something this serious, I say let's dwell on the moment. Let it sink in. Using ritual fully you get power, not just ceremonial form.

The next part of the Orthodox ritual is to be sealed by the Holy Spirit. Now we are not talking sprinkling, but anointing with oil by the priest with myrrh/chrismation oil. As a cross is drawn on the forehead, then the cheeks, then the ears, then the throat, then the eyes, then the back of the neck of each in turn, you get the idea. It is an enactment and an announcement to the one they renounced. The members of this family are marked with the Spirit, Satan. They are protected by the ceremony's invocations and by forces you cannot defeat, Satan. They are supported by this community. Hands off.

Another thing that I think rings solidly in Orthodoxy is the sacredness of space. The separation of the "inner sanctum" from the outer by a screen on which are rendered larger than life icons of great saints and angels, with additional life-sized icons all around the nave, a huge icon of Mary and Jesus behind the icon and the giant icon of Christ the King looking down from the center of the ceiling. No doubt who is in charge here. No doubt this is a sacred space. No doubt that the angels and saints glorify God here, in the company of those attending while incense rises, candles burn, ornate chalices and robes flourish. The invocation of the Holy is complete.

The sermon is today on Chuck Swindoll's book on David, from which exerpts were read on forgiveness, what it is and what it is not. My reflection was solemn. My household is infested with unforgiveness. How do I rid us of this curse? I pray for guidance. I am deeply moved.

My next meditation during the preparation and serving of communion, was on the icon above the door into the sanctuary behind the screen where the priests and acolytes busy themselves alone and in groups, coming in, going out. The arched icon is of the Last Supper. Christ in the middle of all the apostles with presumably Judas at his left hand, in a place of honor. What was Judas thinking? How could he have fallen so completely? I have a friend though who is following his lead. He has decided that Christianity is on the wrong track, politically. He feels "torn" but is about to bolt to the "values" of the Democratic party, as he sees them. He has been editing the bible in his family devotions to exclude "offensive" parts that violate "modern" sensibilities for some months. He's just about over the edge. Like Judas, he is re-making the gospel to comport well in the world he understands. He makes no surrender to the King. He is skeptical as to whether enlightenment is possible if he and his family follow this strange Republican Savior. He is mistaken, of course. Jesus was and is not a Republican. He is God. His "fundamentalist" comments in the scripture are difficult for him to reconcile, so he relegates Christianity to those parts of the scripture that he agrees with. Pretty much "God is Love". He ignores Paul and Moses. He doesn't read the Psalms. Like Thomas Jefferson, he has made a bible that fits him. I'm trying to shake him off the linkage between politics and Christianity. I'll let you know whether my ploy works.

Was forgiveness offered to Judas? Ever? A friend told a parable of Judas finding himself after the crucifixion in a deep, dark hole of a cave, with slippery sides. For ages, it seemed, there was not even light. Then Judas saw a light waaaay up at the top of the slippery sided cave, so he attempted to climb to it, slipping and falling back down over and over for a very long time. Finally, with all his might, he made it to the top, asking God to help him. As he crawled into the light he found himself once again at the Last Supper, now attended by the martyred and glorified apostles with Jesus at their head. "Come in, Judas," says the Risen King. "We were waiting for you. Let the feasting begin."

Hmmm.