Chaplains

Chaplains are the ones who are the presence of God in the midst of tragedy

I am grateful to God for all the friendships I’ve formed with other chaplains during these past fourteen years of service as a police and fire chaplain, and am privileged to count among my friends some of the finest people I have ever known. These are individuals who have dedicated their lives in compassionate service to others, touching lives during the most difficult of circumstances.

Chaplains minister to people whose lives have been turned upside down, with the loss of a child, the death of a spouse, the trauma of a fatal car accident, or a homicide. Chaplains serve as God’s presence on murder scenes, or house fires. They hold children whose parents have been killed, and comfort the old woman whose husband of sixty years has died. They serve as pastors to people who have never had a pastor. They are clergy who lend support to a police officer or medic who is traumatized by an incident that would have sent most people running in the other direction.

I, like other chaplains, have broken down in tears while recounting situations that would traumatize the toughest of cops. I’ve seen fellow chaplains being strong for their officers, while enduring unimaginable pain themselves. I’ve suffered, like other chaplains, over the death of police officers and firefighters who were my friends.

At the heart of chaplaincy is the love of Jesus Christ, and a compassionate heart that is formed by a relationship with this very Christ. The chaplain runs towards a bad situation, offering his prayers and his heart to those in need. The chaplain is one who is the presence of God in the midst of tragedy, making manifest Christ in the midst of horrendous moments in the life of those whom he is called to serve. He sits in for God during those moments when no words can be found to comfort someone experiencing great loss. The chaplain sacrifices his own comfort zone so that Christ may be made manifest in the most broken of moments.

Chaplaincy is a unique calling, one that takes special training and deep commitment. It is not for the faint hearted, but a vocation that is as challenging as it is satisfying. The chaplain is an instrument of reconciliation between God and the first responder, their department, the community, and the families and individuals affected by tragic events.

Please pray for all chaplains, be they in service as military chaplains, in ministry as police and fire chaplains, or serving their communities as hospital chaplains.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Photos: This is the final day of the Northwest Regional gathering of the International Conference of Police Chaplains. The first photos shows the new State Directors being sworn in during Wednesday nights awards ceremony. The other photos show various chaplains, with some of their vehicles.

Thursday February 11, 2016 / January 29, 2016
37th Week after Pentecost. Tone three.

Translation of the relics of Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer, bishop of Antioch (107).
New Hieromartyrs John and Leontius priests, Constantine deacon and with them 5 Martyrs (1920).

St. Laurence, recluse of the Kiev Caves and bishop of Turov (1194).
Sts. Gerasimus (1441), Pitirim (1455), and Jonah (1470), bishops of Perm.
Martyrs Romanus, James, Philotheus, Hyperechius, Abibus, Julian and Paregorius at Samosata (297)
Martyrs Silvanus, bishop of Emesa, Luke the Deacon, and Mocius (Mucius) the Reader (312).
Synaxis of All Saints of Yekaterinburg.
New Martyr Demetrius of Chios (1802) (Greek).
Venerable Aphrahates of Persia, monk (370).
St. Barsimaeus the Confessor, bishop of Edessa (2nd c.).
Martyrs Sarbelus and his sister Bebaia of Edessa (115) (Greek).
Venerable Sulpicius Severus, disciple of St. Martin of Tours (406) (Gaul).
Venerable Gildas the Wise, abbot of Rhuys, Brittany (ca. 570) (Celtic & British).
St. Ashot Kuropalates of Tao-Klardjeti (829) (Georgia).
St. Ignatius, bishop of Smolensk (1210).
Venerable Andrew (Rublev) of Russia, iconographer (1430).

Scripture Readings

James 4:7-5:9

Humility Cures Worldliness

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Do Not Judge a Brother

11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Be Patient and Persevering

7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

Mark 11:27-33

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

27 Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. 28 And they said to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?”

29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 30 The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”

31 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’”—they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. 33 So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”