Planting Seeds of Faith in the Land of My People
A number of years ago while visiting Holy Cross Monastery in West Virginia, one of their young monks drove me to Pennsylvania, into the heart of Amish country. While wandering around in a large hardware store that sold off the grid Amish supplies, I was mistaken by a little boy who was with his vacationing parents, as the “King of the Amish”. On another occasion, while traveling by ferry to Orcas Island in the State of Washington, a young boy thought I was Gandalf, the wizard from Lord of the Rings.
In both cases I saw this mistaken identity as one more reason I am glad we Orthodox clergy wear cassocks, and sport beards. In a society that has become increasingly secularized, and where Christian religious garb is rarely worn publicly, the identification with popular and good images from folklore, becomes a wonderful opening for the sharing of my Orthodox faith. It affords yet another moment for me to be the most loving, giving, caring, and approachable person they have ever met.
This in turn opens the way for the Holy Spirit to draw that person into a moment where they connect with that place within their own heart, where God awaits them. It also allows me to be a Johnny Appleseed of the Orthodox Faith, planting seeds of faith.
Each Orthodox Christian is in fact called to be a Johnny Appleseed in this our land, planting the seeds of faith among all those around us. You don’t have to dress funny to plant seeds!
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Tuesday August 31, 2021 / August 18, 2021
11th Week after Pentecost. Tone one.
Martyrs Florus and Laurus of Illyria (2nd c.).
New Martyrs Archimandrite Augustine of Orans Monastery, Proto-priest Nicholas of Nizhni-Novgorod, and 15 people with them (1918).
New Hieromartyr Gregory priest and Martyr Eugene and Michael (1937).
Martyrs Hermes, Serapion, and Polyaenus of Rome (2nd c.).
Martyrs Hilarion, Dionysius, and Hermippus, Hieromartyr Emilian, and others (about 1,000) of Italy (4th c.).
Sts. John (674) and George (683), patriarchs of Constantinople.
Venerable Macarius the Monk of Pelekete (830).
Repose of Venerable John, abbot of Rila (946) (Bulgaria).
The Hodigitria Icon of the Mother of God.
Venerable Barnabus and his nephew Venerable Sophronius, monks of Mt. Mela near Trebizond (412) (Greek).
Venerable Christopher, abbot of Mt. Mela Monastery (1694) (Greek).
Venerable Sophronius of St. Anne’s Skete on Mt. Athos (Greek).
Venerable Arsenius the New of Paros (1877) (Greek).
Martyr Juliana near Strobilus (Greek).
Martyr Leo, drowned near Myra in Lycia (Greek).
St. Christodoulos the Philosopher, called the Ossetian, of Georgia (12th c.) (Georgia).
The Scripture Readings
2 Corinthians 2:14-3:3
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.
Christ’s Epistle
3 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? 2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
Matthew 23:23-28
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Dear Father, We enjoyed a good laugh over your mistaken identities! My daughter remarked on what a tall order it must be for you to try to be the most loving, giving, caring, & approachable person they have ever met. May we all attempt to do this. I fall pitifully short.
Maybe now is the time for all religious to put on their holy garb and wear it publicly…wear the garb and the faith!
Amen Amen Amen
The world is filled with people “dressing differently” now, often according to what is right in their own eyes . You honor the ancient traditions of your faith outwardly but it’s you inside those robes that reveal God’s story to others. Your message reminded me of a costume party I attended. An older man I knew was wearing a beautiful black robe so I thought it was meant to be a Priest robe. He smiled and said, no, it’s my Harvard Graduation robe. He was an honorable man no matter the robe. My point is that the outer shells of seeds are so varied. We are wonderfully and uniquely created by God to plant seeds of Faith in Him in our little world what ever we look like on the outside. Thanks for your inspiration, wearing your robe out in a fallen world, and for scattering good seeds. It makes me smile.