We must resist making an idol of our political ideologies
We live in an America that has not seen such divisiveness since the Civil War. There is an illness of spirit that has overtaken our nation, and passions are adrift as friends go against friends, families are divided, and everyone seems to be distracted, for fear of one another, and the political scene that divides us
At the basis of this sickness is the serious loss of focus on the thing that is most important, that of the spiritual life. Politics and political parties have become the new religion, and this religion is not one based in either the left or the right of the political spectrum, but rather, on an estrangement from God. Neither political persuasion is based on the Mind of the Church, for both parties spew forth a corruption that has permeated the political scene, and we as a people have forgotten how to lead a serious life for the good of others.
In our estrangement from God, we have made political ideologies into a god, and our anger toward those who hold to differing political ideologies has translated into a form of idolatry. We have become bored with the pursuit of the spiritual life, and have made our politics our religion. If we don’t agree with a friend, we divorce them from our life. And in our collective madness, we have turned on each other, and made political correctness (either left or right) the ultimate litmus test for friendship.
It is in such times that we must deploy all our strength, and reintroduce into the social structure of our nation a Christian focus on all that is of ultimate importance. A collective relationship with God must be re-introduce into the life of a nation that has lost all meaning and direction, and return ourselves to the knowledge of the true purpose of life, that of the acquisition of a humble and contrite heart. We must not allow ourselves to think that any political ideologue will save us, nor a standing army, nor international alliances, but only our collective adherence to the God whom we claim, on our printed money, to trust.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Photos: With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America (ROCOR), and His Grace Bishop Maxim of the Diocese of Western America under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church, I served Liturgy at Saint John the Wonderworker Orthodox Church in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday.
Walla Walla, Washington Speaking Engagement
I will be at Saint Silouan Orthodox Church, 603 Newell St., Walla Walla, WA, giving a series of talks this coming Saturday. The morning talk begins at 10:30 a.m., with lunch served to everyone at 12 noon. The second talk begins at 1 p.m. Father Daniel Reese, the parish rector, has also invited me to give the Sunday homily, during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. I am very much looking forward to meeting everyone at this Pan-Orthodox event.
Tuesday December 13, 2016 / November 30, 2016
26th Week after Pentecost. Tone eight.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Fish Allowed
Holy and All-praised Apostle Andrew the First-called (62).
St. Elias, schemamonk of Valaam and Verkhoturye (1900).
New Hieromartyr John priest (1937).
St. Frumentius, archbishop of Abyssinia (380).
St. Tudwal, bishop in Wales and Brittany (6th c.) (Celtic & British ).
St. Alexander, bishop of Methymna on Lesbos (Greek).
Sts. Peter I (5th c.) and Samuel I (5-6th c.), Catholicoses of Georgia.
St. Vakhtang Gorgasali, King of Georgia (502).
Scripture Readings
Matthew 4:18-23
Four Fishermen Called as Disciples
18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Jesus Heals a Great Multitude
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
1 Timothy 1:8-14
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for thelawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
Glory to God for His Grace
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
Luke 19:45-48
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”
47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.
Thank you, Father, for these words.
Thank you, father. You made things clearer, that devotion to political rectitude is rooted where real devotion is absent. This from a long-time liberal who, after a lifetime of knowing better but acting poorer, finally fell from politics in general, just in time to sit out the current madness.
Interesting that at a trapeze, the Sunday after the election, not a word was spoken of politics, while outside, the world was foaming at the mouth.
Come home safely
Thank you, Father, for this post. I know I needed it! I think God has been working in me (on me?) in this area of my life, along with giving me the question, “Is this (Facebook post/ political “outrage”/ issue) really something I need to pay attention to, or is it a waste of time and energy that could be turned to something profitable spiritually, to something that really matters?”
Why didn’t you tell me you were serving liturgy in my area? I would have come.
For some reason, I thought you’d have heard. I would love to have seen you.
what unites us as a people? in the divine liturgy, the priest turns to the faithful and says: let us love one another so that with one mind we may profess! what are we the faithful professing on 25 december/7 january? we are professing the mystery of the incarnation being revealed unto us in the form a babe born in a manager. are we going to lose hope with what this event represents in our lives, once our christmas decorations, come down? i have lived along the ohio river for the past 4 years and i see with my own eyes what happens when the people put all their eggs in one basket. but, i as a pastor/administrator living a reclusive life in the spirit of saint theophan the recluse, i can not lose hope as i shall be letting my people down. i am where the forgotten man resides. but what does the Christ Child represent? Light, hope, humility to name a few. i end with the words of two billboards posted along the main highway north and south: This Year put Christ into Your Christmas!
As a faithful Orthodox Christian and one who does not esteem “Bart”, I have no Patriarch to follow. Kyrill, I am told is a puppet of Putin and a KGB agent. I do believe this as I see the kinds of negative things coming out of Russia. It does surprise me that you have belief in him. You seem to be a very knowledgeable priest and you sound very Orthodox. Can you please tell me why you stay under his leadership? You really don’t need a Patriarch…there are other hierarchs you can turn to. Is it because you get financial support from Russia? I attend a very small mission church. It once was part of ROCOR but is no longer affiliated due to the now political nature of ROCOR. I am serious in my request for information. Thank you.
I’m going to respond to your question publicly, on my blog. Too important to keep my answer directed to only one person. God bless you, Chris.