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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Do Not Worry

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." + Jesus the Christ +

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Should We Treat Schismatic And Non-Orthodox Churches As Enemies?

There is so much vitriolic diatribe in the struggle for the pure orthodox faith. Name calling, accusations, judgement, and slanders abound. Various professing orthodox groups treat one another with suspicion and some orthodox bloggers have as their mission to actively condemn any and all who call for unity. As a blogger, I myself have been called an "enemy of the church". But did not Jesus call for unity? "...so they may be one even as I am one...". Yes, we know that unity/oneness cannot come unless all share in common the orthodox profession, but would not our Lord's desire better be served by all of us striving to bring redemption to the heretics, schismatics and the lost rather than just shouting "Enemy! Enemy"! How can it not be God's will for all of us to have the heart of Saint John of Kronstadt and to share in his prayer?

"Confirm in this faith my own heart and the hearts of all Orthodox Christians: enlighten us to live worthily of this faith and this hope; unite in this faith all the great Christian bodies which have dangerously fallen away from the unity of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, which is Thy Body and whose Head art Thou and Savior of the body; subdue the pride and opposition of their teachers and their followers; grant that they may comprehend with their hearts the truth and salutariness of Thy Church and unite with Her without laziness: join also to Thy Holy Church those ailing from schism, breaking their obstinacy and standing up against Thy Truth with the power of Thy Spirit's grace, that they may not perish in their resistance as did Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who opposed Moses and Aaron, Thy servants. To this faith attract all the nations which inhabit the earth, so that with one heart and one mouth all nations will glorify Thee, the One God and Provider of all; unite all of us as well in this faith with the Spirit of humility, piety, meekness, simplicity, impassibility, patience, forbearance, mercy, compassion, and the sharing of joyfulness."

The Lord has convicted me of my sin as of late, wherein I have mistaken the fine line between seeking justice and seeking righteousness. I have confessed my sin and made restitution personally to those to whom God has led. I ask the regular JTO readers, and others who may pass this way, to forgive any such sin or attitude I have displayed in any of the hundreds of articles I have posted throughout the years. 

Schismatics and Non-Orthodox are not our enemies. We must love them into the faith. Speak the truth always, and dogmatically if need be, but speak the truth in love.

Sunday, August 04, 2013

Are You Asleep In The Light?

Where are the young prophets in the Orthodox Church? Rise up oh men and women of God and shout the clarion call!


Asleep in The Light

Do you see, do you see
All the people sinking down
Don’t you care, don’t you care
Are you gonna let them drown

How can you be do numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job’s done

Oh bless me lore, bless me lord
You know it’s all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tear

But he cries, he weeps, he bleeds
And he cares for you needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in
Oh can’t you see it’s such a sin

’cause he brings people to you door
And you turn them away
As you smile and say
God bless you, be at peace
And all heaven just weeps
’cause jesus came to you door
You’ve left him out on the streets

Open up open up
And give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries
So how can you delay

God’s calling and you’re the one
But like jonah you run
He’s told you to speak
But you keep holding it in
Of can’t you see it’s such a sin

The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can’t fight
’cause it’s asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you’ve been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can’t even get out of bed

Oh, jesus rose from the dead
Come on get out of your bed

How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job’s done
You close your eyes
And pretend the job’s done

Don’t close your eyes
Don’t pretend the jobs done
Come away, come away, come away with me my love
Come away, come away, come away with me my love

Saturday, August 03, 2013

The Arts and the Artist- The Christian Misconception

Note: This article is to be credited to another. I typed it years ago with a real typewriter, before the days of computers and printers. I was remiss in not recording the author's name. Whoever he or she may be, thank you for knowing my heart and putting into words this poignant prose. Your words still resound with the truth.


In the arts there should be no segregation of secular and religious subject matter. Reality, like God, is one. This is not an unusual idea . . . Augustine saw the cosmos as one unit divinely infused and all mankind as one brotherhood. He saw reality, spiritual and physical, as moving toward an unfolding of God's purposes.  Reality was cumulative advancement of mankind, materially and spiritually, through time, as history taught God's lessons through experience.  Augustine rejoiced in the goodness of the arts and extolled their virtue as part of God's creation.  To him, all of reality was part of the divine unfolding of history.

Christian artists who agonize over what they should create from the point of view of what is allegedly "Christian subject matter" are engaged in an exercise in futility -- an exercise usually motivated by false guilt bred of bad theology that has divided reality into "secular" and "Christian" and that perceives art as only a useful propaganda tool for evangelism.

For the Christian there is no taboo subject matter any more than there are evil or taboo colors.  Though how we portray each subject is important, as is its context, reality, as it is perceived is fit subject for the artist.  To tell the truth is our only artistic, moral imperative.

There are too few people in the church who comprehend the artistic struggle and encourage Christians to succeed in the arts, there are, however, many Christian guilt-mongers who place burdens on others that they themselves do not bear; their attitude is embolden in the what's -Christian-about-that? school of art critics who do not understand the arts or the daily reality of the artist's struggle.

As artists we yearn for sympathetic Christian critics with a knowledge of art and the historical perspective about art movements necessary to make an intelligent contribution to our work.  Such understanding is, unfortunately, rare.  Instead, we are often subjected to moralistic posturing on the part of Christians who ignorance is only matched by their intransigence.

We as Christians need the help, guidance, and advise of other believers.  But we must be careful, as artists, to have realistic expectations about this human advice.  Just because someone is a believing, practicing Christian does not mean he or she will have the wisdom, knowledge, or sympathy to advise us knowledgeably about our artistic work. Just because someone claims that God has laid something on his heart does not mean God has! The pastor, teacher, friend, or family member may or may not know enough about a particular field of endeavor to give good advise.

Better the knowledgeable advice of a non-believing expert than the heavy yolk of false spiritual guilt imposed by an ignorant believer, however well intentioned. Artistic talent is truly a gift and must be protected, especially against the onslaught of misguided saints . . . It is a tragedy that so many Christians who seek to work in the arts and media receive so little knowledgeable encouragement.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Be Abased

I received the counsel of a priest this week. In confession, he told me to BE ABASED. The Lord also told me NOT to seek justice but to seek righteousness. I have repented. I am forgiven. But I must now make amends for my acts of pride.

Here is the standard of God for me and for all who would walk in the Glory of God.

"In all things and at all times be abased
Seek Righteousness not Justice."

Definition of ABASE
1. archaic : to lower physically
2. : to lower in rank, office, prestige, or esteem

                                                                                                                Keirkegaard

Philippians 4:12-13
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The great dichotomy: To be strong you must become weak.


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Film Review By Ben Andrus

Pasolini’s Gospel According to Saint Matthew
A Review By Ben Andrus
In Pasolini’s masterpiece, The Gospel According to St. Matthew, we encounter Jesus Christ praying in the morning on his knees with his arms lifted, palms open, ready to encounter his Father’s presence. Similarly, early Christian icons depict prayer in the same manner. Though an Atheist and a Marxist, Pier Paolo Pasolini still emerged from a devoutly Roman Catholic culture, and these ancient depictions would be familiar to him.
In this review we will discuss Pasolini’s much beloved film, demonstrate that it is truly a Christian film while also presenting particular problems and inadequacies as a text.
Can a non-Christian artist produce truly Christian art, or must the artist be a believer to transmit the lore of the Faith purely? Certainly there isn’t enough space to adequately discuss this question in this review, but suffice to say that we will approach the topic of The Gospel from the perspective that it is entirely possible for a nonbeliever to create Christian art. Lloyd Baugh, author ofImagining the Divine takes the opportunity to discuss this more thoroughly in his book. He makes three points that are worth repeating here: first the film must be judged on its own merits as a film (does the film accomplish its “mission”), secondly, and apropos our discussion, if The Gospel According to St. Matthew received official sanction by the Roman Catholic Church, then certainly others can produce films of the same caliber. Thirdly, Baugh makes an important point that the question of belief versus non-belief is a complex one. Baugh states, “ The lines of demarcation between belief and non-belief are sometimes very unclear and often include wide areas of grey. Perhaps…the sincere and coherent searching of the agnostic can be a valid position from which to search, to reflect artistically on the Christ-event by creating a Christ figure.” (111-112) Though Pasolini was unequivocal about his Atheism; we must offer the distinction that he was not necessarily anti-Christian (99).
The story of Pasolini’s decision to make The Gospel is a compelling one. Virtually confined to a house in Assisi awaiting preparations for the visit of Pope John XXIII (to whom his film is dedicated) while a guest of Pro Civitate Christiana, a Catholic cultural organization, Pasolini read the Gospel of Matthew straight through like a novel (95). The specific passage of scripture that riveted him was Matthew 10:34: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Pasolini’s desire was to depict the gospel strictly from the text, a “realist desire to show what lies hidden,” for often this passage glossed over or ignored. In it Pasolini discovered a Jesus who was a revolutionary (Viano 133).
Photographed in stark black and white, the Jesus of The Gospel According to Saint Matthew is a revolutionary. When a Pharisee chides him for healing on the Sabbath, this Christ replies in single-mindedness “ Is it not lawful to do well on the Sabbath.” He gives the Pharisee a scolding look as he (the Pharisee) was an insolent child.  Of course, the aforementioned scripture, the one that first inspired Pasolini to make the film takes prominence. Jesus walks through a city and prepares his disciples for a mission and for a future of martyrdom. The scene culminates with a swelling musical score. Jesus tells his disciples that he has not come to bring peace, but division. The ancient, crumbling city and the rugged hills of southern Italy make up the background.  This film-Jesus is a dynamic energetic figure, less the mystic sage, but ever on the move, and filling the screen space with his intensity. At least one critic has drawn a comparison between the fiery portrayal of Jesus by Enrique Irazoqui and the equally fiery revolutionary Che Guevara (Macnab 62). Truly, Irazoqui is only missing a beret. “Often Pasolini’s camera pictures him from behind, from the point of view of the disciples as they try to keep up with him. Jesus’ words acquire great power because they are spoken as he moves, or as he stops and twists his body to look back at them and us” (Baugh 102). Critic Maurizio Viano conjectures that Pasolini wanted his Jesus to evoke a love/hate relationship with tradition and the Law. “Such a gesture of simultaneous affirmation/negation,” Viano states, “is cleverly emphasized by a recurrent image in Pasolini’s film: Christ’s most often-repeated posture shows him walking decisively ahead, with his back to the camera and his face turned towards it, an image which stresses leadership but also conveys the sense of going ahead while looking back” (141).
Though very intense, this Jesus is not without mercy and compassion and genuine warmth. Jesus smiles happily, obviously full of joy when he is surrounded by the children in the temple. The encounter and healing of the leper—perhaps one of the most poignant, beautiful scenes in the entire film—is compelling. “…There is a marvelous warm exchange of smiles between him and the man.” Jesus also seems to enjoy very much the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and also speaks kindly to his disciples during the Last Supper scene (Baugh 103).
Far from being a complete word for word rendering of St. Matthew’s Gospel, Pasolini’s film is not without its problems. Pasolini completely leaves out the Transfiguration from Matthew 16. Jesus’ mother Mary is also inexplicably present at the Crucifixion whereas in the Gospel she is not. “Here Pasolini is blatantly violating his own rule of absolute faithfulness to Matthew’s text” (101). The disciples, whose presences unfortunately are mostly limited to long camera takes, get short shrift in Pasolini’s film. “The Apostles are not fully developed characters; none of them has a personal story, not even Judas who, as a rule, is the privileged locus of psychological interpretations.” The Pharisees themselves are only shown as virtually faceless, rigid symbols of power (Viano 139).
Though certainly not a Catholic or even a Christian of any stripe, being in fact an Atheist and a dedicated Marxist, Pier Paolo Pasolini dedicated The Gospel According to St. Matthew to Pope John XXIII. Pasolini was convinced that Christianity and Marxism, at there deepest level, were very similar (Baugh 99). Certainly, his film was an attempt to reconcile the two, hence his strong, revolutionary Jesus. Of course if Marxism shows any resemblance to Christianity it is because the religion influenced culture for almost 2,000 years before Marx published his writings. We can affirm that concern for the poor, and speaking truth to power “come with the territory,” when speaking of Christianity. Pasolini’s film, however, remains a beautiful, startling work, both truly representative of the revolutionary figure of Jesus Christ and the revolutionary time it was made.

Works Cited
Baugh, Lloyd. Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ –Figures in Film. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (1997).
Macnab, Geoffrey, Lucy Neville, and Matthew Leyland. “The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Film).” Sight & Sound 12.12 (2002): 62.Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 Jan. 2011.
Viano, Maurizio Sanzio. A Certain Realism : Making Use of Pasolini’s Film Theory and Practice. Berkeley: University of California Press (1993).

Ben Andrus is an Orthodox Christian. He is a freelance photographer and is currently studying film in Virginia, USA.

You may watch the entire film on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ewh5k5-gY


Can Bishops, Priests, And Deacons Be Gossips?

GOSSIP: a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others. 


"My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed,we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh." James 3: 1-12 


To God's beloved Bishops, Priests, and Deacons: The sacrament you have received does not dismiss you from the obligation to tame your mouth. You do not have license, because of your ordination, to say what you will to another, be it clergy or layman, under the guise of "concern" or another's "spiritual welfare". Speaking to another about a third person's "personal or sensational facts" is as sinful for you as it is the Layman. Whether it be in word or letter, in private, or in a public forum, it is sin.

Monday, July 01, 2013

Orthodox Boy In Motion Picture

Shooting will wrap this week in LA on the film, Gumball. The poignant, humorous, and moving story of nine-year-old Lawrence Ashby, who hatches a plan to save his parents failing marriage, stars Nathan James Sharp, an Orthodox boy, and the grandson of JTO author, Nathan Lee Lewis. Pray for Nathan, his parents, and all Orthodox Christians who work in the film industry.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Seen and Unseen

Venice, California. Where Satan runs to and fro seeking whom he may devour. This is the view from the window of a room in which I was staying. It seems Satan and his minions don't have to hide so much here. They are allowed to advertise and parade in the open. Pray for all of we who are in the film industry--that we may resist the devil and confront him if necessary, and that we will be light and salt in this world.


Saint Genesius pray for us...

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

The Greatest Spiritual Gift

The Gift of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; 10 but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. 13 So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.