Renewal In Christ Mission - Message To The Western Diocesan Assembly

MESSAGE TO THE WESTERN DIOCESAN ASSEMBLY

May, 1992

It is truly a joy for me to take part in my first Western Diocesan Assembly as a clergyman. I thank His Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian for allowing me the privilege of presenting this morning's devotional message.

Recently we celebrated the glorious resurrection of our Lord - His absolute victory over the powers of death and hell. That is the essential event which is the base of our hope in God and the Divine credentials of Jesus the Christ. As St. Paul has stated, ". . . if Christ had not been raised, your faith is futile . . ." (I Corinthians 15:17).

The two especially notable events which are remembered after Easter are the Ascension of Christ to heaven, and the Day of Pentecost. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down from heaven and the Church was born. In an incredibly dramatic way God's Power was demonstrated in the lives of ordinary people, who a short time before that event, had witnessed in terror and with much fear, the cruel torture and death of Christ. The great lesson and emphasis of the fifty days of the Easter season, and especially Pentecost, is the fact that the Church was born of God, and only by the supernatural power of God, can it remain alive. Our beloved Armenian Church Fathers understood that lesson very well, and so, the Armenian Church not only remained alive, but fruitful and vibrant even during the darkest and most miserable periods of our history. As members of the present day church, it is imperative that you and I learn the same lesson and follow in the footsteps of our Church Fathers in order to ensure the life of the Armenian Church to our future generations.

Regarding the vibrant spiritual life of the early Church, there are two characteristics which stand out. First of all, our predecessors took their commitment to God seriously. They were not cultural Christians, but people who had a genuine experience with God and were bound to Him as branches to the Vine. They received their daily nourishment from God and understood very well the words of Christ, that "I am the vine, you are the branches, without me you can do nothing . . ." St. Vartan, his companions and the clergy of that time could not severe their tie to the True Vine, Jesus Christ, and they risked their lives, their fortunes and reputations for the sake of Christ whom they described to the Persians as "the only God in heaven". No doubt, St. Vartan would have been described as a religious fanatic by some if he were here today. Nevertheless, if St. Vartan and our people of his day were not "fanatical" in their commitment to Jesus Christ, I very seriously doubt that you and I would be here today in Costa Mesa, as Armenians and as Christians, charting the future course of our Armenian church.

Their action transcended time and space. What are we doing to transcend time and space? What are we doing now in order to assure the existence of the Armenian Church for the future generations? For example, as leaders of the Armenian Church, if our greatest priorities simply consist of paying the monthly church bills, adding a few dollars to the church bank account and planning the usual dinners and yearly social events - my friends, we are in serious trouble. And if we neglect to understand the significance of communion with our Creator by means of the Holy Body and Blood of our Savior - we are in serious trouble. As adults and leaders we must take our worship seriously so that our Armenian youth will take our Faith seriously. To put it bluntly, let us not practice donut shop spirituality during Badarak - oftentimes parents drop their kids off to church and head to the nearest coffee shop; and while the faithful few are receiving the precious Body and Blood of the Lord through Holy Communion, others are receiving donuts and coffee. We must go from the superficial to the supernatural. Superficial Christianity will produce superficial results, but faith in the supernatural power of God, will manifest itself with great works and results. Let us learn from the early Christians.

And the other prominent characteristic of the early Church is the importance given to Christian education. It is interesting as well as important to realize that St. Vartan, whose accomplishment we commemorate with pride to this day, was the product of a Christian home and he was highly educated in the Christian Faith and Holy Scriptures. It must also be pointed out that the Armenian Church Fathers, who translated the Bible into Armenian, did so with the conviction that not only every word, but that every syllable was inspired by God, being full of Divine power. Today, however, we do not use the power of God's Word as we should. Our Lord has taught that faith comes from the knowledge of God's Word. In all realms of life, for example, in business, in science, in warfare and so on, we know that knowledge is power. And so it is also in the spiritual world. Spiritual knowledge produces spiritual power which in turn produces faith. In this light, it is a fatal misconception that Christian education is for children only. How can we keep our churches strong and protect our children against the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, the other cults and all the immoral trends in our society, if the level of our Christian education is not much higher than that of the children who attend Sunday School?

Once a little boy named Hagop decided to attend Sunday School. His teacher asked him, "Hagop, who knocked down the walls of Jericho?" Little Hagop quickly replied, "I didn't do it!" The teacher was very concerned about the boy's lack of basic Biblical knowledge, so after the Badarak, he approached Hagop's parents and said, "I asked your son who knocked down the walls of Jericho, and he said that he didn't do it." The parents became very defensive and exclaimed, "Look, if Hagop said he didn't do it, then he didn't do it." Unfortunately, there are too many families like little Hagop's family.

However, if we can be determined to take our Faith seriously as did our forefathers and strengthen ourselves with spiritual knowledge, the results will be tremendous. We will have more faithful church members and will not have to be continually begging to give of their time and talents to the church. People will be more faithful with their money, and will financially support the church as they ought to, so that the church will be able to concentrate on much more important things than just the mundane task of figuring out how to pay the monthly bills. The Badarak will be understood and appreciated. And lastly, the genuine spiritual life of the church members will produce from within that life, numerous young men and women who will dedicate their lives and talents to the church, including many young men who will gladly enter the priesthood as a calling from God. At that time, we will solve the problem of the Armenian clergy shortage.

It is my sincere wish and prayer that we may all, by the grace of God, flourish in the faith of our forefathers, and once again witness the grandeur and the glory of our beloved Armenian Church. Amen.