The Question Answered

The Gospel for the Third Sunday in Advent

St. Matthew xi. 2.

NOW when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 

Early 19th Century Icon enthroned at St. Simeon Skete, Taylorsville, Kentucky 

As we prepare for Christmas, today’s Gospel seems out of place - seeing that John is in prison and Jesus is an adult.  John is waiting to be executed.  He is in pain, suffering.  He is  the man who recognized his savior from the womb. Later as John Baptized Jesus, the Heavens open up,  he heard God exclaim his pleasure in His Son and he witnessed the Holy Spirit descending, leading into the desert.  And yet, he now sends his disciples to ask “Are you the one?”  Our troubles touch us, sometimes pain is so great it leads us to questions for which only Jesus is the answer.    A great answer doesn’t necessarily get you out of the question, the journey, or the pain but sends you back into it all to find Jesus to be that answer.  We must stay in the pain long enough to answer the questions that the pain is asking.  Make sure the answer is NOT a way of getting out of the pain (running away, denying, buying new shoes or taking a happy pill) but a real answer.  I can always tell more about a person by the questions they ask rather than the answers they give.  John was asking good questions that demanded only one answer: Jesus.    

Much of our religion these days leads us to living a prophylactic existence; preventing us from ever becoming pregnant with life and infected with what it brings - sorrows and difficulties.  They are a part of life.   Our purity must not be the result of NOT being touched by our troubles.  “In the world you will have troubles”.  That’s the truth.  Yet we hear so much from the world that uses belief in God as a shield from difficulty.  They hold that being with God means no loneliness, no hassles, no suffering.   I remember a lady years ago storming off after a sermon in which we were lead to examine ourselves.  The woman shouted as she left, “I don’t come to church to be instructed or made to critique my life.  I come to church to feel good, be happy and be comforted.”  Before you can be comforted you first have to be confronted.  John suffered, Jesus suffered, they had troubles and so do we.  I remember seeing the hand-written sign in a hermitage “Pain is the Kiss of Christ”.    God is in our pain with us, therefore, you might say our sorrows are a sign of the presence of God.   We are not alone.  

John sits confined in prison, alone, waiting to be executed.  His question really has three parts. 

1. Are you the one?  (see also NHA Blog "Are you the one?")
2. Is it real? 
3. Is it enough? 
   
   

And Jesus answers  “Yes, Yes, Yes”  He is the one, He is real and He is enough. 

Seventeen Days of the Name

Seventeen Days of The Name 

The Seventeen Days of The Name begins with the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene (July 22) who was the first to witness the Resurrection.  From here we proceed to the Feast of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (July 27)*, these six days compose “The Pilgrimage of the Seven Sleepers” where we pray the Seven Redemptive Names of God.  Eleven days further delivers us into the second day of “The Rosary Novena for Peace” (August 6 -14).  These first two days that the seventeen brings us to are feasts that give us the eighth and ninth Names of God, i.e., August 6, The Feast of the Transfiguration giving us the all encompassing Name, “I AM” and August 7th, the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, the Incarnate Salvific ninth Name of God. 

Icon of Mary Magdalene and Icon of Seven Sleepers, St. Simeon Skete

Just as the Seven Sleepers waited to be awakened (resurrected) into a new world and life, so the Seven Redemptive Names of God lie in the cave of our hearts (Mt. 6:6) waiting to be resurrected into our lives, our decisions, our responses and directions we take. 

The Seventeen Days of the Name as with the Seven Sleepers is the work of representing eternity in time and perceiving in time eternity. For this work to be realized in our lives we must survive the impact of the world upon our resurrection which is everyday present.  Here the Cave has a distinct role in religion and society via initiation through withdrawal (Mt. 6:6) into an environment of internal isolation with God alone as a rite of seclusion as well as resurrection.  Therefore, due to this seclusion, a “new” kind of awareness and knowledge of God’s intentions for humanity with regards to the resurrection can enter we who are represented by the seven sleepers. 

The Particulars for "Spelunking the Seven Sleepers”

1. Use the Redemptive Rosary for Compline during the Seventeen Days
2. Sprinkle your face with Holy Water seven times and share Scriptures on waking up, being awake, etc. 
3. Visit a cemetery - “thin places”
4. Make Seven Offerings of yourself.
5. Visit a Cave and pray the Names of God.
6. Light seven votive candles and make reparation for the misuse of God’s Holy Name.
7. An Abrahamic meal of lamb and couscous (Gen. 18:8) can be served on the Feast Day of the Seven Sleepers - 27th of July or as a celebratory end to the 17 days of The Name - August 7th. 

An Ode by al-Hallaj 

“In my inmost heart there is a pearl

I cannot touch (Mt. 13:45-46). 

I tremble when my thievish doubts

draw near.

It is a gift my Love has given me

to keep in trust.

Though blind, by it I see;

Naive, I am made wise.

The Seven Sleepers know this Love.

They are my friends. 

Time stops in the shadow

Of their mountain  (Mt. Celion). 

In its hush my Love returns

To claim His pearl.”

It is not about how we were, but about us as we are, a resurrected people now.  It is about Malcius who, as us, was awakened in the Cave and walked out into Ephesus with the old coins that showed the world in turmoil.  May we be good stewards of these nine most Holy Coins.

For more details about the Seven Sleepers and NHA, please see our previous blog post here: Seven Sleepers Blog Post

* In 2013, St. Simeon Skete embraced the Western date of July 27 as the celebration day of the Seven Sleepers.  This links together the Feast Day of St. Mary Magdalene, July 22, composing the 6 days of the Pilgrimage of the Seven Sleepers.  

Journeying Together

Life is a journey, we all have to work our way through it.   And so it is with Nazareth House Apostolate.  

Evidence is indicating that Ebola is on its way out of Sierra Leone.  As for NHA, we will step back and keep an eye on things before making any assessment of the situation.  Hurriedly resuming normal activity before safety is assured can be a fatal mistake to many. Prevention and Protection are the focus of NHA at this time. 

In the meantime, we are proud to announce that five large boxes of supplies have arrived from Taylorsville to Freetown and are presently making their way to Kabala.  We've been giving out rice to keep hungry families fed and providing work to laborers to ensure they can sustain their families with provisions.  NHA is preparing for the reopening of the NHA School once Ebola is completely cleared from the country.

James and Kadijah radiate strength and courage as they go about to do the work of NHA in Kabala.  It is important that we are there for them in prayer and support.  As many of you are digging into your pockets to give what you can to help in this crisis; we encourage you to actively engage others to give for the current and ongoing needs of NHA.  By doing so, you not only help out those we serve but the giver becomes a part of the unity and love within the family of Nazareth House Apostolate.  Remember our goal is to obtain 1000 donors giving $25 per month.  Reaching that target will enable us to do our work in the States at Simeon Skete and overseas in Sierra Leone, tending to each need as it happens.  Currently, with each emergency we must start a fundraiser and while we wait for the money to come in, the situation worsens.  The American population is rather large and 1000 people is not a huge number to involve in an organization.  Many people have 1000 or more friends on Facebook.   

$25 per month is a reasonable amount, some of us spend more than that on Lattes and Fast Food that simply add unhealthy weight to our bodies.  If we arrive at the goal of 1000 giving $25 it will allow us a dependable budget for all avenues of Nazareth House Apostolates work.

    

While we work to bring the Ebola Prevention, Care and Recovery to completion, I’m thinking of the journey.  

A journey made together, walking side by side from both sides of the Atlantic, with parts of NHA dipping their toes in the Pacific.   

There is a bond that transcends the physical yet pronounces the things of the heart and brings about unity.

  

In Nazareth House, together, we’re accomplishing that bond, that unity – a fete that many organizations  cannot lay claim.   

 

When you think of NHA, you think of the Skete and of Africa – namely Sierra Leone, but Nazareth House is made up of people all over the world. 

Fr. Gabriel Harty OP, visiting St. Simeon Skete from Ireland 

Katherine (Chico, CA) made needlepoint Pocket Crosses and sold them to raise money for NHA.
Here she is presenting Vicki with the proceeds. 

We started out by taking baby steps; 

and then we did a little running…

 

Sometimes the path became cold and slippery, 

sometimes the load is heavy.  

Sometimes the load is lighter. 

  

We’ve broken down, 

 

and got back up and started running again,

Awkward loads, rough roads – the journey continues.  

There have been times when we just have to rely on someone else to come and carry us further. 

 

There are narrow paths across water.

  

We’ve released our share of tears, 

but when the road is steep, 

someone always steps up to help shove us to the top.

 

Sometimes it seems we are running in circles 

but there is always  helping hands to reach out 

and keep us going, giving us a strong and  steady pull there

… together the NHA Family climbs the hill.   

And in doing so, we’ve been able to leap over huge obstacles, 

 

even though we’ve scraped our knees, twisted our ankles, 

Together we keep on pushing onward, more importantly we’ve kept on loving.  

 

 NHA will stay on the journey because the path we follow is LOVE 

Pray Love Walk – a – thon:  St. Augustine Anglican Church, Chico CA 

(“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for GOD IS LOVE.” 1 John 4:8)

Please send your tax deductible donations (remember small or large every donation helps) to:

Nazareth House Apostolate

185 Captains Cove Drive

Taylorsville, KY 40071

or through our website www.nazarethhouseap.org 

"Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together." James Cash Penney

rewrite of previous post 2011