An Ode to Philadelphia

There's been a lot of things going on in Philly lately. The Phillies have won their first title since 1993. Bono came to receive an award at the National Constitution Center downtown, and even Jerry Seinfeld was in town to promote a new movie. Here are some pictures (taken from Yahoo) to show you what's been going on:

The Phillies, after winning the NL East Division title today

Nice sign!

Current mayor John Street, and former mayor (and now governor) Ed Rendell congratulating Bono

Bono, receiving his award at the National Constitution Center

There's many things I'm going to miss about Philly, here are a few:

1) Family and friends (of course!)

2) Action News

3) Watching the Phillie fever go across the city (or Eagles for that matter!)

4) Driving up and down Roosevelt blaring music

5) Center City

6) Watching The Office at Kevin and Sara's apartment

7) All the green trees

Fr. Victor and Fr. Peter

Two godly men I have been impacted by lately:
The first, Fr. Victor, is the priest at St. Stephen's Orthodox Cathedral in Northeast Philly where my parents used to attend http://www.ststephenscathedral.org/. The church recently commissioned my father to do two icons for the front entry.
The second, Fr. Peter, had a unique journey into Orthodoxy which continues to challenge and enrich me.

It's been an interesting spiritual journey in my family. My dad grew up a preacher's kid in a Baptist upbringing on the west coast. My mom was a pagan {I say pagan in an endearing tone because my mother who was (and still is) the sweetest women, was incredibly lonely and unfulfilled before she met Christ - though she was doing everything "right" in the world's eyes}. We've been Presbyterian, Episcopalian (which then shifted to Anglican when our church, along with many others, could not assent to the bishop), and now Orthodox.

There's a lot I could say about Orthodoxy, but I will discuss it here through the lives of these men.
Fr. Victor grew up Orthodox in the Ukraine... Time passed and he felt called to be a priest while he was in the States. However, he wanted to make sure he could love people enough, so he waited on God for His assurance. Fr. Victor is now one of the most loving priests (or pastors, or whatever) I have ever known. I have never seen anyone stretched as much as he is in terms of time and capacity to minister, yet also so eager and transparent to plunge into ministry. Because he speaks Russian, he is able to minister to the burgeoning population of Russian-speaking immigrants in North Philly. In fact, after every Sunday service he leads a bible study in Russian for a group of people in the fellowship hall. He also runs the Orthodox Christian Fellowhip (OCF) for students at Penn (the University of Pennsylvania). This ministry provides, among many other things, rich, discipleship opportunities for some of the most prestigious students in the region. All this to say...it is deeply encouraging to meet men like this and see the work of God literally transforming church communities, and the bodies of people they touch.

Secondly, Fr. Peter's life is deeply intriguing because he started out in his twenties like me or many other of my college friends - deeply engaged in what God was doing on college campuses and yearning to be a part of that somehow after graduation. After attending seminary, he went on staff with Campus Crusade for ten years... However, there was a growing disconnect between what he saw as the phenomenal response to the gospel by college students and a lack of commitment to fellowship in churches after graduation. He resigned from Campus Crusade, and with the company of several others, began researching the life, liturgy, sacraments, history, and worship of the early church to discover what church really means. What they found astounded them - liturgy and sacraments were some of the main cornerstones of the early church. To make a long story short, they had been researching how to do church like the early church, and discovered orthodoxy (even though they didn't it existed already as a church).

I've never seriously considered Orthdoxy (even though the rest of my family is)... Like many things in the Christian life, it must come as an open door - a door I have not traversed yet (although, I am going to the Holy Land in week - where Orthdoxy and all of Christendom began).
However, the lives of these men continue to lead me and encourage me towards deeper interaction with my faith, further dialogue about what church means, and towards greater fellowship with not only my family, but also with people who are truly seeking "the ancient paths" (Jeremiah 6:16).

"This is what the Lord says:
'Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls... "

just a picture

This picture was a taken a little over a year ago at Cape Point, South Africa. Just had to post it so I could use it on my profile. That's all :)

What I've Been Reading...

Besides spending time with family, friends, doing homework assignments, and sleeping, I've also been doing a significant amount of reading.
Last week I started "Light Force." It chronicles the efforts of Brother Andrew (who wrote "God's Smuggler") in his attempts to bring the Gospel of Christ to bear upon the violent conflicts in the Middle East - Lebanon and Palestine specifically. I'm blown away by his patience and moreover by the powerful effects of the Gospel.
Last night I started, "Irresistable Revolution," by Shaine Claiborne. Not that much older than I am, this Eastern University graduate placed one of my best friends from high school in the throes of his radical vision to bring the Gospel of Christ to some of the most materially needy in Philadelphia - the homeless. In his quest to understand what "being a Christian" really means, he spends a summer in Calcutta, India, working with Mother Teresa and the Sisters of Charity. One passage he write hit home significantly in which he comments on John 14:12, "Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father"

"...what had lasting significance were not the miracles themselves but Jesus' love. Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, and a few years later, Lazarus died again. Jesus healed the sick, but they eventually caught some other disease. He fed the thousands, and the next day they were hungry again. But we remember his love. It wasn't that Jesus healed a leper but that he touched a leper, because no one touches lepers. And the incredible thing about that love is that it now lives in us."

The "big" things are not so much what matter, as the love that is manifested with each action. I came to see again that Christ is not so much to be trusted and admired because of His tremendous acts, but because of His love that undergirds all that He does - and the gracious manifestation of that love that we get to experience toward others because the Spirit dwells in us. May we all do "greater things than these" by giving the Spirit greater reign!

Almost There

Approximately 15 days remain until I leave for the Middle East and I couldn't be more excited. Strangely, I feel more excited to leave for this trip than any other before it. However, I can't put my finger on why. It could be because I'm going to "the Holy Lands," or that I'll finally be working in development. Either way, this move stands in great contrast to my leaving for South Africa three years ago for these reasons: I know even less about my job description, less about the culture, and am unaware of what will happen beyond this semester - Yet, thanks be to God, I leave with a tremendous conviction about the certainty of going and an even greater sense of adventure and trust.

Where I'm at now

"The question of where to live and what to do is really insignificant compared to the question of how to keep the eyes of my heart focused on the Lord."

Henri Nouwen, a Catholic priest, penned these words at a moment when his "mission trip" to Bolivia and Peru brought him face to face with questions of his future and unknowns about both himself and where God desired to place him.

Although I am not entirely in that place, I AM in a place of transition - which always makes me think deeply about my values and where I want to go in life. I'm grieving over the lost presence of friends, yet facing forward - both to the month ahead in which i wait, and the next month in which I go to the West Bank.

Here is a picture of an Arab section of Jerusalem:

And here is a closing thought for tonight:

"Jesus learned obedience from what was suffered. This means that the pains and struggles of which Jesus became part made him listen more perfectly to God. In and through his sufferings, he came to know God and could respond to his call...

Suffering accepted and shared in love breaks down our selfish defences and sets us free to accept God's guidance." - Henri Nouwen