Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Terminal Uniqueness and Miracle Needs


At the end of fasting for the Apostles, Fr John Brian talks about the miraculous power given to the Holy Church - the needs for the miraculous and the problem of terminal uniqueness.

This sermon lesson uses the readings and services appointed from the Malankara Syrian lectionary and was given on Sunday, June 27, 2010 by Fr. John Brian Paprock at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Chapel, Madison, Wisconsin.

"Thanks be to God for His incomparable gifts." 2 Corinthians 9:15

PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD: http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xml
LISTEN ONLINE HERE:

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Disciples Joy


Disciples' Joy

During the Fast for the Apostles, Fr John Brian talks about the power given to the seventy disciples and, by extension, to Holy Church. Using Luke Chapter 10, Father John Brian explains the reason Christ gives warning to the rejoicing discples.

This sermon lesson uses the readings and services appointed from the Malankara Syrian lectionary and was given on Sunday, June 20, 2010 by Fr. John Brian Paprock at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Chapel, Madison, Wisconsin.

"Thanks be to God for His incomparable gifts." 2 Corinthians 9:15

PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD: http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or
http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xml
LISTEN ONLINE HERE:

Thursday, June 17, 2010

SURVIVING SUICIDE

By John-Brian Paprock for Capital Newspapers
originally published
Life and Legacy - Capital Newspapers
Sunday, October 26, 2008

The loss of a loved one is a common experience of humanity. That does not make it any easier to live with. Even when death is anticipated, it can cause an emotional rollercoaster. The natural bereavement process can be difficult and long for some. It can be particularly difficult when the death is self-inflicted.

Along with few certainties in this world, death is inevitable. The moment of death is outside of individual control, with two exceptions: murder and suicide. Both are willful actions. Murder is the act of will upon another. Suicide is the act of will upon oneself. This makes suicide one of the most preventable causes of death.

Three groups have the highest rates of suicide: teens, elders and soldiers. Older adults have the highest suicide rate of any age group – more than 50% higher than young people or the nation as a whole, according to recent studies. “Soldier suicides this year could surpass the record rate of last year,” said the ominous prediction of US Army official, Colonel Eddies Stephens, deputy director of human resources policy at a September news conference.

Youth ages 10 to 19 years old had been showing an upward trend of suicide until recently. This past month, the Journal of AMA reported that the rate of teen suicides slowed (declining less than half of a percent), but still with higher numbers than expected.

Suicide is almost always a tragedy, even when cloaked in the difficulties at the end of life. It should be distinguished from allowing the natural course of a terminal condition and dying with dignity, such as when one uses hospice services. Open discussion about death and individual preferences may lead to better living for everyone.

Suicide will impact the lives of families and friends, the “survivors” of suicide, in more profound ways that other deaths. Suicide also has an impact on more casual acquaintances as well. Someone always discovers the suicide. Questions linger. Doubts linger. Religious complications can arise.

More than a more typical loss, it is always a relationship interrupted. Even with a note or other final communication (or lack of one) that vindicates everyone, survivors often blame themselves. Almost no one is prepared to cope with such a loss, especially alone. Specialized debriefing is used for communities and families impacted by suicide. Support groups are among the most helpful for daily coping and long-term reconciliation.

Jeanne Moren, a survivor and support group leader describes the indelible moment between the life before and the life after someone’s suicide. “For me, and for many other survivors, the sudden shock of a suicide becomes the dividing line of our lives,” she says.

It took Moren years to begin the process of coping with both sides of that line. She shares her experiences in her book “The Dividing Line,” a collection articles that appeared the Survivors Of Suicide (S.O.S.) support group newsletter.

“I didn’t realize the value of other survivors’ support until six years after my husband’s suicide when I attended my first meeting,” Jeanne Moren recalls. “The SOS support group became a part of my life. Listening to the experiences of others allowed me to get a perspective on how these losses could be tolerated and managed. It felt like crawling, but I was moving in the right direction.”

The Survivors of Suicide (S.O.S.) support group is open to all family members, friends, and acquaintances of persons who have died by suicide. Adults of all ages, races, occupations, religious affiliations are welcome. Some people attend individually and others attend with their families or friends. There is no fee for participation.

HOPES (Helping Others Prevent and Educate about Suicide) is another local resource. It was founded by three survivors of suicide around a kitchen table that wanted to make a difference for people in Wisconsin. Among HOPES’ resources and activities is a free Survivor Guide (online or by request) that is a collection of information gathered by survivors to help on the journey of grief. “We believe that grief shared is grief diminished.”

HOPES offers support and opportunities for survivors to participate in outreach programs to other survivors, prevention programs for those at risk, and honoring activities of those that have died.

To honor, they sponsor the "Many Faces of Suicide" quilt for Wisconsin. Squares serve as memorials for loved ones lost to suicide. The squares created by survivors demonstrate the profound impact of suicide on those left behind. The quilt is being exhibited both locally and nationwide. HOPES has also started an online Memory Book and an annual Walk for Awareness to honor loved ones.

“How lucky I am to have learned from the stories and experiences of other survivors,” Moren says in her book. “I am fortunate to have been guided and encouraged many times by the love and support of others. How lucky I am to know that it is possible to survive and also thrive.”


HOTLINES
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Wisconsin: 24/7 CRISIS LINE: 608-280-2600


HOPES - Helping Others Prevent and Educate about Suicide

1902 Tarragon Drive, Madison, WI. 53716
608-274-9686 ~ info@hopes-wi.org

www.hopes-wi.org

SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE SERVICES
Mental Health Center of Dane County, Inc.
“Help After Suicide” is an excellent brochure available on request.
625 W. Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53703
608-280-2600

SOS SUPPORT GROUP
www.mhcdc.org/Resources/SOS/sos.html
Support for individuals/families who are grieving the loss of someone who has died by suicide. The group meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Mental Health Center of Dane County, 625 W. Washington Avenue in Madison. Please use the main entrance on West Washington.


THE DIVIDING LINE by Jeanne Moren (Adams)

Copies are available at no charge for survivors and those who care about them.
Requests for copies can be made by emailing: thedividingline@sbcglobal.net

Copies can also be picked up at the Mental Health Center of Dane County, 625 W. Washington Avenue in Madison. Pickup times are limited - 8:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday through Thursday and 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Fridays. Go to 1st floor Main Reception.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

HOLY SPIRIT COMPASS (text)


HOLY SPIRIT COMPASS

This short sermon on the Holy Spirit was delivered extemporaneously on Sunday, June 7, 2009 at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Chapel in Madison, Wisconsin.

There is a process of waiting for the Holy Spirit. We are told some of this in the writings during the period of time when there’s a waiting time in the church’s calendar. But during the post-Pentecost season, and until the time of the apostles themselves, we are told that the Holy Spirit is already with us and that the Holy Spirit has been with us. We know this because the Holy Spirit – and we say it all the time – is the giver of life. And so as we breathe and have life, the Holy Spirit is with us. What is it that we wait for?

Sometimes we get confused. Sometimes we think we know stuff that we don’t. We often think of the Holy Spirit in a way that Pentecostals talk about it because they use this story of Pentecost as the way to show forth the power of the Holy Spirit. They often talk, and mis-talk, about different ways that the Holy Spirit works. The Holy Orthodox Church has always taught the Holy Spirit is a giver of many gifts to us, but we forget that the fundamental process of the Holy Spirit is as the comforter. Comfort comes in many different ways. We say that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. So put those things together and you understand truth is the comforter and truth is the giver of life. Or let’s put it better than that, truth is what life is. If we are not operating in truth, we’re operating against life itself. Part of what truth is and part of what we are gathered to do in Holy Church, in gathering the gifts of the Holy Spirit, is to be open to the fullness of truth. If we’re open to the fullness of truth, language becomes a sharing of the Holy Spirit, that is God speaking the truth.

It doesn’t matter what language is spoken, if you’re speaking the truth it can be understood. If you speak lies, they’re confounding no matter what language you speak. The issue we have to come to is the issue of the truth. So be comforted. If we seek comfort in God, we must be willing and be able to grasp and become part of the truth, to be gathered in the truth. So you gather by the Holy Spirit of truth. Jesus Christ says, “I am the way, the truth,” and you notice also that the Holy Spirit is never separated in the way that we worship, separated from Jesus Christ, nor the Father. We always say, “The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” We never really separate the Holy Spirit from that. And if you’re listening, you can see that because the Holy Spirit is that which proceeds from the Father and he gets his substance from the Son. The Holy Spirit is that of God which is still present with us. So creation happened a long time ago and is sort of an overarching – remember we’re talking about the Holy Trinity and how the Son was a historical life that began and ended, just like ours does. And the Holy Spirit is something that continues to bring us into that overarching, the portion of infinity, the portion of eternal life. So the Holy Spirit is what gives us life, but also gives us eternal life and he does this by comforting us by bringing us to a knowledge of the truth. Not just a knowledge of the truth, but the comfort of the truth. Comfort of the truth is to understand that everything that is truth is part of God.

Now keep this in mind – that means whatever mistake we make when we tell the truth about the mistake, we are with God. But as long as we conceal the truth, we are not with God. Does this make sense? That doesn’t mean that we go and tell everybody every little secret or whatever, that’s not what that means. What that means is that we’re willing to admit the truth when we need to admit it. Let me be clear about that: We’re given a sacrament of confession for this reason, to allow us an opportunity to tell the truth in a sacred and safe place that allows us to be confronted with God’s love in the midst of our truth, to be comforted in the truth. It’s from that place of truth that we begin our journey of reparation of any damage that may have been done by what we did or by fixing that which we are doing wrong, by adjusting our lives. So it’s by the truth that we can make adjustments to our life. And this – I’ve said this before – is like a compass and a map.

The compass works to help give us directions so we can read the map. If you have a map and don’t know which way north is, it doesn’t matter how great that map is. Sometimes you can read other kinds of signs and symbols to give you some idea of north. Sometimes people give you signs and symbols to help you understand the way. In Holy Orthodoxy we’re full of signs and symbols to help us in our journey. But sometimes we have the map and don’t have the compass, so we don’t have the direction. The compass gives us direction by focusing on north, by focusing on which way to read the rest of the map, which way to orient ourselves.

This is what is meant by the comforter of truth, the Spirit of truth and the Spirit that is the comforter. It’s by getting to the truth that we begin to acknowledge what direction God is and then we can take the map that’s in front of us and be able to walk whichever direction we need to go.

In the beginning of Acts, we are told that the people travelled from different locations and places to Jerusalem to honor the fifty days past Passover. They came as pilgrims to be in Jerusalem, to hear the truth – and, in Acts, what they heard was the Holy Spirit speaking the truth to them, to the apostles, in their own language. This is an important aspect of the Holy Spirit speaking through Apostles: God’s not going to speak a language that you’re not going to understand. So if you think God is so far away from you, the Holy Spirit enables you to hear everything regardless of where God is. Let me ask you a question. Where is God? God is everywhere. So where can you hear God? Where can God speak to you? Anywhere and everywhere.

When you’re walking among the signs and symbols, orient yourself to true north so you know which direction to go. As you’re walking, as you’re traveling, as you’re journeying, you can always know what direction you need to go.

You can always know the next proper thing to do. And as the gospel says, you will know the commandments of God because of God’s love and the great commandment is? Love. Love one another. That’s it.

So if you are not sure what direction north is, it will always be clear by the Holy Spirit, by the truth given to us by the life of Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit that’s been passed onto us by the apostles – which, through historic succession, are the bishops and priests that followed. The church through the ages has preserved this for us so that the Holy Spirit can be present with us in reality as breathing-ness, as life itself, as the voice that God uses to speak through preachers and through teachers and through priests and through bishops; that they can bring to us the truth to be our guide and our guardian and our map, to give us the way to go.

But the true direction to orient ourselves always is love. If you feel a little lost, you are not sure what to do next, you can always ask yourself this one question: What is the most loving thing to do? You ask yourself what is the most loving thing to do you can never go wrong. You will always be following the Spirit, you’ll always be following the Spirit of truth, you will always be following the comforting Spirit and the Spirit of all purity and holiness and the Spirit of life because all things proceed from God through that power of love.


The original audio for this sermon an be found here
http://frjohbrian.blogspot.com/2009/06/holy-spirit-compass.html

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Apostle Power and the Church


Apostle Power and the Church

During the Fast for the Apostles, Fr John Brian talks about the power given to the Apostles and, by extension, to Holy Church. Using the reading from Matthew Chapter 10 (that reflects readings from Luke and Mark), Father explains the priorities of Holy Church as direction given to the Apostles.

This sermon lesson uses the readings and services appointed from the Malankara Syrian lectionary and was given on Sunday, June 6, 2010 by Fr. John Brian Paprock at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Mission Chapel, Madison, Wisconsin.

"Thanks be to God for His incomparable gifts." 2 Corinthians 9:15

PODCAST OR DOWNLOAD: http://feeds.feedburner.com/frjohnbrian or http://frjohnbrian.hipcast.com/rss/spiritual_reflections_or_fr_john_brian.xml
LISTEN ONLINE HERE: