Fr. Peter-Michael Preble

Pulpit Freedom Sunday is a Gimmick says Fr. Preble

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Fr. Peter-Michael Preble posted the following essay on his blog a few days ago about preachers and politics. He lays out some important points. I’ve got my own ideas, but what do you think?

Sunday, October 7^th, was a time when preachers from coast to coast took to their pulpits to try and pull the IRS into a court battle.

In 1954, then Senator Lyndon Johnson pushed a bill through the United States Senate forbidding churches to endorse candidates for public office. On this Pulpit Freedom Sunday, some 1,586 pastors defied this law by endorsing candidates for office in this political cycle. I would be interested to see how many of those who participated endorsed President Obama and how many endorsed Governor Romney.

I am not one for faulting anyone who preaches but to use the pulpit for political reasons is irresponsible. Those of us who have been called, by God, to preach his word are called to rise above these worldly pursuits. We are called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not the Gospel of the Republican Party or the Democrat Party.

As I understand it, they object to the Johnson Amendment that limits their free speech on political matters, and I suppose if you wish you preach politics then renounce your tax exempt status and then have at it. No one is forcing you to claim tax exempt status, but if you are going to claim it, then it comes with some restrictions, and this is the only one.

Preaching and teaching is a sacred responsibility, and preachers should use that time to teach people how to live their lives as Christ calls us to live. The Gospel is supposed to transcend this world and transform the lives of people. For far too long the Gospel has been used, by people in both political parties, for political reasons and that needs to stop.

I find it interesting that, in the entirety of the Gospel, Jesus never directly spoke to the civil government of his day. He never scolded them, in fact, he told us to support the government, and as Orthodoxy we are called to pray for the government. The message is the Gospel is not about this world but about the next. The message of the Gospel is to prepare us, as individuals, and they keep us on the path towards Theosis. The intent of the Gospel was not to make our earthly life better, but to prepare us for heaven.

The Gospel touches on all aspects of life and for some that may seem partisan. When I teach about Jesus’ requirement for us to care for the poor, or I speak about the Church’s position on life that is not political that is the teaching of the Church. I have said before, you cannot legislate morality you have to teach it and model it. If we spend less time in the halls of Congress and the courtroom and more time teaching the people God has called us to lead, then the people that we lead and teach will become better citizens.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ requires us to be active in the public square and to make our voice heard, and there are many ways for us to do that. We are to transform society by the way we act and the way we live. We preach the Gospel by the way we treat other people and by showing the love of Christ in every situation regardless of the political affiliation.

Pulpit Freedom Sunday is a gimmick, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not need gimmicks. What the Gospel of Jesus Christ needs is for it to authentically preached, it needs to be authentically taught in clear, straight terms to the people of God.

Jesus was not a political figure. Jesus came to rescue us from our sins and to show us how to live our lives. He did not use gimmicks, unless you call healing the sick and raising people from the dead gimmicks, to get his point across. Jesus rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

I have roughly 52 chances to teach the people that God has given me to care for about the love of Jesus and the way the He wants us to live our lives, to spend one of those chances on a political stunt seems like a waste of an opportunity to me. Our roles as pastors are more important than making a political statement. Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the rest will take care of itself.

The role of the Church in society is to being hope and to be the moral compass for the people. We need to show people the way and to bring them hope. I do not see how calling for the election of one candidate over the other does this. Neither candidate will save your soul. The government of the United States will not save your soul, only the Lord God can do that. Preach that, give hope, and show people the way towards salvation. Leave the politics to the politicians.

Fr. Peter-Michael Preble: Sunday of Orthodoxy Calls us to Emulate the Courage of our Fathers in the Faith

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Fr. Peter-Michael Preble tells us just as our Orthodox Fathers fought to preserve the sacred images (because they knew that destroying the icons of Christ would lead to a denial of the Incarnation in the end), we are called to defend the icons of “flesh and blood” — the human person. It’s a strong sermon but entirely fitting for our times.

Source: Fr. Peter-Michael Preble Blog

To the glory of God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

Today we commemorate the restoration of the Icons that took place at the 7th Ecumenical Council in 787. Prior to this Council Icons had been declared Idols and therefore were not allowed to be used or created. Many of the images from those early days had been destroyed, although some were saved by hiding them in various places. Today, on this first Sunday of the Great Lent, we remember that day and reaffirm our belief is what is Orthodox. At the close of the Liturgy we will recite the Synodal Affirmation of Faith, which is found in the bulletin. Tonight we will gather with Orthodox Christians from all over Worcester County to celebrate this feast day.

As Orthodox we know that we do not worship the wood and the paint of the Icon for if we did that would indeed be an Idol and would have no place in our worship. Saint Basil the Great said, “The honor shown to the image passes to its prototype.” By honoring the image portrayed in the Icon we show honor to the prototype or who it is in the image. We Orthodox surround ourselves with Icons. At St. Mary’s Albanian Orthodox Church in Worcester there is not one flat surface in the church that does not have an Icon on it. Our temple here is adorned with Icons that assist us in our worship, and by venerating the paint and wood we are indeed venerating the very face of God.

Imagine a point in time in history when Icons were illegal. Imagine a point in time in history when all of the Icons you see here in our Church would have been confiscated or in some way desecrated. That point was prior to the 7th Ecumenical Council. But the controversy goes much deeper than that. The controversy surrounded the very nature of Christ. Was Christ truly human and truly divine? Was He human and divine from the very beginning or did this combination happen at another point in time in history?

History tells us that the Emperor Leo the 3rd declared that Icons were graven images and therefore should be outlawed. The government was telling the church how it was to worship! It was not until the Empress Irene in 780 came along that Icons were restored. Then it started up again between 815 and 843 until Empress Theodora ended this nonsense for good. I find it amazing that it took to women to smack some sense into people!

But what about veneration of other Icons or images? What about the veneration of the image that is found in humanity? We are so quick to defend the images displayed here made of wood and paint but we are not so quick to defend the Icons made of flesh and blood. You see each created person, each human man and woman is a living Icon created in the image and likeness of the creator. Every human being, Christian or not, is that living Icon, the image of the prototype and when we venerate them we honor the very creator.

We live in a society that does not place a very high value on human life at any point along the spectrum of that life. We have more laws governing the treatment of animals then we do the treatment of people. Poverty, hunger, torture, war, unemployment, abortion, euthanasia, discrimination all of these show dishonor to the image and therefore show dishonor to God.

Our Orthodox Church, from the very beginning of its history, is pro-life. We may disagree when life begins, be it at conception or attachment, but we hold that all life is sacred from its very beginning to it natural end. This is not a theology that we came upon lightly; we came upon this theology due to the fact that the very image of the creator is contained in its creation from the start.

Although our church has been, and please God, always will be, some people in our church feel that it is okay to honor politicians who hold contrary positions to that of the Church. Some of our Orthodoxy organizations give seats of honor to these, so called, Orthodox politicians who have the highest rating by the pro-choice advocates in our country. It is not easy to get the 100% rating from NARAL but we have Orthodox Congressmen and Women who have obtained that very rating and they are proud of it! The sad part is some in the church remain silent when these, so called, Orthodox Christians vote the way they so. Priests will commune them, knowing they are in a state of grave sin, bishops will have their photos taken with their arms around them and Organizations like the IOCC will honor them all because it will bring in money! We have sold our faith for 30 pieces of silver and we show dishonor to the very image of God!

Friends we live in desperate times. We live in times where people only care about what they want, and want it on their terms. Oh they will call themselves Orthodox but it has to be on terms that they decide. We live in a society where life is worth nothing, where pepper spraying someone in Wal Mart for a pair of sneakers seems to be the sport of the day. Where we care more for the latest gadget then we do for fasting and praying. Where our job has become our religion and Sunday has become just another day of the week to do whatever we want to do. We fill our bodies with man manipulated food and we are killing ourselves, and by all of these things we are showing dishonor to the creator, we are showing dishonor to God. We might as well take all of these Icons in this church outside and smash them on the ground!

Friends it is time for to wake up. It is time for us to take the blinders off. Recently I spoke about some changes the Government was trying to force down our throats. One of the best things to come out of this was how it united not only Christians but all people of faith to fight for what is right. For a short period of time, over this one issue, we were united and we were able to push back, not far enough, but we were able to push back. Our bishops, very reluctantly, joined in on this fight. They had to be publicly embarrassed in order for them to take a stand for what is right. I find this completely incomprehensible that the bishops of our church would stay silent while the church was coming under attack.

I have spoken a lot about one of our former priests here at St. Michael Fr. Vasilachi. Many of you sitting here today knew him and knew what he went through in Romania. Fr. Vasilachi, and many more like him, were thrown into prison for speaking up for those who had no voice. He spoke against the government of his day because of what was being done to the people and for that he spent 18 years in prison and was forced to leave his home. He watched his brother die in prison for speaking the truth about what was going on. The new Saint Andrei Saguna, who our Ladies Society here at St. Michael is named after, was a revolutionary and stood up against the government of his day, he is now honored in Romania as a saint and as one of her greatest heroes, and there are thousands more that we will never know. They stood up for what is right and we must do the same thing!

I say all of this to remind us that when we remain silent, when we give in on a position of our faith even a little, when we say it is okay when Orthodox politicians disgrace the faith with their votes, when we say it will never happen to us, we do all of those who gave their life for the faith a disservice, we dishonor their memory and dishonor all that they fought for. It is time for all of us to wake up!

Great Lent is a time for us to take stock of our lives. I will be honest and say that when I see the destruction this past week it makes me stop and think about the things that are important. I know these things are not due to God’s wrath, but it does make me stop and think about what we are doing and where we are headed. Is this some kind of a sign? Is this a reminder from God?

When you come forward at the end of Liturgy today and venerate these Icons, when you venerate you’re Icons at home, think about how you show veneration to the Icons of flesh and blood. Do you show more veneration to these man made Icons then you do for the God made ones? Something needs to change!

We venerate Your most pure image, O Good One, and ask forgiveness of our transgressions, O Christ God. Of Your own will You were pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh to deliver Your creatures from bondage to the enemy. Therefore with thanksgiving we cry aloud to You: You have filled all with joy, O our Savior, by coming to save the world. (Troparion of the Sunday of Orthodoxy)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Why is the Orthodox Episcopal Assembly Silent as Religious Liberty Erodes?

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Source: Fr. Peter-Michael Preble Blog (The Church Under Attack) | Fr. Peter-Michael Preble

– In the Gospels Jesus warns us that the world will hate us. He is giving us a warning that being a Christian will not be easy and that it will be a fight, every day, for what we believe in. The world is becoming increasingly hostile to the truth of Jesus Christ and I do not see it getting any better.

Yesterday I posted an essay on the Huffington Post Religion Page and before my finger was even off the send button the attackers came out. They hate the fact that the church would dare speak out on issues that affect people and their beliefs, one of the more shocking things was that some of those attacking my words were Orthodox! Yes, the Orthodox Church teaches and preaches traditional family values, well it is supposed to anyway, but I fear that many of my brother priests have not done their job. I know our bishops have not done their job as they have been silent these last few years as the Government of the United States slowly erodes our religious liberty. But it is not their fault.

We need to provide the strength and support to our bishops so they will know that we want them to speak out. We need to let them know that we support the mission of the Church to being the truth to society and we need them to know that we need them to find their voice and find it now! I serve on a committee with the newly formed Episcopal Assembly of Orthodox Bishops. The Committee for Church and Society is tasked with the following:

The Committee for Church and Society will develop a process to determine both the propriety and the priority of advocacy by the Assembly of issues concerning Church, government and society that are relevant to the lives of the faithful in the Region (e.g., same-sex marriage, abortion, war, etc.).

I was appointed more than a year ago, although I found out I was appointed by reading it on the website of the Assembly, but the Committee has yet to meet or begin the work that we are supposed to accomplish!

The bishops of our church are the authentic teachers of the faith. It is their role as Arch-Pastors of His Church to educate the people in the faith and what the Church teaches. This is an important role but I feel many times they say only what the people want to hear. Jesus did not tell the people what they wanted to hear He told them what they needed to hear and most of them did not like it but that did not stop him. He was not concerned with what people would think or whether or not they would put anything in the collection bin, he was concerned with the salvation of their souls, period!

Friends I find it unbelievable when I hear Orthodox people, people who have been Orthodox their entire life, say things like same sex marriage should be allowed in the Orthodox Church. People who believe that sex before the sacrament of marriage is just fine because everyone is doing it, and a growing number of people who believe that unrestricted abortion is an acceptable form of contraception regardless of the reason. I am sorry to say these are not Orthodox positions!

Being a Christian in the 21st Century is not easy and being an Orthodox Christian is even harder. We are a Church with some pretty counter cultural beliefs that we hold dear. We are a Church that still placed requirements on her members and hold them accountable for their actions. We are a church that is supposed to preach the truth regardless of whether or not is it politically correct. We are a Church that preaches confession and repentance and that we are all sinners and that the Church is the hospital for healing not just a place to come to hear your native language and eat foods from the home land.

It is time for the Orthodox Church to wake up and start preaching what we need to preach! It is time for us to wake up and, with love, correct people when they go astray. “We have found the true faith” and that faith needs to be preached as it has been handed down to us and watered down. And it is high time that the Orthodox Bishops in this country find their voice and start to speak. If the leadership is not willing to speak then individual bishops need to do it. Your Eminences and Your Graces we need to hear you, your people need to hear from you, we long to hear your voice and we need your teaching!

Religious Freedom Under Attack

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Three cheers to Fr. Peter Michael-Preble and Chris Banescu, the first Orthodox Christians to criticize Pres. Obama’s arbitrary ruling forcing all Americans to comply with the anti-life agenda of the cultural left. The Catholics have been front and center on this threat to religious freedom. Orthodox leaders have been silent except for Fr. Preble and Banescu who recognize the dangers inherent in the policy change.

Source: Huffington Post | Fr. Peter-Michael Prebble

America has a very long tradition of freedom. We cherish these freedoms like, the freedom of speech, freedom of religion and until recently, freedom of choice. I will admit right up front that I voted for President Obama because, like many, I believed we needed change. Well I now feel I was duped and his brand of change is not what America needs at all.

As an Orthodox priest and an American I believe in traditional family values like marriage, family, saving one’s self for that person we plan to spend the rest of our life with — in other words I believe in Christian values as proscribed not only by my Church’s tradition but by Holy Scripture itself.

On Jan. 20th it was announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the religious exemption on certain parts of the health care plan would not continue and now religious organizations, like the church, would have to supply health insurance that provides coverage for contraception and abortion. The Roman Catholic Church has been carrying most of the water on this fight and as usual our Orthodox Bishops are silent on this. We have an opportunity here to make our voice heard but we are more concerned with territory and language than we are with issues that affect real people! It is time for our bishops to wake up and speak out. Our people are confused and need to hear their voices loud and clear.

Called the “contraception mandate” it requires private insurance to provide access, at no out-of-pocket expense, to contraceptive drugs such as RU 486. Under this plan, people with heart disease, cancer, diabetes or other health issues will continue to pay or co-pay for their prescription drugs, but people who wish to purchase contraceptive drugs will have no out-of-pocket expense.

I have no issue with the choices you make, you make those choices and you have to deal with consequences but this plan will in effect force me to pay for behavior that my religion calls unacceptable. There has always been an exemption for religious organizations for issues such as these. Prior to this ruling for example the insurance that the Roman Catholic Church offered to her employees did not have to cover abortion or contraception — now that will not be the case. The government of the United States is forcing us to violate our conscience and that is unacceptable. The Obama administration’s witch hunt against religion needs to stop!

I am a firm believer that in a country as wealthy as ours, something needs to be done about the out of control cost of health care. To live in a country that develops a majority of the procedures and medications that save lives but at the same time are out of reach of a majority of American is unconscionable. But I am not willing to trade my religious freedom either. There is no Constitutional right to health care but there is a Constitutional right to the free exercise of religion.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, President of the United States Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops, said at a recent press conference held on this topic, “Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience.” He continued, “This shouldn’t happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights.”

Roman Catholics are not the only ones speaking out on this issue. In December the National Association of Evangelicals sent a letter to President Obama expressing their dissatisfaction with this mandate; “the Federal government is obligated by the First Amendment to accommodate the religious convictions of faith-based organizations of all kinds.”

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Notice that the 1st Amendment starts with the freedom of religion. The framers of the Constitution placed this first even before freedom of speech, press, or assembly of the people! Religion was protected first, until the Obama Administration decided to throw it out the window and attack.

This is a direct attack on religious freedom in American and the start of a slippery slope to more regulations attacking the faith of Americans. In recent years it has become totally acceptable to attack religion and if we, the religious people in America, do not stand up and make our voice heard, including the Orthodox Bishops in America, we will see our rights eroded away. This is only the start of a change in America that I cannot accept.