TODAY'S CHURCH

CYBER LENT? VIRTUAL SACRAMENTS?

by Father John Dresko

Item: While returning from a journalists' conference in Greece, I got into a long conversation with a nice lady from Queens, NY. It turned out she was returning from a visit with her elderly mother in a small village in the north of Greece. I expressed surprise in learning that 98% of the people in Greece are baptized Orthodox Christians, but only 2% goes to church services regularly. Archbishop Christodulos, Primate of the Church of Greece, is an immensely popular figure, but it does not translate to increased church participation. I told her that, from what I saw, the majority of those who were going to church seemed to be elderly. They were also the ones who passed on the traditions of the culture and faith in a society that is increasingly Western (that is, secular). She agreed with me to some extent, but also said that her own mother, whom she described as "very religious," rarely went to church services anymore. When I asked why, she said that Greece, being an Orthodox country, now televises many feastday services, sermons and every Sunday liturgy. So her mother gets up, makes a cup of coffee, and watches liturgy!

Item: Late last year, it was widely publicized that a site had been set up by a Roman Catholic priest that would enable people from throughout the world to check in by computer and go to confession, receiving any counseling that they might wish to have over the 'net. The rational behind this was that people would be more apt to come to the sacraments if they were able to use the easy access by computer to an anonymous priest to confess their sins.

Item: Time (January 31, 2000) reports that there is a 26-year-old Dallas resident (formerly known as Mitch Maddox), who has legally changed his name to DotComGuy to call attention to his mission of spending an entire year ordering everything he needs to live over the Internet. He does not plan to leave his house and claims that this will prove that e-commerce is here and that it is good. He is continually monitored by 16 cameras webcasting his daily life. He also will stand to make $90,000 this year from advertising on his website as he lives out his mission. Imagine - a whole year incarcerated, unable to leave or to have human interaction uninhibited by 1s and 0s. Time claims that he "continues to live happily inside his cyberden."

I must admit - there is certain human interaction that I try to avoid like the plague. I was thrilled when my wife started giving me a Christmas gift list that could be filled over the Internet. This past year, I got every single gift that I gave to my wife and the gifts she asked me to get for others on our list, with a credit card and my trusty little Macintosh. I cannot remember the last time I set foot in a mall.

But this begs a question: can a Christian be a Christian without other people? The Lord Jesus Christ gave the Church as the source of our salvation. He did not give us "theology," "canons," or even "liturgy." He gave us the Church - a community of believers. To be sure, theology, canons and liturgy help define and outline the Church - but the Church is people. Fr. Thomas Hopko, Dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary, is fond of quoting the Russian philosopher/theologian Khomiakov, who teaches that the only thing one can do by oneself is "go to hell." Everything else - including salvation - needs the other.

The fundamental action that takes place in the Christian life in the Church is that of Communion. Our participation in the Body and Blood of Christ is the act of becoming one with the Lord - He enters into us and becomes what we are so that we may become what He is. But we also receive Him from a common loaf and a common cup. We not only become one with the Lord, we become one with each other. In our communion, we become a community.

The Church, in the journey to Great Lent, reminds us of this need for the other. In all the preparatory gospel readings, we move closer and closer to the Fast by reflecting on various aspects of our spiritual life. The common denominator, as we prepare for the journey, is how our movement is always measured by moving away from our "self" and moving towards the "other."

In the gospel reading for Zacchaeus Sunday (Lk. 19:1-10), we see how a tax collector who was "short of stature" nonetheless overcame this obstacle to encounter the Lord. Christ, who came to dine at the tax collector's home, blessed the desire of Zacchaeus. But the "shortness" was not the height of the man, but the height of his spirit. The tree Zacchaeus climbed was a symbol of how far he moved from his own selfish desires to think of others. He gives "half of his living" to the poor. If he defrauded anyone, he "restores it fourfold." Only by moving away from our own selfish desires and living for others can we even begin to make the journey to repentance.

In the lesson for the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee (Lk. 18:10-14), we see a perverted attempt to look outside oneself in the Pharisee's prayer thanking God that he "is not like this Publican." But the Publican has truly seen the "other" and cannot defend himself before God, simply bowing his head and begging God's forgiveness.
The Prodigal Son (Lk. 15:11-32) is not able to see God in the "other" until he is able to see himself. After squandering his inheritance and ending up in a pigsty, he finally is able to see himself and what he has left and betrayed. His return to the father is his salvation, and the cause for joy. Except for his brother - who cannot rejoice in the prodigal's return. Despite the sin of the prodigal, it is his brother at the end of the story who cannot see the "other" and is lost.

The very definition of the "other" is given to us in the Parable of the Last Judgment (Mt. 25:31-36). The "other" is Christ and is seen not only in other people, but in "the least" of the others - the hungry, the naked, the sick, the thirsty, the hungry, the imprisoned. These are Christ. And our response to these is the salvation of our souls. If we do not love and care for the least of our brethren, we have not loved nor cared for Christ.

Finally, at the very moment we enter into Great Lent, we hear about and are called to forgiveness (Mt. 6:14-21). The ability to ask another for forgiveness is the ultimate self-denial, because we always can find justification for our hard hearts, for grudges, for simple indifference. When we enter into the fast, we are taught by the Church that true fasting begins with true peace and reconciliation. St. John Chrysostom asked his flock, "Why do you fast from meat and fowl and devour each other?"

So, to return to our question, "Can a Christian be a Christian without other people?" The answer of course, is no. There is no "cyberden," we do not celebrate "virtual sacraments," and we are not called to an "e-church." Thanks be to God, He has given us a community of believers, and it is only in the measure that we belong to each other that we find the measurement of our belonging to Christ. Great Lent is the effort to return to each other only to find Christ.