Halloween

This whole Halloween thing really bothers me.  Throughout time, as the gospel has spread to different lands and cultures, the church will step in and take over the holidays of the surrounding pagan culture. This is true of Christmas and Easter.  But for some reason, this was not done with Halloween.
Argue all you want, Halloween is all about death and evil.  You look at the decorations, the costumes and the celebration.  The message is clear.
Unfortunately, some Protestant organizations have tried to supply alternatives to Halloween but have failed miserably.  They call them "Harvest Festivals" and then go on to give out candy, dress up and have fun houses.  This is not even remotely close to what the church has historically done.  The modern day efforts are merely Halloween in a different dress. A pathetic moralization of a pagan holiday.
Something different needs to be done or we need to drop the whole thing all together.  I would suggest something that actually celebrates life and beauty.  Incidentally, October 31 is the name day for Saints Cosmas and Damien, two unmercenary saints.  Our celebration then could be centered on honoring them and their self sacrificial work of helping and healing others.  We really need to put some thought into this.
Taking dominion of the world should be a comprehensive effort.

The first of sinners

I think an explanation is in order.  In a prayer just before we partake of the Eucharist in the Divine Liturgy, we label ourselves "the chief of sinners".  Some jurisdictions use the phrase, "the first of sinners".  This phase always came across to me as somewhat odd and possibly a statement of false humility.  I am far from being an exceptionally godly person, but at the same time there are others far more wicked than I. 
But it finally occurred to me that I misunderstood the point of that phrase.  Instead of identifying depth or breadth of sin, we are instead being called to see our own sins first, we are the "first" of sinners. 
One of the huge things I have learned since coming into the Orthodox church is that of being non judgmental.  As a former Calvinist, one of the things that we taught, albeit subconsciously, is to identify, label and attack others for THEIR sins. The problem with this is that it is really easy to see other people's sins and condemn them for them, as foolish and ridiculous.  Of course it's easy to do so, these are not the sins with which we struggle.
The Orthodox faith, on the other hand, calls us to look at own own sins and weaknesses first, address them, deal with them and conquer them, then we can move on to help others.
We need to see our own sins first.  It is when we have conquered them that we will have the wisdom and humility to help others conquer their own sins, if they want help.
The overall point here?  We have plenty of sins of our own.  We need to identify and deal with them first.  And this will take far longer than we can imagine.

Football?

While I am typically not one to every speak of football, a funny illustration came to mind, pointing out the irony of American culture. 
From my understanding, if a city wants to form a football team and join the NFL, a huge amount of paperwork and money is needed to do so.  One does not simply hire a handful large men in tight pants and pads and call it NFL.
If this is true, how sad is it that if any Tom, Dick or Harry wants to call themselves Reverend and start a church, in America, they are totally free to do so. 
I guess that shows what our culture believes to be more important.

No longer physical

It has been my understanding that under the Old Covenant, because death had power over men, God used the realm of the physical to give out blessings or curses.  For example, under the Mosaic Covenant, one was blessed for obedience with long life, many children, freedom and peace in one's own homeland and health.  Good used these things because that was the only realm in which man functioned.  For man, under the power of death, going to the grave meant separation from God.  There was no heaven to look forward to.
But now, and ever since Jesus Christ defeated death and took away its power, we no longer are confined to the mediocre realm of physical blessing.  Jesus' work freed us from the power of death, providing the means for us to live in obedience and look forward to eternal life in the immediate presence of God.
This does not, even in the least suggest that we earn eternal life.  Jesus already earned that.  We, in response to Jesus' work are to strive to love God and love neighbor, however that manifests itself in each individual life.
The contrast is an important one.  Under the Old Covenant, there was only physical blessing or physical curse.  Death meant separation from God.  Now, under the New Covenant, we should not be limiting our thoughts to the physical.  No longer is it the case that long life and many children are blessings for obedience, just as much as a short life and barrenness are no longer curses for disobedience.  Since death has been defeated, our focus is on preparing for eternity by sanctification, loving God and loving neighbor. 
When we under go some sort of hardship, we should look upon it as a means to aid our sanctification.  When we receive some sort of temporal blessing, we should see it as a test of our faith.  What will we do with our lives when things are easy? 
Applying this framework to our lives puts a radical spin on how we think and live, at least it ought to.  Try a thought experiment:  think through all the possible avenues in your live to which this could apply.  What would your life look like?

A wasted life of regret

How do we go about communicating to someone that if they continue on the path they are on, they will end in some form, at worst, of destruction, or at best, regret for lost and wasted time?  Distractions, amusements, alternate realities, self centeredness, and play are, or can be, the things that we spend much time upon, but accomplish nothing.  And by "accomplish nothing", I mean nothing of eternal or even temporal value.  Distracting ourselves into oblivion.  At the end of any period of time, what will be the answer when we ask, "What do I now have that I didn't have before I started this?"