Message of Fr. Vazken Movsesian, parish priest of St. Andrew Armenian Church, Cupertino, from the Nakhagoch Newsletter. Electronic version archived on: SAIN-- St. Andrew Information Network -------------------------------------- c. 1991 Fr. Vazken Movsesian Address comments to: dervaz@sain.org -------------------------------------- 1991 A Match to Light Our Worship Meher Sousanian, one of our young altar boys, handed a small box to me. On the box was a hand written tag, "To the Church. Open now!" It was wrapped in Christmas paper, though it was mid-July. There were just a few minutes before we were to enter the Divine Liturgy when he handed it to me. My curiosity, coupled with the message on the box, got to me and I opened the package. It contained 50 books of matches. Meher reminded me that the week before I was looking for matches to light the candles on the altar. We had to look all over for a light. So this young boy, took the initiative to solve the problem. During the week he had shopped and now provided enough matches to last the year. You don't have to be hit by a truck to knowthe reason why I tell this story. I was moved by this eight year old's motivation. This was his church. He saw a need and took care of it. Likewise, you don't need to be struck by lightning to become aware of the tremendous needs of our church. We are involved in a daily struggle which is taxing upon all of us. It is our responsibility to take care of these needs in the manners and means available to us. Meher's actions set my mind to wonder about the concept of giving and our motivations for doing so. If everyone of us gave only 10% of the biblically required 10%Ñ that is only 1%Ñ to the church we would have no mortgage and no financial problems. But we don't. So what is the problem? Very simply put, I have come to the conclusion that our motivation is obstructed by our all too familiar friend: EGO. We are conditioned to think that ego, the self, is so important that satisfying it is our number one priority in life. We even justify our actions by claiming they are right if the self has been gratified. In contrast to our ego-pleasing attitudes, the Armenian Church (as well as most churches) teaches us to worship God. Looking at a world plagued with problems, we sometimes wonder why and how can worship be such a priority. What we fail to understand though, is that we are the only ones who can work and bring about a better world. And how can we accomplish anything for the collective good when we are blocked by ego. By worshipping God, we acknowledge that the self is not primary; that there is more to life than our selfish pursuits. We realize that making a buck, getting ahead and feeling good are not ends in themselves. Someone has said, "You can't love your neighbor unless you first love yourself," to which I add, "You can't love yourself unless you first love God." When we love God first and foremost, we automatically put the ego on hold. We suppress the self and new dimensions are opened to us. We understand that there are higher ideals to strive for in life. Because the self is not cluttering our vision, we begin to realistically look at life and its meaning. Why does the bible say that 10% of your earnings belong to God? Not because God needs the money. No, He does not, but you certainly do! By giving money to the Church you are saying that the hard earned cash, the difficult-to-come-by money you make, has a real purpose. It is not merely for your prosperity. We each have difficulties in our lives, be they problems of family, health or love. Collectively, we have financial problems at our parish. Our first step in solving any of our problems is putting God first. By coming to church and worshipping God, we put God first in our lives. We show (ourselves) that we are dependent on something greater than all the false security the self offers. People who are "turned-off" by religion (or the Church) have never taken this first step. They expect the Church to give them stuff. We can get that "stuff" from the world. It has plenty of it. What we need Ñ the values, the strength to make change, the comfort Ñ cannot be found in this world, but come only from God. Whether we give a match, a check or our selves, we are doing more than helping our church. We are tapping the source of salvation. I ask that you think about your commitment to the Holy Work of the Church. Put your self on hold and take a moment to worship God. All else will follow, for our church, in our community and in your lives. ÑFr. Vazken -------------------------------------- c. 1991 Fr. Vazken Movsesian Address comments to: dervaz@sain.org --------------------------------------