I awoke this morning to the smell of incense, not bacon. It filtered into my room like a sweet prayer. I am staying at the Antiochian Conference and Retreat Center in Bolivar (or Fairfield or Ligonier - depending on who you ask) in Western Pennsylvania. I arrived Wednesday afternoon and settled into my basic but comfortable room with a gorgeous view of the hills and the warmth of hospitality that makes one feel instantly at home. A small staff sees to the enormity of the operation that includes everything one would expect in a large Conference Center as well as a well appointed book store and a theological library that left me a little weak in the knees. And then I saw the chapel - it took my breath away. The iconography is stunning and the setting is peaceful. It is a perfect place for writing, rest and renewal. I will come here again.
It was my first time worshipping with Antiochian Orthodox Christians, and because there was a doctoral program in residence for the week, the priests and deacons in the program led chapel morning and evening (Orthros and Vespers). As Antiochians trace their origins to the original church of Antioch (“the ancient faith”), their chant has a distinctive Middle Eastern flavor (very different from the Russian Orthodox chant of which I am better acquainted even though many of the texts are the same). It has a haunting and ethereal quality to it, made even more poignant when one contemplates the reality in Syria and Lebanon. They are a people who have known great suffering. And yet they sing to God.
My theological orientation is not orthodox - or else I would not be a Protestant minister. But I have a great resonance for the symbolism, liturgy and their ability to respect the “greater-than-ness” of God. The God they worship does not fit comfortably within anyone’s hip pocket. This God is mysterious, wild, and “more than” - a cosmic God enthroned in the universe. Each time I worship with them or pray in their chapel I am reminded of my place in the universe - it is humbling but a very good corrective. They remind me that I am a beloved child of God created in the very image of God - but I am not God. And it is not my place to assume God’s role - I can let God be God and just be about the business of being the most authentic me I can be.
Candles and incense - images of the prayers we offer to God and symbols of how we are meant to live in the world. We are called to be living candles and incense - offering life and hope as we serve in love and fill the world with sweet justice and hope.
And that definitely smells better than bacon!
