When the Homily is about Immunology

Now, where was I...

Oh yes, ramblings about Holy Thursday...though now - liturgically speaking - it is Holy Friday (I just got back from crucifying God). Well to begin: Wednesday night was a particularly sleepness night for a couple of the youngens and thus by default for said youngens parents. It is a fascinating thing - in hindsight of course - how sometimes a child can think that waking at 3 or 4 am has afforded them all the sleep they need.

With that apology (in the classical sense) offered I can now make mention of how I was looking out the front window of my house at 7am with coffee securely in hand instead of being at church for Matins. I was simply watching the weather, the birds, and the local stray cat doing his business in my front lawn when I began to see that grand spectacle of my neighbors starting their litrugical-like commute to work...strange...I think: why the heck am I home? I'm not going fishing! I'm not sick! I'm not going on some cool vacation somewhere! I feel for a moment that I am experiencing a holi(y)day which no one else in the world seems to know about. Of course, not everyone can take time off from work during Holy Week, but to the Orthodox it is not at all an odd thing requiring an explanation. However, I have faced many a dumb, yet polite, stare from people who ask me what I am planning to do for my vacation and I say: Go to Church, be with my family, and contemplate my own mortality in light of God's Passion. (Okay, so these were not my exact words...but anything other than "go to vegas" or "hawaii" is seen as wierd....taking time off for a religious thing is no doubt branding me in their minds as someone who'll drink the deadly spiked cool-aid in the near future.)

Of course, no day is sacred enough to close down grocery stores now, but at least on Christmas day I can say with complete understanding from the employee, whom I am sardonically giving a reason to be at work, that it sucks for them to be at work. I feel like I should be able to do that as I visit the local store. Speaking of shopping, my wife did some grocery shopping yesterday (Tuesday) and asked me to unload her quarry from the truck when she triumphantly arrived home. Opening the truck to a grand scene, I was reminded of a great line from the movie version of "The Fellowship of the Ring" : "Looks like Meat's back on the menu boys!" I shout the words loud and clear and my neighbors are no doubt further convinced that I am insane.

Holy Week...no visions of the uncreated light yet...no grand revelations about the nature of God or His plan for our salvation...just living life in the context of the Church and her traditions, while trying to work out my salvation and perhaps helping a bit to do the same for my family. It is a grand thing...and yet it is an ordinary thing and I am ever thankful that I am where I am today.

Tomorrow we will bury God and I will say abit more about how we killed Him tonight.