That child-like joy and innocence that we experienced during the Feast of Christmas…the tears of happiness that we saw in the eyes of those in the nursing home when we sang on Christmas Morning…that special feeling that somehow makes Christmas Day stand out from all of the rest:  Take it all, bottle it up like Holy Water, and sprinkle it throughout the next 365 days.  All of that joy, all of those smiles, and the glorious reality that is the coming of Christ cannot cease in our hearts once the Christmas Tree has been taken down.

All of this movement is evidence to the fact that our Worship of God is not something that is passive…we don’t come to be an audience waiting to be entertained, informed, or amused.  We rather come to be active participants in a Divine Dance!

In an Orthodox Funeral for a departed loved one, there is a very pointed and direct verse that is said by the priest, that always sticks with me, even after I move on to the next few verses:

Let us go forth and gaze into the graves, for man is naked bones, food for the worms, and stench. Only thenwill we learn of what are true riches, and comeliness, beauty, and strength!

Why does that verse hit so hard those who hear it?  Because it is a pure does of truth that so many in the world, especially living in our material driven society, do not want to admit: The desire to gain money, power, and wealth, those things which the world holds so dear, are meaningless to the existence of mankind.  

“Thoughts are like airplanes flying in the air.  If you ignore them, there is no problem.  But if you pay attention to them, you create an airport inside your head and permit them to land!”

There was a report in the associated press this past week that found that 70% of Americans are experiencing tremendous anxiety and stress over the presidential election, and who can blame them?  Every time you turn on the radio, or flick on the tv, or want to listen to your favorite Orthodox hymns on Youtube, you are nailed with a 10 second clip of how President Trump is Hitler reincarnated and wants to publicly execute those who are disloyal to him…or how Vice President Harris is going to allow Haitian Migrants to come your back door and shoot your dog “fluffy” (with the guns she wants to outlaw) so they can have a BBQ on your back lawn (which by the way they are now entitled to because they are squatters.)