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The Right Use of CommunicationWe have an undoubted duty to communicate our beliefs to those with whom we come in contact in our daily lives. The time was when great evangelists stood on soapboxes in parks at weekends and proclaimed the Gospel message. There are more 'comfortable' ways of getting things across nowadays. Presumably you are using one of them right now, in the form of the Internet. According to S.Mark one of the last things Jesus said before He ascended into Heaven was Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). Hence our duty - we owe it to God who gave us the most precious Gift of all to make it known to those who haven't been told or do not realise the important thing which we have going for us. We also owe it to our fellow men, whom Jesus commanded us to love as we love ourselves. The point is how can we best get that message across ? People lead busy lives and their days are consumed with the cares of the world. It is only at certain times that people are receptive to matters spiritual. That is not the way it should be at all. The emphasis really ought to be on seeking the Kingdom of God. Jesus tells us that, if we concentrate on that, all other things will either be added unto us or will pale into insignificance. There is a story that Jesus once visited Mary and Martha. In a passage which we Orthodox read very frequently (Luke 10: 38-42) Martha complains that she is having to cater to the needs of the guests, whilst her sister just sits at Jesus' feet and listens. Jesus, however, points out that listening to Him is the thing which is really needed and that is what Mary has rightly chosen to do. In other words, Martha is pre-occupied with this world, Mary with the next. God, I feel sure, understands that we have a need to earn a living, see to our families and all the rest of it. What He is surely saying is that we have to remember that the needs and duties of this world must ultimately be subordinate to His Kingdom. There are those, of course, who never turn their minds to the things of God. For them it is not part of their psyche to consider the direction of the Universe by a Supreme Being, let alone the fact of a Redeemer having laid down His life to save ours. It is not 'Cool' or 'Streetwise' to think on such things. They are the worldly-wise who think they know everything. In worldly terms, perhaps they do; but then God laughs at 'Wisdom' of the world. Perhaps one of the reasons why our Church sets so much store by Tradition, and why this is so much disliked by liberal and progressive thinkers, is that the way in which the world and the received 'Wisdom' of the world has changed in the past two thousand years is irrelevant to the message of the Gospel. It is as appropriate today as it was then because God does not operate in a zone which progresses over time with people becoming gradually as good as Him because of advances in science and realisation. Yes, there have been advances. We can fly to the Moon and cure more diseases now. We are also better at killing each other, which just goes to show that we are not catching up with God. It is for us to use such improvements as there have been in God's service and enhance our glorification of Him. Which brings us back nicely to the business of right use of communication. We have a message to get across. With things like Christian Radio and TV channels, many people are taking communications possibilities very seriously and exploiting the modern media wisely and well. The days are gone when it was a choice between Songs of Praise and Harry Secombe (although I do miss his voice on Sunday evenings) on British Television - what they use to call 'The God slot'. There is a lot more scope since Satellite TV with its multiplicity of channels came along. Then there is this thing - the Internet. Should we be using it at all ? Paedophiles, criminals and extremists use the Internet, should Christians really get involved ? Well, the soapbox orators we talked about earlier had to put up with constant heckling and, of course, Jesus Himself had to endure nastiness, trick questions and all the rest of it. What is surely important here is that this is a way to catch people when they are at their most receptive. Maybe you got to this web site because you know some of us, maybe you are just interested in the Orthodox Church or perhaps you have come here via another thread and you have finished up reading this piece. Whether you came here deliberately or by accident, the bottom line is we have something to tell you. It is the message of Eternal Salvation, preached by a Church which Christ purchased with His own blood. Elsewhere in our pages you can find out more and even make contact with us, if you so wish. We're not particularly pushy but we would like you to come to one of our services. Our main service is called the Liturgy and we have 'Explorers Liturgies' (without obligation) for those who wish to know more about Orthodoxy. You will find details elsewhere in the site. So are you going to be like Martha and leave this page to go off and worry about worldly things again, or are you going to be like Mary and do what you know you will have to do eventually and seek the Kingdom of God ? John Moore |
