Everything I know
about fire I learned from being an Altar Server. Fire is hot, it can burn you,
and boy it can be a lot of fun!
I am confident I
can talk to any man who has served in the Altar and their most memorable story
will more than likely involve flames. Garbage cans tend to take the brunt of
the flames, though, singed hairs, and holes burnt in sticharions, Altar Cloths,
and the floor are also fairly common findings.
I am not sharing
this information only to frighten the mother of the newest Altar Server in our
Church, although, that may happen.
I am sharing it
because service to Almighty God at His Holy Table is like fire, very serious
work.
Ultimately, service
to Almighty God is very serious, and the alternative will burn you.
The job which every
Altar Server aspires to is the maintenance of the charcoal in the censer.
The censer has a
top and a bottom. The bottom represents the earth, the top with the cross that
looks like a Church reaching into the sky represents the heavens.
The in-between space
is where you and I reside, between heaven and earth, within I pray, the saving
structure of the Holy Church.
This means you and
me are the charcoal. First things first, we need to be lit, an unlit charcoal
is good for nothing. It must first be lit by an outside source.
The outside source
that lights you and me is the Holy Spirit, Who gives life, blesses, illumines,
and inspires us to perform all the good we may do by His Grace.
If the charcoal is
going to survive the Divine Liturgy, or in our case into eternal life; we have
to give everything we are, and all that has been shared with us in service and
devotion to Almighty God.
This is where the
incense comes in for the incense represents our offering, our sacrifice to
Almighty God, and our fellow man through both prayer and material offerings.
There are really
just three types of charcoal, or three types of Orthodox Christians:
1. There is the
charcoal that gets lit and stays hot for a little while but then gets choked
out by a lack of use.
This is the person
who was once on fire for the faith, who lived an active, and serious Christian
life, except now for one reason or another find themselves cold. They are
probably still showing up to Church, and from the outside might look a good
Christian, but, they are really just going through the motions.
2. Then there is
the charcoal that was lit, and then by a lack of attention or a careless priest
goes flying out of the censer burning the carpet, and anything else it may
touch.
This may be the
person who uses their God-given life to fulfil their sinful and pleasure-filled
passions. Or it might also be the person who gets caught up in their career,
their children’s sports activities, or other pursuits, and simply allows their
relationship with God to slowly, or more quickly fall apart.
3. Finally there is
the third type of charcoal. This is the charcoal every Altar Server desires. It
is carefully maintained, the proper amount of incense is regularly offered, and
it stays in the censer until it nothing but dust and ashes.
This is the person
who has offered their whole life to Almighty God, and who has allowed the Holy
Spirit to impact all of their decisions. They are overwhelmed by love for God,
and neighbor and lead their life in service to Him all their days. At the end,
nothing is left, and like the charcoal they return to the dust from whence they
came.
I do not believe I
need to go into detail about which charcoal you ought to aspire to be. But,
know that even if you have already gone a different direction there is time yet
to be re-lit.
“Once an altar
boy,” the late Father Stephen Dutko used to say, “always an altar boy.” It is
the same with the Christian life, once a Christian, always a Christian. “I was
born a Christian,” one holy martyr of our faith cried out when given the option
to escape their tortures and impending death before adding, “and I want to die
a Christian.”
You and I who have
been supplied with the same spark of Christian inspiration by the Holy Spirit
Who enlivens and enriches our lives ought to be inspired all the same to burn
in faith till the bitter end. Stay lit my friends.
My love be with you all in Christ Jesus,
Fr.
Matthew Stagon
Source: http://silouanthompson.net/2018/08/charcoal/
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