As Preached by Brother Christopher
Holy Wisdom Chapel
Many years ago I remember the time that Archbishop Iakavos, the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese came to visit New Skete. He stayed with us for a weekend and after sharing Divine Liturgy with us on Sunday, he accepted our invitation to speak informally with the Monks, Nuns, Chapel Community and visitors. Sitting at our dining room table during coffee hour, he graciously answered a variety of questions we asked him. I’ll never forget his response to a question about the time he marched with Dr Martin Luther King Jr to the Selma Courthouse in 1965, something that was, at the time, highly controversial. He replied, “Unlike most of you, I was not born in the United States where I could enjoy democracy. I came from Turkey, where I was a 3rd class citizen. So when Martin Luther King had his walk to the Selma courthouse, I decided to join him. It was my way of witnessing against all those who would oppress other people. Some called me a traitor... others said I should be ashamed of what I had done because I had violated the tradition of how a hierarch should behave publicly. I even received death threats. But in my heart, I knew that at that time I had to stand publicly with all those who were oppressed, whose civil rights were being violated.” What a paradox: at that time in 1965 Archbishop Iakavos was the public face of Orthodoxy, on the cover of time magazine with Martin Luther King Jr, a traditional bishop acting in the most “untraditional” of ways.
Tradition is a precious gift that has been passed down to us from the past. Tradition – from the Greek ‘paradosis’ – ‘to hand down’. Each of us understands that the faith has been passed down to us as an act of love. We are accountable for it.
However, there is such a thing as tradition with a big T and tradition with a small T. Tradition with a big T is the Gospel law of love, the commandment of God. This is tradition that is always unyielding, always to be obeyed. But then there is tradition with a small “t”, tradition that is merely custom and human convention, not law and never absolutely binding. It is simply how we’ve always done things. Whether it’s nuns wearing veils, monks wearing klabuks, chanting X amount of stichera at Vespers, or particular fasting practices, so much of our religious practice is built on convention and not on gospel law. That doesn’t make it good or bad. It is simply how things are done in a particular place.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus recognized that people could get hung up on tradition with a small “t” and miss the bigger “T” tradition. And he was absolutely resolute in challenging this whenever he encountered it. This morning’s Gospel is a perfect example of this: Jesus confronts the scribes and Pharisees because they were using small ‘t’ “traditions” for their own selfish ends. And notice how he throws Isaiah back in their faces: This people honors me with lip service, but their hearts are far from me... their reverence of me is worthless.”
The real test of our faithfulness as disciples of Christ is not our conformity to small “t” tradition, but always looking to follow the Gospel of love. Whenever religion gets stuck in small ‘t’ rigidity, we dishonor the core tradition that Jesus passed on to us: Love one another, as I have loved you.”
