Proclamations have been a part of history from the time man began to communicate. Catch phrases such as, In God We Trust, or The pen is mightier than the sword, have captured the imagination of mankind so much so that they are often repeated and have endured the ravages of time. This year marks another presidential election year. Recalling wonderful proclamations as promoted by past presidents still bring a chill to my spine. Many of these words which still ring true have been etched into our memories and evoke a sentimental pining for a less complicated, albeit, tumultuous way of life. We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, is the most remembered phrase our of American Declaration of Independence, as witnessed to by our founding Fathers and penned by future President Thomas Jefferson. Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, are the moving and memorable, opening words of President Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address offered November 1863 to an American Nation embroiled in a bitter Civil War. Just as famous is his closing line, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. There are the words of a distraught and dismayed President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who faced the joint bodies of Congress and stated, Yesterday, December 7, 1941; a date which will last in infamy; the United States was deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.... Then there is the Inaugural speech of John F. Kennedy offered in January of 1961, And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Certainly this is not an historical overview of famous and quoted passages from past American presidents, nor are famous uotations simply an American forte. History is full of memorable quotes from political leaders to generals to literary artists to rank and file men, women, and children who comprise history. Some phrases are long and compelling, while others such as: nuts, and Οχι are concise and decisive. Taken as a whole, these proclamations have made for memorable dialogue, which time and perspective have not only protected, but kept alive.

The Church also has proclamations. Κύριε Ελέησον (Lord have mercy) and Αμην (Amen) are not simply words, but proclamations. Of course the most prolific and most historic proclamations are: Χριστός Ανέστη (Christ is Risen) and Αληθώς Ανέστη (Truly He is Risen). These proclamations are the crux and credo of our faith, and they are not simply phrases to utter and respond, but historical events which embody our religious, Christian culture. For over two thousand years, Christ is Risen has been the salvific rallying cry of millions of Christians throughout the world. Included in this proclamation is not only our faith and history, but our future life. It is our hope and proverbial Light at the end of the tunnel. Because of Christ’s resurrection, death no longer is our end, but our beginning. Our world, as we know it, is finite, but because of the cause and effect of the resurrection, we are, as sacramental Christians and followers of His Word, guaranteed a new, infinite world, complete with a secure and comforting future. Who else, but a baptized Christian can make such a proclamation?!

Today, however, this freedom of life, and promise of unending light is threatened. Movements worldwide are sweeping Christians up and transporting them back to a time before Christ; a time of pagan rituals, and philosophical debate. New Age movements are ever growing and intensifying, fearlessly challenging to overcome even the most devout and faithful of Christians. We are slowly reforming back to a time where thought and logic only dictate our beliefs. Rather than proclaiming that God created all that we survey, we are now becoming receptive to the idea that we (mankind) have created a Supreme Being just to make us feel good. Imagine that? Now here is some new logic. The New Age movements are telling us that man needed to explain the how and whys of life so he adopted and made up God. Moreover, we are learning from this logic that we are really the supreme being, because we had the intelligence to make up God in the first place. Wait it gets better. There is no afterlife. This is it. That’s all folks as the camera fades the scene to black. Imagine all the energy someone expended to prey upon weak and languid Christian minds.

Let’s go back in time. Origin known as an Apologist wrote to a skeptic Celsus defending the early Christian faith and practices. He too encountered the cynicism of a non-believer who wanted to diminish the effect of Christ’s resurrection, God’s power, and the practices which were borne out of Christ’s existence, as well as the established practices by the earliest Christians. He writes "Since, then, as reason teaches, we must repose faith in some of those who have been the inducers of sects among the Greeks or Barbarians, why should we rather not believe in God who is over all things, and in him who teaches that worship is due God alone" (Against Celcus, Chap. XI). Even the ancient philosophers, before Christ, probed discerningly to explain the creation of a universe and concluded that there was a Supreme Being. There was simply too many occurrences which could not be explained physically.

Today, science has probed and searched for answers, often times attempting to disprove the existence of God by concentrating instead on proving Darwin’s Theory. Mass media presentations have often deluded the faithful and washed, bleached, and altered facts in order to promote their conclusions thereby deceiving the viewer, and converting uninformed, fringe believers into non-believers. The floodgate has been opened and pouring in has been New Age ideas which promote a wholesomeness and homogenized religious experience tuned to the self image and devoid not only of Christ, but also God. In fact, the most alarming comment is that God did not create man, but man created God.

Christ is Risen! Ha!

New Age leaders not only would scoff, but laugh at such a dated proclamation. A Virgin birth? "Impossible," they would say with a penetrating stare while conversely accepting all the scientific means of creation at our disposal in which any intimacy is unnecessary. They would point to the power of the individual and the ever expanding intellectual growth of the person (Gnosticism), and with a smile and radiant glow assure us that we have been mislead all these years. Their defense of their thinking is simple. Their defense is an attack on Christianity which characteristically asks, Have you seen Christ? A Christian’s defense, on the other hand, is difficult. "Well I had Holy Communion on Sunday, and the priest told me that it was the Body and Blood of Jesus." But have you seen Christ? "We have icons in the Church which depict Christ" You have not answered the question. Have you walked out into the street, or into the Church and literally seen Christ? Unfortunately, too many of us would answer, No.

A Christian must rely on faith and history. A Christian must depend on two thousand year old writings and oral history. A Christian must depend upon the assurances of religious leaders. Tangible, hard core CSI proof is difficult to produce. We have no DNA samples, and reliable eye witnesses are very difficult to come by. New Age, however, has no problem. It is about today, because their philosophy teaches that there is no tomorrow.

Just how delusional are we to accept this dribble and insidious insight of New Agers? Unfortunately, we are all ripe for the taking. The most basic fabric of our society has been attacked by powerful media mongers and wealthy entrepreneurs who want to capitalize on our disgust with economic strife and the seemingly unstoppable rising commodity prices, with outrageous health care costs, with corrupt and lascivious political leaders, confronted by the incessant threat of terrorism, unending war, and the dismantling of our ecosystem. We all are looking for answers and for God to intercede. When He doesn’t, the quick fix and conclusion to all these challenging questions is to deny the existence of God followed by burying our head in the sand and turning our faith inward, instead of sharing our faith and righting the wrongs. New Age philosophy would dictate that we worry about today, because there is no tomorrow. So where does that leave our children and their children?

There is still only one answer. Christ is Risen! And if we would just take responsibility for what we have all done to promote the problems which confront us all, we could then begin to overcome them. It is easy to run away from God. It is more difficult to face our responsibility. And, we all are responsible.

Somehow we must all return to the basic necessities of life and learn about our Church, the Bible, practice sincerely the Sacramental life, immerse ourselves into the life of the Church, and maintain our faithfulness. We have all the proof before us, but we have become either too comfortable or too abusive to recognize the comfort of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Our quest is very different from the basic request of God to move towards salvation. We are too busy just trying to make it through another day. Something has to give, and it is God.

The next two months we shall proclaim His victory over death. We shall grasp firmly blazing torches of faith and raise them skyward and proclaim, Christ is Risen! May that moment not be fleeting, but eternal for God is with us. Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!