We bring you the English translation of the Fr Milorad treatise of the fluctuation of the contemporary values compared to the solidity of our Orthodox faith.
You can read Serbian version of the article and the rest of the contents in the latest Herald issue here.
CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND UNTO AGES OF AGES
Frequently we hear people talking about “changing with the times”, as a necessity to modify things or adapt to the modern times. What is the essential meaning of this?
To answer this question, it is necessary to address the matter studiously. In any case, an amateurish approach to the problem could provide this simplistic answer.
Namely, to change with, or go along with the times, means changing your relationship with the issues, events, people, history and to have propensity to treat everything as relative.
All the values. All the ideologies. Even a virtuous life. What has been yesterday immoral and illegal, today is moral and legal. Are we not witnesses of such changes? Until recently, homosexuality was immoral and illegal, and today is moral and is legal. Not just that - it is even more moral and more legal. The remaining conservatives became an endangered species in these times.
People who are advocating the permanent values in society consider these as an expected standard and it feels awkward to them to establish lobbying organisations in order to promote their ideas. The others are very active and working assiduously to promote new morality.
We have, until now, been able to advocate the Gospel as true, God-revealed value, and to influence the politics of the states where we live. Now our impact has been reduced to minimum, that is - it does not exist.
As an example, take the treatment of Christians by the Victorian or federal government. We are of absolutely no interest to them.
Since September, Victorian politicians have been publicising the consultation process with religious communities. Our request to participate in such consulting meetings on existing pandemic situation as representatives of Serbian Orthodox Church has been acknowledged by one of the ministers after 35 days. Up until now, there is no indication such meeting will ever be held. That was just for show.
So, we live in the society that does not respect Christian values, Christian perspective on the world, truth and justice. Everything is relative. For our rulers, Christ is one of the deities, one of the religious founders, on par with Mohammad and Buddha and others. In other words, Christ in their eyes is not the Saviour of the world and the man.
Our rulers have transformed this nominally Christian country in some pluralistic mixture that offers bread and circuses, along with new world outlook that whatever has been agreed by the majority is moral and right.
Nothing has been spared by this changing with the times. Once we knew that Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Njegosh, Dostoyevsky are unique personalities, but today a revision of their true value is conducted. The arts are not the same anymore, literature has been degraded and everything has been relativised as the freedom of expression.
The Christians have not been spared from these assaults on universal values. Roman Catholic, Anglican and other Protestant denominations have adjusted to the times, brought guitars to their temples, modified the Liturgies to sound as concerts - they have done everything possible to keep the interest of the faithful in the times of changes and progress in the society.
At the end, such adaption attempts achieved nothing.
To the contrary, those attempts have significantly watered down the teachings of their churches, trying to change the Gospel approach of One “who is the same yesterday and today and unto ages of ages” (Jews 13,8).
This is the Lord, Who said Himself: “I am the Path, the Truth and Life”. How is it then possible to change this? If He Himself says that He is the Path, it in vain that we seek some other path. If He says that He is the Truth, where do we find the truth beside Him? If He Himself confirms that He is Life, how do we find life apart from him?
That is why the Apostle says that Christ is the same and does not change. Whether folk or modern songs are sung, whether the art is classical or free of any limits, do we teach Marxism or Satanism in the schools, do people have faith in Christ or are fighting against Him - all this is irrelevant to Christ, because He “is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow”. God is the same. He does not change, and our adaptation to the times and societal changes becomes a true challenge for all of us.
It is necessary that we always question ourselves and our relationship with Christ. If Christ is unchangeable, then the only possible change is within us. Will we, because of the stature in the society, because of the praises of unbelievers, because of our own gain, or anything else, agree to change - to the detriment of our relationship with Christ?
Every individual is free to make such a decision. We are free people and we are allowed to make such decisions out of our free will. It would be, of course, good to “stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free”, as the Apostle says, so help us God. Amen.