the true legacy of St Alexis

If one reason why parishes and dioceses and local churches sometimes
do not grow is because they are comfortable in simply ministering to
'their people', another is because when they actually have the
opportunity to welcome people into the Church they become nervous and
worry about the risks. And it seems that there are any number of
risks. There is the risk that people who express an interest
in Orthodoxy will eventually lapse. There is the risk that they will
bring with them experiences and ideas and customs that we don't fully
understand or appreciate - that we do not even have the imagination to
welcome and embrace, let alone permit and encourage. Perhaps the most
fundamental risk is that we cannot control outcomes.

But all the great and wonderful things of life have a degree of risk.
Love is the very best example of this. A commitment to love someone
is an absolutely enormous risk. There is so much potential for pain
and failure! Nonetheless, Tennyson gave voice to a deep wisdom when he
wrote that: 'tis better to have loved and lost / than never to have
loved at all....( In Memoriam: 27).

The fact of the matter is that we cannot - we simply cannot - control
outcomes. We have to do what is right - with a certain measure of
prudence of course, for it too is a virtue - and do it with prayer -
that is, do what is right and leave the outcome to the Lord. This is
actually a win-win situation, because on the one hand, in taking the
right sort of risk we are doing the right thing - and if it works,
brilliant! thank God! - and if it fails - well, thank God still,
because all things actually work together for good for those who love
God. Isn't that good news? That even if we seem to fail - even if we
fail - and even if the outcomes of our best intentions are not great -
or even make things worse - they will ultimately work for our good -
for our salvation - if we love God. Yes - this is true and the
experience of all the saints - if we love God! But if we are
practical atheists, if we in reality only give lip service to Lord but
do not in fact trust Him and do not accept this path - to take up the
cross and follow Him - how truly tragic and pathetic our failures will
be !

So: we may not get what we want, but we will get something that will
further our salvation. Should we be friendly? Should we be kind?
Should we be generous? Should we forgive? Should we show mercy? Should
we forget? Should we give? Should we inconvenience ourselves? Will
failure, rejection, repudiation ultimately hurt us? Is it worth the
risk to suffer? Of course these things will hurt... but through that
hurt, if there is hurt, will there not come abundant grace?

I mention all of this because we are about to celebrate the
Anniversary of the Repose of St Alexis (Toth) on May 7. In many ways
he was the founder - and certainly the facilitator - of the reception
into the Orthodox Church of our community. When the Russian
Orthodox Church accepted the Greek Catholics in Minneapolis, freely
and generously and without demands, because it was the right thing to
do, the Church took a very great risk. But the Church at that time had
courage, optimism, hope. It was willing to reach out, to bless particular
customs and practices, to integrate and celebrate cultural diversity and
traditions to the greater glory of God and His Church. It did this in
Alaska, in Korea and China and Japan, in eastern Europe.... and here
in America, starting in Minneapolis! This is the example that our
Orthodox Church in America should cherish - a evangelical and
optimistic missionary openness, a willingness to take risks, a
willingness to leave outcomes to God. This should be the true legacy
of St Alexis for Orthodoxy in America!