Daddy's takin' us to the zoo tomorrow...

A little video journal of our trip to the Bronx zoo a few days ago.
Wishing you all the best!

click to download:
Zoo May 23.2006.mp4


Love,
the Mathews

Preschool Party Video!

Hey friends!
Sorry it has been so long... We have had class, kids, finals, papers, 80 hospital hours, women's group, etc... the list goes on. One of the most joyful things in the bliss that has followed since things were completed on Saturday was a party for our kids. The mommies got together to celebrate the great year of learning and fun the kiddos had. I thought I would share a little video with you... Click below for the link. (if anyone knows how to make these things bigger let me know. Thanks!)

Preschool Party! (Big)

Preschool Party! (small)

With Love,

Dn. Justin

Justin's Ordination to the Holy Deaconate!

Our deepest gratitude is due His Grace Bishop BENJAMIN, my wonderful parents, the Huddleston family and the Johnson family who all traveled so far, faculty, staff and friends at St. Vladimir's Seminary and everyone who attended the ordination, sent cards and gifts, helped with the reception and prayed for us on this big day!

We are so grateful for your love and friendship...
Click here for photos!

In Christ,
Dn. Justin and Jodi Mathews

Download the Mathews Family Newsletter!!

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Dear Family and Friends,

Please find here a digital copy of our family newsletter.

Please take a few minutes to read it, print it out and share it with others. Its easy to forward an email on to friends who might also be interested in what our preparation for ministry at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

There are pictures of the kids, reflections from Jodi and I and much more in the newsletter! Check it out!

God bless!
Justin Mathews

PS - Please allow a minute for download and forward this post on with the email link at the bottom of this post to all your friends, your church and anyone you think might be interested! Thank you!

Asher's Birthday Party

It does seem as if I measure my own days in my children's growth and experiences. "It was a good day. Asher, ate a great breakfast and had a long nap."OR "Today was crazy. Elias and Asher wouldn't obey and they picked on each other all afternoon."

I guess when you become a Mother those lines between "mine" and everyone else's blur. No, they don't blur; they erode. And now, my little monkey, Asher, is two years old! What have I been doing the past two years? Hard to say. But I can tell you in detail the happenings of this little love of mine. He speaks in full sentences now. The first person he asks about when he crawls in bed with Justin and I around 5:45am is his big brother,Elias. Elias is his best friend. When he sees Elias for the first time in the morning or meets him coming in the door, he yells, "Hey, Lilee!" and hugs him fiercly. He loves to dip his food in anything, ketchup, butter, dressing, salsa. We call him the "dipper." He loves Bob the Builder and monkeys. In fact, I have caught him dropping food on the floor at dinner time and when I ask him why he is doing that he replies, "Monkey will eat it!" Some mornings when he is laying in bed with Justin and I he will play a game with himself where he hides under the blankets to get away from the "monkeys." He and Elias are the only monkeys in this house though! And the boys are now in swimming lessons. Asher loves the water and especially gets a thrill from jumping from the side of the pool into his Daddy's arms.

As you can see, our little two-year-old truly enriches our lives. I will go on measuring my own days in light of the joys and trials presented to me by the "men" in my life.

I hope you enjoy some snapshots of Asher's birthday party last Saturday. It was the first warm, sunny day in months so about the whole seminary showed up to eat some cake and fellowship under the sun! We had a blast and the kids enjoyed the party. I made a monkey cake and the kiddos wore Curious George birthday hats. The playground was full of monkeys that day. What a joyous day!!

We love you all!

Jodi

Thoughts after reading a NY Times book review > "Young Adult Fiction: Wild Things"

"These books look cute. They come in matched paperback sets with catchy titles, and stay for weeks on the children's books best-seller list. They carry no rating or recommended age range on the cover, but their intended audience — teenage girls — can't be in doubt. They feature sleek, conventionally beautiful girls lounging, getting in or out of limos, laughing and striking poses. Any parent — including me — might put them in the Barnes & Noble basket without a second glance. Yet if that parent opened one, he or she might be in for a surprise." ... "The "Clique" novels are all about status. But sex saturates the "Gossip Girl" books, by Cecily von Ziegesar, which are about 17- and 18-year-old private school girls in Manhattan. This is not the frank sexual exploration found in a Judy Blume novel, but teenage sexuality via Juicy Couture, blas and entirely commodified...."

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This is an exerpt from a review by Naomi Wolf in the NY Times today on a new and very popular trend in young adult fictional works on the best seller lists. Check out the semi-critical, but not fully aware (in my opinion), review in full HERE. I was so shocked by what is passing for literature and culture these days in our "great" society that I thought I would share the link and a few thoughts.

These books are selling literally millions of copies and passed off as "young-adult fiction" for girls. Complete with oral sex and other very explicit scenes featuring young teens, this is the "literature" that is shaping millions in the next generation of American women.

What are your thoughts? Are your children or your friends children reading these books? What role does this sort of "literature" play in influencing the values of the next generation? What happened to the venerated "classics" - are they no longer relevant to our kids.

Should a classic book be discarded if it becomes "irrelevant" to us or should we endeavor to become relevant to virtuous works - such as those by Homer, the Fathers of the Church, Jane Austen, Fyodor Dostoevsky; who could discount modern writers like Madeline L'Engle or CS Lewis?

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." -- Philippians 4:8

Is the notion of calling our children, ourselves, to the heights of Truth, culture and virtue no longer a priority? Are we simply to be "tolerant" of the mass consumerization of such base humanity targeting our children in the name of freedom, or worse, art?

Or will we dare to judge and be prejudice when required, scrutinize and criticize, teach discernment and even shelter our children if need be?

I pray we will, so that in forming their minds by what is higher and most noble, their souls too may be shaped into the likeness of the image of the One who created us all.

Justin

You are all invited!

Thank you for yor prayers and support!
(Click on the ivitation below to inlarge it.)

Blessings,
Justin and Jodi

Forgive me a sinner. God Forgives us both.

Last night's forgiveness vespers is one of the most beautiful and important of the whole year.

There is something so very vulnerable and jarringly innocent about going around the entire church one person at a time giving the kiss of peace and saying "Forgive me a sinner" and responding "God forgives," while the choir sings paschal (Easter) hymns in anticipation of the feast.

There is something so whole and utterly real about the way the church prompts us to live and lift up our lives to God in thanksgiving. There is not one moment of our existence left without meaning. I truly believe if this medicine were applied more liberally its soothing balm would heal many wounds in our world. God forgive us all.

The kids were so cute... Elias turned to me and said "dad, why are you kissing so many people? Stop it!" and I smiled. What a lesson, from the earliest age - reconciliation, forgiveness and love. Lived out liturgically right before their eyes - no simple mental ascent but real action and modeling.

I wish you were all there... Have a Joyful Lent.

Forgive me a sinner. God Forgives us both.

Justin

the Great Fast begins

Commemorated on:
March 5
(source: www.OCA.org for more info)
Troparion & Kontakion

As we begin the Great Fast, the Church reminds us of Adam's expulsion from Paradise. God commanded Adam to fast (Gen. 2:16), but he did not obey. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden and lost the life of blessedness, knowledge of God, and communion with Him, for which they were created. Both they and their descendents became heirs of death and corruption.

Let us consider the benefits of fasting, the consequences of disobedience, and recall our fallen state. Today we are invited to cleanse ourselves of evil through fasting and obedience to God. Our fasting should not be a negative thing, a mere abstention from certain foods. It is an opportunity to free ourselves from the sinful desires and urges of our fallen nature, and to nourish our souls with prayer, repentance, to participate in church services, and partake of the life-giving Mysteries of Christ.

At Forgiveness Vespers we sing: "Let us begin the time of fasting in light, preparing ourselves for spiritual efforts. Let us purify our soul, let us purify our body. As we abstain from food, let us abstain from all passion and enjoy the virtues of the spirit…."

Asher and I...

Asher and I wanted to say hello...

Hope you are all well!

A quote for the day...

Abba Antonios, pondering the ways of God, once asked: “Lord, how does it
happen that many live very few years and yet others reach a ripe old age? And how
is it that some live in poverty while others are rich? And how is it that the unjust
continue to grow richer and the just are poor?” Then he heard a voice say to him:
“Antonios, watch yourself, for those things which you ask about belong to the
inscrutable ways of God’s wisdom and it is not to your benefit to learn of them.”

"Man’s conscience is like a spring,” the Fathers say, “which, the deeper you hollow
it out, the more greatly you cleanse it. If, however, you cover it with soil, in little
time it will be lost.”

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

"Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate..." -- Chaucer

"... on 14 February, i.e. half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair. Thus in Chaucer's Parliament of Foules we read:

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers' tokens. Both the French and English literatures of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries contain allusions to the practice." [taken from the Catholic Dictionary online]

Yes... I woke my wife with coffee, a valentines day gift and a homemade card from the kids. Like most of you, I too find something nastalgic and gushy on these "holidays". But inspite of our (commercially programmed?) sentimentality about Valentines Day there is some real significance to remembering this 14th day of February... Some evidence of real love - a love measured in lives martyred.

Saint Valentine's Day

At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under date of 14 February. One is described as a priest at Rome, another as bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), and these two seem both to have suffered in the second half of the third century and to have been buried on the Flaminian Way, but at different distances from the city. In William of Malmesbury's time what was known to the ancients as the Flaminian Gate of Rome and is now the Porta del Popolo, was called the Gate of St. Valentine. The name seems to have been taken from a small church dedicated to the saint which was in the immediate neighborhood. Of both these St. Valentines some sort of Acta are preserved but they are of relatively late date and of no historical value. Of the third Saint Valentine, who suffered in Africa with a number of companions, nothing further is known.

But before we get too serious, the Mathews want to wish YOU a Happy Valentines Day!

Justin & Jodi

February Snow Day and MOVIE

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings on this blessed Lord's Day! It is a wonderful and awe inspiring day. Today we began our journey through the Lenten Triodion (the book containing the Lenten Hymns) on our way to the beginning of Lent. This holy pilgrimage leads us straight through the valley of the shadow of death to the foot of the cross and our Lord's life-giving passion. It is a perilous journey of the soul, much will have to be cast aside in order to continue on the long road ahead. But the Triodion is a faithful guide and teacher as we set out on our pilgrimage of the heart.

Today we prayed from it: "Open unto me, O Giver of LIFE, the gates of repentance: for early in the morning my spirit seeks Thy holy Temple, bearing a temple of the body all defiled. But in Thy compassion cleanse it by Thy loving-kindness and Thy mercy." (Matins troparian)

Indeed, the Lord has given us this hymn of joyful sorrow with which to begin. And fitting it was that the cold snow bit harshly at our noses as we walked to church early in the morning light with the children. And fitting it was that in the snow, pure and white, we rejoiced after Church as only a family can - playing in the drifts and sinking deep into the mystery, remembering the One thing needful, and content having been given all we have ever asked for.

The hot chocolate, silly faces and funny nickname games we played after coming inside gave way to these few moments of quiet in which I am now writing to you. Soon enough will come study and dinner, bath and evening prayers. And then night will descend upon us as we lay warm under electric blankets and listen to the echoes of children's laughter in our hearts from a day full of prayer and play. Could there be anything that speaks more clearly of God's "Loving-kindness and great Mercy"?

Here is a new movie... enjoy.

Justin

Christmas Pics...

Since you all have been asking ... Here are some snapshots from our time in KC over Christmas. There is quite a variety here, Grandmother Mathews and Quinton dancing, Justin on the piano imparting his music genius to his boys, Elias as a conductor, Asher as a reindeer, the boys in a tunnel, Adam driving a spaceship, etc. ENJOY!

Mathews Word Cloud

Word Cloud to ponder, generated by our posts on the site...

More SOON!

No we have not forgotten about this blog... we have just been out of town for 4 1/2 weeks. There is much to post and we will in the coming week. Until then enjoy this little gem of Elias and I in chapel at SVS and stay tuned for more to come from Christmas break!

PS - Justin's new music website has just launched! Make sure to check it out and buy a few recordings from the store at JustinMathews.com

NEW MOVIE!!!

Check out this fly new music video! starring - of course - the Mathews boys!

Merry Christmas all! (especially Joel Kraft!)

Click here

(allow a minute or so, pretty big file. Its worth it!)

Photo update -FINALS ARE OVER!

St. Nicholas came to visit the kids!





Glory be to Jesus Christ~ Merry Christmas friends and family~

Sermon on "the Unjust Steward" Lk 16:1-9

Some have requested to see a copy of the sermon I gave in Chapel last week. I believe that sermons and such liturgical expressions are only in context at the given moment - a word spoken once, for a specific time. Therefore, I ask you to keep this in mind when reading it. None-the-less, I have copied it below in hopes that it would be helpful or inspirational in some way beyond the chapel. May it be a blessing.

Luke 16:1-9 (New King James Version)
The Parable of the Unjust Steward

1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures[a] of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures[b] of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail,[c] they may receive you into an everlasting home.

Sermon:
"Doing the unexpected thing…"

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

You’re going to get what you deserve. If you’re wasteful you won’t be rewarded. And if you don’t measure up by now, you likely never will. So says the world, even today.

Then comes Jesus, our Lord, who shows that this worldly justice is really no justice at all. Even unto His unjust death on a cross for our sake, He spoke to a condemned criminal on the cross next to Him – and this one entered paradise that day with Christ.

We serve an unexpected God – No one was looking for a messiah like this! He asks us to go to unexpected places – even to the ends of the earth to proclaim His Gospel. He asks us to do unexpected things – and this is why he has commended the unjust steward to us today.

We don’t really know the heart of this steward. We only know that someone has made an accusation against him – maybe the accuser, the devil, himself, but, nonetheless, his master has called him to account for his stewardship. And if the Steward was wasteful it is likely that he set a little aside for himself, enjoyed the privilege of being 2nd in command of the household. He likely lived a fairly rich, some might say a full, life. But the privilege he enjoyed was not his own. And his being called to account shook him up to the core.

What the steward realized in that moment was that it was not only his job that was at stake, but his future – he awoke that morning and realized that what was at stake had life and death implications! And with this weighing heavily on his heart, maybe even as he thought of his wife and children, he resolved to make provisions for his future.

When we get up in the morning do we think in this way? When we pray Thy will be done, do we really know what that might mean for us by the time the day is out? Or do we to neglect to make provisions for our eternal future also? Have we not become far too comfortable and wasteful in our vast wealth and fullness that we have been given charge over?

But it is worse in fact…In St. Luke’s Gospel time and again we read that it is only the poor, the lame, the maimed, the blind that receive eternal salvation in an everlasting home… So where is the salvation for rich folks like us?

Brothers and sisters our salvation is that today we, like the steward, have been called to account for our stewardship by our master. Called to account but not yet been called to hear the verdict of our accounting. It may be the first time you have been called to do so or the 100th, but friends, what is clear, is that this is quite possibly the last. You have heard the Master’s voice today and there will be no other chances offered than that graced to us in today’s Gospel.

We, like the steward have two choices now:

1. We can be angry with our accusers and our Master, ignore our opportunity, try to justify ourselves by beating the debt from the debtors – they get what they deserve right?
2. Or, we can be more shrewd/ wise, showing greater concern for our future – this could almost be seen as merciful to the debtors in spite of the steward’s obvious selfish ambition.
The steward chose the second way and thus was commended. Jesus does not commend to us the Steward’s unjust actions; this is not condoned. Rather, He praises the steward’s concern for the future and his skillful means to a desired end.

This is the lesson meant for the sons of the light, the Christians. We are to be as shrewd in our desire for the Kingdom as non-believers are about obtaining their desires.

But Christ I believe calls us to go even further… For being called to account we recognize that all we have is God’s – we are utterly poor without Him. We are atrophied, in spirit if not in body, because of our comfortable lives and are unable to dig, like the steward. Unable to dig ourselves out of the hole of our sins. And we are blind. We do not see how comfortable we are enjoying God’s great wealth. This is why the Advent fast is so prudent for us now.

Being called to account and realizing the true state of our souls is the beginning of salvation. Christ teaches us to deal shrewdly in the things of faith and therefore to love in tangible ways, ways that are unjust in the world’s eyes because of the humility required and the forgiveness freely given.

It would be nice to stop here and ponder these things in our hearts but unfortunately the Lord doesn't allow it - he gives us one last verse: Make friends with unrighteous mammon so that when you fail they may be the first to receive you into the Kingdom.

In other words, without the ACTION the steward is no story. We are to give freely of our vast wealth and fullness, starting with our worldly goods. That when out best foot forward falls fathoms short of the mark, our gracious God might receive us into an everlasting home.

The rubber meets the road when our humility and forgiveness is proved by proceeding out of our hearts and into the hands of our neighbor.

We can’t waste or hoard the great wealth our master’s wealth that we have been given charge over and we can’t operate from a scarcity mentality. There is nothing to fear! Our God has cattle on a thousand hills and there will never be a dwindling supply of blessings, vocations, parish assignments, monies, love or other good thing.

There is no reason why we Orthodox Christians should not be known as the MOST generous people - wise sons and daughters of the light who embrace with radical abandon the holy unjustice of a life lived on God’s terms, seen from God’s perspective.

That one day our gracious God will receive us because we confessed and followed an unexpected God, into unexpected places and serve him, and him alone, as a shrewd steward of his wealth by loving all in unexpected ways.

Amen.

The Great Physician of our souls and bodies - an update on Jodi's health

Friends and Family:

For all of you who did not know, we have been quietly praying about a situation that arose with Jodi's health in the last 2 months. There was the possibility that what appeared at first to be 2 very large cysts on her ovaries could have been malignant or some form of tumor.

She under went a painful surgery 2 weeks ago and has been at home recovering since - hence the silence for the last couple weeks. She is doing quite well now. Our friends, extended seminary family and our moms were so helpful - staying with us, cooking dinners for 2 weeks, praying for us, cleaning, taking the kids while I was in class... God has been so generous to us to be sure! THANK YOU!!!

The great news is that God has answered our prayers and what could have been a very bad situation is not - all is benign and she is healthy!

In preserving Jodi's privacy we did not want to make the situation public widely until we knew what we were dealing with. We thank God for your general prayers for our family and continued support in our preparation for ministry. More to come from Jodi hopefully soon but we did want you all to know that Jodi is well.

To the Glory of God, the Great Physician of our souls and bodies,

J&J