Hail, readers! We need your help. We are in the process of developing a
discussion guide for teens on sex, gender, and sexuality. We want to make
sure that we are addressing your questions and concerns about what the
Church has to say about these issues. If you send us your questions, we'll
use them to make sure we are dealing with the real issues.
We'll compile your questions into an anonymous letter from a "teen" and
then write another letter answering the questions. We'll publish the
composite letter in an upcoming issue of YO-mail in addition to including
it in the discussion guide.
Thanks! Send all questions to youth@oca.org
Mt 6:22-33 (From the Gospel on the Third Sunday after Pentecost)
In this account of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount He speaks about "wants"
versus "needs." Many times the things that we believe we need are only
things we want. In this passage He makes a clear distinction between the
material things that we believe are the most important needs and the
spiritual things that really are the most important. In fact, He states
that by seeking first these spiritual things, we can be assured that the
material necessities will follow.
This reading is also about who we trust to give us the things we need. In
the reading Jesus tells us that we can only serve one master and that it is
up to us to choose who that master will be. Why does anyone serve a master
in the first place? Because the master is the one who gives him or her
what he or she needs. If God is truly the God, isn't He able to give us
what we need? And if God is love, wouldn't He want to give us what we
need?
So Jesus warns us that if we try to serve two masters we will either hate
one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. Which
means we can't serve God and money. We can't serve God and sex. We can't
serve God and popularity, God and fashion, God and sports, God and drugs,
God and diets. We just can't. We're kidding ourselves if we think we can.
Only one will become the focus of our attention: the one which we serve,
guiding our actions, thoughts, and choices. So the question is "Who's it
gonna be?" Jesus says we are much more valuable than the birds of the air.
If God provides for them, why would He not provide for us?
The good news is that we don't have to give up friends, entertainment, our
career, or any of the other things that can bring us strength and true joy
in order to serve God and love others. We just have to put things in
perspective. We need to see that we need God in our lives first, then all
the rest will follow.
Something to think about:
"God, be with me today, and be a small whisper through the day to remind me
that it is you that I need and You that I wish to serve with my life.
Remind me today and everyday that true joy is not getting what I want, but
wanting what I need -- what You give me."
In the number one slot at the box office for the past couple weeks, "The
Truman Show" is a thought provoking presentation and exploration of many
issues we face in our society. Moviegoers leave the theater reflecting on
issues such as free will, the value of human life, its purpose, and what we
are willing to do for the sake of entertainment.
In the film Truman Burbank is adopted in the womb by a corporation for the
purpose of providing a brand new television experience: to be able to watch
someone live their life 24 hours a day, seven days a week. An entire town
full of actors are hired to be his family, his friends, even his wife. His
relationships and every aspect of his life are planned out by the producers
to provide the best possible family entertainment for the viewing audience.
Throughout the movie we meet the "show's" creator who we find out has
developed a fatherlike attachment to Truman as he plays god, directing
Truman's life. This allows us to reflect on the eternal debate about where
to draw the line between providing what is good for someone and forcing
them to take it.
The movie could be a great tool to help discuss all these issues.
On the up side:
On the down side:
No events submitted for this issue
To advertise your event here send information to:
youth@oca.org
The most recent murder in Jasper, Texas has caused society to reflect upon
the large numbers and influence of hate crimes in our society. An
African-American man was chained to a truck and dragged for two miles
allegedly because of the racist opinions of some white men. Over the
weekend, two black men were also the targets of possible copycat crimes in
Illinois and Louisiana.
The truth is that the number of these types of hate crimes has increased
steadily over the past couple of years. Over 9,000 hate-related crimes were
reported to the FBI in 1996. This compares to approximately 8,000 in 1995
and 6,000 in 1994. Hate crimes are defined as offenses motivated by the
dislike of a person's race, religion, sexual orientation, handicap, or
national origin.
Various trends are being pinpointed as the causes of this increase. First,
the number of organized hate groups in the United States has increased 20
percent during the last year, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center
in Montgomery, AL. Currently, there are approximately 474 groups that are
centered on hate-based doctrines and ideologies. They can be categorized
into several groups: Ku Klux Klan-related; neo-Nazis; Skinheads; Christian
Identity, a racist religion; Black separatists; and a hundred or so groups
which subscribe to a combination of hate-based ideas. These groups are
trying to attract more people by calling themselves racialist rather than
racist, and separatist instead of segregationist.
Many civil rights groups are attributing the rise in hate crimes to the
expansion of "hate sites" on the Internet as well as hateful, degrading,
and violent lyrics in some of today's music. Since 1995, more than 160 of
these "hate sites" are active online, according to the Intelligence
Project. Less than three years ago, there was only one.
For the Christian these attitudes and crimes are in direct opposition to
the Church's teaching that God sent His Son, Jesus, to save all mankind,
and to St. Paul's teaching when he writes "there is neither Jew nor Greek,
neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all
one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28)." Christian communities in Texas are coming
together, regardless of race, handicap, or national origin, to pray for the
victims of these crimes and to try to improve the relations between people
of different backgrounds.
Some statistics:
These numbers are from a poll taken by SurveyUSA KPRC News 2 completed
Wednesday night June 10 in Texas, following the arrest of the 3 white men
charged with dragging James Byrd, an African American, to his death. The
poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4.5%.
Q.
(from Megan from PA)
Why do some Orthodox Christians Think TV is a bad thing? Sure it has
some inappropriate shows, but they aren't all bad. My mom and dad
don't let me watch shows that are inappropriate. And there are a lot
of educational shows too. Like the Discovery Channel which is
definitely not inappropriate.
Thanks for the magazine, I really like it.
A.
Megan, you are on the right track! Like most things, television itself
is not a "bad" thing. The way people use it (or misuse it), however,
can be very damaging. There are a number of good educational and even
entertaining shows that anyone can enjoy which aren't obsessed with
violence, sex, and people doing evil things to each other. People do
in fact learn helpful things by watching these shows. On the other
hand, the average teenager has viewed over 5,100 acts of violence on TV
in just the past 6 months, and is exposed to over 14,000 acts of sexual
intimacy, most of which are between people who are not married, in any
given year.
The other thing we need to be careful about is the place we give TV in
our life. Even if we are only watching educational programs, we can
end up spending countless hours of our time each day sitting in front
of the TV instead of doing work or spending time with our family and
friends. Because watching TV is such an easy thing to do, it can
easily damage our relationships with others and our goals in life.
Also, because so much of our society centers around entertainment, we
often forget how to deal with silence. Silence is something that every
human being needs every day. It is in silence that we start to see
ourselves as we really are. It is in silence that we pray to God. If
we are always watching TV or listening to the radio, silence can become
very scary for people. Take 5 minutes a day to try to be silent and
still. Stand in front of your icon at home or sit quietly outside and
try to think about your relationship with God. See how you react
during that five minutes. Chances are it will be difficult at first.
The more we can become silent and still, the more peaceful our lives
will be, and the easier we will be able to deal with difficult things
in life.
Next issue: Talking about forgiveness and repentance
If you have a question, or know a friend who does, send it to us at
youth@oca.org. We'll give you a direct
and concise answer!
JDM writes:
Greetings!
I have a few comments about the latest issue of YO-Mail. First of all,
in regards to the Orthodox Chat room, creating one wouldn't be too
hard. Just use IRC chat and create a room like #orthodox or #yomail
or whatever. However, not everyone has access to IRC, people such as
myself, who use a UNIX version of lynx to browse the internet, people
on AOL, etc. There is a way around this too. I could easily write a
web-based chat room that anyone with a simple web browser could access
(that is, just about everyone).
If you'd like me to get on this, just let me know, I can have it done
in a few days at max. Please contact me about specifics.
Regarding music that people listen to -- well, it can mean a lot, and
it can mean very little. Some people are very into their music and the
lyrics that come with it, whereas some people could care less what the
artist is saying -- they just like the beat, or whatever. Just because
some one likes Marylin Manson, or listens to his music, doesn't mean
that person is a MM disciple (though, nowadays anyone who admits
listening to him and liking him usually is a MM disciple). Some people
like to listen to music they can relate to, some people just like the
music and could care less about lyrics. It all varies.
>>
Hey, Jonathan! Thanks for the ideas on the chat rooms! We've
passed them on to our web master for his input and we'll give you a
response in our next issue.
About the music issue (this is for anyone who is interested):
Don't you think that listening to lyrics over and over again can
affect your mood, or even the way you think about things? Talking
about it here, we've all admitted that certain songs make us
depressed, happy, or even angry and frustrated. It's not
that we don't listen to music with "questionable" lyrics. We just
try and keep it to a minimum. And the times we do find ourselves
listening to them we consciously try to listen and think about the
lyrics pinpointing the parts we agree with and that with which we
disagree.
Anyone else, feel this way?
JD from HI writes:
I enjoy your publication. Keep up the good work.
>>
Add your thoughts on some of our past questions:
Coming soon on our Young Orthodox webpages (www.oca.org/YO):
We would like to sollicit suggestions for topics that we should
cover in depth, not only in YO Mail but also for the Young Orthodox
webpages.
In case you forgot: YO-Mail is your mail.
If you have an opinion about something in YO-mail or something going on
at school, in the Church, or in society, send it in! Send it to
youth@oca.org Don't worry! All entries
will be treated anonymously unless you tell us otherwise.
From the Office:
We Need Your Help: Send Us Your Questions About Sex
Food for the Soul
"...Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will
drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. ... Seek first the
Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be
added to you."
Movie: The Truman Show
On the Calendar
In the News
America: Land of ... Hate Crimes?
Real Questions, Real Answers!
Is TV a Bad Thing?
Megan Jarlson, Waymart, PA / 11 years old
Readers Write ...
Chat Room Ideas, and a Word on Music Lyrics
-- J. Daisaku Mukai
Hey, JD! We'll keep trying. By the way you are our first (and
only, so far) subscriber from Hawaii that we are aware of! Thanks
for writing in.