I have sometimes happened
across Byzantine or Russian icons and other Orthodox religious items in thrift
shops, consignment shops, and other unlikely and seemingly inappropriate
places. There they will be, mixed in
with a ceramic angel, a wooden hand cross, an incense burner, or an ancient
framed picture of Christ holding a lantern aloft, knocking on a door. The painted faces gaze back at you, as
familiar as the pictures of your family and friends on display in your
home. While they seem to say, "it's
alright. I'm doing my work here," they
have to be rescued and given the place they deserve.
Once, while visiting an
elderly Orthodox priest, I was given the grand tour of his acquisitions over
the years. There were tall candleabras,
altar linens, icons, Bibles, even a chalice.
He was an inveterate garage sale shopper and was simply not able to let these blessed artifacts be
put to an unworthy use. As terrible as
it seems, he told me that many of the items came from "garage sales"
sponsored by parishes!
Several years ago I was
about to start the long 40 step trek up to our church door to take my turn at
cleaning, when I noticed a young girl knocking on the door!
Although there was certainly someone "at home" - the Blessed Sacrament in reserve - she was not
getting the response she wanted, and was now coming down the stairs. I told her I was a member of the parish and
asked if I could help. She went to her
nearby car, where her mother sat waiting, and I recognized her as the owner of
our local - and my favorite - Indian restaurant. The daughter had just graduated from high
school and was about to move to Buffalo with her family. She would be entering pre-med there. Some years ago, when they had moved into their
apartment in our town, there was a very large picture of the Virgin Mary of the
Sacred Heart on the wall. It was a
print, in a gaudy plastic gold frame.
The daughter explained that although they were not Christians, they were
afraid the next tenant of their apartment might not be respectful of the
image. They wanted to be sure that the
picture had a proper home.
The Mother of God was
doing her work in that Hindu home.
In 2008 our parish was
asked to display some of our icons in the window of a store front art
association on our main street, as part of their interest in featuring various
forms of ethnic and religious art. I am
not exaggerating to say that several of the larger icons stopped traffic, both
vehicular and pedestrian! I was
fortunate to have a small exhibit area of my own work, and one day the director
of the art association, who was Jewish, told me that every time she passed, one
particular icon of the Theotokos seemed to call to her.
The Mother of God was
doing her work again.
Some time ago the
daughter of a deceased member of our parish told me she had a problem - what
was she to do with her mom's many religious items? At my suggestion, she and her sister, both of
whom do not attend any church, went through the religious contents of their
mom's home. After taking one or two
things that they particularly cherished, they brought the remainder to the
church, and offered them to the parish at coffee social. There were boxed, unopened neck crosses;
bracelets with saints; prayer books; hand-embroidered Russian Easter basket covers,
icons of all sizes; incense. The sisters
asked each of their mother's special friends to take something they wanted to
remember her by, and I chose a lovely little eleusa Theotokos. I know all of us will pray for the soul of
our departed friend, as the Mother of God continues her work.
