Metaphors

Submitted November 2, 2004

Colourful Metaphors

by Matushka Barbara Bruce

Once upon a time, back in the days when Etchasketches still freely roamed the earth, cussing was an almost unheard of thing. In fact, "darn" would produce indignant gasps from genteel ladies !

Creative cussing is now both encouraged and an accepted part of daily English language, of both children and adults in North America. It is "the norm"!

While cussing ballooned, general common respect and reverence of holiness diminished. Cause or effect? I don't know. But this I do know, that is a very sad and painful thing to be around people treating Holy Names, in a foul and abusive manner.

Most people truly don't understand or know better. However, we as Orthodox Christians, can actually become "used" to hearing foul language in our everyday lives. We must guard ourselves against becoming so numbed, that we too, by osmosis, might begin to parrot this ugliness! It "wants" to slip out.

Long ago, and far away, it was only the uncouth, or poorly educated, who spewed colourful metaphors. Now the enlightened, the educated, the poised, vomit vulgarities as a common tongue. No one bats an eyelash.

What would happen, if say, instead of using God's Holy Name, people substituted it with, Allah, or Buddha or Shiva, or...? Yes, that's right! It would be called discrimination, or religious persecution/intolerance against another faith! But we, as North Americans, slam God's name and His Most Pure Mother's into the ground. "Mother of God" and "Jesus Christ" or "God" are used in curses alone, or entwined with other four-lettered words.

One Orthodox woman stood her ground at work when Holy Names were continually being taken in vain. She gently, and simply commented on how negatively that affected her. The stunned recipients immediately curtailed their speech, and the other, coarser language was even minimized. The most amazing thing is that people aren't even conscious that they are offensive or swearing.

If you attempt to let others know how swearing badly affects you, and it backfires on you, you still have a powerful recourse! Pray! Pray with all your heart, soul and might that God forgives that person for their ignorance. Each time they #@&*%! ... pray silently, "God forgive them!"

When we pray for others, with patience, wonderful things happen! You may in fact be the very first person to EVER have prayed for this person, in their whole life! What an opportunity!

Once when I was at work and someone used God's name in a bizarre way, they stopped and apologized to ME! I retorted, "You're apologizing to the wrong Party!" That coworker was seriously kerflummexed! It made them "think"!!

Another person told me that when the air "turns blue" in her office, (woman are THE worst offenders) that she starts humming the hymn from the Presanctified Liturgy: "Set a watch O Lord, before my mouth, before my mouth, and keep the door of, the door of my lips!" And this helps her pray for forgiveness for that person "who knows not what she/he does"!

An Orthodox friend mentioned that when people curse and swear at work, he won't even acknowledge that they have "said" anything. He completely ignores them. Also, by his never swearing, or responding, over time people have learned to refrain around him.

A young Orthodox Christian woman related that when people cuss and swear around her, she sincerely crosses herself, and innocently comments, when they look startled... "Oh, weren't you praying?" They stop swearing very quickly because they DON'T want to see her cross herself again! It gives them "the willies"!

With God's help, we may become the unworthy candle who illuminates an unbeliever with His Holy Gentle Light.



Volume 6 Number 45 - Tuesday, November 9th, 2004	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY