The story of Jesus is one of confrontation from the time of His birth throughout His entire life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension; and we become very much aware of this as we study the Gospel. In the miraculous Virgin Birth, God confronts our rational mind. With the miraculous works of Jesus He confronts Satan and the demons of Hell. Through His teaching He confronts the erring and legalistic religious authorities of His day. In His death and resurrection He confronts all of us with His atoning sacrifice and offers forgiveness of sins we would rather hide and deny. Finally, by His promise to return and His Ascension, we are confronted with choices as to how we are to live out the life God has so freely given us. Whether we like it or not, God confronts us daily with His love and challenges us to follow Him. When I think of confrontation, many morally offensive images come to mind. Those images in my mind, and they well may be in yours, are the result of what we have seen over the last 30 to 40 years of turbulent history, both nationally and internationally. On the other hand, when I speak of confronting the culture today, other images come to mind and heart: A petunia plant in full bloom growing in the crack of a concrete sidewalk, a bird nesting on the ledge of a tall building, a honeybee busily gathering nectar and pollen from flowers growing in window boxes in New York City. Each speak of God and the incredible beauty of His world confronting the culture in very quiet and ordinary ways, even in small things. We live in a culture that is going wild and needs to be brought back to a point of reality.
   Over the years people have asked us what we do here at the Life in Jesus Community. The question is both simple and difficult to answer. It is simple if we list the various spiritual and temporal things, such as ongoing daily prayer, spiritual direction, daily Worship Services, and monthly Healing Services, to mention a few. We could also talk about the temporal things we are about, such as cleaning the Chapel, running the office, home schooling the children, maintaining the flower gardens, or mowing the grass. Unfortunately, all of the above actually fails to answer the question as to what we do here.
   When we attempted to answer that question years ago, our Lord began to show us the question, as asked, cannot fail to elicit an inadequate response. The question posed actually seems to seek to know the value we place upon ourselves by what we do. Is this not really what we are implying, either knowingly or unknowingly, when we ask, “What do you do?” If the person says, “I am a doctor,” we might place that person high on our value scale. If the person tells us he holds some position of authority in the corporate world, we might look up to him. However, our sinful heart might not esteem those whose work or education we considered to be “less valuable.” In today’s world, doctors and people with high tech skills, along with those possessing Ph.D.’s might be considered high on the social approval scale. Low on the scale and in some instances becoming lower would be clergy of almost any Christian denomination who are more conservative Biblically and morally.
   Here at the Life in Jesus Community we seek to live out our lives as Biblical Christians according to the Ancient Orthodox Faith. Our Professed Community Members come from a variety of back- grounds and earn their livelihood in skilled trades and professional services. Above all, we seek to honor our God through the life we live. We believe in so doing we are confronting the culture in ways that are effectual and in line with God’s Call on our lives. There are several ways in which we as a Community are confronting the culture and speaking into the lives of those with whom we come in contact. A couple of years ago, there was a picture in one of our newsletters of our two Religious Sisters in full habit. The picture caused one of our readers, a woman minister, to become enraged that we had imposed such a habit on these women of God. What our reader didn’t know was that as we prayed about the issue of the habit, it was the Sisters who expressed their desire for the more traditional dress, to make an unmistakable statement to the culture about them.
   Recently, one of our Sisters was verbally accosted because of her godly dress. Similar things have happened to some of our Clergy Staff. What is especially interesting to note is that often the most cruel attacks come from those who claim to be part of the Body of Christ. Lest you think all the responses to us are negative, the contrary is the rule. As our Sisters travel or go into town, it is a frequent occurrence for them to be stopped in stores, malls, and on the street by people asking for prayer, thanking them for being in full habit, and rejoicing that there are still Sisters willing to take a quiet but public stand for One in Whom they believe and Whom they serve.
   I almost always travel in clerical garb and am easily recognized as a Priest or Minister. Over the years I have shared the Gospel, done marriage counseling, prayed for frightened children, ministered to shocked and bereaved people, answered endless questions about the Bible and various topics dealing with the Church and culture. All of this has come about, not because of anything I did, but rather by just being who Christ Called me to be and in the living out of that Call. Again, let me emphasize that the opportunities to love and share in the Name of Jesus have not been because of what I do as a Bishop or as the Superior of the Life in Jesus Community, but because of who I am in Christ and who I clearly represent in the way I dress and conduct my life both publicly and privately. About twenty years ago my wife Jean and I produced a Christian television program. One day I visited an elderly person in a Nursing Home. At the end of my visit I went to the bed next to my friend and asked the patient whether I could pray for her. She and her guest welcomed the offer. At the end of the prayer, the patient’s visitor asked me, “You’re Father Zampino, aren’t you?” When I said “yes,” she said something I’ll never forget. She said, “I watch you on television and also in the grocery store.” I asked, “You watch me?” She replied, “I wanted to see if you were as real in person as you seem to be on television and you are.” My life in person, more than on the television program, was what was confronting the culture.
   To return to the Life in Jesus Community, let’s consider how we confront the culture. The people who live and work here are committed Christians, most of whom are lay people although some are ordained and some are Religious Sisters. We are made up of people who believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in its practical application for daily living. We believe the standards of the Gospel apply to the way we treat each other, rear children, conduct business, and in how we share our homes, our care, and our lives with one another and with those whom Christ sends to share our life and ministry. We are ordinary people who experience anger and forgiveness, failure and victory, sorrow and joy, anxiety and peace, who have been Called by God to do in His strength and power what seem to us to be extraordinary things we could never do on our own. The center and root of it all is our deep and profound sense of stability that results from having Jesus Christ and His Gospel at the center of who we are and what we seek to do in His strength. About fifteen years ago God began to show us that our value as people and as a Community is centered in being and not in doing. That doesn’t mean we don’t do anything. On the contrary, our people are some of the hardest working people I know. The desire of their heart is to serve Christ and His people, but our value and worth is not in the doing, not even in doing ministry. No! Our value is in our relationship with Christ and His love for us.
   Not long ago I was praying and asking God the question, “How, Lord, can we as a Community effectively confront this sinful culture?” The answer I received was both profound and simple. In my heart I heard the words, “You are confronting the culture every day as you pray, live together, work, minister, and settle differences among you. You are confronting the culture by the life you live in your Community, following the Call I have given you.”
   What a simple answer and yet how true! In times past when nations and churches alike drifted from the Lord Jesus, He has raised up Communities of men, women, and married families with children, all of whom were willing in all their humanity and sinfulness, in their strengths and their weaknesses, to follow His Call to be His, to pray and minister as He directed. The result over the centuries has been the faithful continuance of His remnant Church and, at times, even the preservation of great portions of what was good in a culture which was in the process of decaying or being destroyed.
   For those of us who live here on a daily basis, it is often hard to see beyond the next service of prayer, the next bulletin that needs to be printed, or the next plot of grass that needs to be mowed. Then someone will visit us for any number of purposes, ranging from a parcel delivery person to a long-term guest in need of prayer and guidance who will comment, “I don’t understand what you all do here, but I surely sense the Presence of God in this place.” At such times, we rejoice and realize that in our being God is doing and we are as blessed as our visitors.
   In Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” Good works are those works that proceed from God and flow through us as we live out our lives being His and walking in His Light. At that point we become filled with His Light and our light then confronts the darkness. Whether you live in Community, alone, or in a family, you can and will confront the culture if you walk in the Call Christ has on your life. If you are a Christian, God has a Call or a plan for your life. By seeking Him and walking in His Call, His Light in you will, day by day, transform you in your prayer life, in your countenance, in your words, in your dress, in the way you drive, etc. All of this will transpire often without your even being aware of it. As this happens, you will confront our culture to the Glory of God!
   God bless you and keep you faithful to His Call.