"Elizaveta Iurievna Kuzmina-Karavaeva Skobtsova, later known as Mother Maria, was a Russian Orthodox religious thinker, poet and artist. Her multi-faceted legacy includes articles, poems, art, and drama. In the 1910s she was part of the literary milieu of St. Petersburg and was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. She fled Russia soon after the Bolsheviks' takeover and lived in Paris, where she became a nun. In 1935, she participated in organizing the so-called Orthodox Action, which was designed to help Russian immigrants in France. She and her fellow-workers from Orthodox Action opened a house for homeless and sick immigrants in Paris. During the Nazi occupation of the city, the house was transformed into a refuge for Jews and displaced persons. Mother Maria and her son were arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and died in the Ravensbruck camp in Germany. Mother Maria's selfless devotion to people and her death as a martyr will never be forgotten. In 2004, the Holy Synod confirmed the glorification of Mother Maria." - from Columbia University Libraries Special Collection link

Living alongside the outcasts

In Paulos Mar Gregorios' text The Meaning and Nature of Diakonia he paints a picture of what it means to serve.  He traces the lineage of serving in the two Testaments - Old and New.  Service in the Old is one of the Levites performing ritual tasks for God in the Temple.  In the New the acts of service are no less formal but they are expanded to include serving all mankind.  


What is unique to his image is that he tells us that we are to live alongside those we serve.  We are to live alongside in such a way as to take on the same life as those we serve.  We are to be ready to sacrifice - even unto death - for those we serve. 


 This challenge means that our lives get lost in the service of those we are called to tend.  This challenge is so immense that I find myself railing against it at every turn.  The process is long and hard and means we are continually challenged to get lost in God - the One who has ultimately come to live alongside we outcasts.


peace,


Tom+
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