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| The Congregational Church of Brookfield, UCC |
by Michael Anastas
BROOKFIELD (11/19/2010) -- My journey of faith was guided by something that happened nearly 2000 years ago, coupled with what I heard people say about Christ as I was growing up.
Let me tell you about people who talked to me about Christ. First was my mother, Mary Anastas. Second was my Godmother, Mary Vance. Third is someone I had never met until I visited on her deathbed, Mrs. Lysle.
My mother was born in 1906 in Pontus, a region of modern-day Turkey, where Greeks had lived for over 2,000 years until the end of the Greco-Turkish Conflicts in 1923. Mother often talked about a letter in the Bible St. Peter wrote to my direct ancestors in PONTUS to whom we were related by blood, not just tradition:
From the First book of Peter, Chapter 1, Verses 1&2:
To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
My mother convinced me it was my sacred duty to honor my Greek ancestors in Pontus, who were among the earliest Christians, and to carry on their love and devotion to Christ.
The second influence was my Godmother. She escaped persecution as a little girl when the Turkish city of Smyrna was burned. Mary Vance took her responsibility as my Godmother very seriously. She would remind me what it was like for Greeks living in Turkey.
She would say, “Michael, our Greek Orthodox in Turkey could only worship Christ secretly in candlelit caves for over 400 years. The least you can do is go to Sunday School and learn the Bible.”
As years went on, she would always check to see if I were still attending church and admonished me when I went through my agnostic phase as a 20-something bachelor in New York City during the 1960s.
This brings us to Mrs. Lysle, the most profound witness I ever experienced. Years ago, when I was a young dad and deacon in Westchester, it was my turn to visit parishoners of our church in White Plains Hospital. There I met Mrs. Lysle. I had seen her sitting in church with other older folks, but I did not know her. We made small talk and she was very gracious, trying to make me feel at ease even though she was very weak. I asked her to join me in prayer during which I said something like “And, Dear Lord, please help Mrs. Lysle recover from her illness.” She stopped me cold.
“No, young man, they told me I only have two or three days left and I am ready to meet Jesus.
“I know he is waiting for me.”
I backed out of the room, overcome with the emotion of witnessing someone who believed in Christ more than I could ever imagine. Her unshakable faith has stayed with me to this day. Mrs. Lysle was perfectly ready to step into another world we could only imagine and believe ... if we shared her faith.
I think we are all here because we are trying to believe. It is true that if we talk about our faith to others some of them will catch it. Let’s try to share our faith with one another, like Mrs. Lysle did with me. I cannot be faithful alone. I need a community of believers to talk about faith and help me continue my journey.
Michael Anastas is a member of the Congregational Church of Brookfield UCC.
