May 17, 2006
Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick

Christ is risen!  On behalf of our entire seminary community, I wish to express to you, Sylvia, to Martin, Michael, and Miriam, to your family members, and to Jaroslav’s brother, the Rev. Theodore Pelikan, our heartfelt sympathies. Likewise, let me express to you also the sincere condolences of my own family. May the Father of Compassion and the God of All Comfort, comfort you on this day of loss, and in the days to come. Jaroslav’s falling asleep in the Lord is felt not only here, but also in many corners of the world.Last night at the Vigil, our seminary dean, Fr John, spoke eloquently about Jaroslav’s influence in the world of scholarship in general, and in the area of Christian history and dogma, in particular.  I needn’t repeat Jaroslav’s long list of achievements and accomplishments. Today, instead, is a day to consider the man.      

It would be an understatement to say that Jaroslav was a man of words. However, what is the word of his life? What word did he speak to us? Better said: “What word did God speak to us through him?” It is this particular word that we should consider this morning.    First, when I think of Jaroslav, (Jary), I think of the Parable of the Talents (Mt 25:14–30). He was one of those rare souls who received five talents from the master of the house. God gave him skill in languages, the gifts to interpret and translate the meaning of Christian history to modern man, a deep well of energy, and the discipline to harness that energy; and, he took those gifts and talents and offered them up to God, yielding incredible fruit.     

Jesus had commanded his followers to be a light of the world. He said, “A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Mt 5: 14–16). Jary was such a model.    

After Fr Alexander Schmemann met Jaroslav for the first time, he reported to the seminary faculty that he had met a very special scholar, unlike other scholars whom he had met during his lifetime. In describing Jaroslav, he used the Russian word svetlyi, an adjective that is hard to translate concisely. It is a word which refers to an interior quality, specifically, someone who bears God’s Light. That is quite a compliment from someone who himself was such a bearer of Light. People such as this are few; they appear only periodically in a generation.   

It is said of Jaroslav that at a young age he had to make a choice between scholarship and becoming a concert pianist.  This may not be too remarkable, in that people make difficult choices in life all the time.   But what is remarkable is the fact that he understood that whatever choice he made, he would have to immerse his whole life, time, and strength, and being to its accomplishment.  His chose scholarship (thanks be to God) devoting himself to the study of Christian history, dogma, and scripture. This might seem like a narrow path, but when we dedicate our efforts and lives to God, He has a way to take our narrow paths and make them expansive, influential, and broad, in ways we might never expect or dream. God has a way of giving back a hundredfold if we offer back to Him in thanksgiving the gifts He Himself has provided us. In this way, Jaroslav’s life was Eucharistic and therefore full of meaning and purpose.

 
The bibliography of Jaroslav’s books, articles, essays, reviews, and papers compiled by his students Valerie Hotchkiss and Patrick Henry is more than impressive.  But his legacy is wider-ranging than that, because the purpose of that literary treasure was to hand down—or rather, to hand over—something that was living to his students, known or unknown to him. We are probably familiar with his famous words uttered in an interview with U.S. News & World Report in 1989: “Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” Indeed, Jaroslav was always interested in Life—life that he found in books, life that he found in music, life that he found in relationships, life that he found in the Tradition of the Church, and ultimately, Life that he found perfectly manifested in Christ. In fact, he would probably say that true Life in Christ made everything else alive and meaningful.    Second, when I think of Jaroslav, I think of a man who was not satisfied simply with the knowledge about God. He certainly had such knowledge; but he also knew, first-hand, the tension between scholarship and knowing God. He knew the danger of focusing on the “trees” and missing the “forest”: scholarship without intimate knowledge of the Author of all. He knew very well that between the mind and the heart lies the greatest distance in the world. He knew from his study of the church fathers and holy ascetics that the true theologian is the one who prays with his mind in his heart. Jaroslav sought this, yearned for this, with his whole being. This man of many words sought to cling to the Word. This man who was enlightened and who enlightened others desired to be embraced by and be clothed by the True Light. Jaroslav sings with us today the main hymn of the feast celebrated in the church today —the Feast of Mid-Pentecost —the midpoint between Pascha and Pentecost. The hymn reads as follows: In the middle of the feast, O Savior, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of godliness, as You cried to all: “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink!”O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory to You!

Jesus once warned us that not all those who call out His name on the Last Day would receive what they desire. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many might works in your name [and write many books in your name, and teach in your name]?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers’” (Mt 7:21). I never knew you!     

The Lord yearns for intimacy with us, my friends.  He taught us that eternal life is to know God, and Him whom He has sent: Jesus Christ. This kind of knowledge is available to the scholar and to the illiterate; to those given five talents, and to those given just one talent. Jaroslav knew this, accepted this, and embraced this.  He wanted to know God beyond theological formulas. He wanted to know Him as Abba, Father —in terms of endearment and sonship—and to be known by Him. He resonated with St Paul’s words, “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7).       

As Jaroslav’s health began to fail, this deep desire only grew stronger in him.  He came to our chapel for the last time on Easter—Pascha, as we call it in the Orthodox Church—at the Paschal Vespers, a service pregnant with the joy of the Lord’s Resurrection. He came even though he was terribly weak. He came to give his final confession and to receive the Holy Eucharist. And in that moment, one could see that he embraced St Paul’s words: For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Here indeed, we groan and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal many be swallowed up by life” (2 Cor 5: 1–4). On that day, already one could see that his attention was turned elsewhere. Already, he had his eye on the Kingdom. When Fr Thomas Hopko prayed over him a few days later, the only energy Jaroslav could muster was to utter that word of confirmation and conviction: Amen! (So be it).      

Finally, when I think of Jaroslav, I think of his personal warmth and sense of humor. He treated each of us with dignity and care. Even though he had entertained and been in the company of presidents, heads of state, accomplished musicians, and fellow scholars; even though he was a world-recognized figure, he was ready and willing to listen to each of our stories, to connect with our simple lives. He was as comfortable with us as he was with world’s notable personalities. We found him genuine and personable in all situations. Although he could have, he never put on airs. We could not find in him a sense of superiority or arrogance. He valued each of us on our own terms. He could accompany Yo-Yo Ma in concert, or sing an impromptu duet from an opera with a young  university student —comparatively a “nobody” —in the middle of Grand Central Station.

He was a loving husband for sixty years, and a loving father and grandfather. He would go on and on about his grandchildren—how proud he was of each of them. All of us were blessed to have known him. We were enriched by his presence.   

Jaroslav had a number of icons in his study.  It was a tranquil place. There, you would find icons of Christ, the Theotokos, St Jaroslav the Wise, and the Three Cappodocians. Another icon in his office, however, was the icon of St Cyril and Methodius, saints the church commemorated last Thursday. Their impact on Slavic Christianity was immeasurable. They were a bridge between East and West. Jaroslav, too, was a bridge between East and West, authoring books on the Reformation, Martin Luther, and St Augustine, and the Christian East. Jaroslav was a son by spiritual heritage of Sts Cyril and Methodius. He now rejoices in the presence of these saints.  I began my words this morning by asking the question: “What word does God speak to us through Jaroslav?” His word, I believe is threefold, yet simple:  First, make every moment of this life meaningful, for every moment is a grace and a gift from God, and by living in such a way—using the talents God has provided—become what God called you to be in His mind’s eye;  Second,  cling to God, for true Life is found only in Him; Third and finally, value each person whom you meet on your life’s path.

We all know the ending of that wonderful Parable of the Talents:
After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master, he said, ‘you have entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more. And the master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and enter into the joy of your master.” (Mt 25: 19–21)

May Jaroslav enter into the joy of his Master, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whom he served all of his life. And may his memory be eternal.  Amen!
Christ is risen!