Our Brothers and Sisters in Artsakh

Ձեր՝ մեր մեջ այսօր ներկայությունը մխիթարություն է։ It is a source of comfort and encouragement that all of you are here at church today—for our adults and parents who are present, including myself as well.

Now, your superintendent, Baron Seva, told me that today we were going to talk a little bit about what is happening in Armenia and Artsakh. Did you have a discussion about that today in Sunday school? Can anybody share what you learned or discussed?

“We talked about how we love Armenia.”

That’s wonderful.

“We talked about how to be a good Christian.”

“To be kind.”

Being kind is very important for the Christian. What else did we talk about?

“We talked about empathy.”

Empathy is very important. Did you speak about with whom you should empathize?

“People who are going through hard times or don’t have someone to help them.”

We have to be empathetic toward those who are going through difficult times and maybe do not have other people in their lives who can help them.

Who here has brothers and sisters? Raise your hand if you have brothers and sisters. Can I tell you something? I have siblings too. Do you know how many? I have two answers. On this hand, the correct answer is three. But on this hand, the correct answer is too many for me to count. Why do you think I have so many brothers and sisters that I cannot count them?

To me, everybody is my brother or sister. Why do you think I would think that? Because I am a priest? Because I go to church? Both of those are right answers, but they are not the most basic answer. The simplest answer is that I have so many brothers and sisters because, first, I am a Christian. Jesus Christ said in the Bible, “Look to your left and look to your right. These are your brothers and these are your sisters.” And he said of his mother, “This is your mother.” When we belong to Jesus Christ, we belong to a family much bigger than the family that lives in our house.

When we are Armenian, we belong to another kind of family: our national family, our brothers and sisters who share our heritage. You have millions of brothers and sisters, just as I do.

Do we care about our brothers and sisters? If your brother or sister gets hurt, how do you feel about it? You feel bad, right? What if you are the one who hurt them?

“You have to have empathy for yourself.”

That is a very advanced and developed way of expressing empathy. But we know that we have brothers and sisters because we love them and care about what is happening to them. Sometimes, in our homes and families, we may fight a little. That is normal. But in the end, we love them very much because we want what is best for them. That is what Gregory of Tatev said about love: you know you love somebody when you want what is best for them and are willing to work to help make it happen.

Today we have many brothers and sisters in Armenia, and especially in Artsakh, who are having a very difficult time. Can anybody explain why?

“There was a war.”

“There was no water or food in Artsakh.”

In Artsakh there was no water or food, and sometimes no electricity or gas.

“They are staying in shelters.”

Many of them are staying in shelters. They cannot even stay in their homes. They must live in a place where they can be together and try to be safe because it is not safe where they live. Some had to stay outside under the sun or in the cold. That sounds scary.

“They lost their houses.”

That is very important. What is happening right now to our brothers and sisters in Artsakh makes us very afraid because they are losing their homes—the places where they live and belong. Would you like to lose the home where you live? It would be very hard to be forced to leave the place where you live. It would be very scary, and that is what is happening to them today.

What do you think we can do to help? Because we love them, and part of loving them means that we want to help make their lives better.

“We can pray.”

We can pray, and today we are all going to pray together for them. Next week, we are going to have a special prayer service for them. But you do not have to wait until you come to church to pray. You can pray for them every day. You can pray at home, when you wake up or when you go to sleep.

What else can we do? One thing you can do is be your best self. You can be your best Christian. You can be your best Armenian daughter and your best daughter in your family, because you can inspire other people that way. You are inspiring people in this church right now by being here.

If you can go there and help in a practical way, there are people trying to do that today. That is not something everybody can do. For us as grown-ups, it is frustrating because sometimes we do not even know how we can help. But having that feeling in our hearts and the willingness to help is very important, and that is what we want you to have as well.

The feeling you have when you miss somebody you love who is not around is also a way of feeling love. If our brothers and sisters living in Artsakh knew that you were here praying and thinking about them, and that in your own way you felt a longing—a garod—for them, they would feel good about that, because it would show that you love them.

When somebody loses a home and must move to a different country, that person is called a refugee. This can happen in different places. Being a refugee is very hard because people want to be where they belong. Whatever happens, I want you to join me in promising that we will do whatever we can to help. Can you do that? Let us say, “I promise.”