St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church

St. John Orthodox Church

We Are Still in the Ark

by

Icon of Noah's Ark

Dear Beloved in Christ,

God is with us! Today, in the reading from Genesis, we hear about Noah and his family entering the ark with the animals two by two. They found safe haven in the ark just before “the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the floodgates of heaven were opened.”

These present days feel very much like the beginning of a flood. Questions circulate in our heads: How long will this last? How bad will it get? Will I get sick? In other words: How high will the flood tides rise? We sense the waters rising and begin to fear.

The Church is called the Ark of Salvation. Just as Noah’s ark saved his family and all of the creatures with him from perishing in the flood, likewise the Church offers safe haven as we journey in this life toward eternal life.

Today we face the uncertainty of the spreading pandemic, yet we must remember that we are still within the Ark of Salvation. This is not to say that being within the Church offers us special protection from disease or any other misfortune or tribulation. (Indeed it does not guarantee any such protection.) And yet if we look closely at the lives of the saints, there appears to be a protective barrier surrounding them as they endure countless trials. They are at peace while the world around them swirls as in a tempest-tossed ocean. What is this protection? It is the embracing of God’s providence.

To be truly within the Ark of Salvation means to abandon ourselves to God’s will, to view EVERYTHING we experience in life as the work of a loving, merciful, and long-suffering God who desires our salvation. In the journey of this Ark, there are no accidents, no happenstance. Rather the Ark charts its unwavering course toward heaven, and all of our life’s experience—joys and sorrows, bounty and scarcity—point in a singular fashion toward eternity.

My brothers and sisters, as the flood waters of this present turmoil rise, let us remember that we are still in the Ark: God’s providence continues unhindered. Let us seek peace in whatever may come, knowing that He will guide us through.

In Christ,

Father Matthew

 

About Fr. Matthew Swehla

Father Matthew was born in Modesto, California. He grew up attending the Lutheran church, until his father, formerly a Lutheran pastor, became disillusioned by the direction of the national church and left the ministry. A few years later his family visited the Orthodox cathedral of St. John Maximovich in San Francisco—on a whim because of a Russian exchange student they were hosting—and began their journey to Orthodoxy. Father Matthew entered the Church, along with his immediate family, when he was 15 years old.

As a young college graduate, Fr. Matthew attended an Orthodox College Conference at St. Nicholas Ranch, where he renewed his acquaintance with, Annie Nieuwsma. The two knew right away that they were meant to be together and married in 2003.

After working in several professions—in journalism, restaurant fine dining, and commercial real estate development—Father Matthew was called to the priesthood. He entered Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 2009, along with Presvytera Annie and their first three children. He received his M.Div. degree in May 2013. Fr. Matthew’s first parish assignment was St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on September 8, 2013 and served for four years as the second priest.

In 2017, Father Matthew was assigned as the proistamenos (presiding priest) of St. John the Baptist in Beaverton.

Father Matthew and Presvytera Annie have seven children: Dimas (married to Jessica), Débora (married to Nathaniel), Thomas, Peter, Nicholas, Joseph and Maria.