Today I did a little march into Times Square with a group of students called Journey for Humanity. (will post on this later) They have walked across the entire country to promote genocide awareness and action. I think because I was so exposed to New Yorkers today, in the heart of the city, my mind was focused on how on earth it could be possible to reach out to the ends of the earth with the gospel.

At 3:00 every day, our cathedral bells ring the Armenian hymn "Krisdos ee mech mer haydnestav" which is translated "Christ is revealed among us." It's sung when we pass the kiss of peace during Divine Liturgy. The hymn is an exuberant expression of the joy and peace that rests in the Christian heart with the knowledge that Christ has been revealed to us and is with us: "Christ has been revealed among us! [The One] Who Is, God, is seated here. The voice of peace has resounded; holy greeting is commanded. This Church has now become one soul; the kiss is given for a full bond. The enmity has been removed, and love is spread over us all..." the hymn goes on, but I thought of those words today as the bells rang over the city. I wondered what these 8 million people would think if you told them that. What if that message was really being delivered to them at 3:00 every day? What would a stranger on the street say if you went up to her or him, gave her/him a big hug, and exclaimed, "Christ has been revealed among us! Enmity has been removed, and love is spread over us all!"? Chances are, they'd think you were nuts. Especially in New York City. But the deeper question is, does our faith actually bring that kind of joy into our hearts? It seems so oxymoronic, in a way, that such eternal joy is hidden in the bells that blend in with the rest of the noise of the city - sirens, horns, yelling, clicking of heels - noises consumed and concerned only with the here and now. Maybe that's our journey as Christ's followers in this world, to find the eternal in the here and now, where heaven meets earth. I think that is where joy resides.