All in it together
At that time, standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
JOHN 19:25-27; 21:24-25
There was a small cruise ship sailing in the Caribbean. A hurricane pushed it way off course. The ship blew up on a reef next to an island. Everyone got off alive. But there was no electricity to work the radio. There was no way to get a message to the outside world that their boat had not sunk in the hurricane. No one was looking for them in that location because it was so far away from where they should have been.
There were about fifty people. They had some food and water. For now. A few of the people understood what a predicament they were in. They needed to get rescued soon or they would all die of dehydration.
There were trees on the island. The people had some tools to cut the trees down and make a raft. But it would take a huge amount of work and effort to do it. They couldn’t get off the island unless everyone worked together.
Most of the people did not understand how unlikely it was that they would be found and rescued. Only four people did understand that they needed to get off the island as fast as possible Before their supplies ran out. No one would listen. Four people could not save everyone alone. The trees and other materials were too heavy. They could not even make a raft that was just big enough for the four of them let alone for the whole group.
In the “group of four” There was a football coach. This was a person who took no nonsense. He started to complain to the other three about the lazy and complacent majority. “You see!” he said. “It’s all because no one knows how to do an honest day’s work anymore… They are going to die here. Good! It is God’s righteous judgment that they perish.”
The football coach might have had a point, but that did not help anyone get off the island. His angry words did not convince anyone of anything. And if God’s “righteous judgment” doomed the larger group from getting off the island, it would simultaneously prevent him from getting off the island. No one could make it out alive Unless everyone worked together to get everyone out alive.
Another person in the group of four was a professor; a rather bookish type who was used to everything being rational and logical. He started to ask, “Why did this happen to us? Why did God allow us to be stranded on this island? How is God good if He allows this?”
Those might be valid questions. Our society gives us a set of expectations About what God should be. And life hurts. So the questions are understandable. But they are very impractical questions. They are not questions that help anyone get off an island. Plus, you could just as easily ask the question, “Why should God intervene for you?” Laws of nature are laws of nature. Hurricanes happen. Death happens. It is just science. More importantly, proclaiming the unrighteousness of God or even proclaiming that God probably does not exist (and how could you possibly verify that, Mr. Scientist?) does not help anyone to do anything useful or selfless or virtuous. Objecting to the irrationality of God Only serves to make you feel smarter like you have figured it out. But it does not help anyone.
The third person in the “group of four” felt sorry for the large group. This was a very social person who got along with people. He didn’t like making the group angry. He asked, “isn’t there any way we can help everyone without making any demands of the lazy ones?” He wanted to shelter the majority of the group from the consequences of their actions.
“You see,” he explained, “They may seem lazy, But they just want to enjoy the sunshine. Plus they are not used to hard labour. These are fairly well-off people, How do you think they could afford to be on a cruise? Hard work would be a shock to their system. These people are sheltered too. They have never had to deal with the harsher realities of life. It’s not fair for them to have to be confronted with a life-and-death situation. Can’t we save them from dying on the island, while also saving them from the discomfort of having to do the work needed to get off the island?”
But facts are stubborn things. Compassion is wonderful. The football coach needed to learn compassion. If the atheist had compassion he would probably stop speculating about the existence of God, and begin to do something useful for the people on whom he had compassion. But there is a difference between empathy and feeling sorry for someone. Feeling sorry for someone makes me feel virtuous, but it may not help them become virtuous. And it still did not change the fact that they were are all going to die together unless everyone worked together.
The group of four concluded that it was necessary for the complacent people to get hungry and thirsty before they would be motivated to listen. So the four of them saved their breath and waited.
The fourth person decided to prepare everything he could to for the work of making the raft. He did this in anticipation, and in the hope that everyone would eventually decide to cooperate. He made plans. He collected whatever they would use to cut the trees. He prepared storage containers so they could bring supplies on the raft.
Focussing on what he could do now, and having the courage to hope stubbornly that everyone would do the right thing eventually, gave him the moral authority to lead and direct the work of the whole group when they decided to cooperate.
A few days passed. Someone in the larger group got seriously dehydrated and looked like she would die. That got everyone’s attention. Everyone banded together and gave the person an extra portion of water. They carried her in under the shade of a tree to revive. Now the people all started to cooperate. They got to work with the tools and the plans that had been prepared. They made their raft. They got off the island. They almost died at sea. Because no one ever promised that this would work. But it was the only thing that could work. Eventually they were rescued; half dead, but still alive.
The majority that had been lazy, sheltered and privileged had now matured. Because of the crisis, they came out skinnioer but tougher; shaken but also more responsible. Strangers became brothers.
In today’s gospel reading Mary and the Apostle John, were standing at the cross watching their beloved master and teacher die in horrible agony. Disfigured. Discredited. Discarded. The precious one is despised. The royal priest, whose prayers and whose power have protected the city of Jerusalem, has now been marched out of his city like a criminal and a slave. But John and Mary stand there.
St. Ambrose of Milan tells us that the reason Mary was staring at her dying son was not because she was horrified at the brutality of his death. We might have stood and stared, transfixed by the horror. But that was not why Mary was standing there. She was marveling at the miracle of salvation that was unfolding before her eyes. She understood that the disciples would have to reckon with their cowardice. She knew that each person in the world would one day have to look at the horrible truth of how ugly and horrific their own sin is. Jesus on the cross constitutes a just accusation against all of us. And yet, she does not stare in pity or fear. She stands in wonder at the goodness of God.
While Mary prays for us, she also knows that when we see that horror of sin, and our conscience is pricked, that will be for our salvation. As a mother, she knows that the child must be allowed to be confronted with the consequences of their actions in order to mature. Trying to save someone from the gospel truth about the evil of their sin, about how their sin is leading towards death, is to try to save them from Jesus.
Mary was not angry with the ones who killed Jesus And she was not angry with God the Father who sent Jesus. Mary knew, as she stood at the foot of the cross, that while we may never understand why evil exists, the cross reveals to us that the real tragedy of evil is that it is inside us. And yet God has come to destroy evil and death.
I want to read a part of a poem By St. Ephrem the Syrian. And it is about Jonah when he preached repentance to Nineveh. For anyone who doesn’t know this is a story from the Bible when God sends a messenger, a prophet, to an evil city. The prophet tells the people of the city that unless they change their ways, God will destroy them all. But the message works. They all focus. They all work together. And they all change.
And this poem takes some artistic license in imagining what it is like when a whole group of people work together for their common salvation. St. Ephrem is purposely using words that allude to the church, as Jesus describes it.
The young men laid restraint upon their eyes,
That they might not gaze on women;
Women laid aside their ornaments,
That those who looked on them might not stumble.
For they all were persuaded of this.
That the ruin was a common one;
If they became a stumbling-block to others,
They themselves would not escape.
The beautiful would not disturb
The penitence of the men of the city;
For they knew that on their behalf
The repentant were mourning.
They thus both healed and were healed,
The one by the other, through repentance.
No one caused his neighbour to sin,
For every man was persecuting unrighteousness;
Every one drew on his companion
To prayer and supplication.
The whole city became one body,
Every one was watching every one,
Lest one should sin against his kinsman.
Each one instructed his neighbour.
That he might be clear from his fellow-member.
No man there offered up petitions,
That he might alone be saved;
They were alike as fellow-members,
For each prayed the one for the other.
All the city had been summoned
To destruction, as though it were one body.
Nor were the sober among them able
To live apart from sinners;
For as members they were bound together,
The good and the evil equally.
Their righteous men were offering prayers
For sinners, that they might be saved;
And sinners again were intreating
For the righteous, that they might be heard.
The just among them prayed
For the unrighteous, that they might be saved;
And the unjust, on the other hand, made supplication
That the prayer of the just might be accepted.
Bonus material from St. Ambrose, Epistle LXIII (63)
108. Mothers, wean your children, love them, but pray for them that they may long live above this earth, not on the earth but above it, for there is nothing long-lived on this earth, and that which lasts long is but short and very frail. Warn them rather to take up the Cross of the Lord than to love this life.
109. Mary, the mother of the Lord stood by her Son’s Cross; no one has taught me this but the holy Evangelist St. John. Others have related how the earth was shaken at the Lord’s passion, the sky was covered with darkness, the sun withdrew itself; that the thief was after a faithful confession received into paradise. John tells us what the others have not told, how the Lord fixed on the Cross called to His mother, esteeming it of more worth that, victorious over His sufferings, He rendered her the offices of piety, than that he gave her a heavenly kingdom. For if it be according to religion to grant pardon to the thief, it is a mark of much greater piety that a mother is honoured with such affection by her Son. “Behold,” He says, “thy Son”. … “Behold thy mother.” Christ testified from the Cross, and divided the offices of piety between the mother and the disciple. The Lord made not only a public but also a private testament, and John signed this testament of His, a witness worthy of so great a Testator. A good testament not of money but of eternal life, which was written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, Who says: “My tongue is the pen of a quickly writing scribe.”
110. Nor was Mary below what was becoming the mother of Christ. When the apostles fled, she stood at the Cross, and with pious eyes beheld her Son’s wounds, for she did not look for the death of her Offspring, but the salvation of the world. Or perchance, because that “royal hall” [i.e. Mary is a throne room of the King Jesus] knew that the redemption of the world would be through the death of her Son, she thought that by her death also she might add something to the public weal. But Jesus did not need a helper for the redemption of all, Who saved all without a helper. Wherefore also He says: “I am become like a man without help, free among the dead.” He received indeed the affection of His mother, but sought not another’s help.
Imitate her, holy mothers, who in her only dearly beloved Son set forth so great an example of maternal virtue; for neither have you sweeter children, nor did the Virgin seek the consolation of being able to bear another son.
From Methodius, “Concerning Free Will.”
Orthodoxus. The old man of Ithaca, according to the legend of the Greeks, when he wished to hear the song of the Sirens, on account of the charm of their voluptuous voice, sailed to Sicily in bonds, and stopped up the ears of his companions; not that he grudged them the hearing, or desired to load himself with bonds, but because the consequence of those singers’ music to those who heard it was death. For such, in the opinion of the Greeks, are the charms of the Sirens. Now I am not within hearing of any such song as this; nor have I any desire to hear the Sirens who chant men’s dirges, and whose silence is more profitable to men than their voice; but I pray to enjoy the pleasure of a divine voice, which, though it be often beard, I long to hear again; not that I am overcome with the charm of a voluptuous voice, but I am being taught divine mysteries, and expect as the result, not death but eternal salvation. For the singers are not the deadly Sirens of the Greeks, but a divine choir of prophets, with whom there is no need to stop the ears of one’s companions, nor to load one’s-self with bonds, in fear of the penalty of hearing. For, in the one case, the hearer, with the entrance of the voice, ceases to live; in the other, the more he hears, the better life will he enjoy, being led onwards by a divine Spirit. Let everyone come, then, and hear the divine song without any fear. There are not with us the Sirens from the shore of Sicily, nor the bonds of Ulysses, nor the wax poured melting into men’s ears; but a loosening of all bonds, and liberty to listen to everyone that approaches. For it is worthy of us to hear such a song as this; and to hear such singers as these, seems to me to be a thing to be prayed for. But if one wishes to hear the choir of the apostles as well, he will find the same harmony of song. For the others sang beforehand the divine plan in a mystical manner; but these sing an interpretation of what has been mystically announced by the former. Oh, concordant harmony, composed by the Divine Spirit! Oh, the comeliness of those who sing of the mysteries of God? Oh. that I also may join in these songs in my prayer. Let us then also sing the like song, and raise the hymn to the Holy Father, glorifying in the Spirit Jesus, who is in His bosom.
Shun not, man, a spiritual hymn, nor be ill-disposed to listen to it. Death belongs not to it; a story of salvation is our song. Already I seem to taste better enjoyments, as I discourse on such subjects as these; and especially when there is before me such a flowering meadow, that is to say, our assembly of those who unite in singing and hearing the divine mysteries.
From Methodius “Fragments from the Homily on the Cross and Passion of Christ
” Some think that God also, whom they measure with the measure of their own feelings, judges the same thing that wicked and foolish men judge to be subjects of praise and blame, and that He uses the opinions of men as His rule and measure, not taking into account the fact that, by reason of the ignorance that is in them, every creature falls short of the beauty of God. For He draws all things to life by His Word, from their universal substance and nature. For whether He would have good, He Himself is the Very Good, and remains in Himself; or, whether the beautiful is pleasing to Him, since He Himself is the Only Beautiful, He beholds Himself, holding in no estimation the things which move the admiration of men. That, verily, is to be accounted as in reality the most beautiful and praiseworthy, which God Himself esteems to be beautiful, even though it be contemned and despised by all else — not that which men fancy to be beautiful.
Sermon for the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos.
The feasts we celebrate which focus on the life of Mary before Jesus was conceived, come to us from the Protoevangelium of James. This is a document that we do not regard as scripture, but it is edifying reading, and I recommend having a look at it here: https://www.gospels.net/infancyjames/ Do not take it all literally, but it doesn’t hurt to be familiar with it. The feast of the entrance of the Theotokos into the temple celebrates events that are also told in the Protoevangelium, and it is also the only source of information we have about her parents, Joachim and Anna. If you would like to know why Mary’s cradle in the icon looks the way it does, read the Protoevangelium.
Anna, the mother of Mary, was of the lineage of Aaron the priest, and Joachim was of the family of David. As the synaxarion tells us, Mary brought together both the priestly and the royal lines, so that Jesus is descended from both. He calls us into his royal priesthood.
When we read the story in the Protoevangelium, we see the two personalities of the king and the priest in the characters of Joachim and Anna. Anna, of the priestly line, is a person of prayer. She prays for a daughter. This prayer is not just a prayer to have children. She desires to fulfill the commandments, particularly the commandment to increase the family of Israel. Bringing children into the world was a service to the community. Anna swears to dedicate the child to God in the temple. In St. Anna’s mind, life is intercession, born out of a solidarity with others and a longing for God. Prayer was so central to her nature, that the only possible purpose of having a child was to raise another intercessor who would live in the temple and serve the people through prayer. In fact, that is what Mary is still doing: serving her people through her prayers.
Joachim’s character is also inspiring, but it is different. Joachim is descended from David the great warrior king. Joachim brings his sacrifices (double the required amount) to God, with the same eager heart as David. But Joachim is turned away by the priest because he has not had a child. My immediate reaction was to be offended by the unfairness of that event. Surely it was not St. Joachim’s fault that he and his wife could not have children!
God has a way of nudging us towards prayer, even if it is in the midst of unfairness or misfortune. That is what happened with Joachim. In response to being barred from sacrificing he withdraws to fast and pray. Joachim could see that in our interactions with God it is unwise simply to focus on our “rights,” or on how we are being treated as individuals. God uses all situations for our salvation, and for the salvation of everyone. Would Joachim have sought God in such fervent prayer without the priest rejecting him? Would he and Anna have conceived? From the “unfairness” of the priest Jesus is brought into the world!
Not only does Joachim fast and pray, he even goes so far as to ask for God’s forgiveness! Just in case it he had sinned. Joachim does not need to be backed into the corner and forced to admit he is wrong before he repents. He just repents in case. This is the same heart as the heart of King David, when he wrote, “blott out my transgression … I know my iniquity and my sin is ever before me, against thee only have I sinned … create in me a clean heart … then shall they offer sacrifices and whole-burnt offerings.” (Psalm 50)
Joachim was beset by the challenges of infertility and social stigma. He turns to God and waits for God’s intervention, even though he is also a man of action. His decisiveness leads him out into the desert where he waits for God’s command. Joachim is like his ancestor David who also withdrew to the desert. Although David was a warrior hero figure, he was a special kind of hero. David constantly sought God’s guidance as he waged war against Israel’s enemies. Even though David was anointed as the one who would take over as King after Saul, still David did not take the opportunity to kill Saul and take the kingdom by violence. Saul was unrighteous. Saul was the king that God had appointed, but he acted unfairly. And yet David waited.
When we are angry and want to take action, we often fail to be the kind of heroes that David and Joachim were. Perhaps we are angry on behalf of those we perceive to be victims of the unfairness of the church’s teachings regarding holiness and obedience. Perhaps we are angry because of how the sinful world opposes God. David expressed both types of anger, but he waited for God to act. We, however, often take upon ourselves the mantel of heroes, and we feel compelled to “speak out.” If we speak out on behalf of the “victims” of God’s calling to holiness, we risk making ourselves the saviour of the people, and we end up portraying God as the enemy from which people must be saved. If, on the other extreme, we feel compelled to speak out because society has become unbearable sinful, we risk making ourselves the heroes and saviours who protect God’s honour. In either case, we think that what we are doing is borne out of love. But it is not love.
The heroic type of love is called agape. Agape love is brotherly love. It is also parental love. Agape is love that says, “I will suffer so that you can thrive.” Agape is the love which King David showed when he was willing to fight to protect. But David was also a shepherd in his youth who guided his sheep and later his people. David fought off wolves when he was a young shepherd, but later he wrote, “the Lord is my shepherd … his rod and his staff (the instruments of guidance and correction) comfort me.” He also wrote, “blessed art Thou, o Lord, teach me thy statutes.” This is the full picture of a hero. A hero does not simply defend; he also leads.
The Davidic hero realizes that we are all pieces of a bigger story; the story of how God saves the whole world. We become heroes when we pray, like St. Anna, for the opportunity to fulfill our own small part, allowing God use us as he sees fit. In their love for their fellow people, the heroes offer sacrifices of righteousness to God.
We too may offer our sacrifices by abstaining from the compulsion to “speak out.” We sacrifice the delicious feast of anger and indignance which keeps us coming back for more and more. We fast by abstaining from the passions which lead us into the delusion that we can save others through anger. When we acquire the “broken and humbled heart” which God will not despise, we can say, as Mary did, “let it be with me according to Thy will.” When unfairness and wickedness surround us, we listen for the voice of the good Shepherd. His sheep know his voice and will not follow the hireling. We save the world through mirroring the example of Jesus in his patience with the world. The result can be that through us, God, the good shepherd, will call our children, and all the lost children of the sinful world, to enter into His temple, like Mary entered when she was three years old.
Sunday of the 1st Ecumenical Council
At that time, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which you gave me to do; and now, Father, you glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made. I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you; for I have given them the words which you gave me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you did send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are mine; all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
JOHN 17:1-13
Today is the Sunday on which we commemorate the 1st Ecumenical Council which took place in 325 AD, after Christianity was no longer persecuted by the Romans. The main reason for the council was actually to establish rules of good governance by the churches as well as church discipline.
But what the council is best known for is the rejection of the teachings of a bishop called Arius, who claimed that Jesus is not God. The council proclaimed clearly that Jesus is God, and more specifically the council taught that Jesus is “of one essence” with God the Father.
The reason Arius taught this heresy was that the ancient idea of God was one of a distant all-powerful force that could hardly be communicated with. Gods did not care, they just had power. This was taken to be the primary truth, and the gospel of Christ was something Arius tried to fit into the narrow box of his pre-Christian categories of thought regarding God.
Because of the victory of the council, our church has given us this particular passage from the gospel of John. In this passage Jesus speaks about the relationship He has with His Father. It speaks of the glory that the son had with the Father before the world was made.
Let us imagine that we were in ancient Rome at the time of the council of Nicea. Let us imagine that we were speaking to a man who was not a Christian, but who was born into a modestly wealthy family. The family had land and buildings and money. This man spent his life working hard to grow the family business. He knew that he needed to show respect to the gods and honour to the gods. This was because everyone knew that if the gods were angry, they would give you bad luck and misfortune.
So the man made sacrifices to the gods … now and again. He had pretty good luck. He got a bit richer and a bit richer. It seemed that his life was both prosperous and religious.
But the man had slaves who had to work much harder than their master ever did. He had poor neighbours who struggled to have enough food to feed their children. All around this man there were people suffering to some degree.
The man in our story thought that other people’s problems are their problems. That’s between them and the gods. The gods help the people they want to help.
Along came a Christian who explained that the gift of God to us is that we may feed the poor, and treat all people as our brothers and sisters. The Christian explained that God himself had become a man. And what God did as a man was to feed the hungry, and to have mercy on the poor. When God became man he associated with the outcasts.
That was something unheard of for the Romans. How can it be a divine thing to show human kindness? The Roman argued that is not what gods do. The Roman argued that divinity is not the same as human compassion.
But the Christian argued: the glory of God is a man fully alive. What it means to be divine is to love your fellow humans. What God did when he became human was to love his fellow humans with a love that was so great that he was willing to die for them.
For the Roman in our story, this was a conceptual crisis. He thought: If I have been sacrificing to the gods all this time, but the gods do not care about sacrifice, how did I become so rich and prosperous? Do sacrifices have nothing to do with making the gods happy? Did they not give me what I have because I pleased them?
No. They did not. You do not have riches and material prosperity because you made the gods happy, the Christian explains. “But why did God allow me to be prosperous and rich then?” asks the man.
John Chrysostom would have told him that he does not have riches, but the riches have him. We justify having as much as we have by saying that we need these things. But would we not be freer if we did not need them? If I do not need things they cannot be taken from me, and I cannot be deprived.
God allowed you to have your riches so that you could do the same kind of things that God himself did when he became man. God’s generosity is that you have the opportunity to use what you have to show the love of God to other people. God is calling you to take care of others. When you do that you are one with God and you shine with the glory of God.
The Roman man again was faced with a crisis. How can I live up to this calling! It is too hard. The Christian explained to him that only the gift of the Holy Spirit is enough to help us be like Jesus.
If Jesus were just a man who did nice things, we would powerless to follow in his footsteps. But if Jesus is God who became man, then Jesus can make us alive with the same love that he has If Jesus is God, then he can make us who he is because he became who we are.
God’s super power is love. The glory and majesty and power of God is shown in the compassion Jesus showed to the widows, the sick, the poor, and the sinners. What is successful in the life of Jesus? What is admirable and excellent? What about his life is an expression of what we want to be? It is his love and compassion and prayers.
There are ways for us to live out this calling in our church. Consider the reading today from Acts.
IN THOSE DAYS, Paul had decided to sail past Ephesos, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. And from Miletos he sent to Ephesos and called to him the elders of the church. And when they came to him, he said to them: “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive.‘ ” And when he had spoken thus, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
Acts 20:16-18, 28-36
St. Paul built up his churches without receiving any compensation because he wanted to set an example for the new Christians of the kind of spirit of responsibility and empowerment that is needed. We are the church. No one else is obligated or even called to help to pay for our church. God has called us.
The first way for us to imitate Christ in his divine condescension is to practice tithing. God has called us to give 10% of our income to the church. But you are not giving money. You are giving Church School to children. You are giving spiritual care and hospital visits. You are helping to build a safe haven for others. You are providing this city with a strong witness to the Orthodox faith. You are giving youth the chance to grow in faith. You are giving the frail a place of rest.
The next way we participate in the life of Christ is by serving. In many organizations 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. In this community the number is better than that, but we still need more people to be involved. If you do not have a specific task in this church, you need to have one. You are missing out and we need you.
Another way of shining with the glory of God is for us to welcome people to church. You are the face of this congregation. Visitors need to be welcomed by you.
We show that Jesus is our only hope by taking responsibility for making church happen and by providing church for others. This is the glory of God. This is true spirituality.
Freedom from pride
MARK 10:32-45
At that time, Jesus took his twelve disciples, and he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles; and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise.” And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him, and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant of James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Two brothers are taking their families camping in the woods. They stop to set up camp. They both want to be the camping boss.
“You’re starting the fire wrong. See it’s not working, let me show you how.”
“I know how to do this, I’ve been camping more than you have.”
“Well then why isn’t the fire going already.”
“We need to set the tent up over there.”
“No, you never set a tent up in that kind of a place. Everyone knows that.”
“When I was in the army we learned that you always have to do it like this.”
“Well we’re not in the army now, General!”
Each one wants to be the big boss man. After they ruin their families’ vacation the two brothers decide to try to talk things out. (Full disclosure: their wives decided that they would talk it out). Both brothers are thinking the exact same thing. They both say, “you never listen to me.”
What they both feel is, “I want to be heard. I want to be respected. I’m not a little boy anymore. Υou need to relate to me as an adult. I want to be recognized for my accomplishments. I want to feel loved.”
They both want the other brother to feel loved as well. As it stands now, the brothers are sacrificing every real need that they have to that one perceived need which is the need to win. They would both rather win, rather push the other one down, than build the other up. Who is going to blink or back down?
In this stalemate no one is winning. Both of these brothers have become slaves to their pride. They each have a rope around their necks. Pride is holding the other end of the rope. When pride says, “stick out your chest,” they must do it. If they don’t, pride will make them feel as if they are going to die inside. When we are enslaved by our pride it is very easy for someone to grab hold of that rope and yank itand make us do things we didn’t think we would ever do, such as destroy our relationships and make a scene over a campfire.
What is it that you are attached to so much that when it is threatened you become a slave to your passion?
In today’s gospel the Apostles James and John come to Jesus to ask him if they may sit at his right and left side when Jesus comes in his kingdom. Basically they want to be as powerful and as important as you can possibly get.
Jesus asks them, “can you drink the cup that I drink?” What cup is that? It is the cup that Jesus spoke of in the garden of gethsemane saying, “take this cup from me.” It refers to his death. Jesus asks the disciples, “can you be baptized with the same baptism with which I am baptized?” That is, the baptism in which Jesus enters into the depths of hades. It sounds like Jesus is simply asking them to swear a solemn oath of allegiance. But the question is actually pedagogical. These apostles will run away from Jesus when Jesus goes to “drink of that cup,” as he suffers and dies. So no, they cannot drink of it yet. But in this passage, James and John are eager, and they say, “yes, we can do that.”
Then Jesus says, “you will indeed drink the cup that I drink … but to sit at my right or my left hand is not mine to give.” We now know that they did die as martyrs later on, when they have reached maturity in their apostolic ministry. But they have not matured yet, at the time of today’s gospel.
Why did Jesus say that he is unable to grant the places of honour to the apostles James and John? There are three issues going on here. First of all, there is no right or left-hand place beside Jesus. Jesus sits alone upon the throne. Jesus is the lamb who is slain. He is the only lamb of God.
It is in our DNA to fall down before Jesus Christ and worship him as our Lord as our God as our Saviour. It is a fundamental part of how the universe works and of how we work. Whatever passion and desire we have become enslaved to it will undermine the “one thing needful” which is to serve Jesus Christ.
Second of all, Jesus has already told the apostles earlier that they will all sit on thrones in the kingdom (just not as his equals). When James and John are making this request they are not just saying that they want to be near Jesus. They actually wanted to be greater than the rest of the disciples. As long as the brothers are fighting they are losing the very brother from whom they want respect. They are destroying the very relationship that would be the place where respect and love would happen.
Third of all, notice, when Jesus says, “it is not mine to give,” he does not go on to say, “but my Father has decided who will sit there.” He does not say whose it is to give. Ruling with Jesus means dying with him, which is our choice and he cannot make it for us.
Jesus has given us a way out of this mess. Jesus says, “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of man [himself!!] also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The word “ransom” is interesting. Usually when we hear the word ransom we think of hostages or kidnapping. What Jesus is talking about is buying a slave. In our analogy the rutheless master controlling each brother is pride. How can they be free?
They can be free by becoming the servant of another master. When they are freed from the false master of pride, they are free to become the servant of the real master who is Himself the full essence of love. They are free to follow Him who created us, who holds us together in an inseparable bond of shared humanity.
In our gospel reading today the disciples want to be equal to Jesus. But a disciple will never not be a disciple. Jesus does not ransom us so that we have no master. Jesus ransoms us for true freedom, which is the freedom to be His servants and disciples. We will never have any higher place, never any higher calling than to sit at Jesus’ feet. In the heavenly kingdom we will still be disciples forever.
The master teaches us by revealing himself to be present in the person of our neighbour. We honour our teacher who is coming to us disguised as a needy brother. The master teaches us by calling us to do what he does. We are Jesus’ apprentices. When we forgive we are growing into our true selves. When we cooperate and let the other person win the argument, we are becoming true man together with him who is also true God. When I build up my brother he starts to behave like a king with nobility of character and magnanimity. And even if he does not I have my peace.
We proclaim our belief that Jesus can restore all people to the kingship which is the inheritance of the servant. The best way to achieve the restored relationships that we long for is to follow Jesus, showing those around us that our hope is not in pride but in love.
Proskomedi (part 1)
How does the Holy Spirit speak to us? How does the Holy Spirit help us to make decisions? How do we know who has authority to discern the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the Church? These are the questions we are going to learn about today and in the next few Sundays.
In order to learn about this we are going to study the Proskomedi. The Proskomedi is a service of preparation that is celebrated by the priest before Divine Liturgy. When it is finished, the wine and the bread are ready to be carried into the church for the Eucharist. The priest celebrates this service on a table in the altar that stands off to the side.
The table is called the Prothesis. “Prothesis” means the act of bringing something forth. The Proskomedi service is a picture of how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. We are going to study the text of the Proskomedi for a few reasons. First of all, learning about the prayers of the church teaches us to think like the Church. Second of all, the Proskomedi teaches us what the words “authority” and the “inspiration” of the Holy Spirit mean.
Authority comes from the Latin word “augment.” In Roman law, authority was idea that you can only make new laws if they are a continuation of previous laws. You cannot make anything new. Christians took this concept and applied it to the doctrine of the Church. Like St. Paul and St. Vincent teaches us: we only repeat what we have heard.
The Proskomedi tells us about Christian authority and what makes for authoritative teaching. The Proskomedi teaches us who has authority. It does this by showing us what the original authority is and how it continues and reaches us.
The word Proskomedi means sacrifice. It is a Bloodless sacrifice. In ancient times and in the Old Testament, food offerings and whole-burnt offerings fell into this category of bloodless sacrifices. These were not animal sacrifices of blood or atonement. They were offerings from the people without blood. The Proskomedi is the sacrifice that we make, offering what we have to God. We offer our work to God by giving the product of our work.
The first prayer of the Proskomedi is, “God be gracious to me, a sinner.” That might sound like a generic introductory phrase. But in fact, this prayer captures the essence of all of our prayers. We are sinners who need God.
Today we read about Zacchaeus who was a sinner. Zacchaeus was basically like the mafia. He was an extortionist. Being a tax collector meant not only that he took people’s money but he had the power to put you in jail whenever he wanted if he didn’t get the money he wanted.
We read today how Zacchaeus turned his life around. Zacchaeus was numbered among the seventy apostles who Jesus sent out to heal and preach the gospel. Zacchaeus became an apostle and a bishop!
Zacchaeus is a good example of how God works in our lives. The “original” from which all authority derives is Jesus Christ. Jesus comes to Zacchaeus and sees him hiding in a tree. And Jesus says to him “come down, I am going to eat at your house.” Where did Jesus get the authority to tell him what to do? Where did Jesus get the authority to just say “I am going to your house?”
On the one hand Jesus got that authority because he is the creator of Heaven and Earth and is the Son of God. But more importantly Jesus has that authority because he created Heaven and Earth in order to die on the cross for us. Jesus has the authority to call Zacchaeus to repentance because Jesus is eternally the righteous one who died for Zacchaeus. Jesus leaves his Father’s house to come to save Zacchaeus. By his death, Jesus is showing Zacchaeus what Zacchaeus should do. “Go to the lost sheep,” he tells Zacchaeus. “Boldly go to sinners and enter their houses when everyone else thinks they are unclean, just like I have entered your house. Love the sinners. Believe in the power of God to heal the sinners.” That is what Jesus is calling Zacchaeus to do. Because Jesus is the one who does it first, he has the authority to cause Zacchaeus to do it. He is the original, Zacchaeus is the continuation.
Zacchaeus is there in Jerusalem at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes. He sees the power of the Holy Spirit to convert thousands of people. Zacchaeus receives the authority and the gift of preaching the gospel, the gift of guiding the Church as a bishop. He takes what he and all the apostles saw, what they together learned from Jesus. He takes what Peter, the leader of the apostles has said. He takes the guidance of the twelve chief apostles. Working within that framework he goes out to continue his own ministry as an apostle and a bishop.
The Holy Spirit moves in the Church. The Church received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Each person received their individual gift and calling of the Holy Spirit in the context of the whole Church. No one did it alone. No one is independent of the rest. No one speaks on their own authority. Not even Jesus speaks on his own authority, but rather he speaks what the Father has spoken to Him.
So when we continue to learn about the Proskomedi we continue to see how the life and death of Jesus has power and authority that spreads out from one person to the next, in the context of the Church, in the fulness of all the people in the Church who are called to various tasks and positions of leadership, and it continues down to each person in their place.
Each of you has the authority to spread the Gospel. Primarily you do this by living the Christian life. In the same way that Jesus’ authority comes from what he does and he invites you to be righteous with him. He has authority because he knows how. He has authority because he has experienced suffering for righteousness’ sake.
Authority and inspiration in the Church come from the life of obedience and worship and discipleship. And it is spread from you to others who see it in you. It comes through you to your children and grandchildren, to you nieces and nephews and other children in your life; to your godsons and goddaughters, to enquirers and catechumens. Your life in Christ is a conduit for the Holy Spirit to reach others. But only in the context of the wider Church.
Your authority is not to enforce canons. Canons are provided to bishops as a help for them to guide us. Your authority is not to decide how the Bishops should lead the Church. Your authority is not over priests and deacons. You do not have the right to make the bigger decisions about how the worship is done in the church. Each person in their own place and their own calling. Each person has their own type of authority and inspiration.
Each person only has as much authority and inspiration as the Holy Spirit has given them in the context of the Church. Authority and inspiration are given us first and foremost in order for us to obey Jesus, and to have a life of righteousness that they invite others to join.
St. Paul talks about this authority when he speaks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He says that the body is one, and the head cannot say to the foot, “I don’t need you.” The leaders of the church must not disdain or ignore the people who follow them.
Our bishops need us to learn from them and to follow them. The church does not function well if we do not all follow their leadership. They need us to pray for them. They need us to do the work of serving and running the day-to-day tasks of the church. They need us to listen to them so that others can be saved: to provide a good example of cooperation and obedience to others.
The foot (that is us) cannot say to the head, “I don’t need you as my head” or “I can also be a head.” We have one head. The bishops do not need our guidance. One person is the father. All the others are children. The Head cannot say to the foot, “I do not need you.” But the head is still the head and not the foot.
I once heard Bishop John tell a group of people, “As the bishop, I need you to have a job. But you need me in order to be a church. Without me you are just a club. You might be a great club, but you are not a church without me.”
The Holy Spirit comes to each person through the whole of the Church. He comes to us through the teachings of the Church which come to us through our teachers. He comes to us through the scriptures when they are taught and explained to us by those whom the Holy Spirit has called to teach us. The Holy Spirit does not come to you by going around the Church, but through the Church, through the fulness of the life of the Church.
The inspiration of the Holy Spirit is not just a radio frequency that anyone can tune into without respect to training or ordination. The Holy Spirit guides us by providing us with people who have studied and are recognized by our bishops as being qualified.
So let’s read one of the first prayers of the Proskomedi:
Make ready, O Bethlehem for Eden has been opened for all. Prepare, O Ephratha, for the tree of life has blossomed forth in the cave from the Virgin. For her womb has become a spiritual Paradise in which is planted the divine plant, whereof eating we shall live and not die as Adam. Christ shall be born, raising the image that fell of Old.
This prayer is not just from the Proskomedi, it is also a hymn that we sing at Christmas. On the Prothesis table where we celebrate the Proskomedi we have the Christmas icon. Christ coming to us when we celebrate the Proskomedi. Soon we will receive the body of Christ.
We say that Eden is opened. The creation of the world and the garden of Eden was part of the story line in which Jesus would become man. That is the whole point of creation and human existence is for us to become like Jesus. The Tree of life is the cross. It is beginning to come to us when we prepare of the Divine Liturgy.
The prayer mentions the “Divine plant.” This recalls when Jesus says, “I am the vine you are the branches.” Jesus says “remain in me” Jesus’ love, self-sacrifice, total dedication to God are what we are called to make our lives about. They are the climax of creation.
The life we are created to live in Christ, that is the continuation from the original which is Jesus Christ. All authority and all inspiration from the Holy Spirit shows us how to be part of that. Authority brings about the continuation of the life of Jesus Christ in the life of every Christian. That authority begins in the altar where the Bishop serves together with his priests that he has ordained.
We come to the Proskomedi asking for help as sinners. When the Holy Spirit guides the Church by giving the gift of leadership to our bishops, and the gifts of teaching to our teachers, when the Holy Spirit speaks to us through them about how to live a life in Christ, that is the help we are given. Authority is the voice of the church calling us to a life in Christ, telling us how, guiding us. The hymn above says that we shall live and not die as Adam. Christ shall be born, raising the image that fell of old.
Next time we will talk about how the Proskomedi explains to us what the life in Christ is. What is it that the Church teaches us to do? How does it guide us? How does the work of the Holy Spirit become our own life? That is what we will discuss in the next part of this series.
Praying with Jesus
At that time, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
MATTHEW 14:22-34
The disciples were rowing in the storm in today’s gospel. They were cold, wet and tired. It was also pitch dark. When you are in a boat on the stormy seas there is no break from the waves. You can’t press pause.
The wind was blowing against them, otherwise they would have used the sail. And this sounds like the worst-case scenario, but it was not. When it is stormy, the best thing is to have the front of the boat point straight into the waves. What is dangerous is when the waves come from the side. The storm that Jesus left them in was difficult but not deadly.
This is the second time that Jesus is with the disciples in the storm. The last time there was a storm, Jesus was with them in the boat. This time he is on land, and they are rowing alone. He is training them for their work as apostles once he ascends into heaven.
Many interpret this story as “Jesus comes to us in our storm to comfort us.” That is part of the point.
But when Jesus comes to the disciples it is not comforting at first. The disciples think that they are seeing a ghost. You don’t look outside when you’re rowing and working so hard. You can’t see someone walking on the water in that darkness. But suddenly Jesus is right up next to them.
Peter says, Lord, if it is you, tell me come to you.” Peter did not say, “let me walk on the water too.” Rather, Peter says, “let me come to you, Jesus.” Peter did not say, “I am coming.” He waits to hear the voice of Jesus. He waits for a command.
Jesus says, “come.”
Peter is full of love but also eager to the point of recklessness. Jesus affirms his love because Jesus always receives us when we run to him. Jesus also allows Peter to learn how to be more sober.
By allowing Peter to first walk out onto the water, and then sink, Jesus is saying to Peter, “Yes, you want to come to me. That is a desire which will always be fulfilled. But no, you are not invincible in your faith. Take your weakness seriously. Be careful not to get caught up in ecstasy.”
Powerful and intense feelings are deceptive. An intense feeling is not a substitute for sober, mature thought. Feelings are like little children. They are precious and command our attention. They are hard to ignore. They become our darlings.
But feelings have to grow up. Feelings cannot always dominate our conversations. Every child has to learn not to interrupt. Every child has to learn that mom and dad cannot always read them books; cannot always give them a hug. Mom and dad have to correct them. Mom and dad need to expect them to work.
Affection walks hand-in-hand with steady direction. That is how our feelings must be managed. When we allow our feelings to be the boss, especially in our faith, then our world is ruled by a child. A child who is in charge of the house becomes the worst of tyrants.
Love the feelings. Be open to the feelings. But let your inner adult be the boss. That is the best thing for your feelings.
The disciples were on the sea, in the storm. They were almost home when Jesus came to them. The thing that had brought the disciples so close to their goal was not a feeling of ecstasy but hard work.
When Jesus comes to deliver them from the storm He waits until the “fourth watch.” That is something like 4 or 5 in the morning. The night was almost over. They got to their destination immediately after he came to them. Hard work and faithfulness and the mature sobriety brought them most of the way. When Jesus comes to the disciples, He does not calm the storm immediately. The storm is still raging when Peter gets out of the boat. That is why Peter starts to be afraid. Sometimes just as we are about to be delivered the storm gets much worse. That is almost a part of the proof that deliverance is at hand.
Jesus calmed the waters but he did not give them wind from behind to fill their sails either. They still had to row the rest of the way. But because they had been working so hard against the storm, the rest of the work was easy by comparison.
When Peter’s faith starts to fail, when he loses sight of who it is that he is walking towards, when it is less a matter of love and more a matter of being seduced by feelings of wonder, then he sinks. Jesus steps in and supplies what is lacking. At the ordination of a priest or deacon, the bishop prays that God will supply was is lacking.
This means something wonderful and unexpected: we too can be part of supplying the faith that is lacking in others. How is that?
The reason Jesus was not in the boat with them that night was that he withdrew to pray. Perhaps he was praying for them as they rowed. Think about that for a moment. Jesus, our Lord and God and saviour, prays. We pray to him. He prays to his Father.
When we pray, we are praying not only to Jesus but with Jesus. What else are we doing with Jesus? We come to church to serve and to make sacrifices with Jesus. Jesus is not only he who was offered. Jesus is he who offers. He is both the lamb who was slain and the High Priest.
We too make offerings together with Jesus. In the Divine Liturgy we say, “thine own of thine own, we offer unto thee in behalf of all and for all. We do this in behalf of all. We supply what is lacking in their faith by offering up spiritual sacrifices for our own sins and for the ignorance of the people.
Just showing up, just participating is an expression of divine faith. We have come to walk on the water by coming here to church. Even if we do not have an ecstatic feeling of faith, even if we struggle to even know why we are here we are still working together with Jesus to save the world. Faithfulness, showing up and working hard may bring a feeling of closeness to Jesus. But it always is a closeness to Jesus, even if we do not feel it.
And Jesus supplies what is lacking (often by allowing us to struggle, since he knows that we mature in that way). Jesus is with us so that we will become one with him in his prayer and in his ministry to the world.
On this Rock: the faith of St. Peter
At that time, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:13-19
When Peter calls Jesus the “Son of God,” he is means that Jesus is a man who great and mighty. Perhaps Jesus is some kind of warrior-king like King David, or perhaps a prophet like Elijah. Jesus can work miracles. He is the “Son of God,” for that reason.
Jesus says, “Blessed are you … for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you …” “Flesh and blood” in this context means the kind of things that are mighty and awe-inspiring in our material world. It means “the visible world.” “Flesh and blood,” means an authoritative person, a leader, a warrior-king, a great teacher. Peter says, “Son of God,” but Jesus replies that the true meaning of this confession is not found only in the notion that Jesus is a strong and charismatic man. Jesus is not just that.
Jesus refers to Peter as “Bar Jona” which means “Son of Jonah” in Aramaic. He is saying, “You call me ‘Son of God.’ I am calling you, ‘Son of Jonah.’ Jonah is the father you left in the boat in Galilee when you followed me. You became something more than Bar Jona. I am something more than the Son of God in the sense that you mean. When you see me, you are seeing an image of my Father who is in heaven. I have also come from my father to you, as you left your father to follow me.”
Jesus tells Peter that he will build his church, “on this rock.” What rock? “Peter” is the nick-name that Jesus gave Simon. And Peter means rock. So perhaps Jesus is saying, “on this “Peter” I will build my church.” How can Jesus build a church with Peter as the foundation? Jesus is the cornerstone which the builders rejected! Jesus is the foundation.
Rock, in the context of building, means bedrock; the rock you get to when you dig all the way down through the dirt and can’t go any farther. Jesus says elsewhere, “therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24) The confession of Peter is the beginning of the faith. That confession, such as it was, was a bedrock foundation. But a foundation must be built upon. This confession, at this time, is not the whole house. In the next verse, Peter will rebuke Jesus for saying that he must die on the cross! How perfect is this faith? Clearly not perfect yet.
Even though Peter calls Jesus the “Son of God,” in today’s reading, later on Peter denies Christ. This is because, despite Peter’s eagerness, he did not yet understand that Jesus is not simply a mighty man. Peter does not know yet that the full greatness and wisdom and power of Jesus is revealed as Jesus takes up the cross of weakness, and in so doing reveals his Father in Heaven. Peter sees the glory which is fame, reputation, the respect that a person commands, the authority of a person. That is what glory means to Peter. But Jesus tells him that this glory is instead humility, self-sacrifice, love and meekness. It is the willingness to be weak, to trust God, to love others to the end and without exception. The glory of God is a man who is fully alive to God, and dying on the cross.
To admire Jesus in the same way Peter did is only the first step. It is the foundation. We must try to understand Peter, and not be harsh. He did, after all, become Saint Peter, the chief of the Apostle. But when Peter denied Christ, he proved to himself and to us who read the Gospel that admiration is not the fulness of the faith. Peter did not trust that God could save the world through weakness. And so, even though it looks as if Peter has great faith, in fact his faith is only a small faith which will quickly fail. Peter will become an apostate, one who no longer believes, when he denies Christ.
When we disobey God, we too are apostates at that moment. We do not trust God to give us what we need. We feel that we must disobey. We must grab for relief, not believing that God can give it to us. We deny Christ in our disobedience. We run away from the crucified Lord at that moment of disobedience.
Peter wept bitterly after his denial of Christ. So, in one sense, he returned to his faith. He regretted his apostasy. After Jesus rose from the dead, he met Peter at the Sea of Galilee and asked him three times, “do you love me?” Each time, Peter said, “yes.” Jesus exhorts Peter to, “feed my sheep.” The third time Jesus asks Peter, “do you love me,” Peter is grieved and says, “you know everything, you know that I love you.” In response, Jesus tells Peter that he will die as a martyr, “to show by what death Peter was to glorify God.” At first, Peter thought that the glory of Jesus was human glory. But now Peter learns that he will glorify God by his own death.
St. Peter did end up feeding the sheep. St. Peter fed the sheep by showing them how to truly confess Christ. He showed them what real belief and faith are. Belief is martyrdom. It is obedience unto death. Belief is trusting God to give us everything we need, even when, and especially when, obedience and holiness and sacrifice are dreadfully difficult. Faith is not being of the opinion that your church is the right one, with the best liturgical expression. Faith is not being impressed by and convinced by the majesty, seriousness and grandeur of the hymns and the doctrines.
True doctrines, true majesty is humility. It is a confession which says, “all I need is to follow you, Jesus, as you trusted in your Father. I do not need to seek a quick fix in sins, but what I need is, rather, to be made holy as you are holy, to participate in your self-sacrificial love.”
Later in his life, St. Peter writes, “God is begetting you.” In other words, “God is becoming your Father.” At vespers of this feast (the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul), we read his first epistle. By this time, Peter is the great apostle, not the wavering fisherman. He writes,
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has begotten us into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.”
1 Peter 1:3–11
St. Peter is now beyond being “Bar Jona” the fisherman. He is beyond calling Jesus, “Son of God,” in a limited sense. Now St. Peter knows that the real sonship of Jesus Christ, his real glory, is the same sonship and the same glory to which we are called, namely to suffer together with our Messiah.
Peter writes, in the other epistles that we read at vespers, “obey the civil authorities so as not to bring shame onto the Church.” He writes, “be holy as God is holy.” Obedience, love, humility, willingness to suffer for the love of others in order to bring the hope of Jesus to the world: all this is true faith. This is the fullness of the faith.
In Rome, Christians have venerated the chains of St. Peter since his death. These are the chains that Peter was bound in, when he was going to his own martyrdom. We reverence these chains because they are the full expression of the faith Peter eventually received. At that point it was no longer the foundation of the faith, but the fullness.
In Rome, only a short time after St. Peter’s death, there was a deacon named Lawrence. Lawrence was given the task of keeping the gold belonging to the church. When there was a time of great persecution, the authorities summoned St. Lawrence and demanded that he turn over the treasure. St. Lawrence agreed to come back the following day to hand over the treasure. That night, St. Lawrence distributed the money amongst the believers. In the morning, he brought the poor, the lame, the sick and the beggars to the authorities. He brought the whole large crowd and said, “behold the treasure of the church!”
Peter’s eagerness from today’s gospel reading, matured into confidence. Obedience to Christ gives us great confidence and daring. This is what St. Lawrence in Rome had learned. When we take on the obedience, the holiness, and the trust in our Father that Jesus revealed to us, then we become so confident that we can teach others how precious they are by showing them true dignity, which is holiness. We show them how precious they are by showing them what they can become by believing in Jesus Christ. This is the meaning of “feeding the sheep” which Jesus called St. Peter to do. This is “nurturing the lambs” of Christ. We feed them by showing them an image of Christ’s humility and holiness. We pass down the true faith to them by following Jesus to his death, in the confident hope of the resurrection!
MATTHEW 27:33-54
At that time, when the soldiers came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull), they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!
In today’s gospel we read about a centurion. A centurion was much like a sergeant in today’s military. He was a leader of a group of one hundred men. This centurion participated in the crucifixion of Jesus. We actually know the name of this centurion: his name was Longinus.
When Longinus saw how Jesus died he said, “surely this man was the Son of God.” It is interesting that we know the name of Longinus but not of the others with him. The gospel says, “When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw … what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Longinus was not alone but he is the one whose name we know. We know about his life after Jesus’ death and resurrection and today is his feast day.
Tradition suggests that Longinus believed because as the gospel says, the “earth shook, and the rocks were split and the tombs were opened.” But the gospel does not say that is the only reason he believed or even the primary reason he believed. Surely, one of the many reasons to believe would be that Jesus died without cursing the people who killed him. Jesus asked the Father to forgive them. Jesus gave hope to the thief on the cross beside him. Jesus blessed his disciple and his mother as they stood there. Longinus the centurion would have seen all of that as well.
Longinus is the one who was present at the crucifixion. He was faced with this terrible and awesome event just like each of us is faced every day with a moment of crisis when we decide what we think about the crucified one. There are many unique things about how Longinus saw the crucifixion. First of all, he was a participant. He was doing the crucifying. And the issue of how guilty he was or how much blood he had on his hands is rather unclear.
Longinus was ordered to crucify Jesus. He didn’t know Jesus previously. They told him to kill someone. That’s something soldiers did. So in one sense he had no choice. But on the other hand he chose to be a soldier and he must have known that soldiers did things like this. Longinus was a small cog in the big machine That killed the God who created heaven and earth. Longinus was a one small part of a much bigger system.
We too are small cogs in a big system that is destroying the world through sin and suffering. Someone else has hurt me and made me angry. t’s not my fault. What am I supposed to do?
I want nice things and I have the opportunity to have them. Everyone that I know else has them. There are poor people who could use my help, but I did not make them poor. It’s not my fault.
There are many demands on my time. Church and God and prayer are difficult to squeeze in. It’s not my fault.
We play our small part in a big huge mess and in the midst of all the factors we do not control and all the factors we do control we meet the God who loves us enough that he invites us to carry our crosses and die with him. We encounter the love of God as the one who so loved the world that he calls the world to be holy as his son is holy. And whosoever follows his son and carries their cross and sells all they have and visits those in prison and clothes the naked; whosoever is living the life of Jesus is already living Eternal Life. That is the love of the God that we encounter today.
And that is a crisis for us each and every day. It is not a one-off moment of crisis. Meeting the crucified Lord is a crisis when I decide whether or not to lash out in my anger. It is a crisis when I decide whether or not to indulge my shallow materialistic desires. It is a crisis when I have to decide what to spend my time on. Why is it a crisis?
When I am angry I think I need a God who will smite my enemies. I think I need a God who tells me that I am right, that I have the answers, that I am on the right side of the debate. I think I need a God like that.
When materialism and the pleasures of the world entice me, I think I need a God who gives me money when I do what he wants. I think I need a God who will take care of the poor for me. So that I don’t have to. I think I need a God who just wants me to enjoy life and be happy. I need a God who will sit in church and wait for me whenever I have time to come. That is the kind of God I think I need; accommodating, generous to me, not too demanding.
I think I need this God because as a sinful person the only other God can imagine is a God who is not generous but stingy. If God is not the guy who does what I want he must be the guy who does what I do not want. That would mean he is a God who does not smite my enemies when I get mad. Maybe he doesn’t even care. Perhaps he is a God who punishes me and threatens me.
The make-believe Santa Claus God we hope for is the jolly and happy opposite of the tyrant and monster we secretly fear that God is. This is the pagan notion of God. Pagans must control God. Pagans must placate God and make him happy so he doesn’t get mad and kill us.
This is the childish and selfish way of understanding God, and it is the religious mindset behind the culture that Longinus belonged to. The Romans had many gods, but the message was basically the same. The army had a god of war who they believed helped them win battles. The Romans had the gods of Rome who helped them conquer and get rich. But none of these gods could tell Longinus who he was meant to be. None of them could show him how he too could become a son of God. A God who is like a vending machine, where we deposit our prayer or our piety, in order to get our request granted – this is not a God who can tell us who we are, not someone who can calm the existential anxiety and emptiness that we feel inside. Neither can the tyrant God we fear. Only the crucified Son of God can reveal to us the Father who runs out to meet the prodigal son on the road. Only the crucified Son of God can teach us to call God our father.
And now Longinus is standing at the foot of the cross and seeing the stark contrast between the loving and humble crucified Lord Jesus and the callous and heartless and shameless people who killed him. And Longinus is confronted with a picture of a God who is not Santa Claus and is not a tyrant who will smite us if we provoke him. Longinus is seeing a God who became like us in our weakness and suffering in order to show us how to be like him in his divine holiness. Longinus is seeing pure love. Longinus is seeing a God who does not want something from us but rather wants to recreate us in his own image.
It is not fitting to ask this God what he can do for me. Instead it is fitting to ask what this God wants to do through me. God does not make the earth quake in order to win a battle against an army. Rather, Jesus is conquering death by death. He is not tearing the temple curtain in two because he has defeated anyone in the temple. Jesus is tearing the temple curtain in two because he has defeated sin. Jesus is not a God who is demanding that we bring blood into the temple so that he can stop being angry. Jesus is a God who brings his own blood as an offering so that we may join him by offering our lives as well. Jesus is inviting all human beings to enter in and offer bloodless sacrifices of praise and worship and he is inviting us into communion with him.
Will we accept this God? Do we want to know this God? If I accept Jesus Christ as my God I can no longer have a magic fairy godmother of a God. Instead I will see God’s providence and generosity when he provides me with people to care for and nurture.
Longinus quit the army and moved back to Cappadocia (in current-day eastern Turkey) where he became a missionary. He founded a fast-growing Christian community. He converted so many people that it got the attention of the authorities.
The soldiers came to arrest Longinus, but when they arrived at the village they did not realize that the person who greeted them was the man they were looking for. Longinus gave them a meal and treated them with hospitality. Just like Jesus shared his meal with Judas. Longinus told the soldiers who he was. The soldiers told him to run away and escape. But he refused to run away just as Jesus refused to plead with Pilot to let him go; just as Jesus accepted the will of the father.
Longinus truly understood and embraced the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Longinus stopped being a cog in the machine of sin that is killing the world. He used his life and his death to bring healing to the world.
Will you also follow Jesus Christ by changing the way you understand who God is and what the nature of your life is, this life that God has given you? Will you also use the time you have in your life to bless and to minister and to serve and to pray? Will you follow Jesus?
Lord Jesus Christ, our God, help us to follow you.
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