Greek Orthodox Church
By Metropolitan of Pisidia Sotirios
In our reading from the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul lays before us two basic truths, which are of particular interest for us today. The first, is that we should desire and seek the salvation of our people with all of our hearts. Not only those close to us, but all people. Second, the Holy Apostle tells us that the salvation offered by Christ is open to all, and is within reach for those who turn to Him. Read more
The Lord’s signs and wonders certainly prove Him to be what He claimed to be: The Son of God! The healing of the Centurian’s servant, which we read this Sunday, is not intended just to demonstrate the Lord’s power to heal. The healing of the centurion’s servant contains several short lessons that characterize the life in Christ. Christians who hear this small section of the Gospel –
that’s us- must pay close attention to the way in which these instructions may be applied to their own lives.
The basic elements of the story are few. First, the centurion, a Roman commander of 100 soldiers, has complete confidence that Jesus is able to heal his servant. Second, the Lord expresses willingness to go to the centurion’s house, which in the eyes of the Jews would make Him unclean. Third, the centurion declares himself unworthy of such a visit and displaying great humility, declines. Fourth, the centurion reveals profound faith in Jesus: “Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” At this Jesus marvels, as He declares that He has not found such great faith in Israel; (one other time He marveled, it was at the unbelief of the people of His hometown Nazareth). A final element: Jesus declares that those chosen to be the children of the kingdom would be cast out and replaced by others. After this, He tells the centurion to go his way and that his servant is healed.
St. Ambrose sees the healing by the Lord’s word alone as proof of His equality with the Father. He says: “as the Father spoke the Son made, so too, the Father works and the Son speaks”. And St. Basil the Great emphasizes that it was the Savior’s word and NOT His presence that healed the sick man.
The centurion is a striking figure. When he meets Jesus in Capernaum, he is a man already possessed of a deep faith in Jesus’ power to heal, even by a word. How the centurion came to his faith is NOT explained by St. Matthew, but we have other details in St. Luke’s account of the same miracle. It should be recalled at this point that although the synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – sometimes differ in detail when reporting the same incident, those differences do not diminish their authenticity. In St. Matthew’s gospel he simply relates what went on between Jesus and the centurion. St. Luke tells us details that immediately took place before, such as how the centurion sent his Jewish friends to plead his case. “I did not even think myself worthy to come to you”, he says. The centurion’s frequent contact with the Jews must have given him some familiarity with their faith; perhaps he experienced the holiness of their worship -worship of the one true God- and maybe he was even aware of their messianic expectations. It’s unlikely that Jesus and His work among the people could have escaped his attention. His own faith -forcefully portrayed in just a few words- may have arisen from a strong sense that Jesus was the very one awaited by the nation he had come to love.
Another detail from St. Luke’s account tells us that the man’s Jewish friends – identified as elders – considered him worthy of Jesus’ good favor (although they are impressed by something other than his faith) saying: “the one for whom He should do this was deserving, for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue”. In other words, he held an important position, and was a big donor to their synagogue, and so they brought his plea to Jesus.
However, the things that really matter – the centurion’s humility, faith, and concern for another – seem NOT to have made much of an impression on them. It’s not difficult to see the similarity between the mindset of those religious leaders and that of some of our own people. And not a few priests/bishops have heard requests on behalf of others who were deemed worthy just because they had position, authority or money.
Clearly, when the centurion speaks to Jesus of his position and rank, he’s not boasting. Quite the contrary. “I am a man placed under authority.” That is the key expression. He derives his authority from another and applies it in the line of duty. St. John Chrysostom describes the implications: “’I am a man placed under authority’(the centurion says): that is, You are God, and I man; I under authority, but You not under authority. If I, therefore, being a man, and under authority, can do so much; far more He, both as God and as not under authority”. The same saint is certain that this Roman Gentile, unlike his Jewish friends, suspects Jesus’ divine dignity – recognizes that He is the Son of God (not the last Roman centurion to realize this).
The Christ preached by the Apostles was the Christ who gave Himself out of love for mankind. He is the One who receives all who come to Him in faith and humility, i.e. those who love Him. He is NOT moved to respond to our petitions because of some supposed worthiness on our part. Our accomplishments, position, wealth, and fame do NOT commend us to Him. Neither does our belonging to a particular race or nation, and neither does membership in His Church, IF we make NO effort to live in accordance with His will, IF we have NO faith or humility, IF we think of ourselves as deserving His salvation, or IF we think only of ourselves and never earnestly desire the well-being of others.
This is the Christ that the apostles and disciples proclaimed as they undertook their great missionary work after having been filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is the same Christ our Church proclaims today, so let’s pay close attention to the faith and humility of the centurion. And to his approach. One of the great communion prayers that our church gives us as we approach Christ bears the same words as the humble centurion: ‘I know, O Lord my God, that I am not worthy that you should enter under the roof of the house of my soul.” But recognizing the Lord and His goodness we say, “but since You in Your love desire to dwell in me I take courage and approach.” Let us then take courage and approach and taste and see that the Lord is good! +
Based on a homily by Archbishop Dmitri Royster found in ‘The Miracles of Christ’. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. Crestwood (NY), 1999.
Let us consider the Gospel passage for today. It is a proclamation that our life in the Church is a continuation of the life of the Holy Apostles. The Apostles constitute eyewitnesses of the work and preaching of Christ in the world. Today’s Gospel reading is one portion of a larger passage in which Saint Matthew the Evangelist records those words which are well-known to us all, the Beatitudes. In the Beatitudes, the Law of Moses and the testimony of the Prophets are summarized and distilled. After that, Christ conveys the Lord’s Prayer, the “Our Father.” Thus, when Christ spoke the Beatitudes, then was this way of the new life made manifest; with the Incarnation of the Son and Word of God the Father, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, those who hear Him are now the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It is in today’s Gospel reading that Christ explains precisely to His listeners how they may be the salt of the earth. He explains to them how to become the power to preserve and to hold fast the faith in the one true God. He also teaches them how they can be the light of the world, calling them to rid themselves of evil thoughts, to put away selfish desires and to share their goods with one another. For when we wish to keep for ourselves alone those things which belong to the whole world, this results in inequality and the exploitation of our fellow human beings. This selfishness leads to brother fighting brother—to brother killing brother—and brings misery upon everything that God has made.
Christ, therefore, sums up human existence with His example of the eye. The eye is called “the lamp of the body,” because it is the organ by which information comes to us from the whole universe. With the eye, we behold all of Creation and our fellow human beings. This information which we take in with our eyes is processed by our mind and guides us to make decisions and take actions. The eye, the faculty of sight, we would say, is the chief bodily sense, the primary power of perception. And so for this reason Christ emphasizes the necessity for the eye to be clear and simple, full of light. Thus, we approach the world and our fellow human beings with simplicity. And in this simplicity we shall be free of selfishness, whether mental or material.
And this is why Christ gives as an example the birds of the air who live without storing up goods for themselves. The birds live by the Providence of God. Christ offers also another example from nature: the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow withers away. With these illustrations, He educates His hearers, and all of us, to become aware of our finiteness; to comprehend our creatureliness, just as the Fathers of our Church teach: so that we might put our trust in God and not be people of little faith; so that we may strive for our faith to blossom as righteousness in our Creator—to blossom, that is, in brotherly thoughts and deeds towards our fellow human beings. To blossom in a sense of confident reliance on the word of God, according to the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. So that we may be free from the egotistical mindset that we are better than our fellow human beings, or even the idea that we are somehow self-sufficient. For this would be a rejection of our very own existence! Our life is so limited in terms of time: And this is the common course of all humanity.
On the contrary, therefore, in light of these certainties of this world, Christ calls His listeners to seek first the Kingdom of God: not simply to seek some future condition … but a present reality. It is for this reason that Christ, after almost everything He says and after every good deed He does towards human beings, speaks of the Kingdom that comes [and the will of God that should be done]: “… on earth as it is in heaven.”+
-Excerpt from a Sermon by Archbishop Elpidophoros, delivered at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Chicago, Illinois on July 7, 2019
“Our Savior is the embodiment of mercy to everyone, for He came to save and transform the entire world and especially every human being. Even more amazing is the truth that we are able to participate in Him, to be nourished by His Body and Blood, the medicine of immortality and holiness in Holy Mystery of the Eucharist. And, yes, we really are able to become merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful. By being filled and transformed by His grace, we may become living icons of the divine love and light even in our most difficult relationships.” Read more: https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/easternchristianinsights/2014/10/05/perfecting-holiness-and-loving-our-enemies-homily-for-the-2nd-sunday-of-luke-and-the-17th-sunday-after-pentecost-in-the-orthodox-church/
In his enthronement address last summer, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros said that:
“In the Orthodox Church we breathe the richness of a long and sacred tradition. We hand it down to each succeeding generation and this is what apostolic succession means for our bishops: to be successors in the faith of the apostles. This too is our guarantee of genuine progress: if there is an unbroken apostolic continuity, and so we never forget our forefathers and fathers, patriarchs and prophets, apostles and preachers, saints and martyrs, confessors and ascetics—all those men and women, known and unknown, who have laid the foundations for the church and paved the way FOR US to belong to the Body of Christ. This is what Holy Tradition means, and in our church, we look back at our traditions in order to be able to look forward to sharing and growing our spiritual treasures by establishing roots in the local environments.”
In this way, His Eminence continued:
“We can deliver the language of heaven to the reality of this world; and translate the eternal word of God in a way that truly transforms the transient nature of the world. To do this, first, we must be true to our evangelical roots and spiritual traditions: we must be a Church that embraces our young people; that embraces the strangers in our midst; that embraces all members of our community and our country. And we must offer them a taste of the sacramental life, of the living Body of Christ. We must welcome and embrace them, meeting them—just as the Lord Jesus Himself did with His disciples—on their own terms, in their own hearts, and with their own resources.”
You see, my dear brothers and sisters, the challenges of church management and ministry are not merely secular, mundane concerns for the Church. After all, church is not just a group like any other group. It is not a charitable organization, social or ethnic club, not an Elks lodge or another Hellenic organization like AHEPA, and it is certainly not a business organization intent on material profit. It is not like the spiritual center next door or one of the denominations down the street.
The church is the body of Christ. The church is the place of communion with the Holy Trinity. How we do church, how we minister and serve is at the very heart of our response to celebrating and communicating the gifts that we have received from God.
His Eminence went on to say that “in a very real sense, we are all deacons! We are all accountable stewards of the resources of the faithful. And if we face our challenges and hurdles humbly and collectively, then we shall overcome them. If the Lord is our strength and our salvation—our consolation and our illumination—then we will bring glory to God.”
On Saturday the 13th of June we celebrate the “leave-taking”, the ἀπόδοσις of the Feast of Pentecost, when the Orthodox Church invites “all those who are baptized and clothed in Christ” to become children led by and enlightened by the fire and force of the Holy Spirit, who calls all people to unity by shedding their divisions and doubts. Pentecost also reminds us of our life’s purpose: We’re all called to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit -all of us, whether we’re young or old, indifferent or zealous, male or female, arrogant or humble- we are all called to work together with the Grace of God throughout the time of our lives to build up the Body of Christ! As we chant in the kontakion of the day: “Let us together glorify the All-Holy Spirit.”
On Sunday as we celebrate and share the Eucharistic meal on the Feast of All Saints, we remember all the saints—very ancient saints like St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and very recent saints like St. Iakovos Tsalikis. Let’s be clear and understand that the Saints are real human beings just like you and me! From the Gospel reading we hear the Lord say that “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.” And from this we know that the saints are the ones who put God first in their lives.
The Saints are those who have become sons of God by grace, they are God’s friends like Saints George, Katherine, John, Anthony. They’re Saints like St. Sebastian of Jackson and St. John of San Francisco, St. Seraphim and St. Herman of Alaska. For all of them, God was the most important person in their earthly lives. Whether they lived with Christ in the 1st c. or 21st, they put Him first. The Saints are the ones who, as we hear Christ say in Sunday’s Gospel, they’re the ones “who acknowledge me before men”.
To acknowledge Christ means –not just to talk- but to live life according to the Gospel. To acknowledge Christ means to have one primary love in life: God. This is what saints do. And then the Lord says of those who do this that “I also will acknowledge [them] before my Father who is in heaven”.
Saints all have different personalities and temperaments, but they all have this in common: They love God more than anything else, more than food and drink, more than leisure, pleasure, digital games and fun, more than sports, movies and especially more than money. Saints are present at Divine Liturgy because they live to worship and they don’t ever give up their Orthodox Faith. Saints acknowledge Christ by loving him even more than life itself! AND Saints don’t ever stop being saints, even after they die.
It’s the same for all of us too, for all who die in communion with Christ. We don’t stop being in communion with Christ after we die. Our communion with God starts here in this life and continues forever. Life continues because Christ is eternal Life.
So, on the Sunday after Pentecost -every year- we celebrate All the Saints: the ‘saints’ who are the natural result of the presence of the Holy Spirit. According to the contemporary Elder & Saint Justin Popovich, “Saints are the centuries old authentication of the gospel, they are the extensions of Christ.” They have proved by practice that the virtues of the Gospel are possible, and to live by the Gospel is achievable. The Saints verify that the Gospel of Christ is not only worth dying for (like the martyrs do) but worth living for too!
And Today we must remember that we too are all called to become members of the communion of saints— AND whether we spend 60 hours of the week working on a construction site, at a hospital or at our parish we all have the same calling: to be holy, to be set apart for Christ, i.e.to be saints. We are all fellow travelers on the magnificent journey that God has so graciously and generously prepared for us. May God be merciful to us and find us worthy to be counted among his Holy Ones! +
