| Homily on the Day of the Apostles Peter and Paul Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. Psalm 18:5; Romans 10:18 Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles In order to raise our spirit but a little over the vanity of this world in which it is ordinarily immersed, we shall impress in our minds, brothers and sisters, the image of the holy chief Apostles Peter and Paul, filled with inexhaustible life. Their souls represent an equally abundant treasure house of spiritual virtues for us, who are in but small measure participants in the Divine life that was revealed through the appearance of God in the flesh. Both equally hazarded their lives (Acts 15:26) for the word of God, and to witness the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, desiring to shepherd the sheep of Christ's flock and betroth to Christ a Church made of pagans who were redeemed by His blood. One, a rock of faith, strengthened his brethren (cf. Lk. 22:32) who were scattered in their fear of persecution for the name of Christ after His resurrection, and first explained how God willed that to the Church, hitherto composed only of the sons of Israel, should be united those pagans who converted (Acts. 15:7–11). The other, a chosen vessel (Acts 9:15) to bear the name of Christ to peoples who had not yet heard of Christ (Rom. 15:20–21), travelled with words of preaching to nearly all the known inhabited world, so that the words be fulfilled, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not (Gal. 4:27; Is. 54:1) and Be glad, thou thirsty desert: let the wilderness exult (Is. 35:1)— the hearts of the pagans. Both were equally filled with love for Christ, dedicated their whole lives to preaching the Word and to apostolic labors, and both sealed their love for Christ with a martyr's death. One, having first denied Christ, followed Him for the rest of his life in repentance, as if on the crucifix, enduring fiery temptations and satan's calumny (1 Pet. 4:12; 5:8), in order to fulfill what Christ had said to him: Follow Me (Jn. 21:19). The other, called from amongst the persecutors, counted all things as dung, that he might win Christ (cf. Phil. 3:6–8), and desired to be accursed from Christ that he might bring to Him his brothers in the flesh—Israel (Rom. 9:3), until he finished his course by martyrdom in order to receive a crown of righteousness (cf. 2 Tim. 4:6–8). |
| Homily on the Day of the All-Praised Apostle Andrew the First Called. Man’s true, Eternal Riches As having nothing, and yet possessing all things. (2 Cor. 6:10) St. Andrew the First-Called Today we celebrate, my beloved, the memory of St. Andrew the First-Called. He has been given that name because he was the first to be called by Jesus Christ to be an Apostle. It happened like this: Soon after the Lord’s baptism by John in the Jordan, John stood on the banks with two of his disciples, John and Andrew; and when he saw Jesus coming, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. Hearing these words from him, both disciples followed after Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them walking, He said to them, what do you need? They said to Him, “Rabbi,” which means teacher. “Where do you live?” The Lord answered, “Come, and see.” They went and saw where He lived, and stayed with Him that day. It was about the tenth hour, about 4:00 in the afternoon by our reckoning. One of these two who heard about Jesus from John and followed him was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He first found his brother Simon—that is, Peter—and said to him, “We have found the Messiah,” which means, Christ, and led him to Jesus. Another time, Jesus was walking near the Sea of Galilee and saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. The Lord said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men,” and they immediately left their nets and followed Him. This is what the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian and the Evangelist Mark say about Apostle Andew’s calling (Jn. 1:35–41 Mk. 1:16–18). Staying with Christ for one day and hearing from Him the words of Divine wisdom and the economy of our salvation, the Apostle Andrew left everything he had in the world—house, family, fishing, and his entire meager fortune, and became a man with no possessions, acquiring the most precious, irreplaceable and eternal treasure—faith in Christ—following Him zealously, without turning back, until the end of his life. |
| John Anthony McGuckin Cross JOHN A. MCGUCKIN Orthodox theology approaches the cross of Christ most characteristically as a trophy of divine glory. It is the cipher above all others that sums up and encapsulates the love and mercy of the Lord for his adopted race. It is the “sign of salvation,” the icon of hope. In many Orthodox painted crosses the title bar does not read “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews” (INRI in Latin, INBI in Greek, IHЦI in Slavonic), but is made to read “The Lord of Glory,” and often on Orthodox devotional crosses one reads marked there the generic superscription Philanthropos Theos: “The God Who Loves Mankind.” At first, early Christian theology demonstrated mainly a horrified sense of awe that the powers of wickedness could treat the Lord in such a violent way (Acts 2.22–35). But the tone was decidedly that God’s glorification of his servant Jesus far outweighed the dishonor that the dark spiritual powers tried to inflict. The Apostle Peter, in his speech to the people of Jerusalem, sums it up in the words: “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2.36). There is a regular contrasted pairing of the ideas of humiliation (in the cross) and exalted glorification of Jesus by God (because of the faithfulness to the point of crucifixion) such as can be seen in the ancient hymn which the Apostle Paul quotes ( Phil. 2.6–11 ), as well as in the schemes of Ascent (Anabasis) and Descent (Katabasis) that structure St. John’s theology of crucifixion and glorification in his profound gospel (cf. Jn. 3.13–15 ). St. Paul took a decisive step when he made the cross not merely a scandal to be explained away but a mystery of faith and God’s love that ought to be celebrated as pivotal ( Gal. 6.14 ). The cross in Christian use was already, and rapidly, shifting away from a thing of shame to being the great sign of the new covenant of reconciliation ( Eph. 2.16 ; Col. 1.20; Heb. 12.2). In the early apologists and apostolic fathers the cross is rarely mentioned (though see Ignatius of Antioch, Letters to the Ephesians 9.1; 18.1; To the Trallians 11.2; To the Philadelphians 8.2). But popular devotion to it as a confident symbol of Christian victory over the powers of this world was steadily growing, as can be seen in the appearance in art and inscription from the 2nd century onwards of the cross-shaped monogram Fos – Zoe (“Light and Life in the Cross”: one must imagine the words written at right angles to one another, Fos down vertically, Zoe horizontally, making a cross, with the middle letter of both being shared in common). |
| The patristic expressions “theosis,” “theopoiesis,” and “being made gods by grace” point to the consequences of our adoption as children of God which Scripture teaches ( 1Cor. 8.15–17 ; 1Jn. 3.1–3 ): Christ’s faithful are promoted, by grace, to the level of existence which the Son possesses though his divine nature ( Rom. 5.2; 6.4, 22; 7.4; 8.1, 9–12 ). In an important text, which in Orthodox belief is the witnessing of the Apostle Peter, we become “partakers of the divine nature” ( 2Pet. 1.4 ). We obtain eternal life, a state commencing here and now ( 1Jn. 1.2 ). We have intimate communion with Christ in a manner hidden from the world; it is mystical knowledge (Col. 3.4; 1Pet. 3.3–4 ). We possess “all truth,” knowledge of the Trinity, knowing by experience the relationship of the Father to the Son, because the Holy Spirit takes everything belonging to the Father and shows us that it also belongs to the Son (Jn. 16 .13– 15). We are enriched with the gift of miraculous healing (Acts 3.6). As our standard of perfection we have God-like love, love of our enemies ( Mt. 5.43–6 ). St. John’s gospel, in the final discourses of Christ, in sublime language gives an account of how disciples can become “friends” of Christ (Jn. 16 .14– 15) and of God the Father through the comforting of the Holy Spirit ( Jn. 14.16–17 ). Moreover, Christ promises to come to them, so that then “You will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” The disciples are given a share in the divine glory ( Jn. 17.22 ) and through this glory may be perfectly united to Christ ( Jn. 17.22–23 ). Jesus Christ blessed the idea of deification by using it himself. In his authoritative interpretation of Jewish Scripture, he demonstrated that it was an idea revealed to Israel: “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said ye are gods?’” ( Jn. 10.34 ; Ps. 82.6 ; Septua- gint Ps. 81 ). In interpreting this psalm, Jesus taught the godhood of which the Israelites were capable. The psalm declares divine judgment to God’s people, telling them what to do to be “gods”: to treat with justice the weak, orphaned, and destitute, and to rescue the vulnerable from the power of the wicked. This is, in Christ’s expression, to have the word of God come to one ( Jn. 10.35 ). This word deifies man. Failure to receive and so obey God’s word is to “die like men and fall like any prince” ( Ps. 82.8 ). |
| Al mismo tiempo, Simón Pedro recibió la revelación a través del cual Dios lo llamaba a predicar a los gentiles (Hch 10, 10-16). Cornelio no era un Judio, pero él oró, como se desprende de las palabras del ángel: " Tus oraciones y limosnas han ascendido como memorial delante de Dios " (Hch 10, 4). ¿A qué Dios oraba Cornelio?, es un tema aparte, y sigue siendo una pregunta abierta. Una cosa está clara: Cornelio era un hombre religioso, y este espíritu religioso resultó ser afín al cristianismo. Después de escuchar a Cornelio, el apóstol Pedro dijo estas palabras: " Ciertamente ahora entiendo que Dios no hace acepción de personas, sino que en toda nación el que le teme y hace lo justo, le es acepto " (Hch 10, 34-35). Durante esta predicación el Espíritu Santo vino a todos los que escuchaban las palabras del Apóstol, y él " mandó que fueran bautizados en el nombre de Jesucristo " (Hch 10, 48). Las historias referidas, sobre el eunuco etíope y Cornelio el centurión, son ejemplos de una providencia positiva de Dios en la misión. En uno y otro caso la palabra de Dios encuentra una buena respuesta entre los gentiles, y ellos aceptan el sacramento del bautismo. Estos hechos también tienen resonancia con las siguientes palabras del Salvador: " Nadie puede venir a mí si no lo trae el Padre que me envió, y yo lo resucitaré en el día final. Escrito está en los profetas: y todos serán enseñados por Dios. Todo el que ha oído y aprendido del Padre, viene a mí " (Jn 6, 44-45). Partiendo de estás palabras, es claro, que no a toda persona le es dado ser cristiano, sino sólo aquellos a quienes Dios mismo conduce a la fe. Dios, en el transcurso de la vida, a través de una variedad de circunstancias y personas, lleva a la persona a la fe, y la obtención de la fe por esa persona es como la consecuencia lógica de toda su vida. Pero en el libro de los Hechos también tiene lugar y el relato de una providencia negativa de Dios con respecto a la obra misionera del apóstol Pablo. Así, en el decimosexto capítulo sobre los apóstoles Pablo y Silas se dice: " Pasaron por la región de Frigia y Galacia, habiendo sido impedidos por el Espíritu Santo de hablar la palabra en Asia, y cuando llegaron a Misia, intentaron ir a Bitinia, pero el Espíritu de Jesús no se lo permitió " (Hch 16, 6-7). |
| Dans sa prédication et dans son ministère, Paul a montré l’exemple de l’obéissance aux commandements de notre divin Maître, qui invite à être Ses témoins jusqu’aux extrémités de la terre . Pour mettre en œuvre cette vocation, le Seigneur a donné les uns comme apôtres, les autres comme prophètes, les autres comme évangélistes, les autres comme pasteurs et docteurs, pour le perfectionnement des saints en vue de l " oeuvre du ministère et de l " édification du corps de Christ (Eph 4,11-12), car il y a diversité de dons, mais le même Esprit; diversité de ministères, mais le même Seigneur; diversité d " opérations, mais le même Dieu qui opère tout en tous (I Co 12,4-6), afin que tout l’édifice ecclésial bien coordonné, s " élève pour être un temple saint dans le Seigneur (Eph 2,21). La prédication, non seulement en paroles (Rm 15 ;18), mais aussi en actes, a une importance exceptionnelle dans la mise en œuvre de cette mission, car, comme le remarque saint Grégoire le Théologien, « selon la doctrine de Paul et du Christ Lui-même, le premier et le plus grand commandement est l’amour qui contient toute la loi et les prophètes (Mt 22,37-40 ; I Co 13,13), et principalement, comme il me semble, l’amour des pauvres, la charité et la compassion envers ceux de notre genre. Car aucun ministère n’est plus agréable à Dieu que la miséricorde (parce qu’il est le plus semblable à Dieu, auquel appartiennent « la miséricorde et la vérité » (Ps 88,15) » (De l’amour des pauvres, discours 14). Combien plus devons-nous être bons envers nos frères dans la foi (Ga 6,10), car notre prédication ne sera convaincante que lorsque nous aurons employé toutes nos forces à maintenir l’unité à laquelle Dieu nous a ordonné de veiller, et la charité entre nous (Jn 13,35). L’Église russe et son peuple chrétien chérissent les liens fraternels séculaires qui l’unissent au peuple grec et à l’Église de Grèce. Espérant en la miséricorde divine, prions pour que cette unité d’esprit dans l’union de la paix (Eph 4,3) reste inébranlable face aux éléments hostiles de ce monde, et qu’elle reste intacte dans le contexte des difficiles épreuves que traverse aujourd’hui l’Orthodoxie mondiale. |
| Through the Saviour’s birth people have been given the chance to possess grace and Truth (Jn 1: 17). Grace is the divine power granted to man by God for salvation. It is through this power that people vanquish sin. Without grace it is impossible to vanquish evil, and so we cannot vanquish all that darkens our lives. Truth is the fundamental value of existence. If at the foundation of our lives there is untruth, error, then our lives are not realized. Of course, the life of a person who has gone astray may outwardly seem to be a successful one. Yet this does not mean that error is without consequence: sooner or later it will manifest itself, including in the tragedy of human destinies. The Light of truth is the Divine light; it is the righteousness of God. It is immutable and eternal, and does not depend upon whether we accept it or not. When we accept God’s truth it defines in the first instance the nature of our relationship with others, the ability to bear, as St. Paul says, ‘one another’s burdens’ (Ga. 6: 2), that is, to show solidarity by sharing both their joy and pain. ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another’ (Jn 13: 35), says the Lord. However, these eternal Divine truths, which can but only transform our lives, today have ceased to be ideals. They are persistently expunged from modern man’s consciousness by the propaganda of moral irresponsibility, egoism, consumerism and the negation of sin as the fundamental problem of human existence. It is the substitution of true values by false values that largely explains the ever-growing significance of the so called ‘human factor’ in tragic events that take away hundreds of lives. It is this that explains the crises which have had a global impact on the economy, politics, the environment, family life, the generation gap, and many other things. To celebrate Christ’s Nativity is to bring us closer to the Saviour, to help us seen more clearly his countenance, to be immersed in his good news. The Lord is born ever anew mysteriously for us in the depths of our souls so that we may ‘have life more abundantly’ (Jn 10: 10). The event of that night in Bethlehem enters our life today, helps us to see it from another perspective, at time unusual and unexpected. That which seemed important and great suddenly becomes trivial and transient, making way for the majesty and beauty of eternal Divine truth. |
| Mes enfants, c’est maintenant notre tour. Ayant méprisé l’amour du monde et renoncé à le servir, ayant suivi le Seigneur Jésus Christ, nous devons L’aimer plus que nos parents, plus que nos frères, que nos enfants et que tous les autres, afin d’obéir au commandement et de pratiquer les vertus, imitant les saints. Mes enfants, fuyez le péché, soyez patients jusqu’à la mort, observez les commandements du Seigneur. N’écoutez pas les suggestions de l’ennemi [du genre humain], qui vous pousse à enfreindre la volonté divine, en commençant par les plus petits commandements. En enfreignant l’un d’eux vous attirez sur vous la colère de Dieu. Je veux, mes enfants, que vous soyez toujours les temples de Dieu qui vit en vous (cf 1 Co 6, 19). Que vous aimiez toujours votre prochain, qu’aucun de vous n’ait de rancune et de haine contre son frère, car le cœur qui contemple le mal et la haine ne peut être le tabernacle de Dieu. Vous savez que si vous vous aimez les uns les autres, alors Dieu demeurera en vous (cf Jn 13,35). Aimez-vous donc les uns les autres, pour acquérir les qualités des vertus de votre rang monastique tous les jours de votre vie. Écartez de votre face le voile des ténèbres, qui empêche de voir la douceur [de la vie en Christ]. Aimez le prochain, découvrez la beauté de cette vertu. Entendez l’apôtre Paul vous dire : « Vous êtes les temples du Dieu vivant » (II Co 6,16). Gardez cette parole dans vos cœurs et ne jugez pas le prochain, ne l’affligez pas, afin de ne pas susciter la colère de Dieu qui vit en lui. Car les honneurs que l’homme rend à son frère, il les rend au Christ, auquel est la gloire ! Honorez aussi le pauvre et le nécessiteux, car Il enseigne : « Toutes les fois que vous avez fait ces choses à l " un de ces plus petits de mes frères, c " est à moi que vous les avez faites » (Mt 25,40). Je vous en prie, éloignez-vous de qui sème la discorde et le jugement, causant la perte de votre âme. L’âme qui s’interdit la discorde, qui rejette la cupidité et qui renonce aux concupiscences du siècle brille comme le soleil, car elle s’affranchit du péché. Si elle est assaillie du désir de juger, de semer la discorde, si l’envie, le désir d’amasser et autres mauvaises actions la tentent, la grâce la quitte. |
| My children, this is now an integral part of our life. In despising love of the world and in serving and following the Lord Jesus Christ we are to love him all the more than our parents, brothers, children and all others so that we observe the commandments and adhere to the virtues by imitating the piety of our ancestors. My children, flee sin and be patient unto death in observing the commandments of the Lord. Heed not the insinuations of the enemy [of the human race] that encourage us to violate the divine will, no matter how small a commandment it may be. For the violation of any commandment will evoke the wrath of God. I want you to be, my children, temples of the living God within you (cf. 1 Cor. 6.19). To always love your neighbour and lest there be among you anyone who harbours evil and hatred against his brother, for the heart which contemplates evil and hatred cannot ever be a dwelling-place for God. You know that if you love one another, then God will abide among you (cf. Jn 14.35). Love one another, then, so that you may acquire for yourself all the qualities of the other virtues of your monastic rank throughout all the days of your life. Cast away from your face the veil of darkness which hinders you from seeing the sweetness [of life in Christ]. Have love for your neighbour and know the dignity of this virtue. Listen to the apostle Paul when he says to you that ‘you are the temple of the living God’ (2 Cor 6.16). May you keep this in your hearts and never judge your neighbour, never cause him grief lest he anger God who dwells within him. For all the honour with which we revere our brother is honour which is brought to Christ, and may glory be given to him! In the same way, give reverence to the beggar and those who endure all need, for the Lord teaches: ‘Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’ (Matt 25.40). I beseech you to flee from those who sow division and condemnation and who bring destruction to your soul. The soul which accepts no division, which rejects the love of money and the lusts of the world, shines forth like the sun, for it is liberated from sin. Yet if it is overcome by the striving to judge and sow division, to fall into envy and love of gain and commit other evil deeds, it is then that grace recedes. |
| And how worthy a type of Christ is Seth? “Seth was born to Eve”, as she herself says, “instead of Abel” (Gen. 4:25), whom Cain envied and murdered, whereas the Virgin’s son, Christ, was born to the human race instead of Adam, whom the prince and father of evil killed out of envy. Seth, however, did not raise up Abel, as he was merely a prefiguration of the resurrection, whereas our Lord Jesus Christ resurrected Adam, for He is the true life and resurrection of mankind (cf. Jn. 11:25), through whom Seth’s descendants were deemed worthy, in hope, of divine adoption, being called sons of God. That they were referred to as God’s sons on account of this hope, is demonstrated by the first person to be so called and to inherit God’s election. This was Seth’s son Enos who, as Moses wrote, “was the first to hope to be called by the Lord’s name” (Gen. 4:26 LXX). Do you see clearly that it was through hope that he came to be called? If the Seventy [translators of the Septuagint] say, “He was the first to hope to be called by the Lord’s name”, they are not at all in disagreement with the others; because Enos lived in a way that pleased God more than anyone else in his day, and was the first to receive this hope from God. He called upon this hope and was called after it. Seth was chosen from God from among Adam’s sons, and so Luke, in preparing his genealogy, traces back to him the whole race from which Christ was born according to the flesh. Then Enos was chosen in preference to Seth’s other children, as we have said. From his descendants Enoch was chosen, who proved through what happened to him that virtue does not go unrewarded, and that this fleeting world is not worthy of those who are well-pleasing to God, for he was translated because he pleased God (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5). Lamech was chosen and preferred to Enoch’s other descendants, and after him his son, Noah, attained to God’s election and became the only father of everyone in the world after the flood. Only he and his entire family were found to live chastely at that time when the sons of God took wives from among the daughters of men, as Moses tells us (Gen. 6:1-2). This means that among the offspring of Seth, the forefather of the Mother of God, those who were rejected as unworthy were swept out of the Virgin Mother’s family and completely deprived of the divine Spirit. Later this Spirit came upon the Virgin, according to the angel’s words to her: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you” (Lk. 1:35). |
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