Homily on the 26th Sunday after Pentecost
Ephesians 5: 8-19; Luke 13: 10-17.
As Christians, we are called not to judge; especially with an attitude that I am better than you because I am a Christian. We are all called to love our Neighbour with all our hearts, as this is the key to becoming like Christ. This is not an easy thing to do, as some people have a way of doing things which can irritate us.
How do we embrace this ideal? How do we become more Christ like? It is easy to be like the Pharisees where who spoke against our lord and Saviour for healing on the Sabbath as we hear in today’s Gospel. Yes, it is a wonderful thing to have found the truth of the Gospel, but knowing this truth does not give us the right to laud it over others, as if we are better than them, as I have seen done in some congregations!
We are called to be the bearers of love to all, for Christ brought the love of the All-Holy Trinity to all who sought His council. We are called to be lights that radiate the love and warmth of the All-Holy Trinity, for to do so is to be Christ’s hands and feet in a broken world.
We all know someone who, as soon as they enter the room, everyone wants to be with them, because they radiate a warmth that it is not possible not to radiate towards them. We are called to be these kind of people who, in our own way, show people the warmth of the All-Holy Trinity. One cannot attract people to the truth of the Gospel if one’s sole message is about hellfire and brimstone.
Yes, it is true that we will be called to account for how we have treated others in our lives. Even if we find it difficult to like someone, we are still called to show them respect and love this is the Christian way. As I have mentioned in the past, it is really inspiring for me to see how Christians who have been persecuted under oppressive regimes can forgive their oppressors with such love.
Therefore, love is the key that must govern our every action - for if God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, then we are to be examples of this love in a world where many choose hate over love (John 3:16)!
As Saint Clement of Alexandria said once:
"True perfection is gained not through being scared of a Divine punishment causing you to do the right thing! True perfection is gained through doing the right thing out of love. These people guided by love do so not out of a desire for personal benefit but rather they show what a beautiful thing it is to do the good out of love and let love govern one’s every action.’
Love seeks to do that which is right not because it has to do but rather because it wants to do the right because every human-being is made in the image of God. '
Therefore, only Christ could heal the rift between mankind and the All- Holy Trinity by being incarnated and taking on our nature. For when Adam and Eve fell, they cut themselves off from the source of all love, yet He desired for mankind’s return to its original state, so He became incarnate of the All-Holy Theotokos uniting His nature with ours - two natures, human and divine, united perfectly in the one Person.
Now that we have entered the Nativity Fast, let us prepare our hearts for this event which we will commemorate on January the 6th – the birth of He who is Love into the world.
Saint Gregory Palamas says thus on the importance of the Nativity:
“If a tree is known by its fruit, and a good tree bears good fruit (cf. Mt. 7:17; Lk. 6:44), then is not the Mother of Goodness itself, she who bore the Eternal Beauty, incomparably more excellent than every good, whether in this world or above? Therefore, the coeternal and identical image of goodness, Preeternal, transcending all being, He who is the pre-existing and good Word of the Father, moved by unutterable love for mankind and compassion for us, put on our image, that He might reclaim for Himself our nature which had been dragged down to the depths of Hades, so as to renew this corrupted nature and raise it to the heights of Heaven”–Saint Gregory Palamas, Discourse on the Entry of the All-Holy Theotokos into the Temple.
Therefore, we Orthodox see the Nativity as one of the major feasts of our Lord and Saviour Jesus, because it is the beginning of our salvation. This is the feast where we celebrate the incarnation of the second Person of the All-Holy Trinity becoming man so that we might be able to reconnect fully with our Lord and Creator.
This time of preparation for Christ’s birth is a time when we are to clear from us everything which holds us back in our lives. This is a time to pray to the All-Holy Trinity seeking His guidance and help so that we can be better people who better radiate His love to others.
Remember, we are called to be lights to the world, and we have been commanded to let our lights shine so that others may see our good deeds and glorify the All-Holy Trinity (Matthew 5: 14-16).
This is a time when we must also seek the forgiveness of others whom we may have offended, whether accidentally or deliberately, for it is vital that before we participate in the Holy Mysteries that we have asked forgiveness for our faults to our brothers and sisters (Matthew 5: 21-24).
This Nativity Fast let us strive to become that person of love which our Lord and Saviour calls us to be. Let us strive to be that person who out of love for the other, does that which will benefit them so that they may taste and see that the Lord and His Church is indeed good (Psalm 34: 8).
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