Homily on the 3rd Sunday after Pascha
Acts 6: 1-7; Mark 15: 43-16:8.
This Sunday, the third Sunday after Pascha, the Holy Church celebrates the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women. The theme of this Sunday is a theme that focuses on the reality of the empty tomb! This is the moment in which the Holy Women realised that He who they sought was not there.
This would have seemed like a disaster for these poor Holy Women – they would have been distressed by the fact that seemingly they could not perform the traditional Jewish burial anointing as proscribed by the Levitical law.
Yet, this was the day in which all their hopes would be realised – He had risen as He said. Death could not hold the Lord of all creation. He had trampled down death by His death in the flesh – mankind had been given the second chance which it had desired like the deer that longs for running water(Psalm 42:1).
No longer did man have to offer ineffectual sacrifices that could barely give to the All-Holy Trinity what was His by right. Rather, the Altar has been furnished and the High Priest of the New Covenant now stands at it offering the only acceptable offering – that of Himself (Hebrews 4: 14-16).
Indeed, in every Divine Liturgy, that same offering is made present in the form of the Holy Mysteries of the Holy Eucharist – the holiest of all offerings. It is in this mystical offering that the presence of Christ is made very much real – in that He is present in the consecrated bread and wine at the altar.
For many centuries those in the west were obsessed with finding the actual Holy Grail – the real chalice used at the Last Supper. This was a search that lead many to the Holy Land to try and find this sacred relic. It was believed at this time that the Holy Grail could perform great miracles because it was the actual chalice used by our Lord and Saviour Himself.
However, this is a flawed concept - for every chalice and diskos (patent) which holds the Holy Mysteries of the Eucharist is the Holy Grail – the greatest miracle in the history of the world!
Every Divine Liturgy is mystically linked to the Last Supper (the First Divine Liturgy), Crucifixion, death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour.
This is why we do not see the Holy Eucharist just as a memorial, which many Protestant sects mistakenly do. For us, this is the Holiest of Mysteries (sacraments) for it is through receiving this Holy Mystery mankind is brought into the deepest of communions with his Lord and God. This is why every particle of the Holy Mysteries is treated with the greatest respect for it is the very mystical presence of our Lord and Saviour on earth!
Each fragment and drop of the Holy Mysteries is a pearl of great price that is worth more than any treasure on this planet – for it is the very presence of our Lord and Saviour on earth!
This is why we are called to evangelise the world – who upon finding the greatest of treasures that could make men’s lives better does not out of love share this gift with others?
It is only for us to show others the beauty of the Gospel of Truth. It is up to them to choose whether they accept this truth or not! We live in hostile times towards the message of love contained in the Gospel – many will not accept the invitation of the Lord to become part of His Body the Church!
Linked to the concept of this great High Priest (Christ) we have the account of the ordination of the first Deacons in our Epistle today (Acts 6: 1-7). Far from being glorified altar servers, the deacons in Orthodoxy are vital to the life of the Orthodox Church.
These men who answer the call to be a deacon take on the responsibility of not only leading the congregation in the petitions of the litanies at the Divine Liturgy (the prayers of the faithful) they are also a very real sign of Christ the servant.
Deacons are called to be of service to the faithful, as well as those poor and needy in the world, as the first Deacons were ordained so that they could enable the Holy Apostles to be able to be free to preach and offer the Holy Mysteries of the Divine Liturgy on behalf of the people to the Lord.
Unfortunately, in many places, deacons are treated as if they are not important in the life of a Church. The Church needs her deacons for they are the sign of the service that all Orthodox Christians are called to give to the world.
All deacons are called to be like Christ the servant of all who lowered Himself so that He could give the spiritually poor what they need through their acts of charity and love.
Having said this all priests are bound to this duty of service as well- for before they were priests they were deacons - and as such, upon their ordination to the priesthood they do not lose this call to be of service to the spiritually poor and needy.
This is why many of the great saints worked tirelessly not only for the spread of the Gospel of truth but many also worked tirelessly to alleviate the poverty of those around them as best as they could! For it is through acts of service that people see the love of us Orthodox Christians (John 13: 35).
This is why whilst it is important to give the best to the All-Holy Trinity, priests must not become obsessed with seeing themselves as overly important personages. Many people are scandalised by clergy who parade themselves around - like the Pharisees- in the finest of vestments with capes as long as any high street!
Rather, clergy are to be mindful that they, through their ordinations, are called to feed Christ’s flock - His little lambs (John 21) not only spiritually with the Holy Mysteries but in many cases physically with charity.
Many of the great saints were hardly recognisable as Priests - for they got dirty by doing the Lord’s work and as a result, they wore threadbare cassocks which bore the signs of their physical and spiritual labours for Christ’s flock!
These faithful priests took seriously the imitation of their Lord and Saviour - for by their actions they began to grow deeper in communion (theosis) with Christ the suffering servant as mentioned in the book of Saint Isaiah (Isaiah 53: 1-9)!
Moreover, these saints took Christ’s command to carry their cross seriously (Mark 8: 34). No Gammarelli cassocks here – move along!
This Sunday, the secular world has the celebration of Mother’s day. How wonderful that the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing women falls on this day! It is good to celebrate all the wonderful things that women do for the Church.
They are our grandmothers, mothers, wives, sisters and friends and their witness to the love of Christ has helped many generations come to the faith. The Orthodox faith was kept alive in many countries afflicted with the curse of Socialism/Communism by the witness of many
Grandmothers, Mothers, Aunts, and Nuns. These brave women often risked their lives to help the underground Bishops, Priests, and Deacons that ministered in secret to the faithful! Let us always pray for all mothers both living and dead!
Moreover, on this day of mothers let us reflect on the great gift that we have in the All-Holy Theotokos for she is our mother given to us by Christ at the foot of the Cross (John 19: 25-17).
This adoption of Saint John by the All-Holy Theotokos serves to highlight a deeper reality - for in this act of the adoption of Saint John by the All-Holy Theotokos it is shown to us that the All-Holy Theotokos has become the mother of Christ’s faithful.
The implication of this is very clear – by virtue of the All-Holy Theotokos being Christ’s mother she too is our mother and as such, can intercede on behalf of Christ’s faithful to Christ our Lord and God! This has always been the belief and practice of the Orthodox Church which faithfully preserves the Truth handed down by All-Holy Trinity to His Apostles.
Therefore, it is clear that those Protestants who like to claim that they are correct because the only truth can come from the Holy Scriptures alone are wrong. The scriptures came out of the Church of the Old and New Testaments and not the other way around. The Scriptures are the inspired word of God as written down in partnership with His Church.
Moreover, the Church has always taught that truth is found only in the Holy Scriptures, Ecumenical Councils in matters of doctrine, and the writings of the Church Fathers which accord with these two Holy foundations of our faith.
It is important to note that many of the Church Fathers disagreed with one another on doctrinal matters such as the nature of Christ and other doctrinal points! This is why the Orthodox Church called the Ecumenical Councils to clear up these doctrinal disputes and ensure that the truth was taught everywhere!
Therefore, if one relies solely on the Scriptures one is inclined to make the Holy Scriptures say whatever one wants them to say – a very real danger for any Christian!
Unfortunately, this is what has happened in the world of the Protestants – no two sects can agree as to what the Holy Scriptures actually say – rather convenient for those who would seek to push any agenda de jour!
One only has to look at the state of the Protestant groups in America to have this clearly illustrated - every minute a new group is formed from another due to some theological dispute!
This clearly illustrates why the Orthodox Church right from the beginning has held Ecumenical Councils and Pan-Orthodox Councils to clear up doctrinal matters the first of which being the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15).
Indeed, these Ecumenical Councils are the All-Holy Spirit’s quality control, in that, if there is an error that has crept into the teachings of a particular Church it is quickly excised and the truth of the doctrinal matter revealed!
When the whole of the Church gathers together to discuss a doctrinal concern the promise of Christ that the All-Holy Spirit will guide His Church is fulfilled (John 14: 15-21). Every doctrinal matter decided under the guidance of the All-Holy Spirit in an Ecumenical or Pan-Orthodox Council is closed and cannot be altered.
Which in many ways shows the error that certain groups in the West have fallen into by giving a mortal man the supposed power to override doctrinal truths revealed at Ecumenical councils under the guidance of the All-Holy Spirit.
One only has to look at the doctrinal backflips and summersaults done by Rome over the centuries over certain doctrinal matters! Prior to Pope Francis, the Romans always taught in their Catechisms that the death penalty could be justly exercised by a state in certain conditions!
Yet in 2018 Pope Francis changed the Roman Church’s doctrinal position on the death penalty stating that it is wrong in all cases by updating the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Please note I do not support the death penalty in any shape or form as I believe all should be given the chance to repent).
Which one is it? Can the death penalty be both right and wrong at the same time? Or can it be right at one time and wrong at another?
For the Romans believe that their Catechism is infallible as it contains all one needs to know about doctrine that has been settled!
However, there is an issue here - the death penalty cannot be both right and wrong at the same time – this then leads to doctrinal relativity in that if one accepts this principle the truth can change at the whim of a man. If one follows this through logically - I could decide one day that a cat is a rock and the next day that that same cat is a car or a bird!
This does not bode well for the matter relating to the Pope supposedly being infallible for if he was then doctrines could not change on papal whims as they have done so often through the course of history!
Moreover, this is not the only example of Papal overreach.
Another example of this overreach is the tacit approval of the addition of the Filioque clause (Who proceeds from the Father and the Son) to the Nicaean Creed by one such man - Pope Benedict VIII in 1014 AD.
Prior to this Pope Leo III had had the words of the Nicene Creed put up at Saint Peter’s old Basilica with the words of the Nicene Creed without the Filioque Clause to show that this Clause did not belong in the Creed! Many parts of the Frankish Empire had started to use the Filioque Clause in the Nicaean Creed by Pope Leo’s time.
Furthermore, one can appreciate how irregular this approval was for the Pope allowed the Nicaean Creed to be sung with the Filioque Clause at Latin Masses at the request of the German King Henry II (973- 1024 AD) as thanks for restoring him back to the Papal Throne. What happened to give unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's (Mark 12:17)?
Therefore, it is important for us Orthodox Christians to acknowledge the importance of the Holy Scriptures, Ecumenical Councils guided by the All-Holy Trinity, and Church Fathers in helping the Orthodox Church to continue to proclaim the truths of Christ’s Gospel to all!
Finally, this Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist. On this feast let us reflect on how Saint Mark worked tirelessly for the spread of Christ’s Gospel of love!
Here was a man who did not fear for his life even when being threatened by the pagans for preaching Christ amongst them. Here was a man that loved Christ so much that he wanted to share the truth of Christ to all costing him his earthly life!
Let us pray that we may all have such a love for Christ so that love compels us to get out of our comfort zones to preach the love of Christ to this broken world!
We as Christ’s Church have to reinvigorate our mission of evangelism we have to start showing the world the beauty of the true faith!
Christ has set the table at the Heavenly Banquet all who so choose to accept His invitation are free to do so!
Let us as His ushers welcome them in - many are hungry and desire the truth! Many desire the Heavenly Food that He provides!
Who are we to deny those who so desire the chance of receiving the Holy Mysteries of the Eucharist that can make them whole?
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