Homily on the Second of Sunday of Pascha: Thomas Sunday John 20: 19-31.
In today’s Gospel, we have the account of Saint Thomas’s conversion after seeing the risen Christ! One thing that is certain is that many people are stuck in a materialist mindset - Meaning that they will not believe without seeing first! However, Christ is clear that those who believe without seeing are most certainly blessed (John 20:29). Now whilst it is clear that many people have a fragile and simple faith- many more have believed without seeing first! Again, and again, whenever someone is healed by Our Lord and Saviour the one constant is always their faith! But why is faith so important to our Lord and Saviour? Well put simply - faith is a measure of how much we trust the All-Holy Trinity! Whilst our Lord and Saviour never demands praise, He does demand that we trust Him! What is any relationship without trust? It is clear that if there is no trust then a relationship will be fraught with difficulties! Remember, the Lord truly is, ‘our shepherd and there is nothing we shall want! He will lead us forth into green pastures for He loves us!’ This the meaning of the 22nd psalm to show us the trust that we Christians should have in the All-Holy Trinity!
This week the Church will celebrate the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist! Now what is wonderful for me is that Archbishop Raffaele has given me permission to celebrate the liturgy of Saint Mark - as celebrated in the Patriarchate of Alexandria! Now, this is important because we the Church have such a rich heritage of ancient liturgies! it is important that these liturgies are used for the spiritual edification of the faithful! Let us not forget that each rite is a connection point between us and the Saints who being part of the Communion of Saints -are our forebears! This is why it is important that each generation uses these liturgies but also brings these liturgies to life in their own way! Remember, all generations should be involved in the preservation and organic development of the rites that they use! For instance, Saint John Chrysostom was involved in reforming the liturgies in use at Hagia Sophia in his day making them more accessible for his flock. Therefore, it is important that each generation is taught about the history and developments in the Divine Liturgies that they use - for they are part of their history and inheritance. Moreover, when I say that each generation should be involved in the preservation and organic development of the Divine Liturgies that they use - I do not mean in the way the Western Christian sects did so in the late nineteen sixties of last century! In many ways, they destroyed their traditional forms making them unrecognisable. However, what I do mean is that each generation must ensure that any development or omission in a Divine Liturgy is not going to change its character or fundamentally alter the theology expressed in that Divine Liturgy!
Furthermore, it is important that each generation has the ability to understand the Divine Services in their native language. One common theme I hear over and over again by people who have grown up in New Calendar State Orthodox Churches is that they love that they can understand what is being said and sung by the priest and choir in our Divine Liturgies - which are in English. Whilst it is a noble thing to preserve some historical forms- serving the Divine Liturgy in a liturgical language does not endear the Divine Liturgy to the people. This is why many of the Churches that use a liturgical language are finding that the younger generation is either leaving to no longer go to church, or is leaving to join some other Christian sect. Also, many people have literally said to me – “Christianity is literally all Greek to me”. Meaning that they have learnt nothing from the clergy and parents that brought them in to the Church as they could not understand what was going on due to a liturgical language being used!
In conclusion, let us this week pray that like Saints Mark and Thomas that we may be lights to the world. Many hunger for the Love of the All-holy Trinity. Many thirst to feel the love that can only come from the All-Holy Trinity and His Orthodox Church. Let us pray that we may be the Lord’s hands and feet in this world.
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