Homily on the 31st Sunday after Pentecost.
Ephesians 4: 7-13; Matthew 4: 12-17.
Many people today when asked what was at the heart of Christ’s Gospel will answer that He came to deliver a socio-political message of revolution. However, you will see that this is not the case.
In today’s Gospel Christ begins his preaching with a simple call to repentance for ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Whilst it cannot be denied that Our Lord and Saviour was clear that charity towards those who have little is a worthy thing to do. This is not the sum and total of His message! Christ is adamant that the poor will always be with us (Matthew 26:11). Yet, he is also insistent that it is the duty of a Christian to do whatever charity they can as is made clear in the parable of the ‘sheep and goats (Matthew 25: 31-46). ‘
Now, this is not the fullness of our Lord and Saviours message- He did not come solely that all be nice to one another dancing around the fire giving gifts. This is why the ‘Liberation Theology’ beloved of so many Western Christians fails for it is only concerned with a Gospel announcing social and political reforms aimed at alleviating poverty – this at the expense of the spiritual life of the people! This ‘Liberation Theology’ also fails because it ignores Christ’s message of salvation for all through the Mysteries (sacraments) of the Orthodox Church!
Many Jews in Christ’s time were hoping that a great leader would come along and rescue the Jewish people from the control of the Roman Emperors. Whilst the Roman Emperors were mostly good to the Jewish people they also did not fully understand the Jewish way of life, and religious beliefs.
For instance, in the time of the Apostles, one way that the Roman Emperors asserted their dominance was to insist that the vassal peoples set up temples to worship the person of the Emperor as a god. This was not acceptable for the ancient Jews as it is clear in the ten commandments that to worship any other gods was forbidden by the All-Holy Trinity (Deuteronomy 5: 6-7).
Yet Herod built three temples to other gods one of these – the temple at Sabaste – was dedicated to the Roman Emperor Augustus. Whilst to the Gentiles of Herod’s time this would have not been a controversial move as in their worldview it was a normal thing to worship the ruler as a god. Indeed, Alexander the Great was worshipped by many of the cities which he conquered!
However, to pious Jews this act by Herod would have been a betrayal of their faith- as building a temple to a foreign deity would be seen as an act of belief in this deity! Thus over time, there were movements that began in Israel to gain independence from the Romans which finally culminated in the Romans destroying the Jewish Temple in AD 70 as predicted by our Lord and Saviour (Matthew 24:1-2; Mark 13: 1-2; Luke 36: 5-6).
This then is the backdrop against which our Lord and Saviour made His entrance into history. This was an age where the Jewish people were trying to assert their independence from the imperial might of Rome. To this end, many Jewish people expected that the predicted Messiah would be a king who would lead their people out of captivity into the utopian ideal of autonomy from Rome.
Yet as preached by Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 the Holy Cross seemed to be foolishness to those in the context of the Gentile and Jewish worlds. In His death on the Cross, we have a King who exhibits qualities that seem at odds with the image of a mighty king.
Here on the Holy Cross, the King of all appears but a weak suffering man – yet it is through this apparent contradiction that the wisdom and power of God is revealed to all. For Christ is the Wisdom and Power of God (1 Corinthians 1: 24) and being the second Person of the All-Holy Trinity His death gives back to man the possibility of immortality - a return to the original state of Adam - this being sealed by His resurrection from the dead.
Nonetheless, King as our Lord and Saviour is, His purpose is so much more than to free one group of people from captivity. There is more to His Gospel and to conflate His coming with a political motive is to miss the point of His incarnation, death and resurrection!
If Christ came with political designs why then did He say ‘give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s (Mark 12:17)? ‘Surely if He desired a political revolution He would have then actively preached against the Caesars and even led an open rebellion against the Romans!
Yet one notes that in the presence of the representative of Caesar before His crucifixion- Pilate- He does not claim that His motives were political. Rather, when questioned by Pilate if He is the King of the Jews Christ replies that ‘His kingdom is not of this world.’ Our Lord and Saviour then adds that if His kingdom were of this world then His disciples would have fought against the Chief Priest’s men to prevent His arrest (John 18: 33-37).
Therefore it is clear that whilst our Lord and Saviour did indicate that to perform what charity one can is a good thing. He also, clearly states that His motives were not political or revolutionary in any secular sense!
He did not come to bring a promised political utopia on earth but rather give people the opportunity to become citizens of Heaven if they so desire.
How does one then become a citizen of Heaven? One becomes a citizen of Heaven through entry into Church through the Holy Mysteries of Christ’s Church and a life well-lived, Keeping the faith, running the race, and fighting the good fight (2 Timothy 4:7).
Christ came so that all who desire to be saved may be saved. Christ came bringing the good news of salvation preaching that sins can be forgiven and that man can have a deep Communion with the All-Holy Trinity through the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments) of His Church.
Finally, in today’s Epistle (Ephesians 4: 7-13) Saint Paul goes to great lengths to make it clear that every member of Christ’s Body the Church has a specific function. Some are called to be clergy and some are called to be catechists etc.
Unfortunately today many have swallowed the secular doctrines and conflate certain roles as being more important than others. Whilst those in the clergy fulfil a certain function so do those in the laity! The clergy needs the laity and the laity needs the clergy working together we are Christ’s Body - His hands and feet in the world.
Many people who lived through the terrible times of Communism in Eastern Europe came to the Orthodox Church through their families! Without these faithful laity helping the underground Clergy many people would not have had the opportunity to become part of the Church.
Furthermore, the laity performs such an important role in our churches – without them, we would not have such beautiful music and wonderful opportunities to gather together after the Divine Liturgy.
Moreover, the laity plays such an important role in helping the clergy in their work of evangelising to the world. Without the laity performing the many acts of charity which they do and going out into the world being Christ’s hands and feet in the world the spiritual work of the clergy would be doubly as hard.
Therefore let us pray that the All-Holy Trinity will guide us in our work and help us to be as Christ to all who we encounter in our daily lives.
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