Passages: Is. 7:10-16; Gal. 3:29-4:7; Lk. 2:1-7
Ընթերցուածքներ՝ Եսայ. Է 10-16; Գաղ. Գ 29- Դ 7; Ղկ. Բ 1-7
In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!
Over the last several years, DNA ancestry testing has becoming very popular. And there are a plethora of companies offering their services where by submitting our DNA, we receive information about where our ancestors come from, if we have any genetic dispositions to sickness, and even more, if we have any long lost relatives who may have also taken the DNA test. As Armenian’s we know that because of the Genocide, many of our relatives either by escaping or forced marches through the desert, were scattered around the world, or hidden by neighbors in order to be saved or far worse forced into slavery, marriage where they renounced faith, family and heritage. So yes, as Armenian’s, and humanity as a whole, we want to understand our roots; who we are, where we come from, and especially what makes us special and different?
Within the ancient Church, we celebrate unique individuals; we set apart and remember special people known as saints. Contrary to what some other denominations argue, we do not worship saints. We worship God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Saints are just people! In Acts 10 we read, “As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I myself am also a man.’” (25-26) St. Peter was sent to Cornelius to bring the Gospel and Cornelius recognizes who Peter was and fell to worship before him for which Peter reminded him that he too is only a man and worship should only be to God. Yet, my dears the question remains, why and what makes certain people worth remembering? What makes them so special?
Frederick Buechner, who was a 20-century author and minister, wrote a children story book where he writes about characters from the Bible. In one of his stories, he writes about the Archangel Gabriel as he encounters St. Mary, the Mother of God. He writes: “She struck him as hardly old enough to have a child at all, let alone this child. But he had been entrusted with a message to give her, and he gave it. He told her what the child was to be named, who he was to be, and something about the mystery that was to come upon her. ‘You mustn’t be afraid, Mary,’ he said. As he said it, he only hoped she wouldn’t notice that beneath the great golden wings, he himself was trembling with awe to think that the whole future of Creation hung on the answer of a girl.” Today the Armenian Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Theotokos, the Mother of Christ Jesus. St. Mary, is chief among the saints and the most beloved. Yet, what makes Mary so special? Why is she worthy of such recognition and honor, that the Church celebrates not just her life, but also her death and assumption; events which are not written in the Scriptures.
My dears, the reason we remember and honor St. Mary, the reason we venerate any of our saints, is not because of some DNA or ancestral pattern. It is not because their names are written in the Holy Bible. Rather, it is because of Christ Jesus. A saint is a saint because they are sanctified by Christ. In the fictional children’s story of the angel Gabriel’s encounter with Mary, the story teaches us that the angels of heaven, the world, society, and all of creation often does not fully understand the Will of God. Society tells us that we are special if we are related to a famous person, if we have accomplished something difficult, if we have a certain type of body, if we are educated, successful in the workforce, etc. Yet, Scriptures reveal to us that all of us are the same for God. We are all sinners, we are all in need of redemption and salvation and God loves each and every one of us equally which is why it is Christ Jesus that sets us apart, makes us “special”, that sanctifies us. St. Paul writes in Galatians, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (3:29) Abraham’s seed here refers to the chosen people of God; descendants of whom God in the Old Testament promised to Abraham. Before Christ those were the Israelites; those who shared blood and DNA with Abraham. Yet, through Christ Jesus, all who believe in Him came under this promise. Which is why St. Paul continues in Gal. 4 “And because you are children, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child, then an heir of God through Christ.” Meaning my dears, our value, our worth, what sets us apart and makes us special for God is not the genetic DNA we share with some people, nor is it the blood that flows through our veins; rather, it is the blood of Christ which we receive through the Chalice. The blood that makes us saints.
That is why Christ in the Gospel’s during the last supper said those words, which the priest repeats every Divine Liturgy, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Mt. 26:26-28) Yes, I am proud to be an Armenian; as our poets write, we are descendants of Gregory of Narek, Vartan Mamigonian, Gregory of Datev, Movses of Khoren, Hovhannes Toumanian, Krikor Zohrab, Andranik Ozanian, Karekin Njdeh, etc. Yes, I am honored and proud to be a descendant of saints, martyrs, warriors, poets, and musicians. But they are an example of how to live this life, recognizing that it is a gift to me, to us from God. But it is God who gives me those gifts and it is we who must respond, in the same way that God came to Mary and it was St. Mary who humbled and accepted God’s call. A call that gives birth to Christ Jesus – a call that is given to each one of us.
My dears, what makes St. Mary so special? What makes the saints worthy of recognition? What sets us apart, and gives us true value? Worldly definitions? What can be seen on the outside? Where we’ve come from? Our DNA? It is Christ Jesus, God the Son, who came, lived and died for each one of us and who sets us apart that perhaps not even the angels can fully understand why God would love us so much. Christ Jesus sanctifies us and is born through us by the life we live because it is the Will of God to save His entire creation. It is the Will of God our loving and merciful Father to heal all of us. It is only through God the Holy Spirit we will begin to recognize why. Let us pray my dears, pray and ask ourselves, what do we chose to allow to define who we are, our worth, and what makes us special? Do we look to celebrities and famous people who are sinful and full of pride and arrogance? Or do we, through the Church, look to our saints, who are sinful and yet, humble and recognize that it is only through faith in Christ that they too have overcome the world? By the grace of the Holy Spirit, by the intercession of our saints, our beloved St. Mary the mother of God and through prayer and humility, may the love, mercy and compassion of Christ Jesus reveal to us and open our eyes to recognize who we are as heirs and children of our Heavenly Father, Amen!