YOLO! So What?

Daily Readings: Acts 9:23-31; 1 Peter 2:1-10; John 2:23-3:12
Ընթերցուածքներ` Գործ. Թ 23-31; Ա Պետ. Բ 1-10; Յով. Բ 23 – Գ 12

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

We’ve all heard the term YOLO – “you only live once.” It emphasizes that we only have one life to live, one brief moment on this earth, a short time to live, love, laugh and cry, therefore, we should live it to the fullest. We should experiment and try new things, make mistakes, live with no regrets, etc. While the premise is something we would agree with, that life is short and should be valued as a gift, as Christian’s we would disagree with the notion that to live fully, we should be experimenting and open to everything. This is not to say we shouldn’t try new things, face our fears or be challenged but rather, the way we live, the life we choose and what we try, etc. should be purposeful and directional.

In his 1 letter, St. Peter describes Christ Jesus, as the cornerstone chosen and precious. What is a cornerstone? Among the many stones used in construction, just as the capstone and the keystone, the cornerstone is unique in that it is the first stone set. It would be placed prominently and cornerstones even held religious significance in ancient pagan cultures. A cornerstone is not merely a piece of rock that is placed in the corner of a building. A cornerstone is used to set a direction for a building structure. It was used to determine every measurement in the remaining structure. This means that Christ Jesus is not merely another preacher, prophet or teacher, but rather Christ Jesus, God the Son, is the living cornerstone, the barometer and direction of all of us, His Body, the Church.

When we are baptized from the font and as the Gospel today says, we are born of water and spirit, we become part of the body, “the structure” that is built up founded on our cornerstone, Christ Jesus. Our life, our direction, our YOLO, one life we live therefore must be fulfilled with that reality. Which is why St. Peter begins today’s letter by instructing us, to “put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander.” (2:1) My dear brothers and sisters, a life lived with no regrets, a life lived fully is not determined by a life filled with sinfulness, passions and worldly pleasure. A life lived fully is a life of building up, serving, caring, and love. Just like the cornerstone of a building has a unique significance, we too, through our life in Christ in this world each play a unique role in how this world, our Churches, our homes are built up. This means that when we “are in Christ”, meaning we are a Christian, anointed, with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Oil Myron which is placed on our heads at our baptisms, we become cornerstones; we become a reflection of God.

In the ancient world that cornerstone stood for truth, unity, growth, stability and integrity. In today’s world, as we live out our “ancient faith” what kind of representation are we of our loving, merciful and compassionate God? Regardless of our age, our skin color, our life experiences; regardless of our shortcomings, of our skeletons, and addictions and pain, we each are created in the image and likeness of a loving Heavenly Father who call us His children to Him to build us, raise us, even out of the ashes, even out of rejection. But this only happens when we respond to God’s salvific act. When we YOLO faithfully regardless of what the world might say.

For this reason, in the same letter of Peter we read that the stone which God deemed to be the cornerstone, was rejected by others. This comes to us from throughout the Old Testament but specifically from Ps. 118:2 “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” Rejected, unwanted, hated, betrayed; Jesus was rejected by Pharisees and Jewish leaders, even some of his followers. He was rejected and crucified by us, for us. So let me ask, who among us hasn’t felt rejection and hate? Who among us for our faith, for who we are, for valuing something beyond this material world, hasn’t felt hurt, or laughed at even by those whom we trust and love? As Armenian’s, we are all children of Genocide; as humanity, we are all children in a darkened world that chooses hate over love too often.

And yet, though we are rejected, we are God’s children through our baptism. We are built up, precious and loved. We are, “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” St. Clement of Rome teaches us, “It is our duty, therefore, to be faithful to God, pure in heart, merciful and kind, just and holy; for these things imprint in us the outlines of the Divine likeness, and perfect us as heirs of eternal life.” My dears, to say we are a Christian, to have faith is not about feeling good, or only coming to Church on Sundays. It is about facing rejection and hurt, it is about living a Holy life outside of these walls, and being the divine likeness of the God we claim to believe.

So yes, my dears, YOLO! But live in such a way that will light this darkened world. YOLO in such a way wehre we don’t worry about living with regrets but rather we desire to live with repentance. YOLO in such a way that even if we fail and hurt, even if the world rejects us, those things don’t diminish our value. Live with empathy, compassion, mercy and hope, because yes, this life is only a moment, a stop in all of eternity where how we live is a response to God’s love for us. God the Son’s Christ Jesus’ death on the Cross and resurrection by which we are reborn to the truth of what it truly means to live only once. YOLO, so what? The truth is we live everyday; we die once. How we live, how we treat one another, how we accept and reject each other is a direct reflection of what we believe about God. For He, Christ is the cornerstone, the measure by which we are measured and by which the world will look and see God. May the Grace of the Holy Spirit, illuminate our hearts and minds to be truly reborn, to live every day in Communion and love, to live a life of purpose and direction, with all glory to God, our Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!