Daily Readings: Is. 33:22-34:1; 1 Corinth. 1:18-24; Matt. 24:27-36
Ընթերցուածքներ` Եսայ. ԼԳ 22- ԼԴ 1; Ա Կորթ. Ա 18-24; Մատթ. ԻԴ 27-36
In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” In a society of abundance my dears, there are very few things that we would purchase used. Vintage, antique, collector items, and so forth have certain value yet, for the most part, when we go to a garage or yard sale, maybe a thrift store or Church bazaar, honestly, unless we are looking for something specific, there is a lot of trash. Used, abused, worn out things that clearly the seller just wants to get rid of. But it is interesting that while I may go to one of these sales and see trash, someone with an expert eye will look and see value and treasure. I remember once going to a Church festival yard sale in New York and didn’t find anything valuable. Whereas Yeretskin (my ife), who was with me, saw these white dinner plates that caught her eye. Turns out it was a full dinner set of the well-known British Spode fine bone china. For me, it was plates and weight that I would have to carry; yet, for someone who understood the value of the craftsmanship and prestige, it was valuable. The plate didn’t change; it was the perspective of the person who viewed it.
No one wants trash. Yet the underlying premise of the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” emphasizes, while someone else may see value, there are things in life that we view as unwanted, unnecessary, and we discard them. Sadly, the truth is we use this same approach towards each other and other people. We see certain members of society, of our own community or family members, priests, laity, elders, youth, and so forth as trash, as ugly. We look at beggars, and prostitutes, junkies, and alcoholics as lesser. We look at those who vote different than us, who dress, speak and act strange as lesser. As uneducated, stupid, foolish and devalued. And while no one likes to be called foolish or stupid, no one wants to be seen as garbage, yet we even treat ourselves this way. We look at our scars, our sins, our addictions, our mistakes, the cracks and worn-out marks on our hands and think we are worthless. We hold up in esteem those who are educated, who dress well, who speak eloquently, who fit our own ideologies of proper and valuable. We look at celebrities and influencers, who hide behind filters, and think they are valuable, not I.
Yet, my dears, in the same manner that the value of the plates did not lessen because I didn’t understand rather it was the one who understood their value that made them important, for God, our value is not defined by the world. St. Paul even reminds us that God uses the foolish, the undervalued, the rejected, to reveal Himself. (vv.20-21) “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?…Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” God sees us not for our foolishness, brokenness, or sins, God sees us not for our achievements and wealth; God sees and loves us because He knows our value. Evil has convinced us that sin and shame has made us worthless, yet, through Christ Jesus, we are called to understand that we are in fact priceless. We are love and transformed, not by anything we do but by God. The plates I saw at the Bazaar didn’t change outwardly. Yet, they were valued for what they were, when they were used for their purpose.
Likewise, us my dears! When we in faith humble ourselves, when we repent and turn to God, when we pray and read Holy Scriptures, outwardly we may not change, our scars may not disappear, and society may still think of us as foolish. Yet, we will live purposefully for God’s kingdom; we will become the very instruments that declare God’s love for all, our value will be revealed. In the same way, the Holy Cross my dears, is for us. Today in the Armenian Church we celebrate how St. Queen Helen discovered the Holy Cross of our Lord. The Cross which was a tool of death, humiliation, shame and fear. Yet, which through the blood of Christ was transformed to be a sign of victory and life for us Christians. No, the wood did not change, and yes, historically Roman’s continued killing criminals on the Cross. Yet, through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus we understand, that physical death is temporary; that shame and sin do not have the final verdict on us. That the love of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit sees where our true value is – not determined by language, skin color, IQ or wealth. But by the image and likeness of God in which we were originally created.
Yes, for the rest of the world the cross, we, our faith may be trash, may be foolishness, may be something that would rather be discarded. However, for us foolish ones, we who are born of the Holy Font, who receive the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, we, who look to the empty tomb, no matter how used, abused, worn out we feel, we know with certainty that the love of God for each one of us is where our value lies. Each person’s value lies. Therefore, we pray for God to open our eyes to this truth; we turn to Him asking to be healed, and to us to be revealed, not our worthlessness according to the world but of our pricelessness according to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we are embraced in the love of our Heavenly Father, and by the Holy Spirit our eyes are illuminated to see with a new perspective that for the world we may be trash, but to God we are His treasure, Amen!
