Daily Readings: Is. 24:1-12; Eph. 5:15-33; Lk. 8:49-56
Ընթերցուածքներ` Եսայ. ԻԴ 1-12; Եփե. Ե 15-33; Ղկ. Ը 49-56
In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!
There once was old monk who lived out in the Egyptian desert, spending his days in quiet prayer and weaving baskets. One day, a violent band of bandits raided his area. They broke into his humble cell, brandishing weapons, shouting threats, and demanding to take everything he owned. To the bandits’ absolute shock, the elder did not run, he did not cry out, and his face did not change. He simply looked up, smiled warmly, and greeted them as if they were honored guests. He quietly handed over his few woven baskets and his meager supply of bread. Confused by his complete lack of fear, the leader of the bandits demanded, “Old man, do you not know who we are? Aren’t you afraid that we could take your life right now?” The monk looked him in the eyes with absolute peace and replied, “You can only take my life in this moment, but my eternal life is already with Christ. And because I am with Him, this very moment is exactly where I am supposed to be.”
It is interesting my dears, that when we evaluate our lives, we rank our value, our worth, even our time, based on the things we have, the achievements we accomplish, the places we’ve been, the followers we have on social media or our friends, etc. We want to live life to the fullest and define the fullness of life according to these worldly measures. Yet, the monk in our story gives a unique perspective: fearlessness & value when we are in Christ. You see we all fear disappointment; we fear failure, we fear danger and most of all we fear death. St. Gregory of Nyssa teaches us, “Those who consider death…a misfortune, and grieve deeply for those who have moved on, from living here on earth, to a spiritual life without the body, seem to me not to have examined what this life of our is… (pg.2 “A Discourse on the Dead “On Death and Eternal Life”) In other words, St. Gregory is saying we fear death because we misunderstand what life is. We fear failure because we misunderstand what success is; we fear because we misunderstand God. And the reason we misunderstand my dears is because our hearts, and our minds are distracted. We have placed our trust in things apart from God, or we have for whatever reason taken our focus away from God and become fearful and distracted.
When we read today’s Gospel about a ruler of the synagogue who receives the devastating news that his twelve-year-old daughter has just died, we tend to focus on the events that follow. Yet, for a moment I want us to pause and read how it starts. v. 49 – “While he was still speaking, a man from the ruler’s house came and said, ‘Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.’” While Jesus was speaking, a man from the ruler’s house came bringing devasting news. What do we understand here my dears? This man, this ruler has come seeking God, has come to listen to Christ Jesus speak and perhaps even ask for a miracle, healing for his daughter, when he receives the absolute worst news. Similarly, when we are living our life, and we are trying to grow in faith, when we are praying, reading our Scriptures, coming to Church, life distracts us with a “curve ball”. This broken and material world takes our attention away from God and places fear into our heart; This voice of human rationalism and despair, tells us that life is short, time is up, our situation is broken and hopeless, —whether it is a marriage, a child who has gone astray, a devastating illness, or our own deeply rooted sins— and it is too late to fix. The bandits are here to take that which we value.
Yet, it is in that exact moment of despair, of distraction and fear that Christ cuts through the darkness with a radical command: “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be well.” Christ doesn’t say she will live, or the information is false but that “she will be well.” Having faith doesn’t mean we will have health, wealth and happiness; being a Christian does not mean we will not face temptation or persecution; or that evil will not exist. Having faith my dears, is about being sober to the reality, the truth of life; that faithfulness will make us well. That yes, death will come, yes, fear, hurt, pain, suffering, failure, distraction will happen in this life. Yet, our trust, our strength, our hope, our value, that which is well is not determined by how often we fall, or the darkness around us. But rather by the grace and love of God. A love that brings light to darkness, healing to brokenness and life to death. Yet, how we live each day, is our response to that love.
That is why St. Paul warns us to be cautious of how we live – “making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” (v.16) The days are evil is not merely talking about the political or societal struggles. Evil days are the broken days, the fractured and hurt we feel apart from God’s love. When we let others distract us from our faith, our walk, our hope in Christ Jesus. That is why St. Paul says, make the most of your time. Going back to the words of St. Gregory of Nyssa, who tells us we misunderstand life, we need to reflect on what is life, and what are we living for? Momentary satisfaction and gratification? YOLO, as they say? St. Paul in his letter gives us that answer in the persons of a husband and wife. “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord…Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loved the Church—sacrificially, completely, laying down their lives. And the wife, is called to submit to her husband as the Church submits to Christ in trust and reverence. Meaning in the same way, when a husband and wife truly love one another, they are united as one, their strength becomes a shared strength, they trust and sacrifice their own egos, their pridefulness for the betterment of the other, likewise, when are in Communion with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, when we are mystically wedded to Christ through the Holy Sacraments—through prayer, confession, and the Holy Eucharist—His strength is our strength.
We no longer face the storms of life alone; As we beautifully say in Ps. 23 “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me…” But we need to submit, we need to read and learn, repent and turn, come and be in that communion regularly not just when life is convenient. We need to come especially when we are distracted, when we are facing difficulties and fears. When we wake up in the morning, before opening our phones, looking at emails, or checking the news or stock market in the morning, before even pouring our first cup of coffee, we need to pause and give thanks God for our day. Starting with prayer rather than starting the day reacting to notifications, being distracted by the “evil days” and the noise that brings us fear. Likewise, we need to remain faithful live our day, in everything we do; the way we drive, the way we interact with each other, even the way we disagree with one another. We need to end our day, with prayer on our lips because we need to make the most of today.
My dears, brothers and sisters, we must stop wasting the precious, limited time God has granted us in this life. Start our days by replacing foolish talk, and distractions with thanksgiving, and replacing anxiety with the remembrance of God. When fear knocks on your door, when the “thieves” come to take our material wealth, when the world tells us that we have no value and that our situation is hopeless, remember the words “Do not fear, only believe.” Believe and stay focused on God, for though we suffer today, we are with Christ Jesus who by His grace and love, will have mercy on us, and through the intercession of all our saints, together we will worship the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and always, in all our precious and limited days, Amen!
