SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY 2016-03-20. “We have found Jesus”!

We Orthodox Christians all over the world celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy on the first Sunday of the Great Lent. There is no such precedence in any religion, country or nation in the history of human kind to have been attacked so hard, during so many centuries and by so many enemies and yet to have survived all tribulations, as the Orthodox Church has! The historical events are more or less well known. The Church was persecuted in the person of its Founder Jesus Christ, starting from His infancy when He was threatened to be slaughtered by Herod’s army. Ever since that time and to this day the Orthodox Church is being continuously fought against by various enemies and yet, not only has it survived all persecutions, but it has also flourished! The most significant fact is that the more the Church is attacked, the more it grows and expands throughout the centuries. And this is only natural since the Orthodox Church is nothing but Jesus Christ Himself, the God-man, who, according to St. Paul, is the Head of the Body of the One Church of Christ (Eph.1:22-23 & 5:23). Therefore the Church remains always undefeatable, because Christ, the Almighty God, cannot possibly be defeated by any power. That is why Jesus declared that His Church can never be conquered, not even by the forces of Hades (of death) Matt.16:18). It will always be marching “from glory to glory” (B’ Cor. 3: 18) along with its members, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Another amazing thing is that the Lord, in His love for us, calls us, the simple and ordinary people, “His collaborators” when it comes to the magnificent work done by His Church. Starting from the calling of the Fishermen of Galilee and to this day He keeps inviting people from every nation and race to carry on His work of expanding His Church until we all become “one flock and one shepherd” (John. 10,16), as He Himself has proclaimed.

Let us then focus our attention to a very important point: Our Lord has not assigned this sacred mission to just a few persons, such as the Apostles, Bishops, Priests and teachers of the Church. Instead, He has called everyone who has been baptized and has been illumined by the Holy Spirit. He has told us: “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). Any form of light, whether it comes from the sun, from a light bulb, or even from a candle, it has the capacity of illuminating its surroundings. Likewise the Orthodox faithful who are in communion with the “Great Light” (Matt. 4:16), “the Light of people” (John. 1:4), and “the true Light” (John. 1:9) who is Jesus Christ, it is only natural to also possess this illuminating quality. Of course, this illuminating process does not come by itself, but it stems from the light which is received from Christ and it is then reflected on to others. It must be stressed here that when a faithful Christian receives the light from Jesus Christ, he/she should neither keep it for oneself, nor to hide it. The Lord says: “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but o a lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house” (Matt. 5:15).

Having said that, the question rises and we should all ask ourselves: “What do we actually do with the light of the Orthodox Faith we have received? Are we concerned about and do we care in order to pass it on to others, like to those we live with, our relatives, family environment, neighbors and friends, thus giving them the chance to be illumined with the light of Christ?

At this point I’d like to ask you to excuse me for making a personal confession to you. As a young child I used to attend Sunday school classes for children in my area. I vividly remember one cold, winter’s day when I came back home from my religious class and went straight to the fire place in order to warm up and I sat next to my grandmother. She was silent for a few moments and then she asked me: “Where have you been? -In Sunday school, Grandma, I answered. –And what did they teach you there? she asked. With the simplicity and enthusiasm of a young child I started explaining to her whatever I could remembered from my religious lesson. When I finished my narration, I heard my Grandma telling me in a complaining manner and with tears in her eyes: -Oh my child! During all this time that you have been going to Sunday school, why have you never talked to us about all these wonderful things that you are being taught there? (My Grandma was born during the Ottoman occupation and at that time there were neither Sunday Schools nor schools for girls).

There is no doubt that we all love the members of our family and we strive to provide them with the best care possible so that they may have a comfortable living. I wonder, however, if we are just as interested in their spiritual needs and well being? Are we concerned with the spiritual cultivation of our children and the salvation of their souls, at least as much as we are concerned about their education about studying in the most prestigious schools? Is it right on our part to have limited our interest only to the requirements of the body of our loved ones and be indifferent to their immortal souls?

My beloved, let us all be taught and inspired by the example of Apostle Philip. Today, as we heard in the Holy Gospel, as soon as Philip met Christ, he rushed to his friend Nathaniel and joyfully called out to him: ”We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth…Come and see” (John. 1:46-47). Just before this encounter, Andrew had told his brother Peter: “We have found the Messiah, (which is translated, the Christ)” (John 1: 42).

Let us, therefore, my brothers imitate the example of the Apostles and let us try to communicate our faith with the members of our family, our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors. The greatest philanthropy one can do is to lead someone close to Christ, because Christ is the Only Savior of humanity, who came down to earth in order to let us all enter into the Ark of His Church, to save us from the flood of sin and to ensure our eternal joy in His Kingdom! Amen.