OrthoAnalyika Shownotes: 29 November 2009
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Homily/Lesson (25th Sunday after Pentecost)
Ephesians 4: 1-6
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
An Exposition on Today’s Epistle Lesson
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, [beseech you …]
In what sense is St. Paul a prisoner? There is, of course, the historical sense: St. Paul spent the last few years of his life “in prison” in Rome for his commitment to Christ. And in this, as with the example of all the martyrs, we are to follow him; we should all be willing to become prisoners for the sake of the Truth and for the sake of Our Church. I have met a lot of brave people in my time, people who really are willing to give their lives in service greater than themselves. But I want you to note something – it is not simply the willingness to risk literal death that is important. [After all,] Very few people are put into the position where this is required (although I pray that we will be brave and steadfast when it does), rather, it is the daily willingness to sacrifice yourself for this greater thing that builds up saints. The soldier who is willing to throw himself on a grenade to save his squad is exemplary, but so is the one who takes up the daily drudgery the soldier’s life offers diligently and selfless dedication. It would be a poor soldier who spent all his time daydreaming of the opportunity to prove his mettle in a heroic moment, but neglects his common tasks. Such a soldier has already been tested – and has been found wanting.
Similarly, we joke about the young man who poetically confess his love for his new bride, assuring her that he would do anything for her – he would fetch the moon itself if it would just brighten her smile; he would slay the greatest dragon to bring her its treasure; he would storm the very gates of hell itself just to keep them together… but would never even think of helping with the dishes.
It was in this sense that St. Paul was a prisoner of the Lord: he really was willing to put his service to Christ and his love for His flock above his own welfare. In short, he was willing to suffer for his love. But I have to tell you, while he would agree with my exposition, he might say that this was not really “suffering” at all – it is simply what sometimes happens when you are living well; it is the way a fallen world often treats those who refuse to conform to its falleness. It is what happens when people take a stand against the misery, spite, and divisiveness that is commonplace outside those doors. It occasionally happens when you devote yourself to love. And when given the choice between doing the right thing and doing what sin has made easy – the Christian must always do what is right. This is true whether we are called to risk our lives and offer ourselves as martyrs (example of Fr. Daniel last week) or, as is more likely here in this community, we are called to the difficult and exhausting work of caring for another person in need of our long time care (or, often just as difficult, accepting that care from another).
It is for this reason that St. Paul, the “prisoner of the Lord” encourages us to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are all Christians. This means that we have committed ourselves to a certain kind of life. Saint Paul summarizes the virtues such a life exhibits: lowliness means that you consider yourself better than no one and that you recognize your position as the servant of all; gentleness means that you do no harm to those God puts before you and that you treat them with the fondness often reserved for kittens and expensive gadgets; longsuffering means that you put up with the burdens your love imposes on you for as long as they must be carried; bearing with one another in love means that you continually devote yourself and your relationships to the source of all goodness, that you keep at bay all temptations that would pull you towards envy, lust, judgementalism, anger, and pride; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace means that the fruit of our presence amongst others is spiritual attraction and quiet – that the demons of confusion and division flee from before the love we carry like darkness flees the flame.
St. Paul finishes today’s lesson by reminding us that; There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
We learned last week that love is not something that you have or not (like you have or don’t have a job or a television) – love is something that you do; something that through doing – you become. When we say that (to paraphrase St. Paul) that there is just One Truth, and that He is above all, through all, and in all; when we say that God is Love; we should not confuse His Truth and His Love with our own. He is the source of all Truth and Love. He rests in the center of all Truth and Love. Its energy emanates in all directions from him like rays from the sun. It is not possible for Him to be anywhere but on the Seat of this Glory.
We are different. We must live love to become love. God is completely holy, but for us, sanctification (i.e. the path of holiness) is a never-ending journey. He rests in His perfection, but we must continually move towards it. If you rest in your goodness, then you have settled for imperfection; if you stop striving to love, then you have forsaken your Christian duty; if you refuse to serve others, then you have seated yourself on your own throne and you can offer yourself your own meager rewards. But for those of us who continue to press on, for those of us who continue to carry the Cross given to us at Baptism, for those of us who genuinely live in Christ and Christ in us – then we (through the grace and mercy of our Lord) will enjoy the greatest reward offered to any of God’s creatures: an eternity spent learning new ways to experience, enjoy, and share the beautiful Love that is the sentence of every prisoner of the Lord.
News:
- Mullah Omar and President Obama square off about the future of Afghanistan.
- Orthodoxy and Science: Loneliness spreads like a virus. We are born helpers.
- Danger of Facebook and sexting.
- NY Times on Marriage Check-ups.
- Paul McCartney promotes fasting to slow global warming (with nod to Wendell Barry).
- From Ukraine: Ukraine is 90% religious. President Yushchenko wants one national church, not four (thinks others just have one). UOC-MP sets two “conditions” for healing division: reunite within the UOC-MP and repentance. UAOC Archbishop Yoan of Uman sees the first condition as a practical necessity, but wants a compromise on the second because the UAOC is a church “divide”, not a “schism”. UOC-KP rejects both – and wants to make sure the “constructive proposals” of the “Constantinople Mother-Church” are taken into account (except, presumably, when it has to do with the UOC here in the USA).
One piece of mail (Vol’ya Moment)
I understand why you became Orthodox and why you became a priest, but why do you serve in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church?
As Americans, we tend to think of things in terms of discrete choices, complete with listings of the alternatives (ranked by expected utility). Each decision is made in isolation, based on objective calculation. Answering God is not always like that. I serve God and (as best I can) allow Him to work through me. While I was “called” to the ministry, this does not mean I wait for voices in my head to tell me how this ministry is to be carried out. Our Church worships a God who became Incarnate – this means that He speaks with a literal voice. In the case of my vocation, this voice takes the form of conversations with my spiritual director(s), my bishop, and my wife (not necessarily in that order), all guided by the Holy Spirit. So while I might have been more “at home” culturally were I to serve in a southern parish or in a diocese with more “converts”, my home is here at St. Michael’s in Rhode Island (and it is a very good home!) within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (a place where I really am part of the family, not simply treated as such or tolerated). One more thing: this question evidences a common temptation – to treat our bishops, our parishes, our jurisdictions and our priests as Orthodox “brands” (with us as the consumers). This goes against the notion of community that is the heart of Christianity. So while there may occasionally be the moment where the idea of “choice” is useful and healthy (as when moving to a new town); loyalty, partnership and communion are the norms within Orthodoxy.
