The Holy Apostles Jason and Sosipater; the Holy Martyrs Dadas, Maximus and Quintilianus (286-305); Our Father among the Saints Cyril of Turau (1183)
Read
Acts 12:1-11; John 8:31-42
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
“We have Abraham for our father!” Sounds like an outrageous claim – how could someone’s ancestry have any bearing on their status as a righteous person? Yet, that claim is not as far off from our context as it may seem at first. Do we ever unconsciously rely on being part of an ethnic community to bolster our faith? Do we depend on others to keep the church services going, knowing that their regular attendance means that things will be just fine when we occasionally drop by? Do we appeal to our parents and grandparents piety when our own piety is being called to account?
Christianity is about community, and we are saved through the Church – but it is also a break with human communities, at least to the extent that they aren’t transformed by the gospel. Just being children of Abraham isn’t good enough – we need to do the good works he did, to have faith like he had, to obey God as he obeyed. Sooner or later, our relationship with God and his Church has to become personal. That doesn’t mean that it stops being sacramental, or liturgical, or that it necessarily becomes extremely emotionally charged. But it does mean that the relationship becomes a relationship in which we are directly involved. No longer do we witness and tap into the relationship between God and someone else – we open ourselves to a relationship with God that isn’t mediated by any human agent (other than Christ). Such a relationship is pure joy.