Our Venerable Father Athanasius of Athos (c. 1003)
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Galatians 5:22-6:2; Luke 6:17-23
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Today’s Gospel lesson asks us to seriously evaluate our guiding hope and desire. This is the determining factor for what our heart will long for and how much we will be willing to persevere in order to achieve the ultimate goal of eternal life with Christ. The blessings which await us in the Kingdom of Heaven are so great that St. Paul describes his experience of heaven that he saw ’and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter’ ( 2 Cor 12:4). The beauty, joy, brightness and blessing are so sweet that human words are not able to even begin to describe heaven. It is for this reason that St. Paul’s greatest longing was to be with the Lord in heaven: ‘My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account’ (Phil 1:23-24). He set his sight and heart on heaven and measured everything in this world against its coming reality. For this reason he was not afraid to go without riches, so that others may have and through generosity come to experience the love of God. He was not afraid to hunger so that others might be satisfied. He was not afraid to weep for his sins and the sins of others so that he may continually repent. And that through repentance he could more closely align himself with the Saviour. He was not afraid, or ashamed, to suffer on account of the Son of Man for Jesus is the source of salvation and blessing for all mankind. Let us, like St. Paul, set our heart towards heaven and make it the ultimate measure in our life.