The Holy Priest-Martyr Methodius, Bishop of Patara (311)
Romans 3:28-4:3; Matthew 7:24-8:4
Apostles’ Fast.
Read Romans 3:28-4:3
Do we believe God? Do we believe what He tells us in our lives of prayer and in our reading of the Holy Scriptures? In the epistle today the Holy Apostle Paul continues to speak to the fledgeling church in Rome about faith and righteousness. He reminds his hearers, many of whom would be Jewish Christians, that even for Abraham his works did not justify him before God: “Abraham believed in God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Faith is essential and it is through faith that we come to believe and trust God. At every Divine Liturgy we say three times in the Nicene Creed “I believe…I believe…I believe…” But as we all know, and as we have all experienced, there are times when our faith is tested by events in our lives and in the life of the world. Perhaps those two words, “I believe”, become a struggle for us to utter.
The current pandemic is one of these times when we are called to draw closer to God, to draw up water from the well of faith that we first received at our baptism so that we might be strengthened. Why must we recall our baptism? Well, because we cannot be strengthened spiritually by our own efforts alone. No. In our baptism, we became joined to Christ and so we are able to reach out confidently to God in times of trial, and perhaps doubt. As the father of the boy with the mute spirit said to Our Lord, we too must cry out “I believe; help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:23-25). God hears us and He constantly welcomes us into a relationship with Him, His Son, and His All-Holy Spirit. Our response, our ‘yes’ to God comes through prayer and in how we live our lives in Christ. Let us rededicate ourselves during these days to deepening our prayer lives by praying the Jesus Prayer, by praying part of the Divine Office, and/or by reading and meditating on the Holy Scriptures. In our prayer, we come face-to-face with the God who loves us and has redeemed us through His Only-Begotten Son. In our prayer, our faith is strengthened and we, like Abraham, will be counted as righteous.