Commemoration of the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, Tone 2; The Holy Apostle Philip, One of the Seven Deacons; Our Venerable Father Theophanes the Branded, Composer of Canons (845)
Hebrews 13:7-16; John 17:1-13
Read Hebrews 13:7-16
One of the most important analogies that St. Paul uses in his various letters is that of the athletic games. He relates the Christian life to running, boxing and competing. One way the Church has continued with this language is related to how we speak about martyrs (clerics and married couples included) being “crowned:” the typical reward for success in the games. If you talk to any serious athlete about how to be successful, how to “make gains” etc., you will always receive the same answer: sacrifice. Olympic athletes sacrifice a tremendous amount of their comfort, time, energy, effort and planning to receive a medal and the recognition that goes with it.
If Olympians are competing for earthly rewards, how much more serious and difficult will a Christian’s “training regime” be? For the Christian, sacrifice does not consist in simply training our minds and bodies, however. The consequence of sin is death. In the Old Testament, this was continually remembered through sacrificing animals who took on people’s sin upon themselves. Our Lord was the ultimate and perfect sacrifice for our sin, taking upon Himself the sin of the world on the Cross, finally and decisively.
This does not get us off the hook though! We might be tempted to be thankful to Jesus for what He has done and carry on our day both grateful and relieved and leave it at that, but this would be to miss the core of what following Christ really means. St. Paul reminds us: “…let us go forth to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured…Though him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God….” In other words, attending the Divine Liturgy is not visiting a memorial or a museum. Worship is not “appeasing” a wrathful or distant god to either convince it to “bless” us or to leave us alone! Christian sacrifice in “spirit and truth” is participation in the perfect sacrifice of the Lord and to slowly, but surely, change us into little Christs through doing exactly what St. Paul reminds the Hebrews of today: offering a sacrifice of praise, acknowledging God’s Holy Name, doing good works and suffering in and for Truth and Love.
This Sunday ask yourself how you worship: How do I participate in the Divine Liturgy, whether it be in church or through a live-stream? Whether I am in a church or at home, am I present to the Lord? Have I used the pandemic as a pretext to avoid suffering and sacrificing for my faith? Remember, prudence during the pandemic does not mean abolishing worship or domesticating the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, let us go forth with Christ outside of the walls of this world and remain with Him, working and sacrificing for His City which is to come!