Third Sunday after Pentecost. Our Venerable Father David of Thessalonica (c. 530)
Passing into Eternal Life (1941) of Blessed Mykola (Nicholas) Konrad, Pastor of Stradch, Founder of Obnova, Professor of the Lviv Theological Academy, and Martyr; Passing into Eternal Life (1941) of Blessed Volodymyr Pryjma, Cantor of Stradch and Martyr; Passing into Eternal Life (1941) of Blessed Andrii Ishchak, Pastor of Sykhiv, Professor of the Lviv Theological Academy, and Martyr
Romans 5:1-10; Matthew 6:22-33
Read Romans 5:1-10
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
When you are reading the Bible and you see the word “therefore”, always ask, “What is it there for?” In today’s reading it refers to the four-chapter long exposition of St. Paul’s statement in Romans 1:16-17 that the gospel, “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’”
For the benefit of Jews, Paul has at length shown by scripture and logic that Christians are saying, in agreement with them, that human behavior does still matter for divine judgement. The difference is that peace with God and the grace to stand before Him is now given through faith in Jesus Christ, regardless of whether one is a Jew or a Gentile.
That is why Paul makes a point of showing that the “hope of sharing the glory of God” is not an insecure state to be alleviated by putting one’s trust in one’s own works; neither is it a license whereby one can go around acting unrighteously and assume that one can stand before God.
Not leaving the faith, in either direction (either to trusting one’s own works or to a life of sin), because of sufferings without and within, matters. Endurance matters. Character matters. Even more, once we see that hope results from character formed through endurance, we can actually find joy in suffering.
Paul’s whole message is, don’t lose hope: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” This is the joy of endurance in faith in Christ.