Our Venerable Father and Confessor Michael, Bishop of Synada (826); Venerable Euphrosyne of Polotsk, Hegumena of the Monastery of the Holy Saviour (1173)
Acts 21:26-32; John 16:2-13.
Read John 16:2-13
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Before I sat down to write today’s reflection, I checked my email and saw a message from an blog I subscribe to. The email suggested that I read a new article that had just been published on the website. Since this particular blog sometimes gives insights on issues like the war in Ukraine, I decided to give it a read.
The article was a eulogy for the Orthodox Bishop of Grodno, in Belarus, who had died a few days ago. For most of his episcopal career—at least according to the writer of the blog—this bishop had conscientiously avoided the worst tendencies in his own church and culture: the replacement of atheist Soviet ideology by a superficial cultural Christianity; the fascination with shrines and elders at the expense of a real relationship with Christ; and, above all, the temptation for Christians to get too close to the civil authorities – to ignore Christian principles and instead pursue the security, financial support, and sense of “being relevant” that comes from a friendly relationship with the government. In 2020, this bishop finally went too far – after he criticized the Belarusian government and police for their violence against protesters, his fellow bishops replaced him with another bishop. He was, in effect, retired against his will.
What does any of that have to do with today’s gospel? The connection is the fact that Christians should expect to be misunderstood, opposed by, and sometimes even persecuted by their fellow Christians. “The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” It seems to me that this bishop took this verse seriously.
We probably won’t be killed for our Christian faith, or even be removed from our office in the Church, like he was. But we need to ask the help of the Holy Spirit to guide us to the truth, and then to have the grace to speak the truth, even (or especially) when it is inconvenient, when it seems like a risk. Then we will be living according to the truth, which means living in conformity with Jesus Christ.