Our Holy Father Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople (390).
Polyeleos Feast.
1 Corinthians 12:7-11. John 10:9-16.
Read John 10:9-16
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
We live in a restless culture; one that is constantly urging us to seek those things that it promises will bring us rest. Career success, money, newer and better technology, that will return time to our busy lives. However, what we experience is that the more we obtain that which we seek, the more restless we become – enough is never enough.
In today’s Gospel reading, Christ reveals himself as that which we truly seek, the way and the door that leads to everlasting life, but also as the good shepherd who comes to seek out the lost and bring them to a place of true rest.
Having been created according to the image and likeness of God (as revealed to us in the God/Man Jesus Christ), we have within our very nature a fundamental longing for God, which can only be fulfilled by Him. He is the only one who can satisfy the longing of our culture to find true peace and rest, as Blessed Augustine of Hippo famously wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you”
However, it is easy to forget the fact that the One whom we seek is also the one who seeks us. Christ says, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” God is a Seeker. He sought Adam in the Garden. He desires us, as the psalmist says: “The Lord hath chosen Zion, He hath desired her for His habitation”. Christ “thirsts” on the Cross – not just for water, but primarily for us. These things are revelations not just of something God has done or is doing. God is what He does. What He does reveals who He is.
St. Gregory the Theologian, whose memory we celebrate today, tells us: “He is the Way, because he leads us through himself. He is the Door who lets us in, the Shepherd who makes us dwell in green pastures, bringing us up by waters of rest and leading us there. He protects us from wild beasts, converts the erring, brings back what was lost, and binds up what was broken. He guards the strong and brings them together into the fold beyond with words of pastoral knowledge.” (4th Theological Oration)
If we are restless and dissatisfied, be patient, and seek Him, not with anxiety, but with hopefully confidence knowing that He has sought us first! He who exhorts us to, “Ask and it shall be given unto you, see and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7) is also the one who says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock” (Rev 3:20).
Who is it who keeps on knocking? Who is it who keeps on seeking? Who is it who keeps on asking? It is Christ – God with us, both now and ever and unto ages of ages.