The Holy Martyrs Borys and Hlib, Named Roman and David at Holy Baptism; The Holy Great-Martyr Christine; Our Venerbale Father Charbel.
Romans 8:28-39; John 15:17-16:2.
Read John 15:17-16:2
Bentonite clay, found in Wyoming and formed from volcanic ash, dries on the skin and draws out oils and toxins. Is this not a fitting image of Christ’s presence in the world—drawing out the buried evil and hatred people prefer to ignore?
Could it be that the greatest outrage of our age is the absence of rage toward the Christians of this age? Today, most secularists see Christians as irrelevant, outdated, sometimes mocked, but usually tolerated until we fade from the stage of history. Rarely do we face true, fiery hatred—and that’s precisely the problem. They hated Christ with demonic fury. We, who are not greater than our Master, seem to have escaped the flames. Have we perhaps abandoned our first love?
Contrast this with believers in Syria and Nigeria today. Their love of Christ burns bright. They, like Him, are killed and hated, though the world deems them poor and insignificant. Yet they carry His name and reflect His image through humble witness: “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”
So again—where is the hatred for Christians in the West? What is it about our lived faith that fails to provoke opposition from those who hate Christ? Is it possible that we’ve embraced a comfortable Christianity—one that soothes our restlessness just enough but which diverts us from the cross? Like the Laodiceans, we are neither hot nor cold. Yet, our calling is clear: through our blameless conduct we are to bring out in people what they wouldn’t dare admit to themselves.