Our Venerable Father and Confessor Basil, Bishop of Parios (741-75)
Read
Acts 4:23-31; John 5:24-30
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
In the beginning God creates and orders by the power of His Word: And God said, “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3). So to at the Parousia, the second coming of Christ, the Lord will initiate the completion of restoring creation by the power of His Word. Jesus the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Word of God, gives us a testament to the divine power He shares with the Father and Holy Spirit: He is able to raise the dead and to seal their eternal fate by the final judgement. Too often we neglect to contemplate Jesus’ divine qualities. The Gospel of John gives us these lofty insights. We read John after Pascha, so we can come to a deeper understanding of the identity of Jesus Christ.
The more we come to know Jesus, who is also the New Adam, the more we come to know what it means to be created in God’s image and likeness. God’s Word has great power, but have you ever thought about what our word can do? With a word we have the power to wound the heart of our fellow neighbour. With a word we have the power to start conflict. With a word we have the power to take life. With a word we have the power to heal. With a word we have the power to reconcile relationships. With a word we have the power to save life. We can either use our words to build up, or tear down. We have the freedom to choose the way we exercise the power of a word. Let us take a moment to reflect on how we will make use of that power. For today’s reading also reminds us that we will be held accountable for its misuse.