Our Venerable and God-bearing Father Sabbas the Sanctified (532).
Polyeleos Feast. Nativity Fast.
Galatians 5:22-6:2; Matthew 11:27-30.
Read Matthew 11:27-30
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Sabas, a monk from what is today Turkey who traveled to Palestine in the fifth century. After visiting the holy sites, he went on to establish several large monasteries, a few of which survive to the present day. His life wasn’t all successes, though: more than once, rebellious monks drove him out of one or another of the monasteries – but Sabas was always vindicated, despite these trials.
Today’s gospel is chosen for St. Sabas, but it is read on several ‘saints’ days’ throughout the year. The second half of the gospel relates well to the lives of men and women like Sabas: they are weary from their devotion to Christ, and because of the sinful behaviour of those around them. Yet they find rest in Christ: joining themselves to his sufferings, their burdens become lighter and take on a new meaning. This is possible because of what Jesus says in the first part of the gospel: his relationship with the Father is “exclusive” – it’s only through Jesus that the saints (including us) can come to the Father. Once we encounter Jesus and, through him, the Father, we find that our burdens are less burdensome: we can carry them without being overwhelmed by them.
Sabas, like every saint, had one main goal: to know Christ, and through him, to know the Father. If we follow his example and focus our search on Christ, rather than simply looking for someway to reduce our burdens, our meeting with Jesus will transform how we carry our burdens, in union with the one who carried our burdens for us.
Bible References