Repose of Blessed Olga (Olha), Princess of Kiev, named Helen at Holy Baptism (c. 970); The Holy and Praise-worthy Martyr Euphemia (303); Hoshiv Icon of the Mother of God (Attestation of Miracles by Metropolitan Athanasius Sheptytsky, 1737)
1 Corinthians 6:20-7:12; Matthew 14:1-13.
Read Matthew 14:1-13
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Today, we have one of those happy coincidences that preachers and reflection-writers love: the contrast of a righteous ruler with an unrighteous ruler. Today is the feast of St. Olga, the Princess of Kyiv and first Christian leader of Rus’. On the other hand, the gospel tells us about Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee during the public ministry of Jesus.
Herod had been criticized by John the Baptist for his incestuous marriage with his half-brother’s ex-wife; she was so bothered by this that she pressured Herod until he had John imprisoned. Even though Herod admired John the Baptist (the gospel of Mark says that he liked to listen to John preach, even though he found his message perplexing), he couldn’t stand up to this pressure, he couldn’t heed John’s critique of his own sorry moral life, and, in the end, he had John killed rather than be embarrassed in front of his guests for failing to keep a foolish promise. He wants to encounter righteousness, and be righteous himself, but every time Herod is faced with a choice, he chooses the easy way out.
St. Olga has some surprising similarities with Herod, at least on the surface. Before she became a Christian, she planned and carried out a ruthless attack on the tribes that killed her husband. But eventually she made a decision on principle: she became a Christian. By so doing, she went against the culture and expectations of those around her. She reformed her own life, and lived according to a divine standard of righteousness, rather than a flawed human standard. She was faced with a choice, and she took the narrow path.
We’re faced with similar choices, every day. We want to be righteous, but our curiosity about the things of God must be transformed into a firm decision. Desire has to give way to will, the commitment to live according to God’s will, rather than our own desires. If we make this decision, God will make us into saints. If we don’t, no amount of good intentions and curiosity about the things of God will help us.