The Holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel and Ismael; Our Venerable Father Hypatius, Hegumen of Ruphenia (446)
Romans 11:13-24; Matthew 11:27-30
Apostles’ Fast.
Read Matthew 11:27-30
When God created the universe He did so in six days—however long those days were is a mystery that we cannot fully comprehend. On the sixth day, the human being was created: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27). He gave them responsibilities to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over it. The seventh day was the day of blessed rest not only for the Lord, but for His people also. The creation story not only speaks to us about the origins of humanity, and its first calling, but it speaks to us about the eschatological—the final destiny—of the human being. We are created by God, we are called to cooperate and abide in Him and we find our final fulfilment and rest in Him.
Jesus assures us that he is the fulfilment of that deep longing that our hearts have for rest in the arms of our Creator. He has come to lift up the heavy-laden and weary human nature, which suffers under the weight of sin and separation from God. The Lord invites us to find rest in him: ‘come to me…’ In other words, we need to make an act of will to orient our lives towards Jesus. He calls us to ‘take my yoke upon you.’ That is to allow Jesus to reign over our lives and to accept him as the Lord of my life and as the highest priority. The one who lovingly directs me for He knows me better than I know myself. He invites me to ‘learn from him’, to be his disciple and student. The first lesson that the Lord wants us to learn is the way of gentleness and humility. This is the foundation of the spiritual life. St. Augustine says, “If you wish to reach high, then begin at the lowest level. If you are trying to construct some mighty edifice in height, you will begin at the lowest foundation. This is humility.” (PL 38:441; Sermon 19). The way of Christ is the way of humility and the way of humility leads us into the arms of our Creator.