The Holy Cyril (869) and Methodius (885), Teachers of the Slavs and Equals-to-the-Apostles and the Dedication of the City of Constantinople (330); the Holy Priest-Martyr Mocius (284-305)
Acts 17:19-28; Hebrews 7:26-8:2; John 12:19-36; John 10:9-16
Polyeleos Feast
Read John 12:19-36
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks in several different ways about His upcoming death. We encounter the image of the falling grain of wheat. If the grain falls and “dies,” then it bears much fruit. If it doesn’t “die,” then it remains just a single grain. We know that Christ’s death was the most fruitful since He destroyed the power of death, making salvation and everlasting life possible to all. We have been singing about this victory these past five weeks in the Paschal troparion: “…by death He conquered death.” However, the deaths of holy Christians throughout history have also bore fruit. We can think of the blood that the martyrs have shed which has led to countless conversions. Perhaps we can remember holy people in our own lives who died a faithful, Christian death and thereby gave great witness to Christ. We are called not only to live a Christian life but also to die a Christian death. At every Divine Liturgy we pray to experience “a Christian end to our lives, one that is painless, unashamed, and peaceful.” We cannot control the circumstances surrounding our future death, but we can control whether we approach death as faithful Christians – with deep faith in our Lord and sincere hope in the Resurrection.