Today we celebrate all the saints of the Russian land. Under normal circumstances, during the sermon there would be some mention of particular saints who have lived in Russia, and consideration given to how their life and teachings are essential for us today, far away from Russia by geography and culture, but still very close by virtue of the Orthodox Church and faith and way of life that we have in common with these saints.
But, brothers and sisters, today in our parish, circumstances are far from normal, far from ordinary. I have to tell you that our choir director is not coming back – and, this week, I have learned more about the reasons why this departure has occurred.
We know that words have power. After all, when God created the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, He did so by the power of His word. When God said, “Let there be light,” there was light. Whatever God spoke came into existence. Similarly, we know that our Lord Jesus Christ healed by the power of His word; He knocked over the soldiers who had come to arrest Him by the power of His word; He raised the dead by the power of His word. But sometimes we forget that our words also have power: the power to help; and the power to hurt.
On the Sunday after the feast of the Ascension of our Lord, our choir director made a mistake. Things were said to her, and things were said about her – and, as a result, she was wounded in her mind, and wounded in her spirit. These words – not the first ones that were critically spoken to her – proved to be too much for her to bear. There are other reasons for her leaving, reasons that are beyond our power to affect – but what was said that day was the final push that drove her out the door, and out of our parish, and, in all probability, out of our lives. Now, in a way, we are suffering as well – and we must accept our responsibility for what has happened.
But it’s more than just the words. Some of us were born and raised in the Orthodox Church; while others of us came from backgrounds and beliefs outside the Church. Each group – cradle and convert – has strengths and weaknesses they bring with them to Church, and to life. But all, if we are serious about the task of saving our souls, appreciate and embrace the Orthodox way of life: of prayer, and fasting; of giving alms and offerings and tithes and sacrifices; and of struggling to overcome our passions, and replace them with the God-pleasing virtues that are their opposites. But none of this matters if we do not love. If we pray without love, our words are empty. If we fast without love, it is nothing more than a diet. If we give all that we have, and it is not done for love, we have gained nothing. If we live perfect lives, lives without sin, making every prostration, keeping every rule – if we do this without love, we are not Orthodox, no matter how correct we may appear to be, no matter how correctly we speak and act. The Orthodox life above all is a life of love: love for God that causes us to cast away every habit, every behavior, every thought and desire, that we know will displease and separate us from the God Who loves us; and a love for each other, for each person who bears the image of God, that sees no wrongs, hears no insults, accepts all blows, without wavering in love. When our sister made her mistake, and we criticized her, we did not love her – and this happens to us all the time. We all do it; we all are guilty; and all of us need to examine ourselves, and repent of our self-love and hardness of heart.
Brothers and sisters, being Orthodox does not consist of being “correct.” To be Orthodox, we must love God, and love each other. Everything we do must be done for love, done to be living in the service of love, and of the God Who is revealed as Love. If we will repent, if we will confess, and if we will strive to live in love, then, and only then will we be one with the saints who dwelt in the Russian land, who are saints because of their love for God – then, and only then, will we be worthy of being called Orthodox Christians.
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