Our Task as Orthodox Christians

(8th Sunday after Pentecost) (August 14, 2005)

What is our task as Orthodox Christians? Among other things, we are called to be saints. That is, we are called to show forth Christ in our lives. When people see us, they should see our Lord Jesus Christ. To the extent that we faithfully follow the Orthodox way of life – of prayer, and fasting, of giving, and struggling against our sins and our weaknesses, as we do our part in the transformation of our being, we grow in our ability to show others the truth of Christ in us. When we indulge our sins and weaknesses and passions, we hide the light of Christ under the “bushel” of our flesh. When we look like everybody else, and they can’t see a difference in us, we have failed to show forth Christ in our lives. At times like that, we need to remember what we are called to do, and how we are meant to live.

The first reading from the Gospel of St. Matthew tells us of the feeding of the five thousand. Notice that, in the story, the disciples act as servants, distributing the food, and then gathering together what remains. It is our Lord who feeds the people, with the help of the disciples. Later, after the Lord Jesus has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, after the Holy Spirit has come, as He had promised, the disciples do what our Lord had done. They direct the feeding of the people; in some cases, with food for their bodies; in others, with food for their souls – and, above all, in the bread and wine that are blessed to become the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. They have help in these tasks – bishops, and priests, and deacons; and all who are followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their ministry continues to this day. We have the apostolic teaching to guide us; and we have the structure of the Church, and her servants, to provide us with the grace of God that comes to us through the Holy Mysteries. We are meant to take this rich bounty not only for ourselves, but into the world at large as well, as the disciples took what they had received, and distributed it among the five thousand. We are meant to be in the midst of the multitude, to feed them in their needs, both in body and in soul. To do this, and especially to feed those who, while having enough (and more than enough) for their bodies, are spiritually starving – a very real concern in this land, where we have access to such material wealth – to feed them in their spirit, we must be at work to be transformed, so that they can better see Christ in us, and so come to understand, and desire, that they can, and must, obtain the same.

We must also be aware that this comes at a price. We must take up our Cross, and follow the Lord. This means both faithfully laboring to live the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, and accepting that many will not approve of this; many will even wish to cause us to suffer, or put us to death, because we seek to grow closer to Christ, and make Him known to all the world. If the world did not hesitate to put Him to death to get Him out of their midst, what will they be willing to do to us? Laugh at us? Take advantage of us? Cause us to suffer in body, mind, and spirit? Put us to death?

Ultimately, none of these things matter. Even death, the reality of which causes such terror in our culture, is not to be feared; for Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death – and our treasures are not found here in this earthly life, but in the life of the world to come, in the heavenly dominions of our Lord. If we seek to preserve our life in this world’s terms, we will lose our life in the world to come; but if we draw near to Christ, He will draw near to us – and we will have the hope of life without end in His presence; and this, too, is something we can offer to the world at large.

Brothers and sisters, called to be saints: Let us be faithful servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray, and fast, and give alms, and labor to replace our passions with the godly virtues which are their counterparts. Let us make ourselves, in word and in deed, bearers of Christ, and feed the spiritually hungry with His presence in their midst through us – and those who are physically hungry with our alms. Let us take up the Cross of the Orthodox way of life and faith, and give no thought to the threats of this world; for it is by the Cross of Christ we are saved – and, through us, if we are faithful, five thousand can be fed; five thousand can be saved.