1st Sunday of Mathew - How to build strong Churches?
Even so you, since you are zealots of spiritual things, seek to build up the church, in order that you may abound (1Co 14:12)
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Last week we've celebrated Pentecost, the birth date of our Church. After this initial moment the Gospel of Christ was spread into the whole world by the Apostles and their followers reaching through the centuries what we have today: a Church with sons in all parts of the world. Also last week our community has entered a special mission: that of building a more appropriate Church on our premises. In all honesty we all know that this is easier said than done. So how do we build a Church?
I'll start by telling you a legend from my home country call the legend of the Argesh Monastery. It goes like this. Negru Voda, a king of the old times, wanted to build the most beautiful monastery in the country, so he hired Master Manole, the best mason of those times, along with his 9 men. Because the walls of the monastery were always crumbling miraculously during the night, the prince threatened him and his assistants with death. Manole had a dream in which he was told that, in order to build the most beautiful monastery, he had to wall in someone very beloved by him or by his masons.
He told his masons about it and they agreed that the first wife who came there on the following morning should be the victim. Manole`s wife, Ana, came first and she was told that they wanted to play a little game, building walls around her. She accepted and soon realized that it wasn`t a game and implored Manole to let her go, but he kept his promise. Thus the beautiful monastery was built. When Manole and his masons told the prince that they could always build an even greater building, Radu Negru had them stranded on the roof so that they could not build something to match it. They fashioned wooden wings and tried to fly off the roof, but, one by one, they all fell to the ground. A spring of clear water, called after Manole, is said mark the spot where Manole fell.
Why am I telling you this story? Because in its twisted plot the story reveals a fundamental truth: that a Church is always built on sacrifice. The Church of Christ is built on His own sacrifice on the Cross and she lives through His followers that took up their own crosses and crucified on them their own will in order to do the will of God. Apostles, Martyrs, Hierarch, Soldiers and so on, they all have accepted the life of Christ as their own life. We commemorate all of them today, in this special Sunday dedicated to All the Saints. Through their words, their deeds, and some times by their simple presence they have been able to make the walls of the Church not only stay up but grow stronger every day.
The walls they built are not crumbling because they have walled in them their most beloved possession, their free will, exchanged for obedience in Christ. Symbolically the first Christian churches were built upon the tombs of the martyrs because it was understood that only upon their sacrifice the Church can live.
The martyrs have put the will of God in front of anything: the will of their parents, the will of their husbands and wives, the will of the pagan kings and so on, because they have understood that only by fulfilling this sacred duty Christ can be with them, fulfilling their whole being with His grace. Only then they could exclaim like the Saint Apostle Paul: "I live yet no longer I, but Christ lives in me"
If we look in our own lives, the sacrifice of our own will is the greatest sacrifice we can make. In the 4th century there was a heresy called monothelism that was saying that in Christ there is only one will, so Christ could not do anything wrong because the will of the God Christ had replaced the will of the Man Christ. If this were true than we are all predestined, we cannot follow Christ of our own will, we have to wait that God saves us without us doing anything. But in truth the will of Christ the Man has aligned freely with the will of God, showing us the perfect example that we should follow. Our will should follow Christ and nothing else. Anything that conflicts with the will of God is not from Him, but from Satan, the eternal deceiver.
The martyrs have understood this and sacrificed themselves on the Church altar, dying with Christ on this world so His will be done and they can live with Him into eternity. Witnessing their sacrifice many people have converted to Christianity. What better proof about the truth of a faith than a person that dies for it? And not just one but thousands! All looking up to God in the middle of all torture and mockery knowing that He is with them and nothing can harm them in their pure spirits. Christ lived in them so vividly.
It is said that after St. Ignatius was killed by lions in the circus, when they've cut his heart in pieces, every piece bared the monogram of Christ: ICXCNIKA, Jesus Christ conquers. What better proof that God lives in those that do His will, what better metaphor to understand the sacrifice of the martyrs.
My dear beloved,
Only upon this rock of faith Churches are built. Not just with money, but first of all with faith. If we miss this critical component then everything we are going to build will crumble overnight.
Our sacrifice shouldn't necessary be our lives, not all of us are called to martyrdom, but we should start by sacrificing everyday more time to God. I know that everything seems so important and there is only so little time to do it all. But we should stop sometime to ask ourselves were are we going, why all this struggle to gather wealth and power and carriers, if all of us are going to end up in a 3x6 grave? Is it really worth it?
He says. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me.(Rev 3:20). Let's open that door. Open the doors of your souls to Christ, let Him enter in your lives to give meaning, Logos, to everything you do. Start your day with prayer and end it with prayer. Make the sign of the cross upon the food you are going to eat, talk with your children about their faith, read the bible instead of an adventure book..
By introducing Christ in our lives we discover another world, a world in which time stops, because any amount of earthly time abruptly fades when measured against eternity. A world in which, monks can cross waters upon the back of crocodiles, prostitutes become saints, people can be miraculously healed by holy unmercenaries, the dead rise at the touch of the hand. No God is greater than our God that performs miracles, only if we open our eyes to see them. This is the world of the saints that are with us, surround us and continue to help us even when they have physically left this world. Their icons and holy relics are witnesses of the link between our world and the kingdom of heaven.
Look in the Church and see the icons that surround us. They all tell a story full of meaning. Each one is different, but they all end-up in the same place: in Jesus Christ. Our lives can also be like this if we let Christ enter, if we answer His call and do His will. Nothing can stop us from being saints. A father was saying that if a novice that enters a monastery does not want to be a saint he has nothing to do in a monastery. But I say to you let us ALL be saints, let us all aim high, straight into heaven and Christ will help us get there. This is how Churches are built, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit. Amin.