In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

There is a tendency especially in these days (as there was in other times), to re-make the Christian faith into something that is an intellectual exercise or equal to one philosophy or another. As long as we pander to this idea, we can adjust all sorts of things to our liking. This is what is happening now in our day in North America, and in the western world in general. People try to reduce Christianity to some sort of philosophy, and we try to tinker with it to make it more suitable to our whims, fads, and fashions. What we easily forget is what the Apostle Paul is saying today in the Epistle. He encountered Christ personally. Christ appeared to him, and by God’s mercy straightened him out from his wrong way of thinking. The Lord put him on the right path by leading him in the right direction.

It is important for us Orthodox Christians, also, as St Seraphim of Sarov said, to acquire the Holy Spirit firstly, and most importantly. By that he meant that we must allow the Holy Spirit to be fulfilled in us, to work in us by virtue of our baptism, and chrismation when we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. So we must allow the Holy Spirit to work in us in order to renew, and build up this relationship of love between us, and Christ. The way of the Orthodox Christian is not only an intellectual way, it is a way of love between us, and Christ, of loving harmony with Christ. In harmony with Him, we lovingly, and willingly obey His will.

This is exactly the way of the Mother of God. In every part of her life, she said Yes to God’s will, even though it was not logical. At the time of the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her, and told her that she would bear a child when she was not yet married, and still a virgin. She asked how this could be. The Archangel answered her (as it were): Not to worry. The Holy Spirit will overshadow you, and all will be well. She accepted this, and it came to be as the Archangel had said. The rest of her life was a life of obedience, even though she still asked questions. Sometimes, she even prepared the way for her Son, as at the marriage of Cana. She prepared His way by ordering the servants to do what He was going to ask them to do.

We, ourselves, like the Mother of God, should learn to be lovingly, and willingly obedient to God’s will. Even though we are often afraid of it, God’s will is always life-giving, and saving for us. It is always Life for us, even though we don’t know where it will lead us, and what will happen to us. If our hearts tell us God wants us to do something, or to go in a particular direction, it is not to endanger us but to increase life in us. We are often afraid of losing this life, this being comfortable in the world. However, the Lord does not want us to be so comfortable in this world that we are afraid of leaving it when the time comes. Our life in this world needs to be fulfilled in the Kingdom. Our end is eternal life with Him in the Kingdom. We have no idea what this means except that it is life, light, and love. It is far better than anything we could have in this life. This life is a vale of tears, and difficulty as a result of the Fall. However, in His mercy, the Lord shows us His love, gives us hope, and a sense of direction. He puts us on the path to the Kingdom, and eternal life with Him.

It is also important for us today, in talking about the memory of King David, St James, the Lord’s brother, and St Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, correctly to understand the will of God in their lives. It is especially important today when we are so prone to distortion. David, the King, was the direct blood ancestor of the Lord. Christ was born of the house of David. However, David is also two other things to us. In the first place, in his Psalms, David wrote many prophesies about the coming of, and the life of Christ. When we read the Psalms, we are reading the life of Christ. Many Psalms are very explicit about the Birth, Life, Suffering, and Death of Christ, as well as about His kingly reign. David prepared the way of Christ. In the second place, as we all know, he fell into temptation very severely. He was not a small sinner when he sinned. However, he knew how to repent, and when he repented, he repented greatly. David sinned as we all do. Being a king, and head of government, as well as an autocrat, he was subject to many temptations. This is why we have to pray that our leaders be protected from the great temptations of their office. Nevertheless, even in the face of these temptations, David turned about, repented, and became an example of repentance for us. He accepted God’s correction, turned about completely, and tried to follow the Lord’s will. This happened more than once in his life, as it happens in our lives, too.

There are those who like to say that since James is the “brother” of the Lord, the Theotokos had children after she gave birth to Christ. This has always been incomprehensible to Orthodox. From the beginning, Orthodox have believed that the Mother of God was ever-virgin because she gave birth as a virgin. It is incomprehensible that she would then have children in the normal way once having given birth to God the Word. She gave herself to the service of God in purity, and love. This is why we venerate her to this very day. Who, then, is James, called Christ’s “brother”? An article in the Canadian Orthodox Messenger (Winter 2003-2004) explains this quite well. In short, brotherhood, and sisterhood is not confined to the immediate blood family in oriental, Semitic (Hebrew) thought, but means all your close relatives. So, first cousins can be called brothers, and sisters in popular, everyday terms. That is exactly who James, the brother of the Lord, was to Jesus Christ. He was a brother as in first cousin.

Joseph, the Betrothed, is also an example for us. Although we often forget about him, and treat him as a nice piece of furniture, a convenient person to have around, we should understand the service that he rendered to our Lord as the foster-father of Christ. He provided a home for Christ, and protection so that He might grow up in a good atmosphere. All these things are important, as is the fact that he was a good person, a man of prayer, and one who understood God’s will. We often dismiss him out of negligence. At the time of the Annunciation, he could not comprehend what was going on, and wanted to send Mary to a home for unwed mothers. According to the Law of Moses, she was supposed to be stoned because she was expecting out of wedlock. However, being a merciful man, he wanted to hide, and protect her until she gave birth. When God revealed to him in a dream what was going on, he accepted the whole thing, and provided protection for Mary, and the Child. When he learned in a dream that God wanted him to take Mary, and the Child to Egypt in order to escape from Herod (who was going to kill all the small children to protect his kingship), Joseph obeyed the dream. When he was in Egypt, God told him when it was time for him to go back, and where he was to go. Joseph did as God had directed him. We see that Joseph was not just anyone. He was a man of God. His heart was open to God’s direction. He was worthy, like the Mother of God, to prepare the way of Christ.

The important thing in all of this is to be like these people. James was the leader of the Jerusalem community from the very beginning as its apostle, and bishop at the centre of the early Apostolic community. All of these people were people who loved God. God perfected them, and they became his instruments for good. The same thing is true for you, and me. We must love God, and allow His love to grow in our hearts. He wants you, and me to be His instruments for good.

Here in N, people are going to take this small community not so seriously because it is small, and hard to find at the present time. By God’s love, and mercy this community is going to take a big step, and become more independent, and visible. People will be better able to find this community, and perhaps to find the Orthodox faith in the process. Our responsibility is to befriend them, and be loving to them, and to Jesus Christ. The Lord will send more people to come to this community to encounter Christ’s love, and to experience healing, encouragement, hope, and joy. They will feel Christ’s love, and will follow Christ in the same way, loving others, and living in His love. The Orthodox faith is not taught; it is caught. Love is not taught; it is caught. We want to be contagious with the love of Jesus Christ, so that people around us will feel, be encouraged by this love, and attracted to it. Let us open our hearts with loving devotion to the Lord in order to receive Him, and allow Him to grow in us, so that we may glorify the all-holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

† Archdiocese of Canada - Orthodox Church in America