Ecclesiasticus I: Introducing Eastern Orthodoxy
Ecclesiasticus II: Orthodox Icons, Saints, Feasts and Prayer
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(The
following is a brief reflection on the Gospel reading for the Sunday after
Pascha, John 20:19-31)
When the disciples had gathered on the new Passover
(Pascha), the Lord’s Day or Resurrection Day, Jesus entered the room where
they were – "the doors being shut...for fear of the Jews" –
stood in the midst of them and showed them His hands and side. Christ
then greeted them with that salutation, retained by the Church through
the ages, with which the priest greets the faithful at each of the important
parts of the Divine Liturgy and other services: "Peace be unto you."
Twice our Lord delivers this message of peace to His disciples that "first
day of the week." We are reminded in this of the Savior’s words before
the Crucifixion: "My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto
you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you" and "these things
I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace." (John 14:27;
16:33) The Resurrection, of which the beloved disciples were witnesses,
was the confirmation of Christ’s entire life of prophecy and sacrifice.
It was a reassurance that the peace He had come to give the world was
not vain or imagined. Nor was it peace on strictly a human level, for
example the absence of war or strife among men. Rather this peace
was the presence of the Prince of Peace in the midst of human existence.
It was the long awaited reconciliation between God and man, and in God
a profound "union of all men" as children of the Most High,
a peace that the world is unable to provide or understand.
Continuing
the Gospel reading for Thomas Sunday, we are told that the apostles "were
glad when they saw the Lord." Once more Christ’s words prior to His
Passion are brought to mind: "I will see you again, and your heart
shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." (John 16: 22)
This joy that our Lord promised His disciples is, like peace, that which
is experienced in the Divine Presence. It is the same joy felt by Christians
after all these centuries when they participate, through the divine worship
of the Church, in the blessings of the Kingdom to come. Particularly in
the Eucharist an almost inexplicable joy is experienced in an encounter
with the risen Lord, in communion with His Holy Body and Blood. "For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst of them." (Matthew 18:20) "He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." (John 6:56) In
the Eucharistic gathering Christ’s glory is revealed to His disciples
and they are thus strengthened and confirmed in their faith in the promises
of Christ, ready to return to the world from which they were called out.
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath
called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1Peter 2:9)
(The Greek, ecclesia, from which we get the word Church means,
called out.)
Then
He said to them again, "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent
me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them,
and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whosesoever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are
retained." (John 20: 21-23) The Church is simultaneously called out,
"consecrated," and then sent to accomplish the same work as
her Founder. Christ preached repentance and the advent of a heavenly Kingdom.
His mystical Body, the Church, has the same mission in this world of extending
God’s Kingdom, central to which is the pronouncement of repentance and
forgiveness. The Church, in God’s name, pronounces forgiveness
to all in light of a heavenly Kingdom revealed in Christ. The Church carries
out her mission through the guidance and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now
"Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when
Jesus came," and when the others told Him, "we have seen the
Lord." He, therefore, said, "Except I shall see in his hands
the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails,
and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." (John 20:
24-25) Thomas is like so many of us in that he would require tangible,
visible proof that Christ is really active in the lives of His people,
caring for creation, and that He was what He claimed to be: "He that
hath seen me, hath seen the Father." (John 14:9) Some today desire
generally that kind of evidence even for God’s existence, "irrefutable"
evidence making it impossible for man not to believe. That type of unquestionable,
undeniable proof, we can say, will be put forth only at the end of this
age, when "the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him..." (Matthew 25:31) At that time it will indeed be
quite impossible for anyone (although some may try in vain) to deny "the
King of kings and the Lord of lords." (Deuteronomy 10:17; Revelation
19:16)
God’s
most important gift to man, that which identifies him as a creature made
in the image of God, is free will. The Lord honors this gift. He loves
man and would have man love Him freely in return. God, therefore, will
not force man to accept Him, but would have him approach his Creator in
faith and trust. We would do well to remember the example of St. John
the Baptist. He bore witness to his Lord saying, "Behold, the Lamb
of God which taketh away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) Yet after
being arrested, in a moment of hesitation or doubt, the Forerunner sent
his disciples to Christ asking, "Art thou he that should come, or
do we look for another?" (Matthew 11:3) At first glance this question
seems strange, indeed contradictory, for "the greatest born of women"
to be asking.It is thus important to note that Jesus does not seek to
answer it in some "definitive" way, irrefutable in John’s mind.
Rather He responds in terms of an invitation, still beckoning His servant
to place his trust freely in Him: "Go and show John again those things
which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised
up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he,
whosoever shall not be offended in me." (Matthew 11:4-6)
Near
the end of the Gospel passage, after Thomas exclaims, "My Lord and
my God," Jesus says to him, "Because thou hast seen me, thou
hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
Faith: this is the way that God would have us come to Him. "Faith,"
says St. Paul, "is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) People sometimes lament the fact
that they did not live in Apostolic times when it would have been possible
to see for themselves and talk face to face with the Incarnate Lord. In
the minds of many, this would constitute tangible proof of God’s existence
and alleviate any doubts concerning Christ. But would it? Israel was prepared
for almost two thousand years for the Messiah’s advent. Miracles were
performed by Him in the peoples’ midst. Yet, in the end, those who heard
and saw Jesus for themselves wound up shouting, "Away with Him, away
with Him, crucify Him." Only a few individuals stood with Him at
the foot of the Cross. One really has to wonder seriously if we would
have been any different given the chance. For regardless of how and when
the Lord chooses to reveal Himself it is always possible, in freedom and
because of sin, to explain away that revelation.
A
primary emphasis here is that the historical period in which one exists
makes no difference as far as one’s relationship to Christ is concerned
and his or her ability to know the Truth and live by faith. We have the
mystical Body of Christ, the Church’s sacramental, liturgical life, and
the Lord’s promise to be with us always. We have "received the Heavenly
Spirit," and are blessed with the examples, testimonies and presence
of countless saints who have gone on before us. We are literally living,
right now if you will, in Apostolic times. So it seems as though we are
missing the mark if we begin to demand, from God or from ourselves, objective,
factual knowledge in terms of "proof," before we can come to
faith. At some point a "leap of faith," will be required, for
as mentioned above, so-called concrete evidence can always be discarded
if that is what is desired. On the other side of that "leap,"
though, is the knowledge that we all seek Once there, there is no lack
of proof. But without this faith no amount of knowledge or evidence will
suffice. There will always be room for doubt, and opportunities for man
in his "wisdom" to deny what is so plain and simple to all who
have truly found the narrow path that leads to life.
"Blessed
are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
From The Dawn
Publication of the Diocese of the South
Orthodox Church in America
April 1999
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