Today, dear brethren, we
commemorate all the saints, and it would, therefore, be fitting for us
today to compare our lives with the lives of saints. We often hear a
familiar protest from other people: “But I am not a saint!” Well,
let us try to see then who and what they are – these saints…
In today’s reading from the
Epistle we heard the following words: “The saints through faith
subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the
sword, out of weaknesses were made strong, were valiant in fight, turned
back the armies of the enemy…”
Let us look at some of the
saints and at how they differed from us. Some, like St. Nicholas the
Wonderworker or St. Sergius of Radonezh, for example, were chosen from
their mothers’ wombs, while many others were martyrs for Christ. Among
them there were men, women and children, the rich and the poor, the
learned and common folk.
Look at them – they are here with us, on the walls of our church. They
are showing us the way into the Heavenly Kingdom. In what way did they
differ from us? All of them kept the two major commandments of the Lord:
they loved God with all their heart and they loved their neighbors,
including their enemies. They completely denied themselves and
suppressed their pride. They visited the sick and those in prison, they
helped people in need, they performed charitable deeds. They earnestly
kept the fast and took communion. They did not feel coerced in going to
church and they participated in the services.
Not all the saints were
chosen from birth. The majority of them earned their place in the ranks
of saints by the way they lived. St. Mary of Egypt, for example, earned
her sainthood through penitence. St. Blessed Xenia was originally a
socially-prominent married woman. Not a whit of that which distinguished
the saints is forbidden to us, dear brethren. The Gospel is preached to
everyone equally. The Law of God applies to us in the same manner as it
did to the saints.
In our everyday lives we often find idols for ourselves. Who are these
idols? Usually they are singers, sport figures, actors or actresses. But
never a saint! When we choose to idolize a singer, we become so
enthralled with him that we memorize all his songs. If we choose an
actor, we come to know all his films and we begin to imitate him.
But why should we not choose to worship a saint? Why not worship the
saint whose name we bear, for example, and why not start to imitate him
or her? After all, their lives led them to salvation and they earned the
Kingdom of Heaven! In their earthly lives there was nothing hidden,
nothing shameful, as is the case with most modern idols, but on the
contrary, there was much from which we can learn.
Let us begin to imitate the saints, dear brethren, let us begin to learn
from them. We may not necessarily reach sainthood, but it will be quite
sufficient if, instead of eternal suffering, we attain eternal life.
Amen.
Reproduced
from the website of
Holy Transfiguration Church in Baltimore
www.holy-transfiguration.org
