Orthodox Sermons & Articles

As the Gospel witnesses, when Joseph and Nicodemus were laying Jesus’ body in the tomb there were a few women present who watched from a distance. They were watching Joseph and Nicodemus because the next day after Passover they wanted to go and anoint Jesus’ body with aromatic spices according to their customs. And again, these women were willing to do it because they loved their Teacher very much and were devoted to Him and His works. This is why we commemorate them so solemnly! They all had to have great courage to try and do this because of the strict persecution from the High Priest of the Temple and the ruling elders. They were putting at risk their reputations and their lives in order to give a proper burial for the One Who helped them and Whom they loved so much. Therefore, these two men (Joseph and Nicodemus) and the women (Mary Magdalene, Mary of Cleopas, Salome, Joanne), Martha and Mary, Susanna and others) are remembered today for their outstanding love and courage that helped them to stand up for their beloved Teacher. They were driven to fulfill their intentions by the same love Jesus had shown to them before His death. And in return for these strong feelings they were granted the honor of being the first ones to witness Christ’s Glorious Resurrection. Notice, that the Apostles were not the first ones to see Jesus’ empty tomb. Simple women were given this reward for their remarkable devotedness.

 

Today’s Epistle reading is important for us as well because it shows us the life of the early Christian community under the wise apostolic guidance and supervision. Like last Sunday’s epistle, today’s epistle reading shows that in those days the number of Christians was increasing daily. It happened through preaching and the many signs that were performed by the Apostles. Today’s epistle reading contains information about the establishment of the new institution of the deaconate in the Church. As you all know, the Orthodox Church still has deacons as one of the three ranks of clergy – bishops, priests and deacons. The Apostles of Christ established all of the three ranks in Church in the early days of Christianity. The process of approving and consecrating clergy is very interesting. As we heard from the epistle today, the candidates must be of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom. The candidates had to have all of these acquirements so that they could be put to a very special service in Church. Deacons are bishops’ and priests’ who are considered helpers in serving God and people. The Orthodox Church still maintains them for this reason. So, seven men were selected to become helpers in Church so that the Apostles could devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. The act of consecration is still accomplished in our church by laying hands on the candidates’ heads and saying special prayers. From today’s epistle we also learned that not anyone could lay the hands on the candidates’ heads. Only the Apostles had this authority, which was passed on to our bishops, as the Apostles could not live forever. Therefore, nowadays Bishops have this authority to consecrate a new deacon or a priest according to the needs of the church. This is very important to know because many people think that anybody can lay their hands on the heads on somebody and make them clergy. Today’s epistle shows that only the Apostles of Christ had such authority in the early Christian community and now only bishops as their successors have the same authority from God. Unless a properly consecrated Bishop lays his hands upon a new candidate with the proper prayers, that candidate can never be considered a true bishop, priest or deacon. Although the Scripture is clear about this, many do not pay attention to it and make spiritual errors that in turn lead to separation from true Christianity. This is why we have to pay close attention to the history of the church because there we can find many truths to fortify our faith. Church services are nothing but accumulations of God’s Grace, Power and Truth. This is why in church we enrich ourselves spiritually.

 

Dear brothers and sisters, having looked at the example of the Myrrh bearing women we can conclude that devotedness to God has to be active. Christ’s Apostles were very devoted to Him, but when the time came to prove it, they ran away from the leaders of the Jews.

 

Contrary to this, Joseph and Nicodemus, and the myrrh bearing women showed their active devotedness to our Lord. The next time when you are deciding whether you should go to church on Sunday morning or not, please remember that the myrrh bearing women were the first granted to see Christ’s Resurrection for their ACTIVE devotedness. They paid no attention to what other people might think about their dedication to the Lord. What is our priority? What brings us to church? The answer to both questions should be: "Jesus Christ’s Glorious Resurrection." Certainly, we go to Church so that we can witness Christ’s Resurrection and when the time comes, to see the resurrection of all by the word of the Lord. Our own resurrection and inheritance of God’s Heavenly Kingdom should be the priority of our life. The history of the Church proves that people gathered together on Sunday mornings to share love with others through prayers and devotions. Therefore, let’s show our devotedness to the Lord by coming to church every Sunday morning just as the myrrh bearing women showed their devotedness by going to the tomb of Christ early in the morning after the Sabbath day. Let’s bring to our Lord Jesus Christ the pure wonderful smelling ointment of our virtues and good deeds of love. This will help us not to run from God but to pursue the main goal of our lives, which is our salvation. Amen.