“Therefore be Merciful, Just As Your Father Also Is Merciful”
19th Sunday after Pentecost
2 Corinthians 11:31-33; 12:1-9; Luke 6:31-36
Can a person strive to be equal to God in any way? Of course, the question itself seems ridiculous and sinful - God's being is so majestic and immense that the very idea of being equal to God, of being like God, is madness.
First of all, God's being is unknown. If we want to be equal in some way to other people, we know the object of our comparison, its measures. If we want to be as educated as someone we know, then we can try to get the same education, graduate from the same or a better school.
If we want to be materially equal to someone, then we might be able to approximate how much property, material, or financial means that person has, and direct our efforts and abilities towards attaining those goals. (Although, in my opinion, striving to equal others in acquiring material wealth, the riches of this world, is in itself a senseless and sinful endeavour.)
If we want to match someone in skill, for example, when we want to be as good a mechanic or electrician as someone else, then that goal is accessible to us; we can strive to acquire the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge to obtain certain qualifications.
But there are areas, even in relation to other people, in which we cannot compete. For example, if we are not gifted with musical hearing and a good voice, we cannot even dream of becoming a good singer or conductor someday. Without the necessary natural abilities, no teachers or specialists can help us. And the same goes for other fields of art.
However, we can, of course, try to test our strength, talents, and possibilities — there is nothing wrong in that, and as our proverb says, “It’s not saints who make clay pots” (anyone can learn to do anything if they wish to).
But fostering the thought within oneself of being equal to God in power and might is the most foolish and sinful thing. Roman emperors were proclaimed as gods or demigods, divine beings, possessing the divine essence, greatness, and worthy of unquestioning obedience. In the same way, the belief that their emperors are related to the sun god has been nurtured for centuries in Japan; they must be obeyed, they must be shown complete submission.
The Gospel accounts about the Apostle Peter have been stretched and combined with the belief that the Apostle Peter, who was also the first Pope of Rome, and have turned him into the deputy of Jesus Christ. Thus, one might say, that even now every Pope of Rome is that vicar of God on earth and must be obeyed unquestioningly in matters of faith... And in essence, this is the revival of the imperial idea that in Rome there resides a god or the vicar of God; in other words, the human attempt to compare oneself to God, to enjoy divine honour. That idea is pagan and sinful, even if it is not hidden under the name of Christ.
The very dream or any attempt to be equal to God in power, omnipotence, and wisdom, as was the attempt to reach God through the Tower of Babel, is sin and folly. People in our time use the former to achieve their selfish earthly goals, to dominate people. Of course, no one is forbidden to believe in anyone or anything, but we must be aware that we cannot achieve our salvation through meaningless faith.
We can always have a great goal before us, set by the Lord:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful!” (Luke 6:36)
So we must look up to God through our acts of mercy and strive for boundless improvement.
We can imitate our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in showing love to our neighbors - there are no limits to this, and the more we improve in love and mercy, the closer we will come to God. We will be in eternity where the Lord is.
“I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3)
In the pursuit of achieving divine completeness, a person can improve themselves step by step, having the guidance of the Lord:
“And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” (Luke 6:31).
Every person wants good things, "benefits", pleasant things, happiness, and does not want that evil, misfortune, injury, or trouble befall them. Everyone wants to be free from harm, not to be dishonoured, not to be slandered, not to have anything stolen from them, to be treated fairly, to be forgiven by their neighbours if they have offended someone, and to be treated with love and understanding by people around them.
Each of us wants all of these things for ourselves, and the Lord Jesus Christ obliges us to desire all of these things and do likewise for our neighbours. But if we want all these things for ourselves and deceive our neighbour, wish him evil, trouble, steal from him, insult him, slander him, and do not forgive him, then we are unjust before God.
Then we are not getting closer to God, but are moving away, and no matter how outwardly pious we are, we are apostates from God, from our Lord Jesus Christ. Our goal in this life should be to draw closer to God by our virtues, to be perfected spiritually, so that we may become as merciful as our Creator God.
For this reason, the Apostle Paul advises us for our spiritual perfection:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:20-21)
The presumption is that the greatest enemy can be overcome and joined by Christian love and mercy - this is the teaching of Christ and the teaching of the apostles.
Amen.
Very Rev. Fr. Taras Slavchenko
Taras Slavchenko was born on March 8, 1918 in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine. After graduating from school and the Pedagogical College, he entered the language and literature faculty of the Scientific Pedagogical Institute. Having successfully completed it in 1938, he served as a teacher in a secondary school.
