"We are Fools for Christ’s Sake..."
10th Sunday after The Trinity / Pentecost
1Corinthians 4:9-16; Matthew17:14-23
As a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, I feel morally obligated to find a candidate for theological studies. In Manitoba, in my first parish (in Dauphin), I approached a young man who had finished grade 12, and he replied:
“Father, I have not yet acquired any profession, but I already earn more than you, so how can I go to the College to be a priest in four years?”
I tried in several other church parishes to find the said candidate, but everywhere there were no applicants.
In Germany, after the war, there was hunger. One "pachkar" - a contraband herring seller - used to make fun of me:
“Here I am, without any high studies, I went to Hamburg, brought back herrings, and in 2-3 such trips I will earn more than a priest or a gymnasium teacher earns in a year. Why do you study at that theological academy? Who needs all that? Nowadays, you don't need to study at school, you need to learn to live and earn money...”
It is not the first time that ministers of the Church have been mocked with arrogance. The Apostle Paul, feeling the mockery of him, wrote:
“We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!” (I Corinthians 4:10)
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians because he and his co-workers were much mocked in that trading and commercial centre. The preachers of the faith of Christ were wandering from place to place, suffering persecution, harassment, and oppression, without receiving any reward. And he, personally, the Apostle Paul, was a highly educated man, knew several languages, was a citizen of the Roman Empire from birth, and could have held a high position in the civil service or in some business enterprise and lived in peace, without any troubles, with all the benefits of the world of that time. The Apostle Paul, who is now revered by the whole Church of Christ, said that they were considered “as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.” (I Cor. 4:13)
The apostle said this with bitterness, with pain in his heart. Certainly, bitterness and spiritual pain were experienced when the people around them did not appreciate them, who had devoted their whole lives to serving in the Church of Christ, to preaching the Gospel of Christ.
And in our times, we must be aware that if there is a lack of people who devote their whole lives to serving in the Church of Christ, there will be great trouble. Society, our general social environment, undervalues the activities of the Church of Christ, although the state structure or fabric of life owes much to the activities and upbringing of believing people by the Church. State laws, at best, are formally indifferent as to whether a person has faith in God or not. As long as they pay their taxes...
The so-called Western world is weak because the states of this world are indifferent to whether they have believers or atheists. Vietnam was an example of this. The enemy believed in communism, even if falsely, and the leaders of America put their faith only in weapons. Tanks, bombs, and missiles are material manifestations of power, but in the end, it is the idea, the faith that people have, not weapons, that wins. Weapons can temporarily subdue, but the idea that comes from a sense of faith in the struggle for truth wins.
Christ, as we have heard today from the reading of the Gospel, rebuked his disciples who tried to heal the lunatic without having strong faith in the grace of God given to them by Christ for a temporary mission. When the disciples asked why they could not heal the man, the Lord said:
“Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
(Matthew 17:20)
Christ, both in the work of healing and in all the work of His followers, demanded that people acquire a deep, strong faith, that people do all good things with great faith. And vice versa - people had to do good deeds, because great faith without those deeds is evidence of emptiness, of spiritual deadness. The Apostle James testifies: “So also faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.” (James 2:17)
Orthodoxy constantly emphasises that we can never be satisfied with bookish faith, faith only in our beliefs, but to practise that faith, to produce the fruits of faith, in deeds, especially in works of mercy, by which the Lord will judge our worthiness before God.
“Truly, I say to you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.”
(Mat. 25:45)
The Apostle Paul also affirms Christ's teachings with a clear statement:
“For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified.” (Romans 2:13)
The workers and followers of Christ in this age must be aware that Jesus was also persecuted:
“If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”
(John 15:20)
Therefore, when we encounter inappropriate treatment, let us not be surprised, for our Saviour was despised, spat upon, and crucified in this world for the teachings of the Gospel, but the Lord warned and commanded us:
“In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (Jhn. 16:33)
And this is our firm and unshakable faith that with Christ, we will always overcome.
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.
