Friday, November 5, 2004
Jonah, Bishop of Novgorod
2nd Ves, Raphael of Brooklyn: Proverbs 10:31-11:2 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 2:14-19
Gospel: St. Luke 11:23-26
Proverbs 10:31-11:2 LXX, especially vs. 7: "At the death of a just man his hope
does not perish: but the boast of the ungodly perishes." The arrival of Father Raphael
Hawaweeny in New York in 1895 alighted a smouldering hope in the hearts of Arab Christian
immigrants - that Orthodoxy might become a living presence in their families scattered and
isolated across the North American continent. Through twenty years of ministry, as Priest and
Bishop, Saint Raphael gave their hope tangible form in thirty organized parishes in Canada, the
United States, and Mexico. At the time of his repose in 1915, truly, both he and the Church
could rejoice in his fruitful labor as the "good shepherd of the lost sheep in America." While the
Faithful of that generation mourned his repose, yet they had no doubt that the hope of that just
servant and Saint of God would never perish. And it has not, for the understanding of that
righteous man has resulted in prosperity (see vs. 9).
St. Raphael's life encourages us to consider the undying nature of hope as it is known uniquely
among Christians. In a fallen world, the hopes of countless individuals, peoples, and nations
have smouldered, only to extinguish altogether and become dust and ashes, grist for
archaeologists. Given such a bleak landscape, it is remarkable to discover in this world a living
hope, alive and flourishing, unquenchable even in the face of death - an undying hope.
Because the hopes of so many have been dashed down and wrecked by the power of other men,
or the relentless forces of nature, the seductive snares of their own human imaginations, or the
unforeseen convergence of events, one might conclude with Macbeth that "life's but a walking
shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more."
However, alongside its dismal chronicles, history also records human hopes that have been
realized, valuable discoveries, and genuine, lasting achievements benefitting many. What men
have envisioned has not always disappointed them; yet all human hopes are finite, set within the
inescapable boundaries of change and mortality.
We are arrested by the truth that among all the peoples of the ancient fertile crescent, where
civilizations first emerged, none looked to their gods with an eye of hope except the ancient
People of God. Like their neighbors, the Israelites knew dashed hopes and unrealized dreams,
but the God Who revealed Himself to them gave them a unique, solid ground for hope. As
slaves, they watched their masters drown in the Red Sea. They saw God's promise to their
forefathers realized as they became one nation in their own land. They learned to trust a God
Who promised and delivered "after seventy years [were] completed in Babylon" (Jer. 29:10).
The hope planted in their breasts by God caused Israel not only to "look to the Lord" and "wait
for the God of my salvation" (Micah 7:7), but also to affirm before God, "Thou art my hope from
my youth" (Ps. 70:4 LXX). The nation learned to sing in its darkest hours, "O Lord, Thou art the
hope of Israel, and deliverest us in time of troubles" (Jer. 14:8 LXX). By revelation, God brought
His people to realize that He was their "help and shield" (Ps. 33:20 KJV). It was in such an
environment that the vision of undying hope, hope even in the face of death, was born.
However, true to Himself is our Hope and Deliverer! Ineffably, He united Himself to us in
mortal, human flesh, embraced death common to us all, trampled down death by death, and gave
us an entirely new and finer, undying hope, "the riches of the glory of [the] mystery...which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). How much greater is Solomon's affirmation on the
lips of a Christian: "At the death of a just man his hope does not perish" (Prov. 10:7 LXX)!
O Christ, our Immortal King and our God, establish our souls where the Just repose; the mercies
of God, the kingdom of heaven and remission of our sins, as we do hope in Thee.