Saturday, May 15, 2004
Christ is Risen!
Achilles, Bishop of Larisa
Kellia: Deuteronomy 6:10-16, 20-25 Apostle: Acts 15:35-41 Gospel: St. John 10:27-38
Deuteronomy 6:10-16, 20-25, especially vss 21, 22: "We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt; and the
Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous against
Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes." We say, "I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church," but what is this "Church" except the "People of God," and who are these people who say of
themselves that they belong to God? Meditating on this mystery, St. Maximos the Confessor observed: "For numerous and
of almost infinite number are the men, women, and children who are distinct from one another and vastly different by birth
and appearance, by nationality and language, by customs and age, by opinions and skills, by manners and habits, by
pursuits and studies, and still again by reputation, fortune, characteristics, and connections."
What or Who distinguishes us a People? Out of the diversity which St. Maximos describes, how is it that we are set aside
as the People of God? In today's reading, the Prophet Moses speaks to the ancient People of God, to the sons of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, concerning their formation as the People of God, and we will do well to give close attention to the
Prophet's remarks, for we have succeeded from Israel to the title, "the People of God." Therefore, much that Moses says
to them applies to us, for ancient Israel is a type of the Church to which we are joined, or as St. Maximos says, to which we
are "reborn and recreated in the Spirit."
It would seem, as one first reads Moses' words, that it was the physical land of the Promise that distinguished ancient Israel
as the People of God, "the land which He swore to [their] fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give [them]" (vs.
10). Moses makes much of cities, houses, household effects, cisterns, vineyards, and orchards which Israel was about to
take by conquest - property they did not develop (vs. 11). Still, he is definite in teaching them that it is not possession that
constitutes them a people like so many conquering peoples who call what they invade by their names, speaking of some
land as their Fatherland or the Motherland. What distinguished the ancient People of God is what characterizes the
Church: we are the People who hold in remembrance the Lord our God, Who is "in the midst" of us (vs. 15), His unique
People who "serve Him, and swear by His Name" (vs. 13). As the second century "Letter to Diognetos" notes: "Christians
are not differentiated from other people by country, language or customs; you see, they do not live in cities of their own, or
speak some strange dialect, or have some peculiar lifestyle....They live in their own native land, but as aliens."
In addition, the Prophet stresses the fact that the People of Israel were "Pharaoh's slaves [whom] the Lord brought...out of
Egypt" (vs. 21). Like ancient Israel, the Church also gained freedom by God's hand, for He has delivered us out of the
hand of the enemy, "trampling down death by death." What distinguishes Israel and the Church as the People of God is
freedom created for and revealed to us by God. "Before our eyes" the Lord showed us "signs and wonders, great and
grievous against" the Egypt of sin and death that enslaved us (vs. 22).
Finally, like ancient Israel, the liberation that we enjoy as the People of God is a freedom to serve. The service of God is
perfect freedom. As Moses declares, the Lord our God gives us His Divine statutes and commandments because they are
"for our good always that He might preserve us alive, as at this day" (vs. 24). God's commands are not oppressive, but "for
good," and obeying them is "righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all" that He requires (vs. 25). We pray Thee, O
Lord, be mindful of Thy Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church to the ends of earth; and give peace unto Her whom Thou
hast purchased with the Blood of Thy Christ.
