Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Hieromartyr Evangelos, Bishop of Tomis (Constanta), Romania
Kellia: 1 Samuel 17:41-51 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 2:9-3:8 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:31-36
1 Samuel 17:41-51 RSV, especially vs. 47: "The Lord saves not with sword
and spear; for the battle is the Lord's." David's triumph stands alongside the preservation of the Three Holy Children in
the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lions' den, and the release of Jonah from the whale as another of the great types of the Lord
Jesus' victory over our 'invincible' enemy, death. David's outrage at the taunting of Goliath, which had struck fear into the
soldiers of God, and David's complete trust in the Lord were vindicated by "the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel" (vs. 45). The stripling youth standing over the fallen body of the Philistine champion, recalls the icon of the Lord
Jesus standing triumphantly over death, and bestowing life on those in the tombs. As "The Philistines... fled" (vs. 51), "let
His enemies be scattered and let them who hate Him flee from before His face" (Ps. 67:1 LXX).
Death never ceases to threaten us with its overwhelming power. Its inexorable arm extends over all mankind, leering and
insulting every beauty and accomplishment of our fallen race. "Death reigned from Adam" (Rom. 5:14), and Goliath, the
champion of death said, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field" (1
Sam. 17:42). No wonder "when Saul and all Israel heard...the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid" (1 Sam.
17:11). They were paralyzed by an 'unconquerable' agent of death. We sinful men are like that - powerless in our sin. As
St. John Chrysostom says of the Paralytic, "hopelessness for the future was sufficient to overstrain him....Yes, Lord, he
says, but I have no man....to put me in the pool. What can be more pitiable than these words?" St. John's question is ours.
Whose heart is not "crushed through long sickness" by death-dealing sin (Rom 7:18)? Bishop Kallistos Ware states the
truth: "death is...a violent affront against the wholeness of our human nature. Death may be something that awaits us all,
but it is at the same time profoundly abnormal. It is monstrous and tragic...despite all our realism we are justified in feeling
also a sense of desolation, of horror and even indignation." Having death among the powers of Rome in his hand, Pilate
accosted Jesus, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release
You?" (Jn. 19:10). David speaks to Goliath, and we hear the Divine voice of the eternal Champion calmly responding to
death for us: "You could have no power against Me unless it had been given you from above" (Jn. 19:11). The legions of
martyrs and ascetics who have taken the field under Christ's banner have, like David, run "quickly toward the battle line"
(1 Sam. 17:48) to meet those who sought to conquer them. The holy martyr Barbaros, though a secret Christian, was in the
armies of Rome during the reign of Julian the Apostate. When his legion confronted the Franks, his commander, Bacchus,
sent him out to single combat with an immense enemy hero like Goliath. St. Nikolai of Zica tells us that "Barbaros
prayed...to the living Lord, went out and conquered this giant." Still, when he revealed that he was a Christian, Julian
ordered Barbaros put to the harshest torture. St. Nikolai adds that many soldiers, "seeing his rare courage and
composure....embraced the Christian faith. Among them was the commander Bacchus himself." Julian beheaded them all.
"David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone" (vs. 50), and the Lord of life prevailed over death by
death, spilling His own blood for us on the ground of Golgotha. He it is Who says to us, "Thus it is written, and thus it was
necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day...And you are witnesses of these things" (Lk.
24:46,48).
When Thou didst rise from the grave, O Savior, Thou didst reveal Thy self a Man by nature, as Thou stood in the midst of
the Disciples; wherefore Glory to Thy Resurrection.
