Saint Luke 17:3-10 Gospel for Saturday of the Thirty-second Week after Pentecost [Then Jesus said to His disciples...] 3 “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” 5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 “And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 “But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 “Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” February 1, 2014, Saturday of the Thirty-second Week after Pentecost Luke 17:3-10 The Venerable Bridget, Enlightener of Ireland The Duty of a Disciple: Luke 17:3-10, especially vs. 5: “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’” Consider for a moment the circumstances that prompt this appeal to the Lord by the apostles. Jesus has been discussing with them how we are to respond to a fellow disciple, or even a person we do not know, who offends us. The gospels make clear the unlimited, mandatory nature of our duty to forgive if we call ourselves disciples of Christ. Our every objection and resistance to forgiving wrongs is ruled out by the Lord who prayed on the Cross, asking God the Father on behalf of those crucifying Him: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Lk 23:34). Those who are now beginning to plot Jesus’ arrest and execution do not know what they are doing. Had the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees grasped Jesus’ true identity, it seems hard to believe that they would allow their Lord and Creator to be sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate, who likewise does not understand the import of his actions. Just as Christ was born secretly, in a cave, His identity as He stands before Pilate is hidden from men’s perceptions. Jesus alone among those witnessing the travesty of His crucifixion realizes the enormity of the crime. The disciples, of course, run like rabbits, except for a few who lurk around the edges to see how it all comes out. Even brave Peter weasels out at his moment of truth, and later weeps over his failure. When the Lord rises from the dead, He breaks through the blindness of His disciples. He shows Himself to the world as victor over death and every kind of injustice. And He calls us to enter into the way of the Cross and forgiveness, which is our salvation. Since we hear the Resurrection narratives read at Sunday Orthros, week after week, we may not stop to consider the enormity of the event. We may well wonder, in our indifference, how far removed we truly are from those who committed the crimes against our Lord. The Holy Spirit however, allows us a glimpse sufficient to bring us to whatever degree of repentance we can manage. If we dare to call Christ our Savior, addressing him as “my Lord” or “my King and my God,” then the duty to forgive is ours. We must forego those responses that come to us more easily in the face of offense: sarcasm, an angry retort, sullen withdrawal, the inner pledge to get even, a proud, disdainful smirk. Every time He tells us “you shall forgive him” (vs. 4), we beseech Him to “increase our faith” (vs. 5). Let us not justify ourselves by insisting that whoever let fly the cutting remark, gave us a nasty dig, or loosed the most bitter cruelty upon us remains unrepentant. The reaction of the transgressor is no concern of ours in the face of Christ’s expectations. Am I willing to forgive? Do I want to forgive? Can I find it in myself to forgive? These are far more urgent issues for us. Our eternal salvation hangs on our willingness to obey the Lord and on our readiness to forgive. The Master will refuse to deliver us until we have paid all that is due on our account “if each of [us], from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (Mt 18:35). Indeed, let us beg Christ our Lord to increase our faith every time He asks us to forgive. As we regard the one who has struck us down, we look past the dark pit of unforgiveness and bitter death and lift up our hands to the holy place. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mk 9:24). Establish me in the path of Thy commandments, and let me not stray from Thy light. – Archimandrite Sophrony, On Prayer
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 14:51:05 +0000
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