“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you."

Homily on the feast day of All venerable and Holy Fathers of Mount Athos Matthew 4: 25-5: 12.

Today we live in a world where the name of Christ is reviled and cursed by many. One only has to turn on the television, and within a couple of minutes, one will almost certainly hear the Lord’s name being used in vain! Whilst this is most certainly a terrible thing to happen, let us remember that Christ has promised us that His Kingdom will have no end. This is why our Lord and Saviour said that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church Christ’s Body the Church (Matthew 16:18).

One thing that is certain is that the evil one seeks the ruination of souls, for if he can beguile people over to his ways, they will ultimately be with him forever. People do not like to acknowledge the reality that their choices in life have consequences for their future. Indeed, the slogan of our age can be summarised as being: “do what you want because it feels good.” Unfortunately, this has the consequence of putting man in the place of the All-Holy Trinity - a situation that always leads the person becoming estranged from God. This is a reality - we have a choice to either accept the All-Holy Trinity or reject the All-Holy Trinity as a result of the free will that we have been given by Him.

In many ways, it seems that numerous people in life would rather reject the source of all life and drink from the poisoned well of the evil one. Bear in mind that the water from the well of the evil one is spiked with the toxins of hate, jealousy, and pride – these poisons make a soul so blind that it cannot and will not accept the truth that will set it free - Christ and His Church. Christ is adamant that many will reject Him because to these, His message is not what they want to hear - as was the case with the Scribes and the Pharisees in Christ’s day. For instance, if one is a humanist (a person that puts man above the All-Holy Trinity), then one will believe in the notion that man is inherently good, and if left to his own devices will always tend towards the good. However, history is full of examples showing that when man has rejected the ways of the All-Holy Trinity that man is capable of doing such horrendous and depraved evil acts that the mind shudders at the thought! What then is the cure for this sickness? Put simply, the cure is Christ; He is the medicine that can heal souls and bring them to their full potential.

As a teacher, I see many students who think that they know it all, and as a result, do not listen to the lessons that the teachers try to teach them. However, after a while, when they have done things their own way and failed, some will admit that they should have listened to their teachers in the first place. In many ways, this is a growing stage that all people must go through. I remember being a teenager and thinking that I knew everything, but as I got older, I must admit that I realised that there was some sense to what my parents were teaching me – even though in my youthful pride I did not want to admit that they were right! So to it is with the All-Holy Trinity, He is our Shepherd who only wishes to lead us to the green pastures- which ultimately is a metaphor for eternal life! Truly, if one trusts in the All-Holy Trinity ‘our cups’ will overflow with the many blessings, He gives us through the Holy Mysteries of His Church (Psalm 22). This is why as Christians it is vital, even when we face persecution and mockery for our beliefs, that we stand tall - for our Lord and Saviour promises that He will bless us and acknowledge us for having done so (Matthew 25: 10-12; Matthew 10:32). This is why the Holy Church in her wisdom has made the Beatitudes one of the three anthems that is sung at the Divine Liturgies of Saint John and Basil to remind us (the members of Christ’s Body) that if we keep faith and do not buckle - then truly the Kingdom of Heaven is the promised land that we will inherit!

The attacks of the evil one will always be against Christ, and His Church for He Christ is the source of all life and truth! Be strong of heart for the very fact that evil one is attacking Christ and his Church is a sign that Christ and His Church is the truth. The evil one is desperate to bring others down with him because as the old adage states ‘misery loves company!’ He the evil one, once was the most beautiful of the All-Holy Trinities creation, yet he sought to become a god unto himself, and as a result, he lost access to the Font of all goodness which is the All-Holy Trinity – this is the source of his jealousy, and enmity towards man. It is because of this he desires to see others suffer and end up in the same predicament as he. Fear not, for if we cling to the Rock that is Christ and His Church, we will successfully navigate the troubled waters of this life!

One thing that I have done recently is to read accounts of the persecutions and sufferings that many Christians are being subjected to all over the world. You will hardly hear about this in the media for they will often not report these events unless it somehow suits their anti-Christian narrative. Make no mistake Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world (International Society for Human Rights, Open Doors USA, Pew Research, Herald Sun, June 24 “Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world”). However, what always astounds me is the absolute faith of many of these believers despite their persecution and suffering at the hands of others. Recently, I watched a news story about the persecution of the Coptic Christians in Egypt, and after a recent bombing at one of their churches by a terrorist, the first concern of a Coptic mother was to forgive her attackers. Indeed, she forgave in much the same way as the first Christians forgave Saint Paul after he came to the faith after encountering Christ- despite his past calculated persecution of the nascent Church (Acts 9: 1-13).

One thing we must always do is to pray for those Christians who are facing oppression and find ways to donate to charities to help them – it is far too easy to sit in our lounge rooms and think that the problem is too big for us to solve. However, if we all pray for them and seek to donate money to charities that are set up to help these Christians escape their persecutors than surely we can make a difference and help them escape to safety. Also, we need to make this issue known to the general public for if we do nothing, then we are condemning our fellow believers in Christ to their fates at the hands of the All-Holy Trinities enemies. Let us not be like so many other Christian leaders who say or do nothing to help their fellow believers in Christ! It does not matter that many of those persecuted are from different Christian sects if we do nothing then we are refusing to feed the hungry, clothe the naked. Christ is adamant that in the last judgement that when He comes again, we will be called to make an account of our deeds or lack of them. Christ will say to those without good deeds:

“ …‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ‘Then they will answer Him, saying ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me (Matthew 25: 41-45).”

I do not say this to be harsh – however, this situation is reaching a crisis point, and we as Christ’s Body need to act now to help our poor brothers and sisters. For by so doing, we will be doing what Christ asks of us - being His hands and feet in the world!

Finally, let us pray to the many great saints that Mount Athos has birthed, that all those persecuted for their faith in Christ may persevere in strength. Remember, the Holy Fathers of Mount Athos are no strangers to persecution at the hands of others! Mount Athos has been attacked many times by the Turks and the Latins, and many of the Fathers became martyrs in these attacks! Also, the fathers of Esphigmenou monastery are still being persecuted at the hands of the State Church of Greece! Let us not forget that this mountain is a very holy place for on this mountain many of our Fathers among the Saints - even Saint Petros of Astoria- grew in holiness and love for the All-Holy Trinity and His way of truth. Let us pray that like them we may be inspired with love for the All-Holy Trinity so that we may do that which He commands us to do - be His hands and feet in this world.