A HOMILY FOR THE TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
About Attending Evening Services
Brothers and sisters!
Every Christian knows that our Lord Jesus Christ not only delivered to us the perfect rule of faith and conduct, but also showed us, by His own example, how to keep this rule. As He said: I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done.[1] Thus, every Saturday (the day which the Old Testament law commanded be kept holy), He would either attend the service at the local synagogue or visit the temple in Jerusalem, frequently working mighty miracles while there. And so it is that in today’s Gospel lection we heard that as He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself, fell at the Lord’s feet and besought mercy. Seeing this, the Lord said to her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And He laid His hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
One would think that such a miracle would evoke, if not joy and gratitude, then at least astonishment on the part of all the beholders. Nevertheless, the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. He spoke thus, partially because he was obsessed with the letter of the law, as were the other Jewish teachers, and partially because he was jealous of the newly appeared Teacher and Wonderworker. He would have preferred either that the ailing not come to the synagogue on the Sabbath or that, if they did come, they not receive healing, lest the Sabbath-day rest be violated. The Lord rebuked him and others of his ilk, saying, Thou hypocrite, doth not each of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him to watering? If out of pity for a beast, or even out of simple self-interest, the Jews permitted a flexing of the letter of the law, then how much more ought they allow a daughter of Abraham to be loosed from her bond on the Sabbath day! What better, what more fitting day to perform a compassionate deed than the Lord’s day, especially after one has prepared himself for this by the common prayer and the teaching of the word of God?
And so we see from today’s Gospel lection that it is permitted to do deeds of mercy on the Lord’s day, which in New Testament times is not the seventh, but the first day of the week, when the Master rose from the dead. Therefore physicians and other health care workers, as well as persons who perform other such functions necessary for maintaining the good order of society, are blameless when they work on a Sunday. If at all possible, however, they should perform this work after the common prayer and the teaching of the word of God, in imitation of the Lord, Who healed the woman who was bowed together after He had attended the service.
I praise the zeal most of you have for attending the Sunday morning service. Most of you are present for the Sunday Liturgy every week, or a little less frequently if you live far away. Only a few attend irregularly, missing this service repeatedly without compelling reason. Such people should know that the holy canons excommunicate anyone who fails to attend Sunday Liturgy for three successive weeks without just cause. Much the same applies to the festal Liturgies. Despite the fact that most of these occur when the younger people are at work or school, attendance is not poor for them in our parish, especially on the most major feasts.
But what grieves me as your pastor and spiritual father is the habitual sketchy attendance at evening services: Vespers and the Vigils, when we chant Prophet David’s contrite words, Let my prayer be set forth as incense before Thee, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.[2] A little Russian poem – a rhyme in the original – beautifully expresses Christ’s summons to these wonderful services:
Come thou, O ailing one;
Come thou, O joyous one!
They are ringing for Vigil,
Calling thee to blessed prayer.
I realize that some cannot answer the call, because they must work, while others live far away, and if they came to the Vigil, they would not be able to attend the next day’s Liturgy. But nothing prevents others. They could come if they wished.
What a difference between us and the Christians of old, not least with respect to attitude concerning evening services. If only we remembered how the ancient Christians and even those of the not-too-distant past regarded Vespers and the Vigils… I could adduce many examples of this, but let the following suffice.
Emperor Valens, an Arian heretic, knew that the Orthodox Christians assembled in great number for evening services, and ordered the Prefect to slaughter them when they were all together. The Prefect warned the faithful of the heartless command; nonetheless, they did not desist from attending the evening services. Rather than decrease, their number at Vespers and Vigils increased. Finally, one evening, when he could no longer delay, the Prefect set off for the church, accompanied by his troops. On the way, he met a woman who had just run out of her house, carrying her child, who was still nursing at her breast. The woman was in such a hurry that she had not even locked her front door or dressed carefully. “Where are you headed,” asked the Prefect.
“To the church of the Orthodox Christians,” answered the woman.
“Are you unaware that the Prefect is also on his way there, to slaughter all the Christians in accordance with the Emperor’s command?” said the Prefect.
“I know it,” the woman replied. “That is why I am making haste. I do not want to arrive late and miss out on the opportunity to be slain with the others.”
The astounded Prefect wondered, “And what about the babe you are carrying?”
“I am taking him with me, so that he may be counted worthy of martyrdom too,” said the woman.
This little story, beloved, tells us very much about self-sacrifice for Christ, about how empty and perverse are most excuses for not attending the evening services, and about what should be the attitude of true Christians towards the church services in general. It also reminds us that God’s holy temple and the divine services – not least the evening services – are the door leading to the Kingdom of heaven.
Lord, Lord, what great men and women were our fathers and mothers in the Orthodox faith! Help us to follow Thine example and theirs! Amen.
[1] John 13:15
[2] Ps. 140:2
