A HOMILY FOR THE SUNDAY OF THE HOLY FOREFATHERS
About the Parable of the Great Supper
Brothers and sisters!
Today our Holy Church commemorates the Forefathers of Old Testament times; that is, all the righteous who lived from the creation of the world until the Incarnation of Christ. In some cases, sacred Scripture mentions these people in brief; for example, with regards to that great righteous man Enoch, it says only that he was well-pleasing to God, and was not found, because God translated him.[1] From this the Fathers of the Church, whose hearts were purified and minds illumined by divine grace, understood that Enoch was a man of exceptionally righteous life, that he was ever mindful of the Lord’s presence, that he prayed to Him continuously, and that for these reasons God took him up alive into heaven. Other saints of the Old Testament are much better known to us, because a great deal of information about them is found in the Scriptures. For example, there is an entire book about Job and his sufferings, which clearly show his faith in the Lord and love for Him.
And now, dear Christians, about the Gospel lection for this Sunday, the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers… It tells the Saviour’s parable about a certain man who made a great supper and bade many. And, it says, he sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. The man who is holding the banquet is the Lord Himself; and the banquet is the Kingdom of heaven and, on earth, the Church of Christ with its sacred teachings, Holy Mysteries, priesthood, and divine rites, all of which prepare the faithful for the life of heaven when they repose. The servant that the master of the house sent out to announce the supper represents the righteous of the Old Testament whom we commemorate today, for they proclaimed the coming Kingdom by their preaching and example. The servant also stands for the apostles and preachers of the Gospel, for the lection has both an historical dimension, with respect to the Jews of Christ’s day, and a more general one, in application to every generation; meaning, the parable applies to New as well as Old Testament times. Note that Christ says that He sends out a servant, not many servants, because although there have been numerous prophets, apostles, and other saints, there is only one teaching, one path that leads to salvation. That was the Law in Old Testament times, which points to Christ, and the Gospel and Christ Himself in the dispensation of the New Testament. As the Lord Himself put it, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.[2] Both the Law and the Gospel are subsumed in Christ.
Those called to the banquet offer a variety of excuses for not coming. One says, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it: I pray thee, have me excused. The Holy Fathers teach that the piece of ground signifies attachment to the things of earth. For example, a feast day comes, offering God’s gracious blessings, but although his circumstances allow him to do otherwise, a man prefers to work instead of attending the divine services, either because he does not want to lose the money he could earn, or because he does not want to draw down his vacation time, which he intends to use enjoying himself. Such a man is obviously more attached to things of the earth than to things of heaven.
And another says, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee, have me excused. According to Saint John of Krondstadt, the five yoke of oxen are our five senses. With sight we delight in gazing at the beauty of others and provoke ourself to many forms of sin; through smell and taste we fall into gluttony; by hearing we enjoy gossip and criticism of others; and by touch we fall into forbidden sensual pleasures. Thus we work these five yoke of oxen every day, and they produce for us a plentiful harvest of transgressions.
A third man says, I have married a wife, and therefore cannot come. How does marrying hinder one from partaking of the supper? Saint Paul tells us: He that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife,[3] and, she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.[4] In contrast, he that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord,[5] and, the unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit.[6] How, then, can the married avoid the pitfall that threatens them? The Apostle explains, It remaineth, he says, that they that have wives be as though they had none.[7] In other words, let the married learn to be as detached from the world and attached to God as those who remain celibate for the Lord’s sake; or, to put it another way, let them acquire an inwardly monastic disposition, if they hope to escape the snare of the evil one and attend the Lord’s banquet.
While the things said thus far can be applied to anyone who fails to hasten to the supper, Christ was speaking most directly about the rulers of the Jews and those who had studied the Law and the prophets, of whom He says, None of those men which were called shall taste of My supper. Indeed, these men boasted of their rejection of Christ and His teaching, saying, Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on Him?[8] And so it was that the master of the house commanded his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. These represent the simple among the Jews, tens of thousands of whom eventually believed in Christ. The Pharisees reviled such Jews, saying, This people who knoweth not the law are cursed.[9] When room still remained, the lord told the servant to go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that his house might be filled. On account of their worship of idols and general lawlessness, the Gentiles were said to live along the highways and in the hedges; meaning, outside the city of God, but finally they too are called in and fill up the master’s house.
And so, we see that the leaders of the Jews rejected the Kingdom of God and remained outside it, whereas the simple Jews and the Gentiles who hastened to it enjoy the banquet in both the present and the future life. But remember, dear brothers and sisters, what we said earlier; namely, that the entire parable is applicable not only to what is now past, but to the present as well: it is applicable directly to us today. If we decline to attend the banquet for whatever reason, we shall bring down the Master’s wrath upon ourselves and remain outside the supper, just like the scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees. Others – perhaps people now distant from God – will take our place.
Here some may ask, “How can it be said that we fail to answer the Master’s summons? We are Christians, we attend church services, we partake of the Holy Mysteries, and we share in the hope of eternal life common to all who believe in Christ.”
Note well, brothers and sisters: besides failing to hasten to the banquet for one of the reasons Christ mentions in the parable, one may fail for other causes as well. For example, one may be a Christian formally, but not in deed. One may attend services and receive the Mysteries, but not attend to rectifying one’s heart. One may do only one’s own will, but fail to fulfill what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.[10] One may know God’s commandments very well, but not follow them. One may have been summoned to the supper repeatedly, perhaps since childhood, by the Holy Church and its ministers, and by one’s own devout parents and other pious persons, and each time have failed to go. But finally, death will come knocking and everything will be finished. The judgment that is written[11] will have been written, and the righteous Judge will be heard to proclaim, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.[12]
But for us, the living, there is still time to hasten to the hall. And so, let us repent and change our life. By inner watchfulness and mental prayer, let us rectify our heart, the nesting place of every passion, every sin. Let us curtail our mad pursuit of the pleasures of this life and cease living according to the custom of this world, and remember what the Apostle says: The friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world is the enemy of God.[13] Let us become true sons and daughters of Christ’s Holy Church; let us kindle love for others in our heart; and let us lay up within the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that when the Bridegroom comes, He may find our lamps to be full, and we may enter with Him into the celestial banquet where, the Lord granting, we shall sup with Him, now and forever, and unto all ages. Amen.
[1] Gen. 5:24
[2] John 14:6
[3] I Cor. 8:33
[4] I Cor. 8:34
[5] I Cor. 8:34
[6] I Cor. 8:34
[7] I Cor. 7:29
[8] John 7:48
[9] John 7:49
[10] Rom. 12:2
[11] Ps. 149:9
[12] Matt. 25:41
[13] James 4:4
