A HOMILY ABOUT PATIENCE
(For July 21/Aug. 3)
Brothers and sisters!
Yesterday was the feast of the holy prophet Elijah, and we learned from the story of the innocent landowner Naboth and the Israelite rulers Ahab and Jezebel (the great prophet’s persecutors) how those who inflict suffering are punished with suffering, whether in the present life or the next. Today my word to you will show the opposite; namely, how those who patiently endure suffering can expect a wondrous reward. My source for the two little stories I will relate is The Prologue – not the well-known modern Prologue written by Bishop Nicolai Velimirovich, which has been translated into English from Serbian, but the wonderful, old, original Slavonic Prologue, which has not yet been translated, and which I mine from time to time for sermon source material. The stories make up one of the entries in the ancient Prologue for July 21, today’s date according to the calendar of the Orthodox Church.
The holy Apostle James writes, Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life.[1] Thus it is clear, dear brothers and sisters, that crowns await us for our patience. But what will convince us of the truth of this to the degree that we actually learn to exercise patience? I think that nothing will do so as well as examples. And so, listen carefully to these stories from The Prologue, and try to remember the lessons they teach…
“There was a holy elder who beheld a vision in which he saw where the saints dwell after their repose. He was taken to the place where Arsenius the Great, renowned among the ancient fathers of the desert, had his abode. Saint Arsenius was covered with glory, but the elder saw that the saint’s feet were held in old, rotting wooden stocks. The elder asked the saint, ‘How is it that thy feet do not share in thy glory?’
“‘God helping me,’ replied the saint, ‘I renounced all the false acclaim of this world; however, I continued to wash my feet, believing it to be but a small matter, a minor consolation. And so I failed to attain the highest rank in heaven.’
“The elder asked, ‘Why then do we call thee “the Great”?’
“‘Do not imagine that I am in the lowest place here,’ said the saint. ‘God has shown you this so that you learn to disdain worldly vanity and learn patience. I was highly esteemed in the world, and God has permitted you to see me thus, so that you flee human praise and temporal ease.’
“Again, in one of the Gerontica, or the ‘books of the elders,’ it is written that another righteous father was likewise taken up to see where the just dwell after their repose. In a most splendid, wondrous place, he beheld a certain man, whom he asked, ‘What was your occupation in the world?’
“The man replied, ‘I was the hired hand of an evil fellow. I put up with him until the end. He did not pay me what he owed and always treated me poorly. Therefore, when I died, I came here.’
“Then the elder was shown another man, also in a wondrous, glorious abode. The elder asked him, ‘How did you merit this?’
“The other answered, ‘I was a leper and till the very end endured my illness with gratitude. Therefore, after death, I inherited this place.’
“Finally, the elder was shown a third man. This one was not in such a glorious abode. The elder asked him, too, ‘How did you come to be here?’
“‘I was a monk,’ said the third man, ‘and I labored steadfastly for my salvation. Then they made me a bishop against my will, and because I enjoyed the vain glory of the world, this is the place to which I was brought when I died. But I would much prefer to be where the leper is.’”
And so, beloved Christians, it is undeniable that crowns await us for our sufferings, our woes, and our self-denial too, if we endure with patience and gratitude. Sorrows in this life lead to unending joys. In the words of our father among the saints Demetrius of Rostov, “Let us constantly remember that if we are patient, we will see the time when the Lord shall wipe away all tears from our eyes.[2] If we suffer with Him in the present life, we shall also reign with Him[3] in the life to come. Sorrow here below is fleeting, but yonder lies eternal bliss for the one who endures till the end. This life is prison, that freedom; this life darkness, that light; this is a foreign country, that our homeland. He who bears every grief manfully in this life shall rejoice forever in the age to come. And so, endure every temptation valiantly, that you may enter into repose and be crowned with an incorruptible diadem. Remain steadfast in patience and you will scorch the demons, extinguish the flames of Gehenna, utterly quench the passions, overcome trials and tribulations, and be vouchsafed everlasting blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen.
[1] James 1:12
[2] Rev. 7:17
[3] II Tim. 2:12
