The Eighth Eothinon
Two Sermons
FEELERS
By
St. John Chrysostom (Gospel of John,
Homily 86: c. 400)
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/240186.htm
Full
of feeling somehow is the female sex, and more inclined to pity. I say this,
lest you should wonder how it could be that Mary wept bitterly at the tomb,
while Peter was in no way so affected. For, "The disciples," it
says, "went away unto their own home"; but she stood shedding
tears. Because hers was a feeble nature, and she as yet knew not accurately
the account of the Resurrection; whereas they, having seen the linen clothes
and believed, departed to their own homes in astonishment. At any rate, you
see her, the more to ease her grief, stooping down, and desiring to behold
the place where the body lay. And therefore she received no small reward for
this her great zeal. For what the disciples saw not, this saw the woman
first, Angels sitting, the one at the feet, the other at the head, in white.
She saw countenances bright and unusual; she saw shining garments, she heard
a sympathizing voice. For what says (the Angel)? "Woman, why do you weep?" By all these circumstances,
as though a door was being opened for her, she was led little by little to
the knowledge of the Resurrection. What then says she? She speaks very warmly
and affectionately; "They have
taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him." Do you
see how she had not yet received the sublime doctrine? "And when she had thus said, she turned herself back." And
by what kind of consequence is it, that she having spoken to them, and not
having yet heard anything from them, turned back? Methinks that while she was
speaking, Christ suddenly appearing behind her, struck the Angels with awe;
and that they having beheld their Ruler, showed immediately by their bearing,
their look, their movements, that they saw the Lord; and this drew the
woman's attention, and caused her to turn herself backwards. To them then He
appeared on this wise, but not so to the woman, in order not at the first
sight to terrify her, but in a meaner and ordinary form, as is clear from her
supposing that He was the gardener. It was meet to lead one of so lowly a
mind to high matters, not all at once, but gently. He therefore in turn asks
her, "Woman, why do you weep? Whom
do you seek?" And the woman replies, "Sir, if you have borne him hence, tell me where you have laid
him, and I will take him away." Great is the kindness and loving
affection of the woman, but as yet there is nothing lofty with her. Wherefore
He now sets the matter before her, not by appearance, but by Voice. But how
was it that,"She turned herself,
and says," if so be that He was speaking to her? It seems to me,
that after having said, "Where
have ye laid him?" she turned to the Angels to ask why they were astonished,
and that then Christ, by calling her by name, turned her to Himself from
them, and revealed Himself by His Voice; for when He called her "Mary," then she knew Him;
so that the recognition was not by His appearance, but by His Voice. But
wherefore, said He, "Touch Me
not"? Some assert, that she asked for spiritual grace, because she
had heard Him when with the disciples say, "If I go to the Father, 'I
will ask Him, and He shall give you another Comforter'" [Jn 14:3,16]. But how could she who was not present with
the disciples have heard this? Besides, such an imagination is far from the
meaning here. And how should she ask, when He had not yet gone to the Father?
What then is the sense? Methinks that she wished still to converse with Him
as before, and that in her joy she perceived nothing great in Him, although
He had become far more excellent in the Flesh. To lead her therefore from
this idea, and that she might speak to Him with much awe, (for neither with
the disciples does He henceforth appear so familiar as before,) He raises her
thoughts, that she should give more reverent heed to Him. To have said,
"Approach Me not as you did before, for matters are not in the same
state, nor shall I henceforth be with you in the same way," would have
been harsh and high-sounding; but the saying, "I am not yet ascended to the Father," though not
painful to hear, was the saying of One declaring the same thing. For by
saying, "I am not yet
ascended," He shows that He hastes and presses there; and that it
was not meet that One about to depart there, and no longer to converse with
men, should be looked on with the same feelings as before. And the sequel
shows that this is the case. "Go
and say unto the brethren, that I go unto My Father, and your Father, unto My
God and your God." Yet He was not about to do so immediately, but
after forty days. How then says He this? With a desire to raise their minds,
and to persuade them that He departs into the heavens. But the, "To My Father and your Father, to My
God, and your God," belongs to the Dispensation, since the
"ascending" also belongs to His Flesh. "Is then the Father His
in one way, and ours in another?" Assuredly then He is. For if He is God
of the righteous in a manner different from that in which He is God of other
men, much more in the case of the Son and us. For because He had said,
"Say to the brethren," in order that they might not imagine any
equality from this, He showed the difference. He was about to sit on His
Father's throne, but they to stand by. So that albeit in His Subsistence
according to the Flesh He became our Brother, yet in Honor He greatly
differed from us, it cannot even be told how much. "She therefore departs, bearing these tidings to the
disciples."
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SEEKERS
By
Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews (2010)
At
our most recent Lenten Retreat, just a few weeks ago, our guest speaker, Dr.
Vigen Guroian, an eminent Orthodox theologian and ethicist gave a talk titled
“Ecological Musings from the Garden.” Dr. Guroian is an author of many books
but two of them address gardening as a central theme and metaphor for our life.
Interestingly, in today’s Eothinon or Sunday Orthros Gospel Reading we see
that Mary Magdalene supposes the risen Christ to be a gardener when she
initially sees Him. Two great Fathers of the Church, Gregory the Great and
Jerome comment on this point saying that Jesus is the spiritual gardener of
our soul and that He is also the gardener of Eden or Paradise. In today’s
passage we also see Jesus as shepherd. Now the image of Christ as gardener is
meaningful for a gardener tills the soil before he plants the seeds. Then he
nurtures it through watering and weeding. Gregory the Great comments “Jesus
planted the fruitful seeds of virtue in her heart by the force of His love.”
We know that Christ had previously weeded Mary’s heart by casting seven
demons from her. Now Christ sends His angels to till her heart asking, “Woman, why are you weeping?” (v.13).
Then, Jesus Himself tills by asking, “Woman,
why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” (v.15). We have spoken in
previous weeks of the liturgical symbolism, that the priests of the Church
represent the angels who sit at the door of the empty tomb, the Holy Gate,
and proclaim the Resurrection. Indeed the probing questions show that they
and Christ the Gardener care for the field and are trying to enter into a
deeper communion with the flock through empathetic love. The depth of this
love or “agape” is expressed when
Jesus refers to Mary by name and she in turn, recognizes Him and calls Jesus “Rabboni” (v.16). This reveals Christ
also as a shepherd. Earlier in the gospel of John we hear, “And the sheep hear his voice; and he
calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4And when he brings out his
own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his
voice” (John 10:3-4). It means so much to us when an acquaintance
remembers our name and when a friend or colleague uses our name while
conversing with us. Our name sums up and symbolizes everything that we are in
our unique, unrepeatable being. Christ knows us by name. He calls us by name,
especially when we are the one lost sheep from Luke 15. Let us return to
Jesus’ question, “Whom are you seeking?”
(v.15). Christ constantly asks this question because He made us to be seeking
persons. We are always searching for something or someone who will give us
fulfillment. It is central to who we are as persons. The key is searching for
and finding the right person and that of course is Jesus Christ Himself
because He made us. He knows best how we work and He alone can fulfill us
giving our life its ultimate meaning. The Orthodox Study Bible notes in this
passage, “The encounter between the risen Lord and Mary is reminiscent of the
encounter between the bride and her beloved in the Song of Solomon (SS
3:1-4). This parallel teaches that through the Resurrection, Christ has taken
the Church to be His eternal Bride.” In this short Old Testament passage we
heard several times, “I sought him whom my soul loves.” We, each one of us,
are called to be brides of Christ. That’s why we call Him the Bridegroom. The
central iconic image that expresses the relationship between God and His
people, between Christ and each one of us, is Bridegroom and Bride. “Whom are you seeking?” God the
creator of the universe and humanity or secular humanist materialist
philosophy that fails to grasp the true meaning of our existence? Moving on
to our last point, later in the Song of Songs passage we hear, “I held him
and would not let him go” (Song of Songs 3:4). Mary Magdalene, recognizing
Christ in the garden must have wanted to embrace Him, holding on tightly in
joy and not wanting Him to leave. However, Jesus responds by saying, “Do not cling to Me” (v.17). Now,
Christ does not prohibit the touching of his resurrected flesh, for we
commune with His flesh in the Eucharist, and He even commands Thomas to touch
Him (v.27). Yet, here, Christ is instructing Mary to understand and accept
that His life is not merely continuing in the same state as before, and that
He will not remain with her as He did in the past, but is pressing forward to
His Ascension to the “Father”. This
is very good news though because Christ’s Ascension completes and fulfills
the redemption of our humanity for He brings it with Him when He returns to
the God the Trinity. Our restoration to communion with God is complete,
perhaps even more than it was in the Garden of Eden. Christ emphasizes the
point by saying that His Father is our Father and His God is our God (v.18). We can only fully realize this fact if we
let Christ till the soil of our heart, breaking up the hard soil of
unrepentance, planting the seeds of virtue, and weeding out the sinful
passions. God can be our Father if we let Christ be our shepherd, hearing and
recognizing His voice and following Him. Let us be like the wise virgins and
be ready and prepared for Christ the bridegroom who calls us to His wedding
feast each and every day. Amen!
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This insert is a
gift from our Byzantine School. We
invite you to join us on the last Thursday of each month at 6 pm, as we
explore the selection of liturgy “specials” for each week, and other issues
related to the liturgical services of our Church. Next mtg – 1/28/16! Please
consult the Sunday Bulletin for our regular announcements, or contact Tasos, ioanniam@yahoo.com or (937)232-9665.
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