May: Day 25: Teaching 1: The Third Finding of the Head of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

May: Day 25: Teaching 1:
The Third Finding of the Head of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John
 
(Why Does the Lord Grant Incorruptibility to the Bodies of the Saints?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today the Third Finding of the Head of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John is celebrated. During the times of unrest in Constantinople on the occasion of the exile of Saint John Chrysostom, the Head of the Forerunner of the Lord was taken back from Constantinople to Emesa in Syria. When the persecution from the Saracens intensified (in the 8th century), it was transferred from Emesa to Comana (the place of exile of John Chrysostom) and on the occasion of the persecution of the holy relics from the iconoclasts, they were hidden in the ground.

But by God’s arrangement, the Head of the Forerunner was found for the “third” time in Comana and brought to Constantinople after the restoration of icon veneration under Emperor Michael and Patriarch Ignatios around 850 and placed in the court church.

On the day of the third discovery of the Honorable Head of the Forerunner, the church cries out: "As a divine treasure, hidden in the earth, Christ revealed your head to us, Prophet and Forerunner. Therefore, having all come together at this discovery, let us sing to the Savior with God-inspired songs, who saves us from corruption by your prayers."

II. Thus, on this day the Holy Church blesses the memory of one of the greatest of God's chosen ones, Saint John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, whose Holy Head, despite its threefold concealment in the earth, was three times revealed by God's arrangement and revealed to believers as a Divine treasure; it is preserved incorruptible from generation to generation amidst the surrounding decay and death, and, like an inexhaustible source, pours forth the power of miracles and healings for all who come to it with faith.

Why does the Lord grant such a reward to His chosen ones now, before that day which His wisdom has ordained from eternity, so that each one may receive what he has done with his body, either good or evil?

Not so much for the righteous themselves, who have already reached the heavenly fatherland, as for us, who are still wandering in the place of our arrival. Their true reward is with the Most High, and the glorification from men, which they fled in their lives, does not, without a doubt, add much to that eternal glory with which they are glorified by God; but for us, earthly wanderers, the unceasing miracle of the incorruptibility of the bodies of the holy saints of God is inexplicably comforting and instructive.

a) The incorruptibility of holy relics convinces us that death has been conquered. The light of Christ's Resurrection has illuminated the impenetrable darkness of the grave before the whole world. The Holy Apostles saw and preached to the world that the dominion of the devil was overthrown by the Cross and the kingdom of death destroyed by the Resurrection of Christ. But this unfading light, in the darkness that surrounds us, often grows dim before our eyes. Wavering faith still asks in bewilderment: where is the victory over death, when it itself conquers everyone, when even after the Resurrection of Christ people die just as they died before, and "no one is known who returned from the grave?" Our Lord Jesus Christ resolved this perplexity with His divine promises. "I am the resurrection and the life," He says to us, "he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live. The hour is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live.”

But when will this be and how will it be? How will the dead rise, and with what body will they come? Such questions involuntarily crowd in the soul when you see that a person’s body is turning into a handful of dust, blown away by the wind. Is it surprising that the most comforting promises of the Gospel are covered, as it were, with a certain darkness in the eyes of those with little faith? To dispel this darkness, to revive in us faith in the promises of the Gospel, the Lord deigns to show in His Church the constant miracle of incorruption amidst universal decay and death. Now one glance at the perishable, in its essence, body, which through the grace of God remains incorruptible for whole centuries, destroys all doubts. Here you do not only believe, but you see that for the Almighty all things are possible. In this miracle there is no room for questions: is immortality of the body possible and how is it possible? Come and see, touch and believe! Not some alien body, but one similar to us, according to the word of God, remains incorruptible even after death; according to the same almighty word, our “corruptible body will clothe itself in incorruption, and this mortal will clothe itself in immortality,” and death itself, no matter how terrible it is now, will be devoured by life.

b) The incorruptibility of holy relics further teaches us to live a pious life in this world. Not only death, but also our life is covered with no small darkness, for the dispersal of which light from above is constantly needed. Who are we and where are we from? Why are we born and live? What will happen to us after death? How to live and act in accordance with our essence and the purpose of our existence? Such questions, which so irresistibly crowd into the soul during hours of solitary conversation with one’s conscience, have always remained and will always remain an insoluble riddle for the human mind. True, the Lord God, who deigned to redeem us from death, did not leave us in ignorance of our life. He sent us “the true light that enlightens every man coming into the world,” revealed to us the purpose of our existence in Himself, and pointed out the direct and true path to it in His law. But our cunning enemy has arranged many crossroads of vice, smooth and pleasant to look at. Heavenly blessedness is hidden from us by the impenetrable curtain of death, but the pleasures and blessings of the world are always before our eyes. The righteous most often spend their lives in deprivation, sorrow and tears, while sinners enjoy themselves and are blessed. What heart would not waver at this deception! How much courage is needed to withstand these wiles of the enemy! What strength of faith is needed to, despising the visible, with all the strength of the spirit strive for the invisible! And so, the merciful Lord, to strengthen our weakness, to revive our faith in the future life, in the incorruptibility of the bodies of His holy saints deigns to show us visible and tangible proof of those rewards that await after death all who do His will. Now we do not only believe, but also see that there is not one end for the righteous and the sinner, that the hope of the righteous for immortality is fulfilled, but the paths of sinners look straight to the bottom of hell. Standing at the grave of the righteous, one cannot waver in the choice between the path of virtue and salvation and the path of vice and destruction. And the foolish will say that it is better to be blessed forever than to taste the temporary sweetness of sin.

III. The Lord shows us so much mercy, love and condescension, glorifying in His Church the righteous who have pleased Him by the incorruptibility of their holy relics.  

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.