June: Day 7: Holy Hieromartyr Marcellinus, Pope of Rome

June: Day 7:
Holy Hieromartyr Marcellinus, Pope of Rome
 
(On the Long-suffering of God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Hieromartyr Marcellinus, Pope of Rome, who is celebrated today, ruled the Church for 5½ years. Despite the persecution that was raging at that time, he fearlessly supported Christians and spread the faith of Christ.

“Why do you kill the servants of God who pray for your kingdom?” Marcellinus once addressed the Emperor Diocletian himself, meeting him riding in a chariot, followed by the Christian Kyriakos in chains – for the sake of intimidation of other confessors.

For these words the Christian bishop was tortured and condemned to tend cattle. Freed by Christians, he secretly continued to govern the Church and, having consecrated the church, which was a luxurious house in the middle of Rome of a rich and noble Roman woman, the widow Lucina, a Christian, he held services in this house, which became the cathedral church in Rome. Having learned of this, the emperor ordered the consecrated house to be converted into stables for animals and kept cattle there, and condemned the Saint for the rest of his life to tend these cattle under the supervision of guards. The Saint languished here for nine months, enduring all kinds of abuse, having no comfort, deprived of any rest and even necessary food and clothing. Finally, exhausted from suffering, he died (around 310).

Presbyter John and the clergy carried the body of the Saint to the tomb of Priscilla and buried it.

II. When I tell you of the terrible insults and humiliations which the pagan emperor inflicted on the holy temple, turning it into a stable for animals, and of the sufferings and abuse which he inflicted on the holy bishop, forcing him to tend the cattle, who among you, brethren, will not ask the sorrowful question of the heart: “How long, O Lord, do you tolerate the desecration of the sanctity of your temple and of your holy servants? How is it that, being Just and Righteous, you do not punish and destroy immediately all impiety and unrighteousness? How is it that, being the almighty Head of the Church, you tolerate the desecration and humiliation of your members, subjecting them to the temptations and trials of an adulterous and sinful generation?”

The answer to these questions we will find, brethren, in that quality of God by which He is called “long-suffering.”

The long-suffering of God is a great mystery, brethren. Even the holy angels do not fully comprehend this profound mystery of God's long-suffering. Indignant at human malice and sins, they beseech the Lord for permission to destroy the wicked, who offend the greatness and holiness of God with their evil deeds, to uproot these unclean tares from among the living and cast them into Gehenna: 'Do you wish us to go and cast them out?' But the most merciful and compassionate Lord speaks to them: "No, do not uproot the tares, lest you also uproot the wheat with them; let both grow together until the harvest." All the saints who stand before the throne of God in heaven, as the seer depicts, cry out to God day and night: "How long, O Holy and Righteous Master, until You avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" But the unfathomable long-suffering of God responds to them: "Rest a little while longer, until the number of your fellow servants and brethren is completed."

Why is He patient?

a) Because, firstly, the most wicked sinners are, as human beings, the work of God's hands. And upon them is imprinted the all-holy image of the Heavenly Father, and for them the greatest and holiest sacrifice has been offered to divine justice – the crucified death of the Only Begotten Son of God, and for them has been shed the Divine blood, "as the Lamb unblemished and pure" – "Christ." Thus, the very truth of God demands that there be "not the death of the sinner, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." Consequently, the mercy of God spares even the great sinners, until their measure of sins is filled up, until all hope of their conversion and repentance is exhausted, until they become hardened to the end and fit only for the fire of Gehenna.

b) Because, secondly, the Lord tolerates the temporary exaltation of sinners and the humiliation of the righteous, as He has eternity to account for humanity, and the rewards and punishments of the life to come are infinite. Thus, justice itself requires patience, so that "the holy may be sanctified still further, and the righteous may continue to act righteously," amidst all the temptations and trials of the world, to be purified like gold in the furnace, to become worthy of that highest glory, by which the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father, so that "the wrongdoer may wrong again and the unclean may be further defiled," to be deemed worthy of that eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels.

c) Because, the Lord finally is patient and merciful towards the fallen and corrupt human race because His omniscience knows the number of the chosen not only among those who are still wandering, either in ignorance of the truth or in the blindness of passions, and who, through the grace of God, can turn to repentance, but also among those who will arise from the most wicked and unbelieving lineage, and who can become true children of Abraham through faith and piety. Hence, the wisdom of God spares all, so that "in gathering the tares, He may not gather together the wheat with them"; the infinite love and mercy of God patiently waits until all that is sown, all that is being sown, and all that has yet to be sown in the field of God – the wheat – has grown and borne fruit.

Ah, if only every sinner could perceive with spiritual eyes, if only he could clearly see and understand why and for what purpose the Heavenly Father spares him with His long-suffering; he would fall to the dust before His inscrutable mercy, he would pour forth all his tears in gratitude for His ineffable goodness, he would spend the rest of his life in works and deeds of repentance, he would banish himself into the wilderness, wandering in the mountains, caves, and in the depths of the earth, to there mourn his sins and implore the Lord for forgiveness, just as truly repentant sinners have indeed acted.

Nevertheless, the unfathomable patience of God should not and must not provide any grounds for the carelessness of sinners, nor should it lead the righteous into despair: let not the former boast of their supposed triumph on earth, nor let the latter be ashamed of the Lord and His words in this adulterous and sinful generation. "Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to his works," says He, "whose words are true and amen. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His words shall not pass away."

III. Thus, "the Lord is not slow to keep His promise, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Finally, the measure of human iniquity and lawlessness will be filled, and the time of God's long-suffering will come to an end. Both the wheat and the tares will have fully ripened in God's field, and the time for harvest will arrive. The predetermined time for humanity's repentance and good deeds will pass, and the day of judgment and retribution will come. “Then the Lord will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into a furnace of fire; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth: then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Then, my brethren, shall all the glory of the sons of God be revealed, and all the shame of the wicked. Then will heaven and earth see that the righteous man – humiliated, despised and mocked now – “was not worthy of the whole world”; that the fate of the sinner, no matter how great he may be and how blessed he may be on earth, is terrible! Such, my brethren, is a certain resolution of the mystery of God’s long-suffering. 

 

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