Homily on the Nativity Fast and Holy Communion
By Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
(Delivered on November 30, 1986)
By Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
(Delivered on November 30, 1986)
During these days of the Nativity Fast, which lead us to the celebration of the Lord's Incarnation, the Church, through the words of Christ Himself, warns us sternly and clearly. In today's Parable of the Foolish Rich Man, Christ speaks of barnfuls of material wealth; yet we are all rich in very different ways, and not necessarily primarily in material terms. How firmly we rely on our relationship with God, what a reliable support we find in the words of the Gospel – the words of Christ Himself, in the teachings of the Apostles, in our Orthodox faith! And the longer we live, the more thoughts and knowledge we accumulate, and our own hearts become increasingly richer in feelings in response to the beauty of God's word.
But it is not this that saves us: it is the power of God, the grace of God, which gradually teaches us and is capable of cleansing and transforming us. Yet, although God grants us His grace without limit, we are able to receive His gifts only in very small measure. We are almost incapable of opening our hearts to grace; our determination falters; we lack the courage to follow the path we ourselves have chosen because it is so beautiful and life-giving.
The Apostle Paul gives us an image: we are like withered branches grafted, wound to wound, onto the life-giving tree, which is Christ. Yes, we are grafted – but how much life-giving sap can penetrate the vessels of the branch? How much life will be given and received? This depends on how open the vessels of the branch are and how freely the sap can flow into them – and that depends on us.
Now comes the time of fasting and introspection, which will lead us and bring us face to face with God, who came in the flesh to save us. But His coming is also a judgment, because it is impossible to meet God without standing before judgment. So will there be anything in us that is common, that unites us with the Son of God, who, out of sacrificial, self-giving love, offers Himself into our hands? Or will we have to stand before Him and say: I received Your gifts, but I bore no fruit – like the man in the parable who received a talent and buried it in the ground? Will we be like those invited to the royal son’s wedding feast who refused to come: one because he had bought a field, aspiring to become a landowner, yet the land enslaved him; or another, who was busy with affairs of the land and had no time to turn away from his work for God, to be with Him; or like the man who found a bride to his liking, yet in his heart there was no room to share in the joy of the royal bridegroom.
This parable will be read at the end of the Christmas Fast, just before the coming of the Savior, and how shall we prepare for it? Shall we continue to accumulate without bearing fruit?
Fasting does not mean that one should beg God more persistently than usual; fasting does not mean that one should attend Communion more frequently than usual. Fasting is a time when we must stand before the face of God’s judgment, listen to the voice of our conscience, and refrain from Communion if we cannot receive it worthily. And to receive it worthily means that before each Communion, we must reconcile with those with whom we are in discord; we must examine the thoughts of our mind and heart that expose us in betrayal of God and unfaithfulness to people — and take steps in this regard; we must reconcile with the Living God so that it does not turn out that He died for us in vain. Therefore, our task now is to think deeply about ourselves, subject ourselves to relentless, strict judgment, and approach Communion through confession, repentance, and a thorough examination of our own lives, so as not to be condemned by recklessly approaching the Holy Table.
And this implies several simple, yet necessary things: one must not approach Communion if they are late for the beginning of the liturgy; one must not approach Communion without having prepared oneself during the preceding week with prayer, an examination of conscience, and the Rule before Communion. If the Rule is too long to be read on Saturday evening after the All-Night Vigil, its prayers can be distributed throughout the week, attaching them to the evening and morning prayer rule. In any case, the discipline required of us at all times must be even stricter during these days. The Orthodox Church teaches that those wishing to partake in Communion must attend the All-Night Vigil on Saturday evening, in order to prepare for the encounter with the Lord on the day of His Resurrection.
All of this is not merely formal, disciplinary "rules"; these are exhortations that guide us by the hand into the depths of spiritual life, toward a more worthy — or at least less unworthy — encounter with the Lord.
Let us therefore now enter into the Nativity Fast and prepare ourselves with strict discipline of the mind, carefully examining the movements of the heart: how we relate to others, to ourselves, to God, and how we learn from the Church the practices of prayer, worship, and obedience to God's commandments.
And let us also pay more careful attention than we usually do to observing the physical rules of fasting. They are designed to help us shake off laxity and indulgence in our weaknesses, to awaken sensitivity and alertness within us, and to prevent us from becoming entrenched in our earthliness, which hinders our ascent to God.
Observe these rules, prepare diligently throughout the entire Nativity Fast, awaiting the coming of the Lord, but not passively, rather in that state of attentive vigilance with which a sentinel awaits the arrival of his Queen or King. Let us remember that being in the presence of God is the greatest honor, the holiest thing that can happen to us; it is not our “right,” but the highest honor bestowed upon us by God, and let us conduct ourselves accordingly! Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
