Homily for the Sunday After the Baptism of the Lord
(On the Preaching of the Word of God)
By Saint Cleopa of Sihastria
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
(On the Preaching of the Word of God)
By Saint Cleopa of Sihastria
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
Beloved faithful,
One of the teachings of today’s Holy Gospel says: “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). The same words were spoken by Saint John the Baptist when he began to preach in the wilderness of the Jordan: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). The same message was also given to the Holy Apostles when they were sent to preach the gospel, for He said to them: “As you go, preach, saying: The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7).
Today’s divine Gospel says: “From that time Jesus began to preach…” (Matthew 4:17). But what does “from that time” mean? It means from the time when the holy and great Prophet John the Baptist was arrested and thrown into prison. This truth is shown by today’s Holy Gospel, which says: “Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee” (Matthew 4:12). But did the Savior depart to Galilee out of fear? By no means. Rather, He went to Galilee in order to begin preaching the gospel from there, according to the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah, who says: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:15–16).
Behold, then, the reason for the Savior’s coming to Galilee: the preaching of the gospel and the enlightenment of those who lay in darkness. For the preaching of the word of God in the world brings true light into the hearts of faithful people, who not only hear the word but also fulfill it by their deeds, according to the word of the Savior, who says: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28). The word of God brings great blessedness to those who listen to it and put it into practice. Otherwise, the word of the gospel brings condemnation instead of salvation.
But, my Christian brethren, who are obligated to preach the word of God in the Orthodox Church? Only the ministers of the Church — that is, bishops, priests, and canonically ordained deacons — have the authority and the right to preach the gospel of Christ. Laypeople, in special cases, may become missionaries as helpers of the clergy, only with the blessing of the respective hierarchs. Therefore, neither clergy nor laity may preach the word of God unless they are sent to this mission with the approval of the Church. The great Apostle Paul confirms this, saying: “And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:15). Only sects separated from the Church have fallen entirely into the opposite extreme, giving complete freedom to laypeople to preach the word of God without being sent and to explain Holy Scripture according to their own understanding. For this reason, today the world has been filled with heresies and sects, because all of these preach the word of Holy Scripture not according to its true meaning as explained by the Holy Fathers, but according to their own misguided minds, ruled by pride.
We cannot deny that there were also lay missionaries in the Church in the early centuries, who preached the word of God without being either priests or bishops. Such were the great Christian missionaries and apologists — learned men who defended the cause of Christianity before emperors and pagan philosophers in the second and third centuries — beginning with Quadratus, whom Eusebius, the Church historian, calls “the father of apologetics,” around the years 125–126. Then there was Aristides of Athens, around 125–130; then Ariston of Pella, the earliest written defender of Christianity against the Jews, around 134–135. Other famous apologists were: Saint Justin the Martyr and Philosopher (140–170); Tatian the Assyrian, around 170; the philosopher Hermias, who lived in the middle of the second century; Athenagoras, the Christian philosopher of Athens (around 170); Minucius Felix at the beginning of the third century; Tertullian of Carthage (160–240), and others. All these great Christian apologists and notable missionaries of the Church of Christ were laymen, but being very learned, they contributed greatly to the preaching of the gospel and to the defense of the true apostolic faith.
Thus, my brethren, we see that from the very beginning the Church of Christ also had lay missionaries who preached the word of God before emperors and philosophers and defended Christianity at the cost of their lives, as did Saint Justin the Martyr and Philosopher. Yet these men were very well grounded in the truth of the Orthodox faith, and therefore they brought great benefit to the Church of Christ through their enlightened teachings, filled with the light of truth.
What were the main conditions required of lay missionaries who defended the true faith? The first condition for lay missionaries in the Orthodox Church was that the one sent to preach the word of God be a proven Christian — pious, of pure life — and that he know well the dogmas of the Orthodox faith, since the dogmas are based on Holy and Divine Scripture and on the Holy Tradition of the Church of Christ.
Then, he had to know well the Holy Apostolic Canons, those of the Seven Ecumenical Synods, and those of the Holy Fathers, because the Holy Canons are norms that order and regulate the life of the Church as a special organism that leads the faithful on the path of salvation. Furthermore, those who preached the word of God among lay Christians were always under obedience to the Church, being sent, supervised, and subordinated to the hierarchs of the dioceses in which they worked. Without observing these principal and obligatory conditions, lay missionaries who worked outside the Church often contributed to the creation of sects and heresies, dividing the apostolic unity of the Church of Christ.
The primary duty of preaching the gospel of Christ, however, rests upon the shepherds of the Church — that is, the bishops and priests. To a lesser extent, it also falls upon deacons and monks, who assist in preaching the word, but in a secondary manner. The first to preach the holy gospel in the world was our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. That is precisely why He came to earth and is called the Word, for He proclaimed to all people by word the gospel of salvation, founded the Church and the seven Mysteries, and gave His life on the Cross to redeem the world from the bondage of death, unbelief, and condemnation. Then, ascending into heaven to the right hand of the Father, He entrusted the duty of preaching the word of God to the twelve great Apostles and to the seventy apostles, called lesser, to whom He commanded, saying: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19–20).
The Apostles were the first preachers of the word of God in the Law of Grace. They ordained the first priests and bishops, whom they appointed everywhere to shepherd the flock of Christ. And through the bishops, grace has been transmitted by prayer and the laying on of hands down to this day and for as long as the world shall last.
Beloved faithful,
In the Church of Christ, priests preach the word of God the most, because they are all their lives in the midst of the faithful. They are witnesses of our lives from birth until death. They are the spiritual fathers of our villages and parishes. On the way parish priests fulfill their apostolic mission — on how they serve the holy services, especially the Holy Liturgy, on how they preach the word of the Holy Gospel, and above all on how they live their lives within the great family of our Orthodox faithful — depends the salvation of both themselves and their flock.
In their great evangelical mission, the preaching of the word of God has a very important role. A good priest must also be a good preacher, knowing that through a living, warm sermon, full of grace and light, a priest can completely transform a parish and the body of his parishioners. But in order for his sermon to reach the hearts of the faithful and to have the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the soul and turn it to repentance, the priest must fulfill several absolutely mandatory spiritual conditions.
The first and most important condition that crowns the pastoral activity of a priest is his exemplary moral life and that of his family. Without a pure and exemplary life on the part of the priest, his sermon will not succeed in reaching the hearts of the faithful, nor will it be able to win many souls for the Kingdom of Heaven.
The second obligatory condition for a priest and good preacher is holy prayer. The priest must be a man of prayer, loving above all else the church, the holy services, the Holy Liturgy, and the common singing of the faithful. The priest’s persistent prayer, united with that of his faithful, increases his faith and love for God and for people, makes him wiser in thought and preaching, opens his heart to philanthropyapolog, and gives him much power and grace in preaching. A priest who prays much is a priest full of grace in all things and a good preacher of the word of God.
The third principal condition of a good priest and preacher is the need for deep knowledge of Holy Scripture, of the Holy Fathers, of Orthodox doctrine, and of the Canons of the Church. A good shepherd must also be a good theologian and a defender of the true faith against sectarian proselytism. Without knowledge of the true faith, a priest cannot be a preacher or an apologist.
Who does not know that a good priest spiritually transforms his faithful through beautiful services, persistent catechesis, and good sermons full of spiritual warmth? Who does not know that a good sermon fills churches and monasteries with the faithful, defends and strengthens the true faith, disperses sectarian proselytism, and brings many souls to repentance? But churches without beautiful services and without sermons full of spirit and power are emptied of the faithful and cannot win souls for Christ.
Or who does not know how much our monasteries help, through their uplifting services, through preaching and through their spiritual fathers, in strengthening the Orthodox faith and increasing piety in our villages and cities? Local pilgrimages to monasteries during feasts, fasts, and especially on patronal feasts are a clear testimony to this. In this way, monasteries and their spiritual fathers collaborate with parish priests in the preaching of the word of God, in the confession of the Orthodox faith, and in the salvation of our good faithful.
With today’s Sunday, the great feasts of the Nativity and the Baptism of the Lord come to an end. We have peacefully concluded yet another year of our lives and have begun a new one, for which we thank God for all His gifts and ask Him to strengthen us with grace, mercy, and blessing, so that we may pass our entire life with repentance and good deeds on the path of salvation.
Today we have spoken about the priest’s duty to preach the word of God and about the main conditions that help him to be a worthy priest and a good preacher.
We know how many good priests and renowned preachers there are in our parishes in Moldavia, Transylvania, and other parts of the country. But the faithful also have a duty to help the priests, to listen to them, to pray for them, and not to judge them, for the faithful commit a great sin when they think and speak ill of the servants of God and of their spiritual fathers. Do not the priests baptize you, marry you, and bury you? Do not the priests hear your confessions and unite you with Christ through Holy Communion? Do they not celebrate the Holy Liturgy in every church and pray to God for peace, health, forgiveness, and the salvation of the souls of the living and the departed? Do they not teach the faithful the true faith?
Therefore, let us not judge them, but rather help them in their priestly mission and pray much for them. It is very good and necessary for each priest to have a small group of faithful laypeople who know Holy Scripture and the Orthodox faith. They help the priest greatly in carrying out his missionary activities, in combating and limiting sectarian proselytism, in visiting and helping elderly believers, orphans, the sick, and those weak in faith, in beautifying the services, and in renewing our holy churches.
And now, my brethren, let us listen to the word of the Lord while we still have time for repentance. Behold, Christ our Savior has begun to preach the gospel in Galilee. Saint John the Baptist preaches repentance in the wilderness of the Jordan; all the Saints speak to us about God in their writings; the priests, monks, and hierarchs of the Church teach us the path of salvation and defend Orthodoxy from the pulpits of the churches. The Son of God is sacrificed daily on the holy altars during the Holy Liturgy, and the Lord now calls us at the beginning of the year to a new life in Christ, saying: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” Therefore let us awaken, let us come and repent, so that we may live with Christ forever. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
