Homily for the Twelfth Sunday of Matthew (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

Homily for the Twelfth Sunday of Matthew, 

or Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

On Christian Perfection

By St. Cleopa of Sihastria

“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give them to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; afterward, come and follow Me” (Matthew 19:21).

Beloved faithful,

The ideal of every Christian on earth is the salvation of the soul, that is, the attainment of eternal life. Until the Incarnation and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, no one could be saved, for Paradise was closed and the grace of the Holy Spirit had not been poured out upon the world. Therefore, all the righteous of the Old Testament awaited the deliverance of their souls through the death and Resurrection of the Son of God.

Salvation, according to the teaching of the Holy Gospel and of the Orthodox Church, is attained through keeping the commandments given by God to mankind, contained both in the Decalogue of the Old Law and in the New Testament, which is also called the Law of Grace. Every Christian who desires to be saved must fulfill these three conditions: to have right faith in God; to possess the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is given to all through the seven Holy Mysteries of the Church — Baptism, Chrismation, Confession, Holy Communion, Marriage, Priesthood, and Holy Unction — and to fulfill the commandments contained in the Holy Gospel. Without these three obligatory conditions, there is no salvation. If even one of them is lacking, a person cannot be saved and loses his soul, “which is more precious than the whole world.”

This is salvation by the way of the commandments, which is common and obligatory for all people who believe in God and desire to inherit eternal life. But there is also another path of salvation, much more difficult, namely, the path of Christian perfection, upon which all the saints, apostles, martyrs, hierarchs, and venerable ascetics have walked. Because it is not obligatory but voluntary, it is called in the Holy Gospel the way of the evangelical counsels. Those who ordinarily follow this path are monks, hermits, widows, and Christians who have a special calling from God and a particular devotion to prayer, fasting, abstinence, prostrations, tears, and complete poverty in material things. This is the path of holiness, deification, and mystical union with Christ.

In order to understand these two paths of salvation more clearly, let us briefly recall the text of today's Gospel.

A rich young man approached Jesus Christ and asked Him: “Good Teacher, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” And the Lord answered him: “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments!” And He reminded him of several of the commandments of the Decalogue: “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” But the young man was a religious and upright person. Therefore he answered Christ: “I have kept all these things from my youth.” (Matthew 19:16–20)

These are some of the principal commandments that ensure the salvation of all who walk this path. And the young man in the Gospel kept them faithfully. How many young people today still fulfill the commandments of God with such faith? How many of your sons and daughters still obey you, go regularly to church, go to Confession, receive the Holy Mysteries, pray in the evening and in the morning, and guard themselves against drunkenness and sexual immorality?

But the young man in the Gospel was not spiritually satisfied. He felt that his soul desired something more, namely, a higher life, fully united with Christ. Therefore he asked: “What do I still lack?” Up to this point, he had followed the way of the commandments, which is obligatory for everyone. From this point begins the way of perfection, the spiritual ascent toward Christ, which is not easy to traverse.

And here is what the Savior Christ answered him: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, give them to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; afterward, come and follow Me” (Matthew 19:20–21). Christ required two things from the young man who desired perfection: that he renounce material possessions by distributing his wealth to the poor, and that he follow Christ, leaving behind his home, relatives, and all earthly cares. Whoever does not ascend both steps of perfection — renunciation of transient things, that is, voluntary poverty, and following Christ — cannot reach the stage of perfection. If we do only one and not the other, we cannot follow Christ.

Without a spiritual rebirth, without stripping ourselves of our passions and worldly cares, we cannot clothe ourselves with the garment of a new life in Christ. How many people in the world are poor, and even without families, yet do not follow Christ with all their hearts because they cannot renounce their hidden passions: thoughts of pride, vainglory, sexual immorality, love of money, laziness, and, above all, self-will. Whoever does not renounce his own will and the hidden passions within his mind and heart cannot do the will of Christ, nor can he bear Christ within his heart, which is filled with the idols of the passions. Such people cannot ascend the ladder of Christian perfection.

Among these was the rich young man in the Gospel, who, when he heard that he was required to give his possessions to the poor in order to follow Christ, returned sorrowfully to his home.

Beloved faithful,

Keeping the commandments of the Law, together with right faith in Christ, brings about the salvation of man, but it does not make him perfect. This is shown by the great Apostle Paul when he says: “The Law made nothing perfect” (Hebrews 9:9; 10:1). Hearing the Savior say, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10), we must understand from this that one is the condition of those who enter into life, that is, who are saved, and another is the condition of those who desire to have even more life, that is, of those who are perfect. “Those who are saved inherit eternal life, whereas those who are perfect not only are saved, but inherit the treasures of divine glory in heaven” (Kyriakodromion, p. 388, Bucharest, 1875).

Through transgressing the commandments, man lost Paradise; but through the sacrifice and redemption of our Savior Jesus Christ, the human race has inherited heaven. Therefore, in the Holy Gospel, the Savior did not say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Paradise,” but “the Kingdom of Heaven”; nor did He say, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Paradise,” but “the Kingdom of Heaven.” Thus our most gracious Savior and God was pleased to give, through His sacrifice and redemption, more than we lost at the beginning through the envy of the devil. Truly, here the word has been fulfilled which says: “Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).

The fact that there are different degrees of glory in heaven for those who are saved is also shown to us by the Holy Apostle Paul, who says: “There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory” (1 Corinthians 15:41). The Savior Himself also indicated this when He said: “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places” (John 14:2).

The Divine Father Ephraim the Syrian, explaining the distinction among these dwelling places of the saints in heaven, says:

“The many dwelling places of the Father, as the Savior declares, indicate the measure of the mind of those who dwell in heaven, that is, the divisions and distinctions within which the righteous and the saints will delight with the mind in the age to come. For there are many dwelling places not because of a separation of places, but because of an order of gifts... For in the age that is to come, all the righteous will dwell in one joy, without separation, and each according to his measure will shine from one intelligible sun, and according to his worthiness will draw joy and gladness as from an air, a place, a throne, a vision, and a form. And no one will see the measure of him who surpasses him, nor of him who is below him, lest, seeing the surpassing gift of his friend, or his lack, this should become for him a cause of sorrow or sighing...”

Let us now return to our subject concerning the perfection of man. We hear our Savior say in the Holy Gospel: “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). In what does man's perfection consist on this earth? The Holy Apostle Paul answers this question when he says: “Love is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14). In other words, whoever possesses perfect love toward God and his neighbor has attained the great work of perfection in his life.

The same truth is shown to us by Saint Maximus the Confessor, who says:

“He who is perfect in love has reached the summit of dispassion and no longer knows the distinction between what is his and what belongs to another, or between his own and another’s, or between believer and unbeliever, slave and free, or, in general, between man and woman. Having been raised above the tyranny of the passions, and looking upon the one nature of mankind, he regards all alike and has the same love toward all. For in him there is no longer distinction, neither male nor female, neither slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Galatians 3:28).

Saint John Climacus said that “perfection is the resurrection of the soul before the resurrection of the body.”

Saint Niketas Stethatos says that perfection is “the restoration of the powers of the soul to the original state of human nature, as God created it according to His image and likeness, and very good, as it was in Paradise before the Fall.”

And Saint Isaac, when asked how one knows that he has reached the measure of perfection, says:

“When the remembrance of God moves in a man’s mind, immediately his heart is stirred toward love for Him, and his eyes shed abundant tears, for love arising from the remembrance of those whom one loves kindles tears. Such a person is never without tears, because he continually remembers God, so that even in his sleep he speaks of God. The love of God produces such things, which are a sign of the perfection of men in their life” (Philokalia, vol. X, Bucharest, 1981).

Beloved faithful,

Thus far we have spoken about the perfection or deification of man in the Orthodox Church, according to the Holy Gospel and the Holy Fathers. Now let us see how we understand perfection and how we can attain it today.

The perfection recommended by Christ in today’s Holy Gospel is most surely attained within monastic life. Since this Gospel is the sole foundation for the establishment of Christian monasticism, the ideal of perfection in faith, prayer, and love is realized especially in the monastic order. Do monks not voluntarily renounce wealth, honor, family, and all the freedom of earthly life, and, through the three monastic vows — obedience, voluntary poverty, and chastity — dedicate their bodies and souls to the service of Christ unto death? Monks have always made the greatest efforts and sacrifices for perfection.

This is demonstrated among us by the great number of monasteries and hermitages — more than a thousand, from the fourth century until today — the large number of hermits and solitary cells, as well as the great vocation that Romanians have always had for monasticism. Monastics are regarded as heroes of the Spirit. Through their sacrifice they have prayed for the world and for the country; in profound humility they have sacrificed themselves for the glory of God and the salvation of the children of this nation. They have struggled most intensely for perfection through humility, prayer, fasting, and self-sacrifice. They have defended Orthodoxy and the moral life among our faithful more than anyone else. Indeed, some of them have become charismatic spiritual fathers, experienced confessors with many spiritual children, venerable hierarchs, enlighteners, and distinguished servants of the Church and the nation.

It is enough to mention the venerables Daniel the Hesychast, Nicodemus of Tismana, Leontius of Rădăuți, Kyriakos of Bisericani, Venerable Theodora of Sihla, Saint Callinicus of Cernica, and, more recently, Venerable John Jacob of the Jordan. They sacrificed themselves out of love for God, and by their example they also exhort the faithful to live in the world a pure and humble Christian life, united with Christ.

But a Christian life that is elevated, holy, and devoted to Christ can also be lived within the family. What are those holy mothers, with many children raised in prayer and joy, if not women perfected in patience and love? What are those faithful people living pure lives in the world who take the path to monasteries, or who live in chastity and undefiled widowhood in villages and cities? And how many hidden Christians live in the world filled with holiness, peace, and mercy, burning with the love of God?

Let us zealously preserve the piety and personal example of our fathers and mothers, our monastics, spiritual fathers, and saints. Today, the person who is perfect is the one who prays without ceasing, who is at peace with all people, who shows mercy, humbles himself, and sacrifices himself for the defense of the true faith, for the proper upbringing of children, and for the salvation of all in Christ.

Let us ask the Son of God, the Savior of the world, to help us all on the path of perfection in love, faith, and prayer, for the glory of God and the salvation of our souls. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.