Homily for the Commemoration of the Martyrs Faith, Hope, and Love and Their Mother Sophia
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
I congratulate you all on the commemoration of the martyrs Faith, Hope, and Love and their mother Sophia! They suffered in Rome in the second century. The eldest daughter, Faith, was twelve years old; Hope was nine, and the youngest, Love, was seven. Their mother Sophia named them after the Christian virtues. They courageously confessed Christ before their persecutors and tyrants and showed that they were true sufferers for Christ, conquerors of death. A martyr is not one who is tortured, but one who bears witness to God, conquering the world by the word of Christ. Christ is the only true way to the Heavenly Father. We know that witchcraft, magic, sorcery, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are all evil paths that do not lead to God.
There is only one way—the way of our Lord Jesus Christ—which saves people: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11–12).
The bearers of these three names of the virtues entered Heaven. Sophia did not bear the name “Wisdom” without reason, for she gave worthy names to her daughters. The whole path of salvation is contained in these names. Let us look closely at these sacred names and reflect upon them. Saint Faith is the image of that great virtue with which Christianity begins, and without which the love of Christ is impossible. People can never love in a godly manner if they do not know the Orthodox faith. The first thing with which we begin to be saved is faith.
Without faith it is impossible to please God, as the Apostle Paul says: “Without faith it is impossible to please God; for whoever comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Indeed, how can one go to God if one does not believe that He exists at all? The essential thing is not simply to believe in something, but to believe in the true God. When a person says that he believes in God, one must necessarily ask: which God? For there are altogether too many “gods” wandering through the various corners of our world, all of them horned and tailed, leading people far from where they ought to go. One moment you see the blue-faced Krishna, then the wrathful Allah, then Buddha, who destroys the individuality of man. We constantly encounter an enormous number of false “gods,” who destroy and annihilate man.
There is a remarkable book by an Indian named Rabindranath Maharaj called Death of a Guru, in which he describes how a Brahmin became a Christian. This Brahmin was an initiated person; he was not merely a theoretical believer, but engaged in spiritual practices at a very high level. His father was an atman—he had entered completely into nirvana. For a Hindu, this is the ideal, the summit of spiritual practice. This man repeatedly entered spiritual worlds, saw various spiritual beings, and encountered all the “gods” of the Indian and several other pantheons. They really do exist—not a piece of wood, not an idol, but the spirit that stands behind the idol. They showed him an apparent spiritual beauty, apparent power, and apparent strength; they staged various spectacles and performances for him. But one thing struck him: no matter how much he interacted with these spiritual beings, he did not find a single one among them who was loving toward humanity or possessed even a little mercy.
As the Apostle Paul said: “Although there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, for there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him” (1 Corinthians 8:5–6).
Indeed, there are many false “gods”—evil spirits, rebellious angels who present themselves as gods and seek to destroy man by deceiving him. But among them there is not a single one who is merciful and loving toward humanity. Faith is the first thing that is necessary, but faith must be rational and clear-sighted. We know the God in whom we have believed; we have received the heavenly Spirit; we have found the true faith; we worship the undivided Trinity because She has saved us. Faith must be Orthodox, correct; we must know from where the divine Revelation comes. We do not need the faith of men; we need the faith of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We need the pure faith revealed by the Holy Trinity. We need nothing more, for this will be sufficient for us. Therefore, we believe as the Church believed, having received this faith from God the Father through Jesus Christ, His Son, in the Holy Spirit. This faith was handed down by the Apostles, the Martyrs, and all the Saints.
How do we determine this? This faith is contained in Holy Scripture and the Tradition of the Church. Faith is what all the Saints taught. Three characteristics—universality, perpetuity, and ubiquity—define the Sacred Tradition of the Orthodox Church, through which we can understand the principal source of our faith, Holy Scripture.
Protestants are right that the whole of the faith comes from Scripture, but they err in trying to understand it without the Church, and in the end do not understand it at all. They are mistaken in that they do not understand Scripture. There is also faith as trust in the Creator, who will never fail us. This faith is attained through experience.
As the Apostle Paul said: “But we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; perseverance, experience; experience, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3–5).
Faith is trust in God, who never fails, unlike human beings. The Word of God forbids us to place our trust in people: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:5).
And trust gives birth to the second virtue, without which Christianity is impossible—the second daughter of Saint Sophia, Saint Hope. There are no hopeless people, for those who are hopeless take their own lives. It is impossible to live without hope. But our hope is not in people, nor in the state, but in the One who never deceives, in the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, His eternal and beginningless Father, and the Holy Life-giving Spirit. Our hope in Them never disappoints us.
God is always with those who hope in Him: “Blessed are all who put their trust in Him” (Psalm 2:12). Happy are those who hope in God. The Proverbs of Solomon say: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10). The Book of Psalms requires us to read it every day, and in it we are told: “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever” (Psalm 124:1).
If we hope in God, then we know that the mighty hand of God can pull us out of any abyss. One who hopes in God is always steadfast, because the steadfastness of Almighty God flows into his heart. One who hopes in God begins to understand that the love of God will not abandon him. From hope is born love.
The third daughter of Saint Sophia is Saint Love. This is the greatest virtue, the heart of the gospel, without which we are nothing.
As the Apostle Paul said: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I am sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and possess all knowledge, and have all faith, so that I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind; love does not envy, love does not boast, it is not proud, it does not behave improperly, it does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it does not think evil, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails, though prophecies will cease, tongues will be silenced, and knowledge will pass away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part” (1 Corinthians 13:1–9).
Holy love is born from hope. Love is not sex, as many people think, foolishly taking the echo for the original. True divine love is not born of the flesh, but of the spirit, from the heart and the depths of the human person. Man cannot bring it into being by himself; it is born when the Spirit of God touches the depths of the human person, and the person becomes filled with divine love, which reigns beyond the world in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. This is that very love which moves all the luminaries in Heaven, which created us, which sent the Son of God into the world to save us from the curse of death. This is the love for which it is worth living, and whoever has not experienced the love of Christ has lived in vain, while the one who has experienced the love of Christ fears nothing except the danger of losing this love.
The Apostle Paul says wonderfully: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither Angels nor Principalities nor Powers, neither things present nor things to come, neither height nor depth, nor any other creature, can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).
The love of God, poured out into our hearts, brings us out of even the deepest abysses of evil. Even if a person who hopes in God should stumble, God will raise him up. If only he strives toward Him, trusts Him, hopes in Him, and loves Him.
Love is the virtue that will remain forever. Saint Faith and Saint Hope, the martyrs, will always be in Heaven, but faith and hope themselves will not exist in eternity. After the end of the world, there will no longer be believers: why believe when you see? Nor will there be those who hope: why hope when hope has been fulfilled? But there will be only the eternal love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, into which those who have loved God now enter. Whoever has loved God can do all things. As Blessed Augustine said: “Love God and do what you will.” The love of God will teach you everything.
Let us walk along this most beautiful and sweetest path traced out by the most wise Sophia, who bears the name of Christ Himself, for the name Sophia means the Wisdom of God—it is the name of Christ Himself. Let us follow this path, and may Saints Faith, Hope, and Love and their mother, Saint Sophia, through their prayers and through the faith, hope, and love they embody, strengthen us along the way, instruct us through their wisdom, and lead us into the Heavenly Kingdom, where only love reigns.
May the Lord save you!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
