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HOW DO WE CELEBRATE THE SAINTS?
“…Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of (ἐκζητηθήσεται) this generation.” (Lk 11: 47-51)
How chilling, that in this series of “woes” on the Pharisees and lawyers, the Lord equates their “building the tombs of the prophets” with condoning the killing of the prophets. Clearly, our Lord knew that the usual meaning behind“building a tomb” of a prophet, – just like financing a church-building in honor of certain martyrs, – is to honor the martyrs, and not their killers or persecutors. But in the case of the “building-projects” of the Pharisees and lawyers, our Lord sees the hearts of the builders, filled not with the Spirit “Who spoke by the prophets,” but with enmity to Him and His truth-tellers, including Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Prophets that now stood before them, in the flesh, and Whom they intended to kill.
So, in our Church’s reading for this November 1, when many Christians celebrate the feast of All Saints, I’m reminded of the fact that our external veneration of the saints is also to be aligned with being “on their side” in Spirit. I’m also reminded not to be discouraged in our day, when we see churches being erected by those who persecute the truth-tellers of our time; when we see how the Patriarch of our own church is building more and more new churches in Moscow, while defrocking and persecuting our truth-telling priests; while blessing the destruction of churches and people in Ukraine; while condoning the imprisonment and/or execution of journalists and others who testify against all this. But God doesn’t “forget” those He sends us, as Christ tells us above, however marginalized and forgotten they may be today, and just as we, ultimately, will not forget them, but will celebrate their memory. All Saints, pray to God for us!
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A timely reflection, indeed, from the indomitable Sister Vassa! A much-needed prophetic voice within the Church! Please be sure to read her final paragraph very carefully and all that it implies for the Church's witness - or is that lack of witness - to the world. When it comes to the Spirit-inspired saints, we need to be "on their side" as we read above - even when that is unpopular. Are "truth-tellers" becoming a rare phenomenon? That would be a real loss, for that is the way of Christ.
