Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord!

In today’s Epistle reading, which was from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, we heard that we have, or should have, hope in the future life with God. We should glory, or rejoice, or maybe even be proud in this hope. This is of course very difficult, because the world around us is turning away from Christ and from Christian ideals and morals. There are even attacks on and persecutions of the faithful. All around us there are signs that the future holds no hope for Christianity, and therefore it seems that our salvation, and especially the salvation of our children, is doubtful. It’s somewhat difficult to be proud and joyful in hope.

After these introductory words about hope come unexpected words that seem to be written especially for us: “And not only so (rejoice in glory), but we glory in tribulation also.” The Apostle goes on to say that tribulations bring us joy, because through them we acquire patience, through patience experience, and through experience hope. We can probably prove this thought through our own experiences. Each of us has untangled a complicated situation. The main thing is to approach the problem with patience. With time we collect experiences and these naturally give us hope that ‘next time’ things will go more smoothly. The same principles hold true in the spiritual life. The Apostle Paul continues to show that we can glory in the hope of a bright future because we are beloved of God, who sent on us His Holy Spirit and died for the sake of us sinners. St. Paul explains this idea especially beautifully and expressively. Among people, it may be that someone could be found who is willing to die for a saint, but for a malefactor no one will sacrifice himself. But we violate God’s Law every single day and yet, despite this, the Lord gave His life for us.

Therefore, we can truly glory and rejoice and be proud of the hope that we have in the future glory in the Heavenly Kingdom. At the same time, let’s patiently carry those tribulations that we meet throughout our lives. St. Theophan the Recluse says that patience is composed of two parts: the inner and outer. The inner part is a constant state of kindness, whose characteristic is a pleasant demeanor. The outer part, which cannot exist without the inner, is the endurance in overcoming all hardships. Therefore, let’s not be melancholy, but alway try to have an upbeat mood, to calmly meet all troubles, and to have a great hope for the future life with Christ.

priest Alexis