Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the resurrection of the Lord, the day of the memory of St. Mary of Egypt, as well as with the final Sunday of Great Lent!

Where last week’s Gospel excerpt finished with a mentioning of the crucifixion of our Saviour and His resurrection, today both at the beginning of the reading as well as at the end we heard about how Jesus Christ told His beloved disciples about the Cross and Resurrection. There are but a few days left until Holy Week; therefore it behooves us also to focus our attention on the coming salvific memorials.

Between mentioning the Cross and Resurrection we heard how two of the foremost disciples of the Lord, John and James, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him and asked that he grant them the best positions in the future Jewish government, and how the rest of the apostles grew resentful because of this. Although Christ repeatedly, openly, and clearly declared to the apostles that He would die, they stubbornly held on to the idea that an earthly kingdom for the Jews was on the horizon, that Jesus would head this kingdom, and that His disciples would become His advisors. To a certain point we can understand James and John’s desire to stand at the forefront of this kingdom. Along with Peter, they really were the best, most favoured, and most devoted disciples of the Saviour. Who if not they should fill the most coveted positions?

To be the closest advisor to the king means to be protected from all dangers, to have the chance to live a calm and comfortable life. The Holy Hierarch John Chrysostom thought that it was about this that the brothers asked Jesus, i. e. about a calm life here on earth. In answer to such requests Christ hints to the brothers that to be in close proximity to Him means to share with Him His cup and be baptized with His baptism, that is, to accept sorrows for His sake. All of the apostles he admonishes with such words: “Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”

We could say that all of us are, in some regard, similar to the apostles John and James. Although we sin, although we are not always obedient to the words of our Lord, without a doubt we love Him and are devoted to Him, while at the same time having a strong desire to live a calm and comfortable life. On this final Sunday of Great Lent, let’s take heed of the words of today’s Gospel reading and remember that all of the apostles and saints drank from the cup that Christ drank from and were baptized with His baptism. For these struggles they inherited places on the right and left of the King, not in an earthly but in a heavenly and eternal kingdom. We should also expect that there will be sorrows and troubles in our earthly lives, that we will be compelled against our will to serve others. When these moments come up, let’s try to meet them calmly so as to acquire in the Heavenly Kingdom places in close proximity to Christ.

priest Alexis