Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feasts of the Resurrection of the Lord and the memory of the Prophet Zachariah, the father of St. John the Forerunner!

Today we heard not one excerpt from the Gospel, but two. The first was the daily reading, that which is always read on the 14th Sunday after Pentecost; it was followed by the second, which is read on the days of the commemoration of the prophets (those saints who lived before the birth of our Saviour). The words of the Lord, both from the first reading as well as from the second, are rather harsh and pointed. This is, of course, not a coincidence, because both excerpts are taken from the same lengthy discussion that Jesus Christ led in the Temple after His triumphant entry into Jerusalem and immediately before His crucifixion. The Saviour tried for the final time to convince the Jews that He is in truth the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah. He endeavoured to do this through parables, which became more and more pointed. One of these parables, about the wedding feast, we heard today. When these, though pointed but at the same time delicate, calls were not heeded, when there was no repentance nor turning of the Jewish priests, pharisees, and scribes to Christ, Jesus began to openly and straight-forwardly denounce the Jews.

Although these words are very cutting, they are called for, because the Jews had truly received everything necessary to recognize Christ, and despite this, they in the end killed not only the prophets, but also the Saviour, the incarnate God. Christ notes that the pharisees, priests, and Jewish elite of His time were filled with such hatred that they were guilty of the blood of all the Old Testament saints, from Abel to Zacharias son of Barachias; that is, they were capable, because of their spiritual state of mind, to repeat all the crimes of the Old Testament. It is interesting to note that although many of the exegetes consider Zacharias, the son of Barachias, to be the father of John the Forerunner, not all of the holy fathers are of the same opinion. Some of them, such as Jerome, think that this Zacharias is the one we hear about in the Second Book of Chronicles, while others maintain that this is Zacharias of the twelve minor prophets.

Today’s second Gospel reading ends with the emotional words of the Lord that despite the anger of the Jews, He very much wished to gather them all around Himself, as a hen gathers her chicks, but they did not wish this and therefore, He is leaving them.

We should, of course, accept this Gospel reading not simply as a memorial of the struggles of the Old Testament saints, but as a message sent directly to us. We faithful Orthodox Christians are the New Israel, the new chosen people. We are given not only the Old Testament, the words of the prophets, but also the New Testament, the very words of the Saviour and His apostles. In addition to this, the Grace of the All-Holy Spirit is sent down to us to enliven us and direct us towards God; that is, we are given innumerably more from God than the Jews were given. If Christ attempted to gather the Jews around Himself like a hen her chicks, so much more is this true of us. Today, let’s not forget this and put aside our passions and sins which separate us from the Creator, let’s submit to the will of God, and gather around Him.

priest Alexis