Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, the after-feast of the Dormition of the Most-Holy Mother of God, as well as with the day of the memory of the Holy Martyrs Florus and Laurus!

Today in the Gospel reading we heard how a certain pious young man approached our Lord Jesus Christ, called Him good, and asked the question: what should I do to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven? To this the Saviour answered that the youth should live according to the commandments. Christ even listed some of them, but this answer did not satisfy the zealous young man. Without a doubt, this youth was good man and throughout his short life had not sinned against the commandments that the Lord had listed, therefore his question was a logical one. The fact that the Saviour’s answers did not satisfy him is also understandable. The young man’s conscience suggested that he needed to struggle spiritually, but how exactly was this to be done, considering his pious upbringing and morally upright life, was not clear to him.

To clarify this situation, our Lord Jesus Christ took the final commandment that He had listed, “Love thy neighbour as thyself,” and showed that the young man could fulfill it in a more perfect manner. The Saviour said: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor.” One can love one’s nieghbour in different ways. For a certain person it is good when he can constrain himself from physically attacking another. For a more perfect person, it befits him to endeavour not to spread gossip and not to judge his brother. For yet another person, it is needful to strive to act kindly towards a neighbour who is not to his liking, and so on. The most perfect love of one’s neighbour, as the Saviour Himself said, is to give away all that one has for the sake of others, remain with nothing, and follow after Christ. This can be applied to any of the commandments; that is, often, if not always, we can fulfill each commandment in a more perfect manner. Everything depends on our own spiritual state. If someone is just beginning to live a Christian life, naturally less will be asked of him, but on the contrary, one who is already accomplished in such things is obliged to fulfill the commandments in a more perfect manner.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, let each of us hear today’s words of the Saviour, remember His commandments, focus our attention on the voice of our conscience, and try to live correctly. If things are going well for us, glory to God, but let us not think that we are perfect. We can always do better in our spiritual struggles. May the Most-Holy Mother of God as well as today’s saints, the Holy Martyrs Florus and Laurus, help us in this task.

priest Alexis