GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
The Commandments of God are hard to follow. To many of us, it seems as if it is an impossible task to complete. Take this Gospel portion, for example; the Disciples, who were barely with Christ for very long, were tasked to preach the coming of the Kingdom. Yet these men were poorly prepared to do so, in a physical stance, because they were merely fishermen; in other words, they were not well-educated men who could take on this task. Yet what seems impossible for these men, God knew it was possible as long as they trusted fully in Him. Without receiving any payment or provisions, these men were able to do the Will of God while also having their needs being taken care of because they leaned on God’s Strength.
There is a reason why many people recall the verse from St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Or even Christ’s very own words, “the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” The task to obtain Theosis, which is set before all of us, may seem like an impossible one, and it may very well be according to how we try to obtain it. But God has given us this Commandment, not that we should fail and despair, but rather to learn to suffer in this process and to grow to trust in God entirely.
For this is how the Disciples completed their impossible task. When you read St. John Chrysostom’s commentary on St. John the Evangelist, Chrysostom mocks the Evangelist saying that the Gospel writer was poor and poorly educated as well. He goes so far as to say that if the Evangelist could write anything, he would have at least written about fishing. But then St. John Chrysostom says that St. John the Evangelist was truly a mouthpiece of God. For even the Angels of Heaven were edified through the teachings of this simple fisherman. In the fullness of the statement, “Strength made perfect in weakness,” St. John the Evangelist shows us what can be accomplished when we learn to rely on God.
I have talked with several people and have heard a common phrase that the Saints were special people and that we are merely ordinary people. Yes, the Saints are indeed God’s Chosen people, but the thing is, we are His Chosen people as well. The difference between us and those whom the Church has Canonized is the fact that those men and women had learned to lean fully on the Grace of God so that when people looked at them, they indeed saw Christ in them. My dear brothers and sisters, we have this same capacity. But we must first learn how to lean on God in the same manner in which the Saints have done so in the past. And the simple answer to this is prayer.
Whether we live in bliss or sorrow in all aspects of our lives, we must take that moment and bring it to God in prayer. In this constant communion with God, we will be able to decrease and give God the increase; thus, we will learn, through Grace, that truly His Grace is sufficient for us.