Christ is Risen!
The present feast, it can be said, unites all peoples around the name of the holy hierarch and wonderworker Nicholas. Not only Orthodox Christians, but even the unbelieving, even Moslems, and even pagan peoples—of which I have been a witness—honor St. Nicholas and bow down before this holy hierarch of God. And this is why it was especially precious to me to have served the Liturgy today in this very church—something I have wanted to do for a long time—in this holy temple belonging to the Hellenic people, so close to us in spirit.
Why does this saint of God enjoy such respect among all peoples?
Because he embodies an expression of Christian love. Undoubtedly, other saints have also attained this Christian virtue and became perfect in it, but no one has expressed it so clearly as St. Nicholas. In his Life we can see, he clearly shows, that love is the main law of life. In fact, all his life he burned with fiery love and he expressed it in his actions. Not a single day went by without love. He healed the sick, helped the poor, saved people in storms, saved maidens, interceded for the accused—in a word, we can say that every day of his life was dedicated to love of God and neighbor.
We can say that even the laws of nature submitted to him. He even stopped storms. And what is even more valuable and rare—under the influence of his indirect suggestion, human malice and hatred have been softened.
May the saint’s love be an example to us also! Although we know that the world lies in evil, we often see that evil is conquered by the power of goodness, that the commandment given to people in the Old Testament was violated, and that sin infected all people, nevertheless we see that love often wins, that for the sake of this love, many have refused pleasures, that this love made them go to their deaths, to save their neighbor. Let us also, beloved brothers, be confirmed in Christian love! It is only possible to a person who looks toward the Lord Jesus Christ, who directs his gaze to Golgotha. He is confirmed in love, because he remembers that Christ the Savior, for the sake of all of us sinners and unworthy ones, spilled His Blood on the Cross. After all, if everyone were to say, “The Divine Sufferer poured out His blood for you, He endured suffering for you,” then they would be like the evangelist John the Theologian whom we celebrated yesterday, and St. Nicholas, whom we celebrate today, in this love.
What hinders us from conquering by love? Our coldness. Who or what prevents us from showing such Christian love, in order to conquer evil? Our imperfection… If we strive for perfection, we will unfailingly attain Christian love. May God’s Holy Hierarch Nicholas, who was filled with Christian love and mercy, help us in this.
