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With God’s help, we have finished reading the Great Penitential Canon. I thank you all for your prayers and that, overcoming bodily infirmities and various external obstacles, you came to the house of God all these four days to read the Canon. The Lord sees your efforts and He will reward you with His great and rich blessings, for He does not forget anything and blesses and supports even the slightest effort towards piety.
It is rightly said that the end crowns the work, but it is also true that it is vital to lay the right and strong foundation in any work so that it can bear grace-filled fruit and be crowned with success.
Thus, the first week of Lent is a very important period, because these days set a special pace, a special mood in the spiritual life of every Orthodox Christian, and a special pace of Church and home services. We just need to be vigilant and not to lose control of our spiritual life so as not to stray from the path determined by the Church and destroy what we are only beginning to create…
All these four days we have prayed, listening to the Great Penitential Canon, through which the Church has tried to awaken us from our sinful sleep so that we might soberly and honestly assess our spiritual state and begin to repent tearfully of all our sins before God, and begin to change our lives.
Today, as we sang the Great Canon, we heard St. Andrew of Crete calling on us to imitate Melchizedek, who became the type of Jesus Christ: “Follow the example of Melchizedek, the priest of God, the king set apart, who was an image of the life of Christ among men in the world.”
Who is this mysterious Melchizedek, about whom so little is written in the Holy Scriptures, but whom the holy author of the Great Canon calls on us to imitate?...
When Abraham returned after defeating four Eastern kings, with their men and property, Melchizedek, King of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, went out to meet the Patriarch with bread and wine, blessed him and accepted from him a tithe of all the spoils: And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all (Gen. 14:17–20).
In Old Testament times people had a very reverent attitude toward their genealogies, maintaining and preserving them carefully. From the Scriptures we know the pedigrees of all the most important figures. However, in the case of Melchizedek, who obviously enjoyed great fame and was a man of significance, no information has been preserved about his birth, ancestors, and years of life. In a way, Melchizedek was never born and never died. Being so mysterious in his personality and ministry, he prefigured the Messiah, as the Psalmist David wrote: The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 109:4). And in the Epistle to the Hebrews the Apostle Paul testifies that this prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus Christ: Even Jesus, made an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec (Heb. 6:20); For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually (Heb. 7:1-3).
Like Melchizedec, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a King and a High Priest: And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both (Zech. 6:12–13).
Calling on us to follow the example of Melchizedec, the holy author of the Great Canon calls on us to imitate our Lord and Savior Himself, for he who imitates the type imitates the Prototype Himself.
So, “Follow the example of Melchizedec, the priest of God, the king set apart, who was an image of the life of Christ among men in the world.”
We have already spoken about the fact that every true Christian should imitate Jesus Christ and walk the path of Christ, for it is pleasing to God if we follow in the footsteps of Christ (cf. 1 Pet. 2:19–21). And the Apostle Paul exhorts us: In Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me (1 Cor. 4:15-16)…
What do these holy men speak about? How can we, weak people, imitate Christ? How can we walk His path?...
Can we really turn water into wine, calm storms, heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead?... Will we be able to experience fully the Garden of Gethsemane, the undeserved Passion and Golgotha?... How can we forgive our enemies the way the Lord forgave those who crucified Him from the Cross?...
True, many names of great and glorious men and women, ascetics of faith and piety, earthly Angels and Heavenly people who performed amazing feats are known to us from the history of the Church of Christ; but now we are talking about such people as you and me… What can we offer Christ?...
However, there is something we can offer. The Holy Fathers say that there is nothing that makes a person more like God than doing others good. Charitable acts are something that each one of us can and should perform in our lives; it is possible for everyone, and there can be no obstacles to this. We just have to want to look around and see that other people live on this earth besides us, and perhaps they are waiting for our help, support, and compassion…
We must learn to be merciful, we must learn to overcome our indifference, avarice, insatiability, and contempt for the poor, and we must learn to love every human being as the image of God.
Our Savior calls us to this: Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy (Mt. 5:7); For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: Naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me (Mt. 25:35-36); A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another (Jn. 13:34).
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us (Eph. 5:1, 2).
