As much as there are people that are trying to deny it, we live in a country that is somewhat steeped in Christian morality. We have laws that make it illegal to steal. We send murderers to prison. We convict those who harm others. Although our country and our own state has turned its back on the unborn, we (at least for now) endeavor to take care of and protect our children from harm.
If you will indulge me for a moment, let me take you back to a period of history where things were very different from what we are used to in the world today. Throughout all the Pagan nations like Greece and Assyria, drunkenness and fornication were glorified, even to the level of religious rituals! Slavery was normal, so much so that if we were at war with another nation, I would have the right to take the enemy back with me and enslave them to a life of forced labor.
The Canaanite people, who had no regard for the sanctity of life, gave no thought or remorse to offering their nursing children to the demon God Moloch. The Scythians in the 7th century BC., after conquering an army, wouldn’t honorably bury the bodies of the warriors they fought against, but would rather drink the blood of their enemies and use their skulls as trophies of their victory! Human life was cheap and the world was a particularly dark place.
Two weeks before the coming of our Savior into the world, the Church remembers and honors all the Holy Forefathers and Foremothers of Christ, who despite the darkness of the world in which they lived, refused to lose the Guiding Star of the true faith. They kept the faith burning like a flaming candle that remains burning even in our own day and time! It is because of them that the world is still standing!
The Church in particular draws our attention to three of the forefathers who provided a tremendous example of how we are to live in the midst of the darkness. In today’s Kontakion hymn that the choir just sang, we hear:
“You did not worship the graven image O Thrice Blessed ones, but armed with the immaterial Essence of God, you were glorified in a trial by fire. From the midst of the unbearable flames you called on God, crying: “Hasten O Compassionate One! Speedily come to our aid, for You are merciful and able to do as you will!”
We remember from the book of Daniel, how the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had created a large idol for his people to worship. He sent out a decree saying that whenever anyone heard any kind of music, they were to stop what they were doing and bow down in the direction of the large idol that he had set up.
There were, living in Babylon, three friends of the Prophet Daniel named Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael who were true God fearers. Despite the knowledge of what would happen to them, or what others might think of them, they refused to bow down to the pressures of the world. The Holy Youths refused to worship the idol that the King had set up.
In a fit of rage, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that a furnace be heated, and that the three youths be bound and thrown into the fire! Rather than being harmed from the flames, scripture tells us that the inside of the furnace was like a dew-laden breeze, causing the three Holy Youths no pain or trouble at all, despite the many people outside of the furnace who were being scorched by the flames shooting out of the furnace! The three began to sing a beautiful hymn of thanksgiving and praise to God which we read and sing on Holy Saturday in the Morning Liturgy!
The wicked king Nebuchadnezzar sat outside, hearing the voices of song coming from inside the flames. He looked in the furnace and saw not only the three men who he had condemned to death, but also a fourth figure, the Son of God Himself, 6 centuries before His Incarnation, walking and conversing with them amid the fiery furnace. The King called for the men to come out of the flames, and glorified God who had shown His true power on that day.
All of the Forefathers and Mothers whom we commemorate today, especially these three brave Holy Youths, reveal to us the importance of having a BOLD FAITH. There is a temptation in our own culture, to keep our faith and our beliefs to ourselves, feeling as if that showing it in public might lead to ridicule, or persecution, or worse yet, might offend someone else. This no way to show our True Love and BOLD faith to the Son of God.
I was reminded and inspired by the people living in the middle east in Jerusalem: The priests who aren’t afraid to get spit on for wearing their crosses, the monks who stay in the monasteries despite the physical violence that is done to them, and the Christian school and orphanage in Bethany that we visited who endure rock throwing and bomb threats on a weekly basis, for even daring to exist and proclaiming publicly the Light of Christ to the world. This is the kind of BOLD FAITH we need in the midst of our own society, if we are to keep the Light of Christ (and with it true Christian Morality) alive in the country that we live in.
How do we show bold faith? Don’t be afraid to tell your family and friends that you cannot attend a party or dinner because you need to be worshiping Christ at the Nativity Services. What is more important for us to be doing on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Don’t be afraid to ask your friends if they could pause for a prayer before a meal, or to cross yourself in public.
Speak boldly and plainly (not judgmentally) over hot topics like the sanctity of life, marriage, and a true understanding of genders (it’s ok to say that there is, was, and always will be just two!) This of course has become increasingly difficult to do, because what was once speaking the truth in faith and love to others, has somehow morphed into two labels of people. Those who are in the wrong are now given the label of “victims” and those who are speaking the truth in love are now given the label of “victimizers. “Even speaking bold truths in love to the world today, comes with a price…and it is a price that, like our Holy Forefathers and Foremothers, we need to be willing to pay.
In a few weeks on Christmas Eve, we will be reminded of the prophecy of Isaiah who foretold the coming of Christ when he said: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And those who sat in the region and shadow of death, Light has dawned!” May we inspired by all of our Holy Forefathers and Mothers, and be BOLD in spreading this light to all we come into contact with!