Do you remember
a riddle for children: who is stronger – an elephant or an ant? It seems that the
answer is obvious, because there is a big difference between them. However, an
ant can lift several times its own weight, while an
elephant cannot do this.
Today the
Church commemorates two completely different people. One of them
was a Roman citizen, who had a high status in Judea. He was young; he had no
family and was the cleverest man of his people. We was about to take
the place of the archpriest. Many people were jealous that he had such a high
position and was rich.
The other one
was the exact opposite of the former. He was in his age, and had a family (he
lived with his mother-in-law). He was a poor and illiterate fisherman. He had
never been anywhere but in his native village, as well as he had no prospects
in his life. The former, who had never seen Christ when He was on earth, was
the initiator of the persecutions on Christians. An activist, as they are called
nowadays. However, during one of such persecutions he met Resurrected Christ,
after which he became one of His best disciples. The latter was the closest
disciple of Christ, who was always with Him and saw everything with his own
eyes, but rejected that acquaintance three times a night. So which one of them is “stronger”?
The thing is
that no one is stronger. They are absolutely equal apostles – Peter and Paul. This is why
I love my faith: everyone is equal before God. The slogan of the persecutors of
Christianity – “"Liberty, equality, fraternity" – is fully realized
in the Church. Everyone has the same start. If we want to succeed in something
among people, we need to have special abilities or opportunities: to be rich
and strong, to be clever or to have a good ear. Otherwise, nothing will work
out, no matter how hard we try. Even if the circumstances are favorable, not
everyone manages to succeed. For example, there can be only one winning team in
a football championship. However, to become a successful Christian you need
nothing more but your own wish. You just need to wish this and you certainly will
succeed.
Those two men with
different abilities wished to change the world – and they did that. Even if there were people who changed the
world map, after their death the map was still changed many times. St. Peter and
St. Paul have changed the world with their preaching about Christ, and they continue doing this even now. People build churches in their honor and baptize children
with their names. People read and quote their epistles, while some of them ever
ascribe their words to themselves, just like Vladimir Lenin did: “Who does not
work, does not eat” (“If any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians,
3:10)).
I often hear
people saying "the life is over", “we did not learn that”, “I cannot do
this”, “I will fail” and so on. Do not despair! You will manage to do anything
if you wish. Apostle Peter was quite old; he could not write or read, and what
is more, once he was fainthearted. Nevertheless, he did manage to do
everything. And so will you. You are not worse.
And one more thing
concerning equal opportunities:
…Once a man died
and appeared in Heaven. He looks at what is around and sees that all the
people there are absolutely happy and kind. All the rest is just like in the
previous life. So he says to Apostle Peter:
- Can I see
what hell looks like? I just want to have a quick look.
- Well then,
come with me and I will show you.
They come to
hell. The man sees that at first glance, everything looks there just like in
Heaven. But people there are different, as they are angry and offended. It seems
they feel bad there. The man asks the Apostle:
- Everything is
just like in Heaven there. But why then the inmates of hell are so unhappy?
- Because they
think all the time that in Heaven it is better.
By Hegumen Herman (Skrypnik)
June 21, 2017
St. Elisabeth Convent
CONVERSATION