Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Homily for SS Basil the Great and Gregory Nanzianzen



"Call no man your father." We hear these words in Gospel for the propers for the feast of St Gregory and St Basil. Yet, the Church has us call her priest, 'father'.  Is the Church telling us to disobey Jesus or is there something larger going on? Many of the religious authorities of Jesus' time wanted honor.  Whether their actions merited such honor was neither here nor there. Jesus wants His followers to seek humility rather honor.  "Who exalts himself will be humbled, who humbles himself will be exalted" as per the end of the Gospel of today.  The Church, in having her priests called 'father' is not so much reminding the people to honor as they are reminding the priest continually of the role they play.  We priests are not seek honor without being honorable.

Why this Gospel for this feast?  If one looks into the lives of these two great teachers, priests, bishops, and friends, one see two men who did not seek to outdo each other in the honor they could be paid, but in the virtue that they lived. That virtue would be put to the test as both men had to stand up to those who perpetuated a popular heresy called Arianism.  Arianism taught that Jesus was not the Son of God.  This teaching throws into question the saving plan of the Father and the effectiveness of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.  Both men would have to stand up to the Emperor Valens, who wanted to make Arianism the state religion.  Both men knew that do what is right, they must be willing to risk everything, including every ounce of honor afforded them as bishops, to uphold orthodoxy and truth.

These two men become models for us.  It is easy to capitulate to false teaching in order to maintain honor or popularity.  This is true for priests.  This is true for parents.  We cannot be so attached to power, wealth, pleasure, or honor that we compromise truth for the sake of not being hassled. Leadership within the church, be it domestic, parochial, diocesan, or universal must rise above such attachments and humble itself to the will of God.  Sometimes that is hard...very hard.  Sometimes it is risky.  Many times it is resented. It would have been easier in the short term for Gregory and Basil to capitulate to the popular, but they would have to kill off every ounce of virtue they had to do so.

St. Basil and St Gregory model for us that virtue is found in clinging on to the truth despite the storms that might come. In their willingness to be humiliated for the truth, they are exalted in heaven. We cannot expect any less for ourselves.  Leadership is hard.  It means unpopular decisions and standing tall against those false teachings that would have us compromise away the integrity of the faith.  We pray for the intercession of SS Basil and Gregory as we rise to the battles our leadership demands and ask for the same grace to charitably but forcefully hold onto and teach the truth of Jesus Christ in its entirety.

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