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(a sermon preached recently by Fr. Gregory) St. Paulinus speaks to us ...
"This is how the present life of
man on Earth, King, appears to me in comparison with that time which is
unknown to us. Saint Paulinus of York, speaking in Northumbria feast: 10 October (664) St. Paulinus little knew what would happen when he spoke to King Edwin of Northumbria in this manner, still a pagan but about to take a Christian wife from Kent and, at least, thereby open to the gospel of Christ. It made of this king a saint and fearless defender of Orthodox Christianity. It transformed the life of his kingdom. Under him the law was so respected, that it became, as the Venerable Bede attested, a proverb that "a woman might travel through the island with a babe at her breast without fear of insult" The message that wrought this change in the king’s life seems such a strange, melancholy yet poignant meditation on the fragility and fleeting quality of human life, three score years and ten; or if you were lucky in those days, two score years, period! It was, however, for King Edwin at least, the key to his heart. It spoke to the condition of his soul. By this means, a recognition of the tragic beauty of human life, St. Paulinus was able to show the king how the resurrection of Christ had made of the whole cosmos a banqueting hall, safe from the call of a lifeless death. It is notable that this Orthodox saint of Great Britain in the 7th century preached the resurrection in the context of human frailty and fear; the desire for life and conviviality, yet also realistic concerning our mortality and ignorance. Do we need that message now! Actually, human beings always need to hear that message, loud and clear. It’s good to enjoy the warmth of the banqueting hall but that little sparrow in from the cold and on his way out through the window again reminds us ever still that we are but visitors in this realm of life. All our enjoyment of life, all our dreams and plans and schemes …. all these come to nought in the end. With the writer of Ecclesiastes in similar vein we see that indeed, "all is vanity." Yet, accepting this, the Christian gospel declares that there is a way out and through this impasse of death and that is the resurrection of Christ … a greening of creation, a renewal of human life beyond death, a hope of eternal life. This is no automatic transition, however, to a better life. In the Garden of Eden we found ourselves locked out of the banqueting hall, subject to the inexorable law of corruption and death. To participate in the resurrection of Christ, to regain entrance to Eden, we need to make continuous and crucial decisions day by day. These concern, fundamentally, our call to live by God’s indestructible life and to put to death our own corrupting self-will. This is a life long process of conformity to the cross as a life transforming encounter; putting to death our self-will and submitting to God’s will and by his power living the life of sacrifice and faithfulness. The way of death-destroying LOVE is our resurrection, they key to all life here and now and the promise of life to come, not subject to death, corruption, hell and judgement but rather life, health and the enjoyment of God’s Kingdom with All the Saints. After hearing St. Paulinus’ message, the King, moved by the Holy Spirit turned to Christ, placed his trust in Him and sought baptism. The great change had begun in Northumbria; a change that was to move his successor to work with our own St. Aidan to continue the holy work of the conversion of the pagan north east. Such is the power of one simple imaginative story. Such is its power to change us if we will let God warm our hearts to serve Him. Fr. Gregory |
