How Can We Inspire Others to Glorify God?

The Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Six Ecumenical Councils.

Titus 3:8-15.....................Matthew 5:14-19

In today’s reading from St Matthew’s Gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us, “You are the light of the world. . . . Let your light shine, so that other people may see the good that you do, and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

We read this passage today because it fits our commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the first six Ecumenical Councils, which comes every year on 13 July or the Sunday after that date.  In the early days of the Church, up to about the year 600, Christians were still figuring out the basic beliefs of our faith—things that we take for granted now, such as the physical Resurrection of Christ from the dead; the identity of the one God as three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) one in being; the unity of two natures, perfect man and perfect God, in the person of Jesus Christ, and so on.  

The bishops, as the fathers of the Christian people, came together in councils to make these decisions—to define these beliefs—under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  They understood that they had to show the world the glory of God’s light shining within them.  They had to lead the Church to be “a light to the revelation of the Gentiles.”

In our time, we are trying not so much to define Christian faith as to find ways to live Christian faith in a world full of distractions, false teachings, obstacles, and opposition.  At the same time, we are supposed to be the light of the world, showing others how to give glory to our Father in heaven.  Every one of us—every Christian believer, every congregation, every eparchy or diocese, every Church—has received this mission from Jesus Christ himself.

We have to ask ourselves, as individuals and as parishes or congregations, how we show our light to the world for the glory of God.  We can learn what not to do from the familiar examples of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons, who go door-to-door trying to peddle their heretical beliefs, and from the “holier-than-thou” folks, who don’t show light so much by their good works as by pointing out how much better they are than everyone else and by trying to force others to believe and act as they do.

Our Lord Jesus Christ does not tell us to perform public displays of personal piety and purity; He tells us to do good works that inspire others to glorify God.

In the Church, all good works flow from the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.  Our light shines forth better from the Divine Liturgy than from anything else we do.  People see it.  It attracts them.  They come to learn about it and to experience it for themselves.  And mostly this happens through social media.  So, our churches should make sure to shine the light of the Divine Liturgy and other services to the world by livestreaming and then posting videos online.

People are looking for authentic spirituality, worship, and proclamation of the Gospel.  Often they seek to recover something they feel they have lost.  Sometimes they want to get away from restrictive, coercive, even abusive church situations, or from the absolutization of partial truth (as my Theology professor defined heresy).  Frequently, they are delighted to find worship that delights the eyes, the ears, the tongue, and the nose as well as the brain.

Our good works continue and our light shines most brightly when we welcome people into our church, when we listen to their stories and answer their questions; when we feed them spiritually, intellectually, and physically; when we extend to them Christ’s love and hospitality.

When we do this, we live the reality we celebrate in the Divine Liturgy, not hiding our light, but inspiring others to thank, praise, and glorify with us the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and ever and to ages of ages.  Amen.