St. Michael Russian Orthodox Church

March 27, 2010

Palm Sunday Jesus opponents saw very clearly what the great majority of people thought about Him. Verse 19 of chapter 12 of the Gospel written by Saint John gives us the description: Then the Pharisees said to one another, "You see, there is nothing you can do; look the whole world is running after Him!" And so, at the at moment it seemed that everyone was indeed following Jesus. Incredibly, in a very short time, the very people who seemed to be so devoted to Jesus would, for the most part, turn against Him and demand His death. How can this be understood? It is simpler than we would think. The people who accepted Jesus and then rejected Him were very much like us. A great many of us, at different times in the course of our lives have done much the same. We have tried hard to be close to our Savior and then have felt ourselves far from Jesus. Some of us have had this happen many times. Many of us are never quite sure of just where we stand regarding our salvation.

If you think carefully about some people you have met in the course of your life, you will most probably recall a couple of very remarkable people who had a direct bearing on your ultimate attitude toward salvation. Early on, I knew a fair number of highly educated priests, but they did not have the greatest influence about what I thought about really important things like salvation. Surprisingly enough, the person who had the greatest spiritual influence in my life, at that time, was an illiterate peasant woman named Mary Novak. It was she who baked the prosphora for Saint Nicholas Cathedral in New York City. She always had a smile on her face and a good word for everyone. She would wait until you would ask her a question or until she heard you make an unfortunate comment. She always set you on the right path with a gentle, firm answer, that you would not soon forget. Again, she was unable to write and had no formal education, BUT SHE KNEW those most important things that everyone needs to know.

Jesus told Martha, Lazarus; sister, before He raised him from the dead: "I am the resurrection. If anyone believes in Me, even though he dies, he will live, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die." And Jesus asked her "Do you believe this?" Martha answered Jesus "Yes, Lord, I believe You are the Christ, the Son of God, the One Who was to some into this world."

God gave the world many Marthas and many Mary Novaks. They were put here over and over again to bear witness to God's truth. Look for them.