We remember this Sunday those courageous Fathers of our Faith who through the first six of the seven Ecumenical Councils of the Church, boldly and courageously proclaimed anew the timeless truth once delivered to the Saints that is Christ and our life, our salvation, in Him.
They testify to the truth that Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, today, and forever,” that He is the Son of God, very God of very God. They proclaim the truth that Christ God became man that in taking on human nature, He could redeem that nature, recreate it, as only God could, to enable us to gain a new identity—one not ultimately grounded in this world, which is temporal, constantly changing, but one that is eternal, grounded in the Kingdom of Heaven, life with God.
It’s helpful in our own day to remember this truth of the Gospel, this truth that is Christ and which He’s delivered once and for all to the Saints, to His Church, especially as we live today as Orthodox in America as a tiny minority in a sea of confusion about what is truth, what is right and wrong, good and evil. The Orthodox Faith is a steadfast anchor for our souls as all these false and derailing winds of doctrine swirl around us.
Those of you who’ll go on to become officers in the U.S. military will be called on to defend the liberties that allow us to express and keep this timeless truth of Christ we continue to proclaim year in, year out in the Church, even as we see so much confused thinking around us regarding God, sexuality, identity, marriage, religious expression. It’s in this light that the words in today’s Epistle are so relevant to our own day: “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.” “Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
You’ve come to the Academy to learn to become officers in service to your country. This is not something you learn overnight, right? That’s why you’re here, undergoing plebe summer formation. Ultimately, the Naval Academy knows, that, in order to make you into a good officer, they have to re-form you, shape you, break you, so they can build you up into officers.
You enter the Naval Academy as a lowly plebe—don’t you feel it now? But after Plebe Summer, even as you’re still a plebe, you begin to rise up. Every year, you are raised to a higher level—Youngster, Second Classman, Firstie. Then, as you graduate, you’re given the lowest rank of officer and have to work your way up from there.
This is somewhat similar to our growth Christians: We begin our life in Christ through baptism, but our journey, our formation in Christ, continues for a lifetime—“further up and further in.” This is the case because God loves us, cares about us, desires communion with us. He wants us to acquire the virtues you and I need to be able to enjoy life with Him, both now and for all eternity. He doesn’t call us slaves, but sons. He gives us a name, an identity, a ‘rank’ that, unlike any earthly distinction or rank to which we attain, never passes away—IF, that is, we avail ourselves of the formation He gives us and entrusts to us through His Church, which is here to make us into those men or women God’s created us to be.
You can’t learn and acquire all the virtues overnight; just like you don’t become an officer overnight. Learning and formation is a process, a journey. Similarly, we continue to work out our salvation, as St. Paul says, “with fear and trembling,” realizing what’s at stake—our eternal salvation, but also even God’s use of us here and now, in this life, as Christ says to us today, that we may have His joy fulfilled in us.
Christ God delights in making you into what it really means to be a man—that is, a godly man. In your capacity as a future officer, He will delight in making you not just an officer, a leader, but a godly one. This distinction, like the virtues in the Mission Statement of the Academy, is not something you can acquire on your own. No, the highest virtues of duty, honor, and loyalty that are part of that Mission Statement come as a result of your knowledge and love of God.
God delights in giving us what we need to serve Him, to bring glory and honor to His holy name, to what it means to be a Christian. We think of the many military Saints God used to bring glory to His name, to bring others to knowledge and love of Christ: St. George the trophy-bearer, St. Demetrius, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Stephen the Great of Moldova, King Tamar of Georgia.
They, like those Fathers of the First Six Councils we remember today, fought valiantly the spiritual battle of protecting the Church in the face of those who would prevent others from knowing the one, true God and coming to embrace the life that’s only in Him.
This world is passing away, but those who avail themselves of Christ, who ground their identity and formation in Him and His salvation from their sins, will be truly godly leaders. I encourage you to avail yourself of Christ’s formation, not just during the trials of Plebe Summer, but throughout your formation at the Academy, your service in the military, and life beyond.
Learn who you are in Christ, ‘own’ your identity in Him, and you will have the courage, the strength, the perseverance, and the discernment to serve God as a great leader and be successful in all that you do. We remember Christ’s words, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (all that you and I need) will be added to you.”
You have an advantage over others at the Academy in that you have Christ’s holy Church and the full company of tools in Christ that He’s entrusted to His Church on our behalf. Avail yourselves of this ministry of Christ’s Church, bring Christ into the midst of our formation, be first and foremost formed in Him, and, as He promises, all the rest will be added to you.
Fr. Robert Miclean
Holy Archangels Orthodox Church Plebe Summer Ministry
13 July 2014
Epistle: Heb. 13:7-16 (Fathers)
Gospel: Jn. 17:1-13 (Fathers)
