SUNDAY of the FOREFATHERS / 3. ADVENT

“You did not worship the graven image, O thrice-blessed youths, but shielded by the ineffable Essence, you were glorified in your trial by fire. In the midst of the unbearable fire you called upon God, crying: ‘Hasten, O compassionate One, and in Your mercy, come to our aid, for You can do so if You will (яко можеши хотяй).’” (Kontakion of the Forefathers)

This past weekend in NC-Orthodox churches it was the Sunday of the Forefathers, or all the ancestors of the Savior who lived in faithful anticipation of His coming, with special attention paid to the 3 Holy Youths in the furnace. And Western Christianity celebrated Third Advent or “Gaudete/Rejoice Sunday,” dedicated to the Joy of the upcoming birth of Christ in the flesh. The pink candle of the Advent-wreath was lit, and pink liturgical vestments were worn in Western churches. At the risk of saying a really girly thing, – I love that.

I’m thinking both about the ‘trial by fire’ of the 3 Holy Youths, and about the Joy (with a big ‘J’) to which we are always called, even in our own fiery furnaces, in the words of St. Paul: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything…” (Philippians 4)

It’s not primarily a feeling, this Joy. It is a choice, just like faith is a choice. It’s a choice to be ‘in the Lord,’ rather than on one’s own or in one’s own head. It’s a counter-cultural choice, to be in Him, rather than be swept away into the hopelessness, anger, fear and the resulting idol-worship that might be sweeping up many in the fiery furnace of our world. Our Lord’s undying willingness to come into our furnace and help us, time and again, is also His choice. “You can do so if You will,” say the faithful 3 Holy Youths in the above-quoted Kontakion-hymn.  Let us dare to rejoice also today, dear friends, even if we find ourselves in a fiery furnace. ‘Come to our aid, because You can do so if You want,’ we say to our Lord, Who is coming, again and again, to maintain us and our world, through all of it. Because He can. Glory be to Him.