In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Beloved friends in Our Lord,
Today’s readings speak to us about divine gifts and the dawning of light in darkness. Let me share with you a story from a small village that might help us understand these sacred texts.
There once was a fisherman named Thomas who lived along the coast. He was known for his skill at mending nets, but he kept this talent to himself. “Why should I teach others?” he would say. “Let them learn on their own as I did.” When others’ nets broke, he would walk past, pretending not to notice their struggle.
But one harsh winter, Thomas fell ill and could not fish. As he lay in his cottage, watching his food stores dwindle, an unexpected visitor came – young William, the very lad whose broken nets Thomas had ignored the month before. Without a word about the past, William brought him fish, mended Thomas’s own nets, and taught other villagers to do the same.
This simple tale brings us to St Paul’s words to the Ephesians: “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” St John Chrysostom tells us about this passage: “The gift is not given equally, but according to the measure of Christ’s gift… Yet each is perfect in his own way.”
Thomas had received a gift – his skill with nets – not for himself alone, but for the building up of his community. As St Basil the Great teaches us: “The gifts we receive are not our private property. They are a sacred trust for the good of all.”
Think of the medical researchers who, during Covid, shared their findings openly across borders rather than keeping their discoveries to themselves. Like William in our story, they understood that their gifts were meant for the building up of all. Or consider the countless ordinary people who, during times of war and displacement, have opened their homes to refugees – using the simple gift of shelter to serve the Body of Christ.
Even now, as we witness the devastating conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, we see how some use their gifts for destruction, while others – doctors, aid workers, peacekeepers – use theirs to bind up wounds and rebuild communities. St John Chrysostom’s words ring especially true today: “In times of crisis, we learn who has truly understood that their gifts are from God.”
St Basil the Great taught that during famine, the one who hoards food becomes responsible for the hunger of others. Today, we might ask: What gifts are we hoarding? When we see millions displaced by war or climate disasters, are we like Thomas before his transformation, saying “Let them manage on their own”? Or do we recognize that our stability, our resources, our skills whatever measure Christ has given us are meant to serve the whole Body of Christ?
And here we come to our Gospel, where we hear that when Jesus learned of John’s arrest, he withdrew into Galilee. “The people which sat in darkness saw great light.” Just as the dawn does not break all at once, but gradually illuminates the world, Christ’s light began to spread from Galilee – a place the Jews looked down upon, just as Thomas looked down upon his less skilled neighbours.
When William showed kindness to Thomas, it was like a small ray of this divine light breaking through the darkness of self-centredness.
Notice, my dear friends, how Christ begins His preaching: “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The word for repentance in Greek, ‘metanoia’, means a complete change of mind. Thomas experienced such a metanoia. After his recovery, he began teaching net-mending to anyone who asked. The gift he had received became, through repentance, a gift for many.
St Paul continues: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Each gift, whether as humble as mending nets or as exalted as apostleship, serves to build up the whole Church.
St Cyril of Alexandria reminds us: “The body has many members yet is one. So too the Church, through different gifts, becomes the one Body of Christ.”
Friends, what gifts has Christ measured out to you? How are you using them? Do you share with talents and blessings? I can, with my hand of my heart state that our sisterhood is a perfect example of sharing their blessings for His church and our parish. Remember – the light that dawned in despised Galilee illuminated the whole world. The simple skill of net-mending became, in our story, a means of healing a community.
Let us pray that, like Thomas, we might experience that blessed metanoia which transforms our private gifts into light for others. For the kingdom of heaven is still at hand, and Christ still calls us to repent – to turn from keeping our gifts to ourselves and instead use them “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”
For as St Isaac the Syrian says: “This life has been given to you for repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits.” Let us use whatever gifts we have received to help build up Christ’s Body, until we all come, in the unity of the faith, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Copyright © 2025 The Rev. Adrian Augustus. The Russian Orthodox Church of the Archangel Michael, Blacktown, NSW
