Homily by Fr. Andriy Mykytyuk on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God

September 30, 2023

God has His plan for all of us. This plan may not be clear to us. Certain situations in our life can be difficult and it seems that we are already disappointed and falling without strength. But! If we listen to the Lord, if we do His will in our lives, then He works miracles for us.

Homily by Fr. Andriy Mykytyuk on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God

Dear in Christ! Today we celebrate the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost and the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is one of the important Theotokian Feasts in the Church year, especially for our people in this difficult time. So, listening to these two passages from the Gospel of St. Luke, I want to draw our attention to common points — so that we pay attention to something important to us.

First of all, let’s have a look at how people gather to hear Christ, to hear the Word of God. People followed Him to the Lake of Gennesaret and there were so many of them that Christ had to get into a boat so that everyone could hear Him. Also in the house of Martha and Mary, people came to hear Him. Mary shows us the example of a disciple who sits at the teacher’s feet to hear His word.

The question for us is: how ready are we to come to Christ to hear Him? Do we have time to open the Holy Scriptures and read them? Do we have time to sit and pray in solitude to hear the Lord? Do we have time to come to the church to be with Him and others, to be that community that comes to listen to Christ?

We see a great example when people come to hear Him. And after hearing Christ, something extraordinary happens in their lives. Apostle Peter, who was an ordinary fisherman and worked with his friends all night and did not catch anything, when he heard Christ, when he heard His call to go and cast his nets, he did not despair and did not say that it was impossible, but after hearing the Lord, he accepted His will in his life. Peter acted according to Lord’s plan and received much more — became not only a fisherman who caught many fish, but became a fisherman who caught us all by preaching about the Risen Christ. Mary, who sat at the feet of Christ, also became a disciple who testified about Christ.

The Most Holy Theotokos, our Mother, whose feast of the Protection we celebrate, also heard God’s will in her life. From the beginning to the end, She said to God: “Yes.” So, listening to these passages from the Gospel, let’s remember that God has His plan for all of us. This plan may not be clear to us. Certain situations in our life can be difficult and it seems that we are already disappointed and falling without strength. But! If we listen to the Lord, if we do His will in our lives, then He works miracles for us.

The Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos reminds us of an event from ancient times, when the Mother of God covered people with her omophorion and protected the city from the attack of enemies. The Mother of God is still with us today. She covers us with her omophorion. More than once, our soldiers testify that Someone is protecting them. So let us continue to pray to the Mother of God to protect each of us, our homes, and the whole of Ukraine from the attack of our enemies. Let’s also take an example from her. Let’s be able to say: “Yes” to Christ, and accept God’s plan in our lives.

We always have a choice: we can live according to God’s plan, which may be incomprehensible to us, but good, or we can live according to our own plan and nothing will succeed. So, whose plan do you choose?!

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