“The Mission of the Church is the continued Mission of Christ.” I have never forgotten these words of the church fathers taught to me by my Church History Professor at Holy Cross. The Orthodox Church teaches that our spiritual life should be a reflection of the Church building. Think of the natural light which fills the church, especially in the morning during the Orthros Service. The natural light reminds us of the light of Christ. We were fortunate to be able to have the Church face the traditional east. Early in the morning, the Holy Altar is filled with natural light, representing the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Did you ever notice there are no mirrors in the church, but only windows? The majority of monasteries do not even have a mirror in their restroom. The windows of the church have a lot to teach us about our mission as Christians. When we look through a window we can see everything on the other side. Unlike the mirror, we see only ourselves, how we look. Would a window or mirror describe what kind of person I am or becoming? Do I look only at myself, caring only for myself? Am I like a window, looking beyond myself, at other people and how I can help and serve them? Christ was definitely a window person, and asks us to be same. “I became your Father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me” (I Cor 4:16 , 17).

Looking beyond our needs, embracing everyone, and welcoming everyone to the House of God are a big part of our mission as Christians. The lesson of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37, is one of the best messages sharing the purpose of the Church. Jesus Christ is the Good Samaritan Himself. We have the image of three sacraments offered to us by Jesus in this gospel lesson. The man who was beat, and left half dead, represents the new life the sacrament of baptism offers a person. The oil the Good Samaritan applied to heal the man represents the sacrament of Holy Unction. When we receive the sacrament of Holy Unction, the service prays for our healing, restoring and protection from God. The Good Samaritan used both oil and wine for the purpose of healing and restoring the wounded man. The church teaches us that here we have the message of the meaning of Holy Communion. The man was healed and restored. Holy Communion is the spiritual food one must have in order to survive. The Good Samaritan offered two denari in the form of a payment. This is significant because it relates to how Christ died for us. Jesus paid our debt. This is the meaning of ‘Remission of sins.’ St. Ambrose wrote, “This is the image of the eternal King, at the price of whose wounds we are healed. We are redeemed by the precious blood, that we may avoid the sores of final death. ”The man that was beaten, robbed and left to die represents fallen man. Without Christ we are half-dead and will eventually die without Him. Christ came to heal our injuries. The church teaches us that we represent the man and the Inn that Christ brought the man to rest and regain his strength. The faithful are called to be inn-keepers. Christ built the Church, His Inn, and has asked us to sustain it by keeping the doors open. The two ‘denari’ coins represent also the two commands of Jesus to love God and neighbor. Jesus in this lesson tells the young lawyer to “Go and do likewise.” We are to put down the mirrors and look out the windows. We are called to reach out to those we know and do not know, to the people we love and our enemies.

I pray that we will continue to allow the light of Christ to fill our Church, guide our lives, and bring others to be fed by the Good Samaritan, Christ Himself.