A homily by Metropolitan Borys Gudziak on the Sunday after the Feast of Theophany.
Reflecting on the Gospel passage, the Metropolitan recalled the historical context of that time — a period marked by Roman occupation, violence, and the arbitrariness of local rulers. He referred to the figure of Herod the Great, who ordered the massacre of the infants of Bethlehem, as well as to his son Herod Antipas, by whose command John the Baptist was imprisoned. “It was a time of satraps and despots. A time of Roman occupation. And, sadly, also a time when one’s own people often destroyed one another,” the Metropolitan noted.
The Metropolitan devoted special attention to the figure of John the Baptist — a prophet who sought neither popularity nor security, but lived in complete freedom before God. “His strength was not in power nor in political influence. His ascetic life, fasting, prayer, and dwelling in the desert freed him from being governed by what everyone thinks and what everyone says. He waited. He watched. He listened.”
The Metropolitan emphasized that John knew Jesus as a human being, as a relative, but recognized Him as the Son of God only at the moment of Theophany: “He knew Jesus from his mother’s womb, but he did not know Him as the Son of God. Only when he heard the voice of the Father did he understand who was standing before him.”
The Metropolitan also focused on Jesus’ response to the imprisonment of John the Baptist. Instead of open protest or immediate resistance, Jesus chooses the path of patience and discernment of God’s time. “Jesus knows that His time has not yet come. He does not run a hundred miles to organize a protest outside the prison. Instead, He goes in another direction — to small towns and villages — and begins to preach.” The Metropolitan stressed that “The world is in chaos. Jesus does not begin with a revolution in the streets. He says: bring order into your heart, into your life, into your family.”
Speaking about contemporary challenges, the Metropolitan drew attention to how easily people lose their inner freedom and allow evil to dominate them. “If you want to fight for freedom and justice in society, first be free here,” he said, pointing to the heart. “Are you free from hatred? Are you free from addictions? Do you allow what divides to rule your life?”
In the context of the Feast of Theophany, the Metropolitan reflected on the meaning of baptism in the life of a Christian. He emphasized that in baptism every person hears words of God’s love: “In baptism we hear: ‘You are my beloved son. You are my beloved daughter.’ We have become members of the Body of Christ.” According to the Metropolitan, awareness of this dignity gives people the strength not to fear tyrants, violence, or fear itself.
In concluding his homily, the Metropolitan emphasized that the Kingdom of God is neither distant nor abstract: “The Kingdom of God is as close as you are willing to receive it. It begins where you allow God to bring order and grant peace.”
