Fr. George Parsenios (HCHC ’96)

In today’s epistle reading, St. Paul urges the Corinthians to “stand firm in faith, be courageous, be strong.” One of these admonitions deserves special attention, not only for its importance in Paul’s letter, but for its importance today as well. It is the word translated as “be courageous.” The Greek word is ἀνδρίζεσθε/andrizesthe, which is based on the Greek word for “man,” ἀνήρ/anêr. By using this word, Paul is not just urging the Corinthians to show manly courage, but more important, to show mature courage. In chapter 3, Paul already had exhorted the Corinthians to be more mature in their faith, lamenting that he had to teach them simply, as though giving milk to babies. And he referred to his own maturation in faith when he said that he acted like a child when he was a child, but when he became a man (anêr), he put aside childish ways. By concluding his letter with this same word, he urges the Corinthians to mature from their childish approach to their faith. We, too, must develop a mature faith, which means at least two things. First, we must learn deeply the tenets of our faith. Many of us approach our careers with a mature level of professional seriousness, but when it comes to our faith we remain oddly content to rely on the simple formulations we learned in Sunday School, even though we have access to libraries of books and podcasts could help us learn more. Second, mature faith means more than just knowing doctrines. Our faith is not just what we think, but what we do. As adults, we manage our money, but how much does our faith impact our finances? As adults, we manage our families, but how much does our faith define our families? Let all of us, men and women, strive ever more for a mature faith.

Fr. George Parsenios is Professor of New Testament at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. www.hchc.edu