The Passion Gospels – Father Gavril Galev
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What should we say on this day? And is there a need for us to say anything when we do not fulfil it? Behold, we have the Church that daily, and especially in this week of Great Lent, reminds us to reflect on our sins and the great mercy of God. We also have spiritual fathers, we read books, we follow some of them on Facebook and Instagram, but we fulfil very little, if at all completely, and therefore we miss the target, which is Christ.
It was somewhat similar in the time of Christ. The Jews, the chosen people of God, especially the high priests, instead of glorifying Christ, following Him and accepting Him as King and God, They, even though He voluntarily came to suffer for the sins of man, did not recognise Him. They did not recognise Him because they were overwhelmed by vanity, pride, and a high opinion of themselves. Even though in many ways it was revealed to them that He is the true God, the chosen Messiah and Saviour, that He is the way, the truth and the life, yet they, embittered in their hearts, darkened in their minds, sought to have Him crucified.
Another question arises that we should ask ourselves, and that is: “If we had been around Jesus at that time, would we have been among those who cried: “Hosanna” or would we have been among those who cried: “Crucify him?”
We will all say to ourselves, “I would have cried: “Hosanna.” We point our finger at others, and not with one finger but with our whole hand, even with our heart we will testify that it is the others who would crucify Christ. However, by doing so we show that we are among the latter who crucify Him. Let us not forget that even those who cried “Hosanna” to Him, later cried “Crucify Him!”
Even today we crucify Christ; we crucify Him when we do not fulfil God’s commandments. We crucify Him when we do not repent sufficiently for our sins. We crucify Him when we judge and condemn others around us. We crucify Him when we do not help the suffering, those in need and do not pray for the good of the whole world. That is to say, for one thing or another, we also crucify Him. Today we also put another nail into His pure hands, and another spear to pierce His side, daily, every moment. Therefore, let us not blame anyone, even less, the Jews of that time who crucified Him, but let us blame ourselves, and let us ourselves bear the weight of that betrayal of Christ.
And again, Christ came to be crucified for this very reason, because He knew our weakness. And you see how great His love is. We, in order to justify ourselves, will always look to find fault in others. And if the other person has transgressed, we will hurt and offend him even more, in order to justify ourselves yet again.
However, at no point did Christ justify himself, even though He was pure, most-pure. At no point did He condemn anyone or get angry with anyone. On the contrary, He washed the feet of the one who betrayed Him and asked forgiveness from God the Father to forgive those who crucified Him.
So we, brothers and sisters, if we want to be Christ’s, we must suffer everything for the sake of God and our neighbours. Let us always fulfil God’s will and not seek our own. Let us always accept this thought: “That I am guilty of everything,” and always and at all times forgive and love. Let us spread our hands, let us join ourselves to the Cross of Christ and also be crucified with Him, so that we may be co-resurrected with Him!
Father Gabriel Galev
Abbot of the Monastery “St. Clement of Ohrid”,
Kinglake, Melbourne, Australia
18 / 04 / 2025
