April: Day 3: Venerable Joseph, the Composer of Canons

 

April: Day 3:*
Venerable Joseph, the Composer of Canons
 
(What is the Best Way to Distract People Who Are Suffering Innocently From Cowardice, Despondency and Despair?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In the life of the Venerable Joseph, the Composer of Canons, whose memory is celebrated today, the following is written: When Joseph, on the island of Crete, was thrown into prison, in which together with him there were also many Orthodox, imprisoned by the iconoclasts, then the Orthodox, as a result of severe torment and sorrowful imprisonment, were in great despondency and some of them were even ready, through cowardice, to lean toward the side of the heretics. The Venerable Joseph, all aflame with love for God and neighbor, in order to raise their falling spirits, said to the unfortunate ones: “Brethren, what can be more desirable and joyful than those bonds with which we are now bound for the love of Christ? And should we not, like Saint Paul, who considered chains as golden ornaments for himself, thank God for our suffering? Look at the Lord: He, who suffered for us, left us an image so that we would follow in His footsteps. But how did He suffer? 'When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten' (1 Peter 2:23). True, it is hard to suffer in the body, but it is impossible for anyone to be a bearer of the yoke of Christ who does not follow in the footsteps of the Lord and does not endure at least in part the sufferings that He endured for us. And by His own example He showed us that only through labors and sufferings is that heavenly door opened for us, which had been closed to people for so long. And He who was first to perform feats showed us no other path to salvation than the path of sorrows and hardships. And why should we be confused in our sorrows, when we undoubtedly know that in them we will certainly receive grace and timely help from God?" With such and similar words the Saint consoled his allies in prison in their sufferings, encouraged them, and strengthened them in faith.

But while comforting and encouraging those with him in general, Joseph did not fail to encourage, console and strengthen certain individuals in particular, and here his word also sometimes had an astonishing effect. The bishop who was with Joseph in prison, suffering for the holy icons, exhausted by his confinement, completely lost heart, began to be tormented by doubts and was, as it is said, like a ship tossed by the wind and close to sinking. The Saint, seeing that the man was perishing, made every effort to save him, with bitter tears begged and exhorted him to be faithful to God to the end, and was so successful in his exhortations that the bishop soon and in the midst of the most severe torments remained unshakable in the confession of the Orthodox faith, like a rock, and said that if it were possible, he would accept a thousand deaths for the Lord Christ. So strong, so effective was the word of the Saint in the work of saving the faint-hearted and despondent and, in general, those close to a fall and final destruction.

II. What follows from this?

a) That if we want to give help to such people, if we want to save them, then we must first of all instill in them that we are all shown the sorrowful path to the Kingdom of Heaven, that our Lord and Savior Himself walked this path, that if we patiently endure everything here for the sake of God, then “having been punished a little, we will be greatly benefited” and that if we suffer with Christ in this life, then we will be glorified with Him in the future.

b) But of course, in order to ensure success through words, as we have seen from the example of Joseph, our comfort and encouragement to the faint-hearted and despondent must flow from our fervent love for them, and be infused with heartfelt warmth. In the life of the Saint, it is said that while encouraging and strengthening the bishop in patience, "he poured out words to him, he shed tears, praying and exhorting him not to doubt death for the sake of Christ!" It is clear that Joseph did not spare himself in order to save the perishing one, and was completely imbued with love for the unfortunate one. Thus should we also act.

Let the sorrows and misfortunes of our neighbors, whom we wish to encourage and console, be as close to our hearts as our own; let our word to them not be cold and dead, but living and active, and, finally, let our whole attitude, both external and internal, toward the unfortunate be such that they see in you loving brethren and sincere friends. And then, believe me, our efforts to save them will not remain in vain and, with the help of God's grace, will truly encourage the unfortunate and pour into their souls grace-filled light and peace, with which they will not feel bitter in sorrow, and in poverty they will be rich, and in desperate circumstances they will not despair.

III. Through the prayers of Venerable Joseph, may the Lord grant us His grace-filled help in the uncomplaining endurance of the sorrows that we suffer by the permission of the all-good and all-wise Providence of God, which arranges our salvation through them. Amen.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos. 

Notes:

* In the Greek Churches, Saint Joseph the Hymnographer is celebrated on April 3rd, while in the Slavic Churches he is celebrated on April 4th, which is why he is placed in the original text under April 4th, but here in this translation it is placed under April 3rd to conform to the Greek calendar.