METROPOLITAN JOSEPH’S ADDRESS AT T H E V I R T U A L A R C H D I O C E S A N C O N V E N T I O N G E N E R A L A S S E M B LY M E E T I N G S AT U R D AY, J U LY 2 4 , 2 0 2 1
BELOVED HIERARCHS, REVEREND CLERGY, ESTEEMED MEMBERS OF THE ARCHDIOCESE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ORGANIZATION AND DEPARTMENT HEADS, BELOVED HIERARCHS, REVEREND CLERGY, ESTEEMED MEMBERS OF THE ARCHDIOCESE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ORGANIZATION AND D EPARTMENT HEADS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! After all that we have endured over the past year and a half, this traditional greeting now means so much more. COVID-19 brought sickness, death, and grief to many families around the world. As we now emerge from the pandemic, God willing, we must not forget the more than four million people who died from this disease globally, and the multitude of families and friends who have mourned the loss of loved ones. Others suffered the loss of jobs and homes, the disruption of their children’s education, and a growing emotional burden of loneliness and depression – not to mention the curtailment of our parish life – as a consequence of governmental efforts to control the disease. The resulting social upheaval was compounded by disagreement and discord throughout our cities. Beyond angry words and public demonstrations, violence has become rampant in the public square. Our world has in so many ways been upended and broken by these trying times. Nevertheless, Christ is in our midst, and He has been with us through all these things. The Ninth Ode of Pascha proclaims: “O Thy divine and beloved and most sweet voice! Thou hast promised that Thou would be with us unto the end of the world, O Christ; and we faithful rejoice, having this as an anchor of hope.” Indeed, insofar as we have been able to turn to Him in the midst of this ordeal,
we have rejoiced in the hope of His constant, preserving, and redeeming presence. Saint Paul expressed the same joyful hope, when he was facing far greater sufferings. He wrote: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:35, 37). Hear again those beautiful words: “Through Him who loved us.” The apostle goes on to proclaim the universal triumph of this love over any obstacle we might ever face: “For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vv. 38–39). Indeed, nothing can separate us from the love of God, brothers and sisters. This is the constant and enduring hope we have in Christ; nothing can strip it
The Word
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