In today’s Epistle reading, St. Paul says, “Having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” In this paradoxical statement, we learn that true freedom comes by submitting ourselves to Christ in love and obedience. Fr. Gregory emphasizes that we all serve something or someone, and without Christ, we serve sin. This slavery to our passions, in which our desires are our tyrants, leads to death.

However, obedience to God leads to life. Fr. Gregory gives several examples of this obedience — in today’s Gospel reading, in our monastic tradition, and in the church. In all these examples, we learn that obedience helps us crucify our self-will, helping us say “Not my will, but thy will be done.”

Finally, Fr. Gregory points out that obedience is humility in practice. When we obey the church by praying, fasting, giving alms, coming to confession, attending church regularly, reading the Scriptures, we are being obedient and humbling ourselves before Christ and his church. This voluntary obedience leads us to a closer relationship with Christ.