Vigils Reading

THE HOLY APOSTLES

From a homily by Origen

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All of us who believe in Christ Jesus are called “living stones” in the words

of Scripture: “You, too, are living stones, built as an edifice of spirit, into a holy

priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus

Christ.“

You know that in the case of earthly stones the builder takes care to lay

first the strongest and most massive stones as the foundation, so that the whole

weight of the building can then rest upon them. The next stones, of not quite

such good quality, are laid upon the foundation stones; and so on according to

the strength of the stones: the weakest are laid at the top, near the roof. The

same is true of living stones, some of which are the foundation of our spiritual

building. Who are these stones that are laid at the foundation? “The apostles

and prophets.” This is Paul’s teaching: “You form a building which rises on the

foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the

capstone.“

To prepare yourself more zealously to construct this building, to be one of

the stones near the foundation, you must realize that Christ himself is the

foundation of the building which we are describing. Paul the apostle declares

this to be so: “No one can lay a foundation other than the one that has been

laid, namely Jesus Christ.” Happy are they who have built holy, religious

buildings, on such a noble foundation!…

Moreover, I believe that there are among you those who as “living stones

” are able to become an altar – those of you who have resolved to dedicate

yourselves to prayer, to offer God supplications day and night, and to immolate

your sacrifices – and that it is with you that Jesus builds his altar.

Think of the worth to be discerned in altar stones. “Joshua built an altar

to the Lord,” says Scripture, “of unhewn stones on which no iron tool had been

used, in keeping with the command of Moses.” What do you think these

unhewn (whole, perfect) stones represent? It is for each one’s conscience to say

whether we have integrity, whether we are without impurity or spot…

To my mind these whole, spotless stones must be the holy apostles who

together form but one stone because of their unity of heart and soul. Indeed, it is

said that “all with one accord devoted themselves to constant prayer,” and that

they said: “O Lord, you read the hearts of men.” For those who can pray with

one accord, with one voice and one spirit, are indeed worthy to have been built

together into a single altar on which Jesus offers sacrifices to his Father. But we,

for our part, must strive to “agree” in what we say, “united in spirit and ideals;

never acting out of rivalry or conceit,” but “be united in mind and judgment,“

so that we too may try to become altar stones.