The Third Sunday of Easter
April 22, 2007
Acts 9:1-6
Psalm 30
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-9
Well, good people of St. George’s Church, happy feast day! This morning we celebrate both the slayer of death and the slayer of dragons. This third Sunday of Easter we continue to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. We remember that on that day of resurrection Jesus became the slayer of death. On that day death died. And Jesus went on to live, to reveal himself to others as he walked this earth before his ascension into heaven. Now, if you think my metaphoric description of Jesus as a slayer of death is a little far-fetched, you need to read the words that poets and writers of hymn texts have written throughout the ages to characterize Jesus’ triumph over death.
Personally, I probably would not use such a metaphor as “slayer of death” to characterize Jesus if it were not for the fact that today we are also celebrating another slayer of death, or at least the death of a deadly creature. He is our namesake. His name is St. George. And while St. George has lost favor in the eyes of the Episcopal Church, and he is only considered a minor saint in the Roman church, churches of the Eastern Orthodox tradition still venerate St. George, and he has long been the patron saint of England.
It might interest you to know why St. George lost his status in our church. The Episcopal Church came to view George as not real or factual enough to be a saint. They believed stories told about him from the time of the early Church make him more of a legend. They conclude that legendary heroes are not suited for sainthood. But I would like to take issue with that point, even as there might be good reason to agree with it. My point is this: it is commonly accepted that legendary heroes are based upon real people. They are based upon someone who has acted in an extraordinary way for the common good. As people tell their stories about such a person, they tend to embellish them until the heroes traits become so exaggerated, he becomes super human. And while the person or composite persons who make up the legend are real the legendary figure becomes larger than life. The legendary hero comes to represent the heroic traits admired by a people or culture. Need I remind you of America’s own legendary heroes.
You and I know how it can happen that real people can become legendary. Just listen to the stories your family tells about an eccentric relative, or listen to the stories you and your friends tell about someone from your childhood. It is in our human nature to embellish the stories we tell, to exaggerate the characteristics which make a good story even better, until we begin to characterize the person by the ways we exaggerate him and not for the person he really was in real life. I have often wondered what it would be like if people could be present to hear the stories others tell about them. I am certain they would challenge the exaggerated claims we make. But it is also true that such persons would undoubtedly recognize themselves in our stories. Embellish the story of a person who has done a good or heroic deed and that is what legends are made of.
So we have to wonder what good or heroic deed was done by St. George. What would St. George think about the legend he has become if he could hear the stories told about him today. Even more, we have to wonder why these stories prompted the Church to recognized him as a saint. What characteristics of sainthood did this legendary hero possess which would cause him to become the patron saint of a nation and the leader of its armies. Why have writers honored St. George through the ages in poetry and plays. Why do artists represent him in icons and in paintings. Why is it that in many foreign cities and towns you can find a statue of St. George, not just in a church, but in the public square. Why do churches like ours choose him for our namesake.
It seems to me there must be something to this legendary figure. There must be something about St. George which continues to capture our imagination and our heart. There are historians who will tell you that St. George was a real person who was likely one of the early martyrs of the church. And while the facts are not conclusive, the evidence has merit. Many versions of George’s legendary life have emerged over time, but the one story which stands up to the evidence points to George as an early fourth century nobleman and soldier of rank in the Roman army. This was a time of tremendous growth in the early Church and Roman emperors became threatened by these so-called “followers of the Way.” Emperors began persecuting Christians and one of the most vicious and relentless was the Emperor Diocletian.
Now, George was a valiant soldier of Diocletian’s army, but he began to criticize Diocletian for his persecution of Christians, and George undoubtedly tried to help and protect them from their fate. And what is George’s reward? Diocletian beheads him. This event was obviously important enough to be recorded by the well known historian of the day whose name was Eusebius. The problem is that Eusebius never named the soldier who acted so boldly and bravely. But that is not a problem for me. It is good enough that history records the heroic event of a real soldier. He came to be called George and he became a legend. Then the Church made him a saint and churches began to name themselves after him.
History made a legend of George, I think, because it would have been so easy for this man or any man to turn his head away from the cruel and vicious suffering he witnessed which was taking place against a peaceful and charitable people. George could have continued to collect his paycheck, which was probably considerable for a soldier of his stature, and he could have retired comfortably on his pension. So what could have compelled George to speak so boldly and act so bravely on behalf of those who suffered under the sword of one like Diocletian, especially knowing the sure consequences for him.
I believe the story we heard about Paul’s conversion in the Acts of the Apostles gives a clear reason why people like George turn from doing evil to doing good. We know Paul’s story well. Paul is on his way to Damascus to round up “followers of the Way” as he called them, when all of a sudden he is blinded by the light, thrown from his horse and made to hear a voice which turns him and his mission completely around. Paul, the persecutor of Christians becomes a follower of Jesus, a Follower of the Way. He becomes an advocate for the Church and one of its greatest martyrs for the faith.
Like George, Paul willingly gives up a good opinion, civic prestige and a nice paycheck to match to suffer the consequences of being a follower of Jesus. Why? Because of an act of faith. Think about it. No one in their right mind would do what Paul or George or any of our saints have done, except for the sake of the Gospel; for the sake of the One whose call to us can be so compelling, we have no choice but to follow him. It is an act of faith which makes for saints and martyrs, both real and legendary. A faith which compels belief and action for the sake of someone or something greater than oneself for the purpose of accomplishing a greater good in the world. God’s good. That is what saints are made of.
And that’s good enough for me. Good enough for honoring a legend based on a real person who became known as St. George. And good enough for naming our church. Still, we have to ask why St. George has fallen from grace in the Episcopal Church. Why he is not recognized in the hallowed pages of Lesser Feasts and Fasts. I think one reason might be because of so many other stories which grew up around the legend of St. George. The most famous story is one you will see performed today in the brief skit prepared by our Sunday school children at our meal honoring our patronal namesake. As this story goes, George is said to have saved the princess of his town from a dragon. But this is not just any dragon. This dragon threatens to annihilate an entire community if he is not fed a rich feast each day. Unfortunately, he requires that he be fed children to eat. So every day the townspeople hold a lottery to determine which child will next be thrown to the dragon to feed his vicious and voracious appetite. The day came when there were no more children left to sacrifice to the dragon, except for the king’s daughter— the princess. That is where George draws the line. George will not have this dragon eat the princess. His only choice is to kill the beast. So he fights with the dragon, for days. He is severely bruised and beaten and exhausted, but he will not give up. Finally, his sword pierces the thick scales of the dragon’s hide and the beast dies. The princess is saved and so is the town.
Now, this story is really far-fetched, isn’t it. Over the top as we would call it today. But there is a reason why this story also prompts the Church to recognize George as a hero and a saint. The story of St. George and the Dragon became an allegory for the Church. In an allegory, the characters aren’t real, but they represent someone or something real. And they are meant to show us a truth or teach a lesson. In this story of St. George, the dragon is said to have represented the Emperor Diocletian and all the forces of evil which work to undo the Church, while the princess represented the Church. George came to represent people of great faith, who are willing to suffer the consequences in their struggle with evil for the sake of good, God’s good in this world.
So, there we have it; two stories of St. George. They are just wonderful, aren’t they. And just imagine, if we were living in England or in many of the countries in the near East we would be part of a much larger celebration than the one we will have in our parish hall today. But we honor St. George no less by our celebration. After all, we are St. George’s Church. And we are proud of our Episcopal heritage. But today we will stake our claim with the orthodox churches of the East who continue to venerate St. George. We will stake our claim with Great Britain whose armies still carry the banner of St. George ahead of them in battle, and whose churches display the red cross on a white field with pride. We will stake our claim to St. George with the Order of the Garter in Great Britain and the Boy Scouts of Great Britain and America. And we will stake our claim with many civic and religious groups throughout the world who claim St. George for their patron. A real man, a soldier, a hero, a legend and, if you will, a saint. Reason enough, I’d say, for a celebration. Happy Third Sunday of Easter, and Happy day of St. George.
(Actual feast day, April 23rd)