Saints, Spiritual Cleanness, and the Courage of Saint Sarkis

Welcome and good morning. Did you have a good time in Sunday school today? You did. Today is the one Sunday a month when one of our deacons visits the Sunday school to teach about church life and worship. Today, Deacon Kirk was with our Sunday school, and he taught you all about clergy in the church. Is that what the class was about?

Let me ask you this question. I walk into a room, you see me for the first time that day, and you make eye contact with me. What do you say? It’s okay; be bold. “Orhnetsek, Der Hayr.” All of the parents are rolling their eyes because they know the kids heard this about five times! Can you say that with me? Let’s say it all together. When you see me, you can practice saying it over and over again, and you’ll never forget: “Orhnetsek, Der Hayr.”

Is it weird that there’s something you’re supposed to say when you see a priest—something you wouldn’t say to anybody else? It’s not weird. That’s called a custom, and it’s important. What does “Orhnetsek, Der Hayr” mean? It means, “Bless me, Father.” When you say that, I respond with words that mean, “God bless you.” It’s important because whenever we say that to a priest, it reminds us that we’re looking for blessings in our lives, and we receive those blessings from God.

Now let’s talk about something important for today. Around this church right now, there are a lot of pictures. Who can tell me about some of them? Yes, that one over there is called the Forty Martyrs. There’s a picture of the Forty Martyrs right there in the apse.

In the stained-glass windows, you’ll find pictures of Jesus. They tell the story of Jesus’ life. In this window, Jesus is born. In this window, Jesus is grown up and is the Good Shepherd. He is taking care of people, talking to them, and teaching them how to live. In that picture, Jesus is crucified on the cross. In the next picture, Jesus is resurrected and comes out of the tomb. That’s like learning the whole Gospel in thirty seconds just by looking at these pictures—bam, bam, bam, bam!

What about the pictures that aren’t in the stained-glass windows? That is a picture of Jesus being baptized in the River Jordan. And that one is Jesus and Mary. In the Armenian Church, there is a picture of Jesus and Mary on every altar. That’s very important: Jesus as a child with his mother, the Madonna and Child.

That is Mesrop Mashtots. The paintings on the walls—apart from the stained-glass windows—are all pictures of saints. In the church, a picture of a saint has a special name. It begins with an “I.” It’s not “ice”; it’s “icon.” Can you say “icon”? All these pictures of saints in the church are called icons.

Over here, that is not Saint Mary. The Armenian writing on the picture says that it is Surp Hripsime, Saint Hripsime. That is Saint Mesrop Mashtots, that is Saint Gayane, and that is Saint Gregory the Illuminator. Those are all pictures of saints in the church.

Can you remember the names of any other saints? Saint John the Baptist—we have a picture of him right here, in that little altar on the side of the church. Over there is another icon: Saint Nerses the Graceful, Surp Nerses Shnorhali.

Who knows about Saint Sarkis? We all know people named Sarkis. We have a Sarkis in our Sunday school too, but he wasn’t feeling well today and couldn’t come. Yesterday in the church was the Feast of Saint Sarkis. This is an icon—a picture—of Saint Sarkis.

This is an interesting picture because one of our church members painted it for the church just last year. He lives very far away, in Singapore, where there are no Armenian churches. The only way he can be part of our church is by watching online. He wanted to be present but could not be present physically, so he painted an icon and gave it to the church, allowing him to be closer to the church. This is an icon of Saint Sarkis.

Saint Sarkis is a saint. Can anybody tell me what it means to be a saint? Who are saints? Are you a saint? How do you know you’re not a saint? Gayane, you have a saint’s name. You’re named like Saint Gayane; there’s a picture of her over there. Maybe you’re a saint.

Do saints have those glowing golden circles around their heads? Is that how you know they are saints? If Saint Sarkis rode up to you on a white horse, do you think there would be a big golden globe around his head? No. A halo helps us figure out who the saints are in pictures, but in real life it might be a little harder.

Does anybody have any idea, besides a halo, what makes a saint a saint? By being very religious? That’s a tricky one. There are plenty of religious people who aren’t saints. That’s the truth. Even during Jesus’ time, the people who were trying to hurt Jesus were very religious people, and those people weren’t great saints. But that’s a very good guess.

Saints believed in God, trusted him, and helped people? I think that’s a very good way to describe a saint. A saint certainly is somebody who believes in God, trusts in God, and does whatever he or she can to help people. That’s a very good way to understand who a saint is.

Who knows how to say “saint” in Armenian? “Surp.” The name of this church in Armenian is Surp Hovhannes—Saint John. Can you say “surp”?

In Armenian, there is another word that sounds like “surp”: “srpel.” Has anybody who speaks Armenian heard the word “srpel”? It means “to clean.” Your mother might say, “Go clean that up.” What do you think is the connection between “surp” and “srpel”? Perhaps saints are helpers of Jesus who help clean up the world. That’s a pretty good guess.

What do you think being a saint has to do with cleanliness? Here’s one more hint. Who knows what this is? This is where you get baptized. How do you get baptized? You take a little bath—not just any bath, but a very special bath. It’s called baptism. When you get baptized, you are cleansed of your sins. You are made clean, not just in your body but in your soul.

A saint is somebody who has a very clean soul. And do you know what? We can all be saints. You could be a saint. I could be a saint. We could all be saints. But it’s really, really hard. Do you think it would be hard to be a saint?

It would be, especially if you know anything about the people in these pictures, because they had it pretty hard. They had very difficult lives, and they did great things that were very hard. Because they did those things and never lost their trust in God, we believe that they are saints. They are spiritually clean people, just like Saint Sarkis.

Saint Sarkis is a special saint because we commemorated him yesterday in the church, and we believe that he is the saint of youth. Do you know why? There is a story we read about Saint Sarkis in which he rescued a young maiden, just like in a fairy tale. Saint Sarkis rescued this young girl who was in trouble. That makes him like a superhero.

What do you see in that picture? Is there a big horse? Is there a man? What is he holding? He is holding a big, long stick called a spear. Saint Sarkis was a soldier. He was a warrior, a knight who did very brave things, such as rescuing people who were in trouble.

Saint Sarkis came to Armenia, where he was welcomed, and then he went to a place called Persia to help protect it. He was very successful there. But the king of Persia found out that Saint Sarkis was a Christian. The Persians were not Christian. They told Saint Sarkis, “I don’t want you to be Christian. I want you to be one of us. You have to become just like us and do these unchristian things.”

Saint Sarkis said no. He stood up and was brave. He did the hard thing and was a courageous hero. Because of it, he died. But today, seventeen hundred years later, he is still our hero.

In fact, all the people in these pictures are heroes. Do you want to know one more important thing about them? They are heroes for you and me even now. Saint Sarkis is my hero. He has done things for me, and he is doing things for me and for you. How is that possible?

He did things that mattered in the past. He inspired people then, and he inspires people now. But all these saints are also doing something very important right now, even though they are no longer alive on earth. Saint Sarkis is doing something right now. So are Saint Gregory, Saint Gayane, Saint Hripsime, and Saint Mesrop. They are all praying for you in heaven.

All these saints are praying for you in heaven so that you can be brave, so that you can be strong, so that you can trust God, and so that you will have whatever you need to live a good life. That is called intercession.

When we begin Badarak, we say, “Saint Mary, pray for us.” Saint Mary is praying with us from heaven as we celebrate Badarak. She is here right now, praying with us.