The reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (8:41-56)

Today’s reading is a familiar one to many of us. It is a beautiful story about healing. The first healing is quite remarkable as a woman is healed of a sickness that she had for twelve years simply by touching the hem of the Lord’s garment with faith. This by the way, is where some of the faithful learned the practice of touching the hem of the priests vestments during the great entrance of the Divine Liturgy. It is not because they think the priest is personally holy or because they like his personality, but because the priest stands in the parish as representing Christ and partaking of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. The priest serves, but the Lord is the one who does the work.

The second healing which occurs is one of the most significant in the New Testament as Our Lord Jesus Christ performs the rarest of miracles by raising a young girl, only 12 years old, from death, back to life. In the context of our Christian faith and our understanding of who Jesus is, none of these miracles are very surprising. We are accustomed to hear such stories. But for those who were eyewitnesses, this was something absolutely extraordinary. And for those who were introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ through the hearing of the gospels, this was likewise completely amazing.

When we think about healing we frequently think about such miracles of physical healing. Indeed some of you have experienced great and miraculous healing over the course of your lives. But I want to remind you that how God heals us is not always how we imagine that God will heal us. The whole purpose of the Church is for the healing of the human person. The reason that God took flesh and became man was because He desired to heal the human race.

Is the Lord strictly interested in the condition of our bodies, and our bodily health? No. A human being is more than a mere body. He has a soul as well. So we can’t think about healing without realizing that true healing begins with the soul. The Church is the hospital of the Divine Physician Jesus Christ. Within the Church those who approach with faith receive various medicines that come through the grace of the Holy Spirit and are administered by the priests and deacons to the faithful. But as I said, sometimes the healing that is offered by God through the Church is not exactly as we expect it. There is a beautiful quote that was shared with me this week by a brother priest. It is from a modern holy elder named Father Panagiotis Tsiolis. He says,

“Modern man comes to church not as a sick person, but as a customer. “I like it,” “I don’t like it,” “it was too long,” “he spoke too loudly,” “I didn’t feel anything.” In this way, a person evaluates the liturgy as if it were a product. He no longer comes to be healed, but to be satisfied. If the sermon hurts him, he leaves. If he is told to change, he becomes upset. If he is asked to show patience, he looks elsewhere. He has forgotten that the Church is neither a theater nor a spiritual restaurant. It is a hospital; and one does not go to a hospital to be applauded, but to undergo surgery—to be cured, to be healed.

Whoever enters the Church without humility leaves without healing. Grace does not operate according to a person’s tastes, but according to his wounds. Yet, modern man no longer wants his wounds to be touched, because it hurts. He seeks comfort without truth, forgiveness without repentance, and communion without confession. And when he does not get what he wants, he claims that he “no longer feels anything.” It is not the Church that has grown cold—it is the heart that has closed… The hospital remains the same. The Physician remains the same. The treatment remains the same. Yet the patient refuses the surgery—and then wonders why the illness remains.”

That powerful quote reminds us of the deeper spiritual reality of healing in the Church. Healing requires our cooperation with the grace of God. Healing requires our participation as it required the participation of the woman who came with faith to touch the Lord. It requires us to be humble and to desire to change, to be healed. The healing of the soul often requires some pain. It may require some gentle correction. It sometimes requires us to be broken and reformed by God. “A broken and humble heart, God will not despise.”

It’s a process. It takes time, it takes effort, it requires soul searching, it requires real confession, it requires real prayer. But make no mistake, God is ready and willing to offer you the same healing that He once offered to the woman with the issue of blood and to the young girl who had died. The Lord came into the world precisely for this reason, to heal us, not according to our own human definition of health but to impart His healing which is far greater. He desires to make each of us holy. To make you a saint. But do you desire this? Do you really want to be healed? If so, run to Christ, as the woman ran after Him to touch His garments. Run towards Him as did Jairus who’s daugher was dying. Run to His teachings, run to His Church and to her sacraments, run to His saints. Because no one that runs towards Christ with their whole heart is ever, ever turned away. Glory be to God AMEN.

Source: Sermons

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (16:19-31)

Our Lord Jesus Christ loves the human race so much that He could not stand that we would be left in the dark. He could not stand the thought that humanity should live in ignorance and darkness regarding the realities of life as well as death. He could not stand that we would be without knowledge regarding the things that really matter in this life and in the life that is to come.

One of the diabolical thoughts of the world, a thought that has disrupted and caused people to stumble greatly is the thought that the afterlife is not real. Another thought is similar to it. There is among some the idea that the afterlife is real but that it will be joy and peace for all people. That God will save all people, that all people will enter into the kingdom together. This is a thought that is not new. We even have church writers who mention this as a hope but they do not typically go so far as to call it a doctrine or dogma of the church. And of course we have people in modern times who say similar things including the unitarian universalists, who believe that it doesn’t matter who you worship or what you do, everyone will be saved, will enjoy the presence of God, at the end.

Well my brothers and sisters, let me remind you that today’s parable from the gospel according St. Luke is in contradiction to the idea that the afterlife will be joy and peace for all people. It is also in contradiction to the idea that we will all be saved and enjoy being in the presence of God. If you believe those ideas, you are in direct contradiction to the teaching of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

He tells a story with two main characters; the rich man and Lazarus. Please note that this is not the same Lazarus who is the brother of Mary and Martha, although perhaps there is a connection hidden in this name that Our Lord has chosen.

The rich man had a great life. He lacked nothing in life. He had everything. There was also a very poor man named Lazarus who had the exact opposite type of life as the rich man. Where the rich man was dressed in the finest clothes, Lazarus was dressed in rags, barely clothed at all. Where the rich man feasted greatly, Lazarus begged beneath the table. While the rich man had servants and maids and no doubt had many people all around him to celebrate and eat and drink with him, the poor Lazarus had dogs as his companions. It should be noted here that dogs were not seen as pets. In Scripture the dogs are seen as unclean, as filthy street animals.

Something happened to both of these men and it happened suddenly, without warning. I was thinking the other day about that difficult time that we all went through together beginning in March of 2020 with the coronavirus that spread all over the globe. It happened so suddenly didn’t it? One day the whole world was going about it’s business as usual and the next day, the world became like a fortress, everyone locked away in their homes, schools shut down, churches shut down, businesses shut down. Life changed and there was basically nothing to stop it. This was how death came upon Lazarus and the rich man. Suddenly. This is also how death will come for us. Suddenly. You make plans and you have activities and hopes and dreams and struggles and then it comes quickly, like a thief in the night. This is precisely why the Lord tells us to be watchful.

Unfortunately for the rich man, on the day that he died he learned that it was too late for him. It was too late to repent. It was too late to cultivate love for God and love for His neighbor. It was too late to think about feeding the poor Lazarus who had begged at his table with the dogs. It was too late. Death will be a harsh reality for those who don’t love God and who don’t have mercy towards others.

What was the difference between the rich man and Lazarus? They were both humans. They were both men. God had created them both. But something differentiated them. Something allowed one to enjoy rest and peace while the other suffered and was in torment. Interestingly the text never says that it is because God punished one and spared the other. It was, rather, the condition of their souls.

Lazarus had a beautiful soul full of light and full of love. He was probably miserable for much of his earthly life but through everything, through all of his sufferings, his soul was cleansed and he was comforted by God. He had absolutely no other comfort, no other helper, not even the wealthy man who sat at the table with plenty to spare. Since he had no other comfort in life, God became his true comfort and consolation.

When you and I hear about Lazarus we are sad for him. It is true that we should have pity on him, but look at what he gained for all of his sufferings. A radiant soul! We see that the kingdom is not according to our human wisdom. The rich man who had everything in life, turned out to be quite empty handed. He had nothing when his soul was forcefully separated from his body. He had no fine clothes, no gourmet food, no wealth, and no virtue. On top of all of this, since his soul lacked virtue it was darkened and it remained in that state permanently once the soul was separated from the body.

The rich man embodied the warning of Christ “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.” Why did the Lord say this? Was it because He wanted to pick on rich people? Was it because He didn’t like them? Not at all. He said these things out of love, to warn us. If a man is content with his life and everything in his life, he may feel self-sufficient and might even begin to think that God doesn’t matter, that virtue doesn’t matter, that mercy towards others doesn’t matter. He might enjoy the pleasures of life so much that he even forgets that the very days of his life are numbered.

Likewise, when I think about Lazarus I am reminded of the sermon on the mount. Listen to the words of our Lord Jesus “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matt 5:3-4) Lazarus embodied this. It became part of who he was. One of the most important lessons that we can take from this passage is that every difficulty and trial, and every pain and sorrow in your life is something that can be a tool for your salvation. Sickness, disease, the loss of a job, these are all terribly difficult situations in life, but God sometimes allows such difficulties. Let us carry these crosses faithfully, without grumbling, without doubting God. St. Anthony of Optina writes, “Of course, it would be easier to get to paradise with a full stomach, all snuggled up in a soft feather-bed, but what is required is to carry one’s cross along the way, for the kingdom of God is not attained by enduring one or two troubles, but many!”

I want to leave you with one more quote from St. Maximos the confessor, who writes, If God suffers in the flesh when He is made man, should we not rejoice when we suffer, for we have God to share our sufferings? This shared suffering confers the kingdom on us. For he spoke truly who said, ‘If we suffer with Him, then we shall also be glorified with Him’ (Rom. 8:17). AMEN.

Source: Sermons

Today in the Orthodox Church we commemorate the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council that assembled in the city of Nicaea in the year 787ad to resolve the issues and controversies around the veneration of icons and those who had tried to outlaw and ban them from the churches.

On Tuesday we will begin our Introduction to Orthodoxy classes and one of the aspects of the faith that we talk about are the sources of authority within the life of the Church.   Is the only source of authority the Bible or do other sources exist?  It becomes clear to anyone who studies just a bit of church history that the Bible is not the only source of authority.  Other sources exist to clarify and to expound upon the words of Holy Scripture and the New Testament.  One source of authority within the Church is the bishops themselves as they gathered together in prayer and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in these ecumenical councils, in order to lead and guide the Church through difficulties especially those of a doctrinal nature.  

When anyone picks up and reads from the Old Testament Scripture or the New Testament, he can very easily misinterpret or misunderstand the text.  He or she can even twist the text and convince themselves and others of this novel or incorrect reading.  Yet the Church reminds us that it has certain safeguards in place in order to avoid such issues.  Even the Apostle Peter tells us that no Scripture is of private interpretation, but is subject to the greater community.  Likewise the bishops of the church are not islands unto themselves, they are responsible to one another and to the whole of the Christian community.  Each is accountable to the other and all of them as members of the body of Christ become keepers of the sacred traditions and teachings of the Church as they have been passed down to us.  I am not quite sure how I can awaken you to the amazing gift that you have been given through the Church and through her faithful “passing down” or “traditioning” of our sacred faith, but I will share some of the words of Fr. Alexander Schmemann to emphasize the point.  He says,

““Orthodoxy,” “the true faith”; if for one moment we try to understand what it means: the true, the full Christianity, as it has been proclaimed by Christ and His disciples; if our Church has preserved for all ages the message of the apostles and of the fathers and of the saints in its purest form, then, my dear friends, here is the answer to the questions and to the problems and to the sufferings of our world. You know that our world today is so complex. It is changing all the time. And the more it changes, the more people fear, the more they are frightened by the future, the more they are preoccupied by what will happen to them. And this is where Orthodoxy must answer their problem; this is where Orthodoxy must accept the challenge of modern civilization and reveal to men of all nations, to all men in the whole world, that it has remained the force of God left in history for the transformation, for the deification, for the transfiguration of human life.”

The Church commemorates the fathers of the ecumenical councils because they have upheld and protected the life giving faith for us and that is the greatest victory that we can have as Christians.  St. John the Theologian writes, “ And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith.” (1 Jn 5:4) 

According to Christian faith, the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are the most important events in the entire history of the universe.  Yet, in order for them to be understood as more than myth or legend, something must anchor them to reality.  What the Church has understood as the anchor of our faith is the eye witness accounts of the apostles.  They gave up their lives, they went to their deaths preaching and teaching that they had indeed seen and touched and heard and known the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. 

Icons, according to the fathers of the 7th council, are a necessary part of all Christian worship.  In our Church, we pray what we believe and we believe what we pray.  The Orthodox faithful underwent many years of hardship and persecution at the hands of those who believed that the use of icons was forbidden and was wrong according to their understanding of Scripture (an understanding that incidentally was heavily influenced by the rise of Islam).  These Christians read Scripture with a narrow understanding that denied the living experience of the universal Christian church of the early centuries.  Nevertheless, truth won the day.

 The 7th ecumenical council, a universal council of the east and the west, tells us that icons are not only good, but absolutely necessary.  They are a continual reminder that God is no longer understood as simply an invisible spirit.  God is understood as having a Son, who Himself took real human flesh, real human existence.  Who was born on an actual day in history, in an actual place, with an actual human mother from whom He received His actual human DNA. St. Peter writes “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16

In the Old Testament, God forbid the making of images for worship because the people did not have a proper understanding of Him.  No one had ever seen God, for God is spirit. For the people to attempt to depict or worse yet, to pray to what they had not seen or understood, would be a great blasphemy because they were bound to depict God incorrectly.  They were bound to worship something false.  But, the Lord Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that the day is coming when the true worshippers of God will worship Him in spirit and in truth.  This indeed has happened with the coming of the savior into the world.   The Apostle Paul writes that Jesus Christ “is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15).  His actual word from the Greek is not image but icon.  It is this revelation of the Son of God in the flesh, that makes iconography not only proper, but necessary.  Since mankind looked on the face of the Son of God and dwelt with Him and witnessed all of the events of His life, we know that He is real.  To forbid iconography is to deny the incarnation, to deny the taking of flesh by the Son of God.  The Church reminds us that what we believe is not myth, but truth, and truth has consequences.  

St. John of Damascus, writing in the 7-8th century (hundreds of years before the protestant reformation) says “You who refuse to bow before images also refuse to bow before the Son of God who is the living image of the invisible God (Col. 1: 15), and His unchanging likeness. I bow before the images of Christ, the incarnate God; of our Lady, the Theotokos and Mother of the Son of God; and of the saints, who are God’s friends.”

 God became man and dwelt among us. That is our Christian faith.  It is not philosophical theory but experience that includes our senses.  We don’t know God through books.  We know God by experience.  In the Orthodox faith we have a sensory experience every time that we enter the church.  We taste the Lord’s body and blood, we smell the incense, we see and kiss the icons, we hear the hymns.  It must be so!  Because our redemption and healing happens not only on some far-away cosmic level, but it happens even within the individual person and within his very cells.  Sanctification through the life of the Holy Spirit, transforms us at every level.  As a person participates in worship, through the body, through their senses, they are healed.  The Lord Jesus Christ in His abundant mercy and love for mankind, has made this healing possible by truly taking our human flesh and lifting it up to His level.  His resurrection becomes our resurrection.  Everything is healed.  Everything is transformed.  Everything is made new in the light of the incarnation and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

This is why we remember the return of the icons into the Church.  Because we can’t get to the resurrection without the incarnation.  We can’t get to the life-saving faith unless the apostles had first witnessed the Word made flesh, and been so convinced of this fact that they were willing to die to proclaim this truth of Jesus Christ.  It is a powerful testimony of the truth of our faith and it is this faith that gives us new life.  It is this faith that we cling to and embrace as we live a life of repentance and prayer and ask the Lord to open our hearts and minds and make these truths a part of our being.  

Each and every week at Matins we sing these beautiful words: “God is the Lord and has revealed Himself to us.” Let us truly embrace the divine gift that has been shared with us! Glory be to God forever, AMEN. 

Adapted from a homily originally given in October 2020.

Source: Sermons

The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (6:31-36)

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the lover of mankind, gives us beautiful words today.  He focuses on one word “love”.  This word is one of the most overused and misused words in all of our common day to day language.  But the Son of God, who is love incarnate, instructs and teaches His people so that they will not be in the dark but will have the light of life, the light of His teachings.

He says “As you wish men to do to you, do so to them.”  It’s a very simple saying, in fact we teach this rule to children.  We call it the golden rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  We know of course that loving one’s neighbor is among the very highest of the commandments and in this teaching of the golden rule it becomes more clear and concrete for us.  If you would not like someone to do something particular to you, then don’t do that thing to them.  Put yourself in their shoes.  Put yourself in their place and you can begin to see their perspective.  The Christian who cannot see things from anyone else’s perspective, is not yet a child of God.  He sees through human eyes and not through the eyes of Christ, the eyes of God.

We know that this is true because the Lord Jesus Christ is going to push us far past our comfort level regarding this often used word “love”.  The Lord is going to show us that what He means by love is something far different from our concept of love.  We often think of love as a feeling.  It is often emotional, even hormonal.  But that is not love according to the Lord.  He has to push us beyond our human understanding.  Beyond what is even rational.  Because if it is rational it will be according to human wisdom and not according to the mind of God.

So the Lord challenges His listeners “If you love those who love you, what credit is that you?  Even sinners love those who love them.”  He says that effectively it means nothing if you love those who act kindly towards you.  He says that if you only reciprocate love when others show love to you then that is not a sign that you are virtuous or holy, for “even sinners love those who love them.” So how will God push us past the point of comfort and raise our minds and hearts to Him?  How will God show us what we are missing in our understanding of this powerful word “love”?  He will attach this word to the people it will be most difficult to love…to our very own enemies.

Christ says “love your enemies.”  But it is very difficult, if not humanly impossible.  Man left to his own devices, will destroy his enemies and he will justify their destruction.  Some of you here have even been overheard saying that certain groups of people should die or be eradicated.  Make no mistake, that is not the way that the children of God should speak and with love I tell you that it is a sign that we are still very far from the kingdom.  

We can and sometimes we should hate what people stand for, we can hate false teaching and ideologies, we can hate evil practices and evil policies.  Yet, we love the human person and never reduce the person to their sins or their political party or their religion or their ideology.  If we do, then we are just like them, not like our Father who has graciously opened the doors to us and adopted each of us into His family.  And speaking of family, do you know who your enemy is?  It is your brother or your sister.  We are related to everyone.  We are created in the image of God.  Even those whom we despise are created in God’s image, difficult as that may be for us to consider.  

So how do we gain love for our enemies?  Well, some of the saints say that this is a gift.  That it comes by the grace of God.  That means that our task is to be acquiring God’s grace as much as possible, because God desires to give this gift to us. What are some of the means available to acquiring God’s grace?  Well, certainly there are the means such as the liturgy and fasting and the reading of Scripture.  But we can go further.  We can look at the power of confession.  Humility unlocks grace and there is nothing that demonstrates humility more than someone who comes and bares their soul during confession.  We can look at almsgiving.  When someone gives sacrificially for the sake of others, that is a great way to prepare the heart to receive God’s grace.  When someone accepts an insult or is mistreated and accepts it silently, that is a way that they acquire this grace richly through humility.  When we think of others, especially those whom we dislike, as better than ourselves, that is a powerful way to acquire humility and to attract the grace of God.

St. Silouan of Mt. Athos wrote on this topic of love often.  Let me share some of his words. He says, “If we are incapable [of loving our enemies] and if we are without love, let us turn with ardent prayers to the Lord, to His Most Pure Mother, and to all the Saints, and the Lord will help us with everything, He whose love for us knows no bounds.”  He goes one saying, “I continuously beg the Lord to give me the love of enemies. . . . Day and night I ask the Lord for this love. The Lord gives me tears and I weep for the whole world.”

These are not simply suggestions, they should become a law for our lives because St. Silouan also says something terrifying: “Whoever will not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit.”  May we be numbered among those who know the Lord and His love.  AMEN.

Source: Sermons

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (5:1-11)
The Lord wanted to do a great miracle in the life of St. Peter, who in today’s gospel is called Simon. He was often called Simon Peter. This miracle that the Lord wanted to do was not for the sake of Peter. It was also for the sake of the other disciples who would come to believe. But it was not merely for Peter or for those other disciples. The miracle was meant to be a blessing for all people. How so? Through this miracle of the great catch of fish, the disciples would begin to understand that the One whom they were listening to, the One whom they followed was no mere man but something greater. They would be convinced that He is the anointed one, the Messiah. They would be convinced that their lives and their mission and purpose should in fact change in light of this knowledge.

Our Lord began this special event on that morning by sitting down in Simon Peter’s boat and beginning to teach the people. First he fed the people with His word. Later He would feed them with a great catch of fish, more than any of them had ever seen in their lives. But there is an order to things. The first is the word of God, the teaching of Our Lord who is Himself the Word of God. First they receive spiritual food and later, they will receive physical food. Likewise this is the pattern for each of us if we want to have a balanced life in Christ. Each of us starts the day with overwhelming hunger. Not hunger for a bacon egg and cheese biscuit (although those are very nice). Starting with a hunger for the word of God, for the reading of scripture. And this daily reading, even 5-10 minutes, even one chapter of the gospels, is a light for us in the middle of darkness. Those short minutes set a compass for our hearts and minds throughout the day. We waste so much time. We aren’t ashamed that we spend days of our life scrolling through nonsense, but then we say that we have no time left for the Word. But our lives are an open book before the Lord.

Even in the case of the disciples they spent the whole night working and sweating and they probably wished they had been asleep in their beds, near their families, but instead they worked. Yet at the end of the work, they had nothing to show for it. “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” You can hear their frustration. Yet after all of their hard work, even they gained nothing. In a way this is true in the grand scheme of life. You work hard and afterwards, it’s gone. A mother works all day to clean the home and the next day they find that the kids have undone all the work. A man works hard to become wealthy and then he passes from this life and he finds that all of his work evaporated as his soul departed from his body. He couldn’t take any of it with him. So he enters into eternity in the same state as when he entered into the world as an infant. He is broke.

But something has the potential to be different and that is the wealth of the soul. My soul can be full of unlimited treasures. Likewise, in our lives we are often like the fisherman, toiling, working, sweating, slaving away to get by. Some days it feels like nothing is going right. Yet the Lord was actually preparing the disciples for something better. He uses these difficulties and trials to prepare our hearts for something greater, for Himself!

Had the fishermen been successful all night, perhaps they would have had little need for the Lord. Perhaps they would have felt no deep hunger or pain. But here they are, listening intently as they are frustrated and tired and questioning themselves. And now the Lord, after speaking and softening their hearts and preparing them, makes a request that might have been more than they could handle at that moment. “Put out into the deep and let your nets down for the catch.” You can hear their frustration through the words of Peter “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” But we can also see their humility, “But at Thy word I will let down the nets.” They are frustrated and exhausted, but they are humble and obedient. God rewarded their obedience. Our Church fathers have so much to say about the topic of obedience. Here is one example: St. Maximos the Confessor writes, “Just as the result of disobedience is sin, so the result of obedience is virtue. And just as disobedience leads to breaking the commandments and to separation from Him who gave them, so obedience leads to keeping the commandments and to union with Him who gave them.” St. Maximus the Confessor, Philokalia, 2nd century on Theology

Obedience was a starting point for the calling of the disciples. The Lord picked a moment when they should in fact be most irritable and least likely to cooperate, and yet, they did cooperate (perhaps under the leadership and example of Peter). In cooperating with the Lord they were accepting an invitation to draw near to Him. He gave them an opportunity that anyone in their right might would jump at, but they didn’t know it at that moment. It was hidden behind something that looked difficult, even annoying. What difficult things might God be calling us to in our own lives? What is God asking us to do that might feel like it is beyond our abilities or strengths?

My brothers and sisters, you will have many day when your life feels like Peter did after catching no fish. When you are at your wits end. Start those days by preparing your hearts with the word of God. And since you don’t know which days will be like this particular day, then you have to prepare your hearts for this every single day! And be prepared to obey whatever the Lord tells you in your heart and in your conscience. Don’t silence that quiet voice, lean in and listen closely. Be prepared to obey the teachings that the Lord gives you on a daily basis, to the best of your abilities for those teachings are our treasure if we save them in our hearts. Sometimes we even feel that the commandments are difficult. We don’t understand that they are an invitation into a deeper relationship with God.

Understand that the Lord is not distant or cold or uncaring. He sees and He knows and He understands our lives. Continue to obey Him without losing hope. Continue to obey Him with full confidence that the Lord is with you and He will give you what is needed today and every day of your life. His calling to go deeper in our relationship with Him is often cloaked. It might not always appear for what it is. The Lord didn’t need fish. The Lord didn’t need the disciples to go fishing. He wanted to test them and because they accepted the invitation, they opened new doors through their obedience. They went in further. The saw a wondrous thing and this was nothing compared to what the Lord would show them for the next three years.

Our task is not only to obey but to obey from a loving heart for God, because we know that God loves us and wants the best for us. This will allow us to unite with God and that is the goal of life. This is the path to union and communion. Christ our God has a plan to fill the nets of your life. Moreover, He has an even greater plan to fill the nets of your soul, because you are His inheritance and His people.

Source: Sermons

The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians. (6:11-18) and The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John. (3:13-17)

Today’s gospel reading is given to us by the Church in order to prepare us for the Feast of the elevation of the Holy Cross, which we will celebrate tomorrow morning with a liturgy. In order to fully prepare us for this feast the Church brings out passages which bring the cross into focus and remind us, help us to understand the beauty and the power of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and what has been accomplished for us upon that cross.

In teaching the people Our Lord refers to the story of Moses with the Jews in the wilderness. As you know from the book of Exodus, there were poisonous snakes that would come out and bite the people and kill them along the long journey to the promised land. This was a terrible situation that turned dire. We might come with human solutions but Moses prays to the living God. The Lord reveals the solution for this terrible situation. Moses is told to make a bronze serpent upon a staff. Moses is instructed to tell the people that if they are bitten by one of these poisonous vipers they should immediately look at the bronze serpent upon the staff. Amazing. It defies all human logic or explanation. It defies science (the god of the modern age). Yet, the Lord uses this to offer protection and safety to His people. And who are His people? Those who will obey His instruction given through His servant Moses. Those who are bitten and refuse to have faith and obedience, die. They cease to exist on the earthly plane. They cease to be God’s people because of their refusal to obey God.

This uncompromising way continues into the New Testament and the new covenant. God hasn’t changed from the Old to the New Testament. He is the same, but what He requires of us is more apparent and He Himself has become clearer to us through the incarnation of His Son Jesus. With our understanding of God deepened and brought to light, we see that we can’t live in the old ways. Things must change. St. Paul was a pharisee of the pharisees. He was a teacher of the Israel, of the Hebrew race, of the people of God. Yet, upon encountering the risen Lord Jesus, His understanding had to be reshaped and reformed and He began to understand everything about His life and His religion in a new way. He began to see everything that came before Christ as a prequel, a shadow, a foretelling. Now in the person of Christ, everything was different. The rules had changed. This is why St. Paul writing in today’s epistle, spends time speaking of circumcision and the law. These were his reality as an obedient and faithful Jew. Yet as he writes to the churches he reminds them that circumcision will not benefit them at all and adherence to the Mosaic law will not benefit them at all now that Christ has been revealed to us as the anointed one, the faithful servant of God, the Holy one.

So if circumcision or adherence to the law will not benefit the Jews then what will? According to the Apostle’s teaching, only a living faith in Jesus Christ and in the power of His cross can help them. St. Paul writes as much when he says “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

So just as the Lord commanded the Jews in the wilderness to look upon the image of the bronze serpent with faith when they were bitten, so also does the Apostle Paul command the Jews to look upon the cross of the Lord Jesus if they desire to be saved from the poison of sin and death. He makes it clear that there is no other way, not even through circumcision or through the law of Moses. Only through faithfulness to Christ is one saved, by God’s grace.

It is the teaching of Scripture and of the Church that this salvation is open to all people no matter where they may come from, no matter what race or tribe or ethnicity. This salvation is open to all: Greek and Jews, slave or free, male or female. It is through faith in Christ and in the might of His cross. Through baptism in Christ we are engrafted into the family and household of God. Through faith and devotion to Christ within the Church, which is His body, we continue to live and grow and flourish as sons and daughters of God. So then, membership in the household of God is no longer based on genetics or lineage. Membership is not based on location or which passport you have. Membership is not based on the country to which you belong. Membership is based solely on whether you accept Christ fully, first through baptism and then in a life of faithfulness. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

It is for this reason that St. Paul can then say clearly to the Galatians, “And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” Gal 6:16 Paul is making a clear demarcation and differentiation between Israel as a place and people, and the new Israel, the Israel of God, which is made up of those who walk by this rule given by St. Paul. And who alone is following this rule? The faithful of the Church.

St. John Chrysostom preaching about this verse says “Those who pursue this new creation will enjoy peace and goodness, and truly deserve to be called by the name of the true Israel. But those who oppose it, even if they have been born of Israel and carried Israel’s name with them, have fallen away from Israel and from that name and family. For those who can truly be Israelites are those who keep this rule, abstain from the old ways and pursue what belongs to grace.” Homily on Galatians 6.16. [IOEP 4:101.]

To further confirm this reading we have the writing of St. Ambrose of Milan who writes, “peace and mercy rest on two parts—believing Jews and faithful Gentiles; “Israel of God,” not “Israel of man.” Again we have confirmation from another great Church father as St. Jerome writes,

“All things are measured by a standard, and when a ruler is set next to them they are revealed to be either wrong or right. In this way the teaching of God is a sort of standard for words that differentiates between what is righteous or unrighteous….He says “Israel of God” to distinguish it from the Israel that ceased to belong to God. For they call themselves Jews but are not, and they lie since they come from the synagogue of Satan. You should not be surprised that the fleshly Israel mimics the spiritual Israel, but the former lacks both peace and mercy (Paul, writing to the Corinthians, refers to them when he says, “Consider the Israel that is according to the flesh”).” Commentarii in Epistolam Pauli ad Galatas, Book 3, on Galatians 6:16

My brothers and sisters, the peace and mercy of God and His power and might to overcome all of our enemies (even Death) is given only through the Cross and resurrection of the only begotten Son of God, the God-man Jesus Christ. This is the heart of the gospel, and those who accept Christ through baptism, become citizens of the Israel of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the Holy Church AMEN.

Source: Sermons

Sept 6, 2026

As many of our children have returned to school I thought I would share a story about some chickens, well really it’s about one chicken named Fred. Fred was a rooster. For years he would get up every morning and alert everyone to the rising of the Sun. He would proudly crow: Cockadoodledoo! And wake up everyone at the farm. In addition to that He would protect the hens and their eggs. There were some mornings when Farmer Paisios wished Fred would have slept in so that he could also get more sleep but he was usually really happy with Fred the rooster. Fred knew his role and he did it well. He served the whole farm community.

One day while everyone was busy working, a sneaky fox crawled up to the chicken house. This had happened before. Once before Fred came to the farm, the fox snuck up to the chicken house and stole many eggs. But the slippery fox never tried anything like that while Fred the rooster was there to protect the hens, and their eggs. But this one particular day, while everyone was busy and distracted, the fox greasily slid his way over to the chicken house and just as he was getting ready to attack the hens and take their eggs, he noticed that Fred the Rooster was watching. Fox had no way to get past Fred so he came up with a new plan.

He came close to Fred and tried to act like a friend. Fox said to Fred the rooster, “How are you feeling today?” Fred replied that he was feeling good, maybe a bit tired from always getting up early. And this is where Fox began his work. Every day he would come by and tell Fred the rooster that something must be wrong with him. He shouldn’t be tired. He should always feel great. He had convinced Fred after many weeks that perhaps there was something wrong with him. Finally one day, Fred the rooster asked for advice from Fox. “What do you think I should do about my situation? I’m tired and I don’t feel like getting up and crowing at daybreak and protecting the hens for a living. I wish I had it easy like the hens.”

This was the chance that Fox was after. He declared with confidence and without hesitation that perhaps Fred the Rooster was born in the wrong body. Perhaps he was really a hen stuck inside the body of the rooster. This seemed strange to Fred at first but the more it was repeated and the more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that this was really the problem. All of his troubles and all of his problems would go away if only he could be treated like one of the hens. So he made a decision and decided not to get up the next day to cockadoodledoo. He just slept in and ignored the rising of the Sun.

Farmer Paisios slept in as well. He never heard Fred the rooster because Fred the rooster was still asleep. Farmer Paisios finally rose and realized that something must be wrong so he went to the chicken house to see what was the matter. Upon arriving he found Fred still sleeping and he also noticed that there were no eggs anywhere. They were gone. Farmer Paisios yelled at Fred to wake him: “Lazy bum! Why didn’t you wake up and do your job this morning?!” Fred the rooster looked at him and replied, “I don’t feel like being a rooster anymore. I feel like being a hen!” “You feel like being a hen?!” groaned Farmer Paisios. “What gave you the idea that you could become a hen?” So Fred the Rooster shared the whole story about what Fox had told him and how we had convinced him that something was wrong with him.

Suddenly it all made sense to Farmer Paisios and he looked at Fred and said “Fox told you what he wanted you to hear, not because he cared for you, but because he cared for the eggs you were guarding.” “No, it can’t be!” cried Fred. “He seemed so genuine and so caring!” But Farmer Paisios just shook his head thinking about how sad it was. He was sad that the fox had crept into the farm. Sad about all of the eggs being gone. And most of all, he was sad that Fred the Rooster had forgotten his purpose in life.

Later, after Farmer Paisios spent some long hours in prayer, he came to Fred the rooster and spoke with him. “Fred, I know that you were confused and I forgive you, but we must never let that happen again.” Fred was still puzzled and he asked “How do I prevent this from happening again?”

Farmer Paisios turned to the rooster and spoke kindly saying, “Fred, you made a big mistake when you let the Fox even start to talk to you. We know that the Fox is a liar and a murderer — when he speaks, he always lies. That is his nature. It can’t be changed any more than you can change being a rooster, or I can change from being a man. The only one Who never lies is God. Not only does He always tell the truth, but He always loves us. And do you know Who created you?” Fred replied with a question, “Was it God who created me?”

Farmer Paisios was pleased with that response, “Yes my friend, God created you and me and every other creature on the farm! Now do you think God makes mistakes?” “Well, no, I don’t think so” said Fred. So Farmer Paisios opened his Bible to Genesis and began to read to Fred… “in the beginning God made them male and female…” and upon closing the Bible he turned to Fred again. “Fred, you see that you cannot be a hen that lays eggs anymore than I can be a cow that gives milk. God made each of us with a purpose and we can’t change our identity whether male nor female, whether rooster or hen, whether bull or cow, whether girl or boy. We can rejoice and give thanks that God made each of us perfectly as He intended us to be.

The Fox snuck in to fool you. He hates you and everything that you are — as a faithful and vigilant rooster — and the next time he comes around here it won’t be to steal eggs, it will be to eat you! So, be on your guard; don’t listen to him; don’t let him get close enough to even start talking. CROW as loud as you’ve ever crowed and chase him away. That way the hens and the eggs and YOU will be safe and sound.

My dear children, this advice from Farmer Paisios to Fred the rooster is my advice to you: The Fox is a symbol of the devil. Don’t speak with the Devil or anyone else who tries to confuse you or who makes you doubt who you really are. The devil will always lie and he only wants to hurt and destroy you. Keep Our Lord Jesus Christ close to your heart and mind; trust God with all things; get up every morning and pray with all your might so that the Devil is chased away from you and your loved ones. And finally, always give thanks to God for making you who you are — because He did it in love.

Source: Sermons

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (21:33-42)

Today we hear the parable of the landowner who has planted a vineyard and later on he hired men to work to tend his vineyard while he was away.  We are told that the problems in this parable begin when “The season of fruit drew near.”  This is a big indicator to us of what is really going on with this parable.  The man who was the landowner expected that his investment would pay off richly.  That he would receive the fruit that was owed to him by the land and more specifically by those who had been hired to work and tend the land.  But his expectations were met with great disappointment, even with shock.  He sent his servants to go and to get the fruit but we are told that the hired tenants took each of the servants and either beat them or killed them or stoned them.  This is serious.  The man has come to his own property, a property that he had allowed tenants to work and to live on.  He sends his own personal servants to collect the fruit of the harvest and instead they receive shameful treatment, even up to death.

The landowner is not happy at all.  So he sends more servants than before with the hopes that they can go and clarify things and get the fruit of the harvest.  But once again, the same thing happens.  They beat and killed the servants that were sent to them.  Well now the master of the land has no choice.  He is indignant.  How could they treat my servants this way?  Do they not understand that my servants represent me?  That’s it.  I am sending my beloved son.  They have to respect him and treat him correctly.  When they see him, they will not see him, rather they will see me and will fall in line and act appropriately.  But the master was wrong.  When the son arrived at the vineyard, “the tenants said to one another “This is the heir, come let us kill him and have his inheritance.”  And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.””

The Lord Jesus Christ said this story publicly to point to the realities of Israel and the Jewish people.  It is clear from the story that the landowner with the vineyard is God.  The tenants are those who are tasked with upholding the teachings and religious practices of the Jews, the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Jewish priests and scribes.  The servants of the master are the prophets.  They are sent on behalf of God in order to inspect and to receive the harvest of fruit, which will later become wine.  Yet they are all mistreated and killed.  Finally the son is the clear symbol of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.  So this parable is given by the Lord and it indicates to us that He knows exactly what is happening and exactly what will happen to Him.  He has seen it all and understands this moment better than they do.  The Jewish authorities will turn on Him just as they had turned on all of the prophets including John the Baptist.  They will reject Christ, His life, His teachings and then they will murder Him because they see Him as a threat to their power over the people.  They don’t see the Jewish people as belonging to God.  Rather they see them as belonging to them, they see the people as property and as a means to enrich and empower them.  And worst of all, they don’t see God through His Son.  Although our Lord came to minister to them and to help and save them, they completely refused and often continue to refuse him.  In rejecting Jesus Christ, they rejected God, the Father.

God was patient, He sent prophets over and over and then He sent His only Son to the tenants because He wanted to gather the fruit that was owed to Him.  What is the nature of this fruit?  It is spiritual in nature.  The fruit that God desires is the rich harvest of souls who are washed and sanctified and purified and brought closer to Him.  There is no other fruit.  The fruit is not big cathedrals or busy churches or one hundred catechumens.  These are not the heart of the matter.  You can have a beautiful cathedral and tomorrow it burns down in a fire or one hundred catechumens and in a year or two you find that many have left.  You can have a full church with hundreds of people and yet most of them aren’t growing in their relationship with God, they are just taking up space.  No.  The real fruit is a human being that is alive, with a soul that is on fire for God.  St. Irenaeus once said “The glory of God is man fully alive.”  To become a real human being means to be fully alive with God as the center of your being and life.  Anything less than that is not life.  What does it matter that we build large churches or bring many people into the Church if they are not sanctified and their lives aren’t changed, if they haven’t become holy?  Then we are no better than the Jewish authorities, in fact, we will be reckoned as worse because we know better.  Nothing has been hidden from us. So we see the parable as a summary of the Jewish authorities and their treachery against God and against His Son, and we can also see this parable as a reminder that each of us is expected to do something with what God has given us.  

In the gospel according to St. John we hear these beautiful words from our Lord Jesus Christ: 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” Jn 15:1-08

Each of us has been placed as a steward over something.  Perhaps over a church or over a family household, but certainly over our own lives.  And each of us will have to answer and bring fruit to the Master at the appointed time.  We are called to bear fruit.  What is this fruit? It is the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of the Holy Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;” (Gal 5: 22-23)  These are the fruits of a soul that has toiled and worked and hungered for God and God blesses such souls with His abundant grace. When the Lord comes looking for His harvest, may He not find one of us empty handed.  AMEN.

Source: Sermons

The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. (15:1-11)

In today’s epistle, the apostle Paul is writing to the church at Corinth in order to build a case.  The case he is building is for the purpose of properly correcting his spiritual children and bringing order to the church.  As part of this case that he builds he goes through a process of reminding, a process of remembrance regarding how we got here, what he knows to be true about the Christian faith.

For St. Paul this process of remembrance and “case building” must always center around two events, the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Ultimately those are the foundation of his preaching.  We see his beautiful heart for his people, for protecting them, for shepherding them through his words.  “Brethren, I would remind you in what terms I preached to you the Gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast—unless you believed in vain.”

This means that what we believe about Christ matters, truly matters.  And that what we believe doesn’t matter for a short period of time.  If we believe it in one moment and then we later convince ourselves or are convinced by others that we no longer believe, either of these is a kind of spiritual death according to St. Paul because either one has caused us to let go of the life raft, which is the Church of God and this life raft floats and moves through the storms of the world, the storms of this life.  The life raft is powered through and held together with and made sea worthy and indestructible by the power of the Son of God, through His incarnation, His death and His resurrection from the dead.  And St. Paul makes this case by giving a reminder and a warning, “this is the gospel which you received and in which you stand, and by which you are saved, if you hold it fast.”  It only helps us if we continue to hold it.  Once we let go, we sink and are drowned in the depths of the sea.

But in order to make his case he starts from the beginning.  St. Paul reminds us of his own journey of faith, because it matters.  He tells us that he delivered to the churches what he himself had received.  And it is important that we see that he uses the word “delivered”.  In Greek the original word is properly translated as “traditioned”.  So this is one of a few instances within the New Testament where we see the place of holy tradition in the beginnings of the life of the Church.  He traditioned to them what he had also received.  By “traditioned” he means that he passed it by word of mouth.  He breathed it to them.  Just as the foundations of the universe and the beginnings of the world were made by God’s Word, so in this case the apostle reminds the people that their faith and their very salvation, their life, was made possible by his preaching, by his word.

So this aspect of our holy faith has always been there from the start of the Church.  Before the gospels were recorded, before the epistles were written, before the New Testament was compiled:  holy tradition, the apostolic preaching, existed.  St. Irenaeus (whom we commemorate today) wrote: “We have learned the plan of our salvation from no one else other than from those through whom the gospel has come down to us. For they did at one time proclaim the gospel in public. And, at a later period, by the will of God, they handed the gospel down to us in the Scriptures…” – St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies

Now as part of that holy tradition St. Paul gives certain historical facts to further bolster his case to the Corinthians.  He reminds them that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not some kind of myth or a far off tale in a distant land.  He reminds them that Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the pillars of the Church, people that all the Christians either knew or knew about.  He mentions them publicly because they are a measure of truth.  They are witnesses.  They can corroborate the story.  So he mentions Cephas (St. Peter), and then he mentions the twelve.  Then he mentions that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to 500 brethren together and he completes this statement with the words “most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”  What does that mean?  It means that St. Paul is challenging the Corinthians to find and speak with these people if they have any doubts regarding the Christian faith.  Then he mentions that the Lord appeared to James and to all of the Apostles.  And finally the blessed Paul gives us the final word on the subject:  “Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me.”

He wove a defense that was built upon holy tradition in accordance with the Scriptures and he ends with the most powerful witness of all, his own experience of the resurrected Christ.  He saw Jesus Christ after His death.  He spoke with Him.  He communed with Him.  These words are powerful on their own but they become so much more powerful when we remember that St. Paul was a man who hated the Christians and who attacked and imprisoned them from town to town. So anyone who came across this epistle or who was a member of this community or any other Christian community of the time would have taken these words of St. Paul seriously.  Paul meant what he said and his life after becoming a Christian was a testimony to his unwavering faith and love of Jesus Christ.  Through persecutions, imprisonments, excommunications, and various trials and tribulations, St. Paul proves that he encountered the living Jesus and that for Jesus alone, he could suffer anything and everything through God’s grace.

Through the witness of St. Paul, who wrote over half of the New Testament we are invited to enter into this same life with him.  Suffering and struggling together, praying and growing together in love for one another and love for God.  And we are reminded that you must never ever, ever let go of your faith and your hope in the crucifixion and the resurrection because Christ saves those who hold His hand and never let go.  This was what St. Paul received and handed down to us and what continues to be offered to us through the Church.  Once again quoting St. Irenaeus, “One should not seek among others the truth that can be easily gotten from the Church. For in her, as in a rich treasury, the apostles have placed all that pertains to truth, so that everyone can drink this beverage of life. She is the door of life.”  -Against Heresies, III.4

May we enter through her doors into life, into salvation, into resurrection, into the kingdom.  AMEN.

Source: Sermons

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (18:23-35)

Today we hear a parable, a story of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Honestly we should be in complete awe and wonder that Our Lord would allow us a glimpse into the things of His kingdom.  Who am I that the Lord should reveal anything to me, let alone His heavenly kingdom?  Yet He does reveal these things to us and we are blessed if we truly hear them and apply them in our lives.  But woe to us if we hear them and don’t heed them.    

Today we hear that the kingdom of heaven is like a King who wished to settle accounts with His servants and those to whom He lent money.  We are reminded by this that everyone and everything within the world is called to be a servant to the Lord and that each of us has actually been given many gifts and treasures but they are given with an expectation.  What have we been given from God our King?  First, we have been given life.  Life is a gift that only God can give.  He is the life-giver.

Next we have been given the image and likeness of God as human beings.  But we can go much further.  We have been granted grace through the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Through His death and resurrection we have been granted a chance to enter into newness of life through our baptism.  In this baptism we have received mercy and forgiveness of our sins and we continue to receive these gifts every day in the life of the Church.  Everything that we receive here is a reflection of the kingdom of God.  It is a place full of God’s mercy through the prayers and the sacramental life.  

Since we as humans did not and could not earn these treasures, we are all in debt to the Lord.  It is actually an impossible debt that can never be paid.  It is paid through love and sacrifice, by our Lord.  His love and His sacrifices for us are a sign of His mercy.  We could not possibly earn this love.  They are a sign that He truly loves us and wants us to be with Him.  He doesn’t desire our sins to interfere with this relationship.  He doesn’t want our sins to be a wall between us and Him, so He removes them.  He doesn’t count our sins against us at all.  It’s as if He doesn’t see them.  But there is a catch according to the parable.  The catch is an expectation that is set for each of us.  

The Lord says in effect, “I have forgiven and will continue to forgive you, but you must also forgive others continually.”  This is often beyond our human comprehension.  But it is clear that this is the parable. What is truly terrifying is that the real implication of the parable is that the doors to the kingdom of heaven are not locked by the king, the master of the house.  The key that can unlock the mercy of God is held by each of us.  The key that unlocks God’s mercy is mercy itself. 

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk says, “Do we refuse to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us. As we treat our neighbours, so also does God treat us. The forgiveness or unforgiveness of your sins, then, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on you yourself.”

As fellow Christians we have lots of moments in life where we fall or fail or offend or hurt others.  We can each look back and see faces and situations that are uncomfortable for us.  Sometimes we harbor resentments and have a real sense of pain, maybe even post traumatic stress, from the way that people might have treated us.  Sadly, this can happen with those whom we are closest to.  The more time you spend together, the more opportunity there is for your humanness and your imperfections to manifest themselves.  So we might have a situation where there is enmity or bitterness between husbands and wives or between parents and children, or between siblings or any other possible configurations, between co-workers or between friends or between neighbors or between your brothers and sisters in the church.  Yet in all of this, the key that unlocks mercy is mercy itself.

Sometimes when others have hurt or offended us, we need to step back and perhaps recall a time when we hurt or offended others yet they did not hold it against us.  Of course the best example of all is the various ways we’ve offended God and sinned against Him.  Yet we recall that God has not judged any one of us harshly.  If you had been judged harshly, you wouldn’t be here.  When we remember the great list of our own sins and failings, we begin to be humbled and we might even begin to make excuses for others before God and others.  We might let go of resentment and bitterness to not only free ourselves from that terrible net but free the other person as well.  When we hold grudges we wrap the other in chains.  We hold them captive, yet ultimately we are the ones who have to carry the weight of those chains.  

When we forgive we open doors and we know that this reflects the love of God who opens His arms to us and opens the doors of His kingdom to everyone who would enter with faith.  And our behavior towards others must reflect this commandment given by our Lord right before His betrayal and crucifixion, “that you love one another, even as I have loved you.”  It is a commandment that is self enforcing.  Either you love and have mercy or you can’t understand that language, it’s like something alien to you and even if the Lord would open the doors to His kingdom you wouldn’t be able to enter because you could not comprehend His mercy or His love. You would run from it as from fire.  Because it is something that would cause you discomfort and anguish instead of bringing you peace and a sense of belonging.  It is an energy, a spirit that we don’t comprehend if we haven’t assimilated it into our lives, rather, if we haven’t assimilated into the life of Christ.

I would like to leave you with a short quote from St. Moses of Optina who writes,

 “If at some time you show mercy to someone, mercy will be shown to you.  If you show compassion to one who is suffering (and of course, this is not a great deed) you will be numbered  among the martyrs.  If you forgive one who has insulted you, then not only will all your sins be forgiven, but you will be a child of the Heavenly Father.”

What a gracious, bountiful and merciful God who allows us the opportunity to reflect His love and gentleness to others and by doing so, to be transformed and to truly grow as His beloved sons and daughters.  Glory be to God, AMEN. 

Source: Sermons