Homily for Pentecost (Trinity Sunday)

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Christ ascended that the Holy Spirit might descend and endow us with those gifts necessary to the building up of the Church in the fullness of Christ. We all possess those gifts of God’s grace common to all, as Saint John Chrysostom highlights in his own homilies on the letter to the Ephesians: “baptism, salvation by faith, having God as Father and partaking of the same Spirit.” We also possess diverse spiritual gifts in varying degrees; though, one must not allow one’s self to descend into arrogance at what they themselves possess, nor must one look at another’s gifts and fall into despondency that they have not been so gifted.

In the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God! Amen.

Today is an important day in the life of the Church, and it is a joyous day, for it is the day that the Pillar and foundation of Truth was erected upon the foundation of the prophets and the apostles, with Christ as the cornerstone; it is the day that the faithful were found and formed into living stones of this divine-human institution of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Today is the day the Holy Orthodox Church was founded and formed. It is Trinity Sunday, the day of Pentecost. The Church, for her birthday, received from on high the gifts of the Holy Spirit, by which she (the Church) was illumined; by which the Church became the abode of the Holy Spirit, and the vehicle of Holy Revelation. It is in the Church that we are illumined and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit; it is in the Church that Christ is revealed to us, where we encounter Him in body and Spirit; and it is through Christ that the Father is revealed to us also. The Church is the body of Christ, and it is within and a part of that body that we worship the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

We recently celebrated the Holy feast day of Christ’s Ascension, whereupon today we remember his words promising us that he “will ask the Father, and he will give [us] another Helper, to be with [us] forever.” This is, of course, the Holy Spirit of whom he speaks. Christ ascended that the Holy Spirit might descend and endow us with those gifts necessary to the building up of the Church in the fullness of Christ. We all possess those gifts of God’s grace common to all, as Saint John Chrysostom highlights in his own homilies on the letter to the Ephesians: “baptism, salvation by faith, having God as Father and partaking of the same Spirit.” We also possess diverse spiritual gifts in varying degrees; though, one must not allow one’s self to descend into arrogance at what they themselves possess, nor must one look at another’s gifts and fall into despondency that they have not been so gifted. It is against this which Saint Paul fought in his letters written to both the Ephesians and the Corinthians, and why he used the analogy of the Church as one body consisting of many members elsewhere in scripture. This is also why Saint John Chrysostom also says “If someone has more in grace, feel no resentment, for his task is greater too.” For, if those who have been given do nothing with what they have received, they are just like the man who received the one talent, and buried it in the earth. No, we must use the gifts we have received as tools for the building of the Church; for a gift unused is one taken for granted, and has no value to us, to the Church, and the world in which we live. So, what can be said about these gifts? Saint Paul tells us that “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” It is within this common good that we incarnate Truth to the world; bring light into the darkness; bring faith to the faithless; bring hope to the lost; bring medicine to the sick; and bring peace amidst the chaos of this world.

The Church is one in her essence; her essence of faith; her essence of spirit and the teaching received therein; but, she is diverse in both gifts and function. Despite what the world may try to force us to believe, unity does not mean uniformity; and, equality does not mean sameness. The Church is a diversity in operation; not a diversity of faith nor truth, but of people. We are all living stones, just as Saint Peter exhorts, altogether comprising the Church. Look at the walls of any Church, the grains of the wood, the variations in the stone, the adornments they bear, the scars they hold, and no two are alike. Likewise, we are each unique in person, yet we all strive towards the same fullness of our humanity. It is towards this fullness of our humanity in Christ that we are “guided by gifted people for the sake of maturity and stability of the body,” those Bishops in whom the unity and continuity of the Church is ensured; for, as Saint Ignatius has said, where the Bishop is, there also is the Church. It is the fullness of Christ towards which we all strive together, as a flock guided by her shephard, through our cooperation with the Holy Spirit of which the Church has received, and our humility through obedience to the commands of Christ; for, as Christ himself exhorted in our Gospel reading for today, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

To Saint Paul, it is the Holy Spirit which both unites and strengthens the Church. The goal of our salvation is that of theosis, or deification, our continual striving towards the likeness of God where the image of God will be perfected in all mankind. So, it is by the Holy Spirit in which we are granted the myriad gifts of the Spirit, working towards that end. These gifts are given to the benefit of the Church, the Body of Christ. In addition to this, it is within the Church that we come into communion with Christ, cultivating the gifts thus given to us, elevating us even further on our journey into holiness.

Paul saw the actions and activities of the Holy Spirit as different from both the Father and the Son, but were complementary to the Love of the Father, and the Grace of Jesus Christ our Lord. Saint Paul affirmed that it was by Christ all things were made: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him;” and it is thus by the Holy Spirit all things are perfected. It is by the Holy Spirit that Christ is revealed to us and to all men, and it is through Christ that the Father is revealed, for “He is the image of the invisible God.”

Both Saint Paul and Saint John the Evangelist well establish the divinity of the Father and the Son, and tie the two of them together with the work of the Holy Spirit. While the Father is the source of all things, and it is by the Son through which all things are created, the Holy Spirit “is the very Content of the Kingdom of God” While the Spirit functions as a luminary of Holy mysteries, the Spirit remains mysteriously hidden from all things, functioning in us to reveal the Son to us. It is by Love that the three persons of the Trinity are connected and commune with one another, and it is within this Love that is found the salvation for all mankind; for, God is Love. As the Trinity exists as persons in Communion, so then must we, the Body of Christ, exist as persons in communion, thus bringing us closer to the uniting and enduring love of the Father.

We have been given these gifts by the Holy Spirit, given the Holy Spirit Himself, that the Church may be duly armed with the proper tools for the struggles ahead. We have been given the tools necessary for the labors of the fields from which God’s harvest will come. We must not and cannot neglect these tools for while iron may sharpen iron, tools soon rust when left in disuse. For, we cannot neglect or ignore the labors at hand, because as Christ himself has said, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Though these gifts were received by us freely, at no cost to us, they were bought with an immeasurable price: Christ on the cross. So, let us live our lives worthily of such a sacrifice, that we be counted as sons and daughters of the Living God. Let us work together with faith, and in the fullness of Truth, that all truth may abide in us and save us.

By the prayers of our most pure mother, the holy and god bearing fathers, all the saints, and the martyrs, and the angels, have mercy on us and save us.

Amen.

Sunday of the Paralytic

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“Like the paralytic, we are also expected to go into the world, and sin no more. We have been given a far greater deposit of faith, of Tradition, found in the Church; of Love, found in obedience to the commandments of Christ, once given, and always echoing in our ears, in the scriptures, in our liturgies and services: Go, and sin no more, for anyone who loves Christ will keep his commandments, in faith, and in simple obedience to His word. For, obedience is the natural fruit of faith, and is born of humility, the mother of all virtue.”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. One God! Amen.

In today’s Gospel reading we hear the story of The Paralytic, a man who had been afflicted for thirty eight years with paralysis, waiting by the sheep’s gate of the pool called Bethesda for the stirring of the waters by the Angel of the Lord. We do not know how old this man was, nor do we know the cause of his affliction, but whatever the cause of his condition, some fathers have considered it to be the result of some sin he had committed in his life. This is further affirmed by the command that Christ had given him when he later found him in the temple after he healed him of his infirmity.:

“See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

Christ gave one other person a similar command, the women taken in adultery and condemned to stoning, wherein he told her likewise, after no one was left to condemn her, “go, and sin no more.”

It is a simple command that should be heeded by all of us, but not so simple to carry out, as I am sure many of us have learned with great difficulty, and an often unexpected humility, during the Lenten season that is now behind us. Yet, sin is an illness, a spiritual illness, afflicting us all till the end of life, and we can no more fault one another for our own affliction than we could a cancer patient dying of their disease. The difference comes in how we respond to it. What manner of life do we choose to live? How do we present ourselves to the world and before God? For the command has been given, and it only requires a simple obedience. Consider that the paralytic man likely did not know who Christ was, did not know that He was the son of God, or even able to perform such a miracle; but, by his obedience to the simple command of Christ, quickly found that he could walk once again. By his faith in what he was told to be true, he found he was healed of his infirmity and made whole once again.

Like the paralytic, we are also expected to go into the world, and sin no more. We have been given a far greater deposit of faith, of Tradition, found in the Church; of Love, found in obedience to the commandments of Christ, once given, and always echoing in our ears, in the scriptures, in our liturgies and services: Go, and sin no more, for anyone who loves Christ will keep his commandments, in faith, and in simple obedience to His word. For, obedience is the natural fruit of faith, and is born of humility, the mother of all virtue.

In the words of Thomas Hopko of blessed memory:

In the Orthodox spiritual tradition, obedience is a basic virtue: obedience to the Lord, to the Gospel, to the Church, to the leaders of the Church to one’s parents and elders, to “every ordinance of man”, “to one another out of reverence for Christ.” There is no spiritual life without obedience, no freedom or liberation from sinful passions and lusts. To submit to God’s discipline in all of its human forms, is the only way to obtain “the glorious liberty of the children of God,” disciplines us as His children out of His great love for us. “He disciplines us for our good, that we might share His holiness.”. Our obedience to God’s commandments and discipline is the exclusive sign of our love for Him and His Son.

It is within the Church that is found the fullness of this deposit of faith: The Gospels; her liturgies and prayers; her praxis of faith and liturgical rhythm of life; an Orthodox prescription of life found in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; and the Holy Sacraments from which we are given and provided the means or our healing from the clutches of this illness, of which the symptom is sin. For, the Church is after all a hospital for our souls, but more than that, it is the pillar and foundation of Truth, established upon the foundation of the teachings of the Prophets and the apostles, with Christ as the cornerstone, of which we are all living stones. It is within the Church that we find our eternal remedy and food in the body of blood of Christ, the prescriptions of life for our own eternal life and edification, but so many of us find ourselves in the same condition as the paralytic, unable to move because of our own spiritual infirmity; unable to act upon what we know is right because of the weight of our own sin. Yet, Christ bids us all, get up and sin no more.

Life is a choice. Death is a choice. We are not punished so much as we are recipients of the fruits of our decisions. Whoever sincerely desires their own salvation does everything for the sake of their salvation. Whoever truly desires their salvation will distance themselves from everything that hinders them in the work of their salvation. For while our salvation is a gift freely given to us, a clenched fist, or a hand grasping something else receives nothing. For if we are not obedient in all things to the best of our ability, then we are at risk of receiving nothing, and losing all things.

In the words of Saint Anthony the Great:

The truly intelligent man pursues one sole objective: to obey and conform to the God of all. With this single aim in view, he disciplines his soul, and whatever he may encounter in the course of his life, he gives thanks to God for the compass and depth of His providential ordering of all things.

For it is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet to be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence. For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul.”

Do you want to be healed? It is the question Christ asked of the paralytic. But, it is a question that should be asked of all of us. Do we really want to be healed? Through the Church we have been given the tools, the means, and the prescriptions of an authentic spiritual practice to find such a thing. The Church awakens in us those spiritual gifts God has given to all of us through its sacraments, prayers, liturgies, and Tradition. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Physician, has come to set us free from the illness of sin, but it is our choice alone to follow the prescriptions we have been given. It is of our own free will that we receive that gift we have been given.

Do we partake of all that has been given us? Do we foster within us a genuine desire to become better men and women then what we are by nature? Do we try to observe and maintain our purity of life not only in our own conscience, but in the eyes of God? Do we live vigorously to fight against the passions of the flesh, but also against the vices of this world without concessions to the vagaries of this world? Do we turn to God for help and assistance when trouble finds us, and do we use those means we have been given for our own salvation rightly and as prescribed? Are we zealous about reading the word of God with introspection, to see and identify those things we need to correct when we examine ourselves in the mirror of Truth? Do we confess ourselves before God that we might be absolved of our many transgressions? Do we imitate those Saints that have gone before us, and have we developed a relationship with the one who’s name we bear? Do we help our fellow men, and rejoice when we find the opportunity to do s

We must strive so that our earthly life resembles that heavenly life we all strive towards. We must compare all things earthly to those things heavenly, and not the other way around as so many are wont to do. We must see that which is invisible and eternal in favor over that which is visible and temporal. Be ready to give up anything and consider everything as dung so that no earthly thing may stand between us and Christ. Our thoughts should be given to eternity. Our desires should be the perfection of virtue. Our greatest pleasures should be our reflection, consideration and conversations about the blessedness of those who have gone before us, and our greatest sorrow should be when we feel no spiritual draw nor attraction to heavenly things. We are not troubled by this life, but only the next, and the concerns of not only our own salvation, but those of our brothers and sisters around us. Our life should be a visible expression, image, and preparation for that better life in the age to come. Our prayer life, and our life within this world, should be equal and parallel expressions of the same faith we seek to live day by day.

So, as we move forward in this Paschal season with the joyous exclamation, Christ is Risen! Let us also rise with Him. Let us rise from our sins. Let us rise with the strength He has given us to overcome them. Let us rise, no more shackled by fear of this world, or fear for the sake of our failures, but move forward, day by day, into the eternal Joy of the Kingdom of God. So let us all take up our own beds, and sin no more, that me we might walk together in the joy of eternal life.

He is Risen! He is Risen! He is Risen!

By the prayers of thy most pure mother, the Holy and God bearing Fathers, all the saints, the martyrs and the angels, have mercy on us and save us.

Amen.

Sunday of Orthodoxy

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In the life of the Church, icons are not mere decorations, but they are a part of the spiritual realm, allowing us to experience the glory of God and His saints. They are not objects of worship, but they are venerated as a means of encountering the divine. For as scriptures are written expressions of that Truth the Church upholds, likewise are the icons that adorn her walls like living stones depicting the same. For these Saints are not dead, but alive in Christ, and their lives which we remember, serve as shining examples for us to follow as living images of Christ.

The Triumph of Orthodoxy

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

The Church, while being the Pillar and Foundation of Truth, has struggled and defended against controversies, heresies, and all manner of difficulties throughout her storied life across the span of two millennia. The Apostles first defended against the heresy of Judaizing, a belief that one first had to be or become a Jew before becoming Christian, of which Paul vehemently defended against throughout his many epistles. The Church endured many years of persecution from outside her walls by the Romans, trying dutifully to destroy that which lay within. The Church defended against the Arian heresy – a heresy that nearly tore the Church apart from within – first at the council of Nicea, and again later at the Council of Constantinople. This heresy taught that God the Son was a creature, a creation of God the Father, and likewise not co-eternal with the Father. Chalcedonian Christianity was established at the council of Chalcedon, defending against those who would argue God has but a single nature, diminishing the Human nature assumed by God the Son, that is, Jesus Christ. This heresy was resolved at the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, creating the schism that exists to this day between the Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Church. Many more heresies have littered her hallowed halls throughout the ages, each resolved by subsequent ecumenical councils. The final ecumenical council, the second council of Nicea, settled the heresy of iconoclasm in October of 787, finally defeating those who would seek to destroy the faces of Truth as found within her iconography.

There has always been a struggle between the Church and her occasionally heretical and apostate emperors. Emperor Leo III banned the use of icons of Christ, the Theotokos and the Saints and commanded the destruction of these images in 730. This began the Iconoclasm Controversy and was fueled by the refusal of many Christian residents outside the Byzantine Empire to accept the emperor’s theological arguments. Iconoclastic Christians were spurred along by external influences to accept the emperor’s arguments, especially those living under the umbrella and Gnostic influences of the Islamic Caliphate, and others swayed by Jewish affluence and opinion against the Church and her practices.

There were two iconoclastic periods of note. The first one between 730 and 787, was ended by Empress Irene when she initiated the Second Council of Nicea, at which the veneration of icons was affirmed. While the worship of icons was expressly forbidden, the acceptance and veneration of icons was rooted in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God the Son. Because He took on flesh, having a physical appearance, it is now possible to use physical matter to depict God the Son and to depict the saints.

The second period of Iconoclasm occurred between 813 and 843 and was ended by empress Theodora, who after her ascension to the throne, soon mobilized the iconodules and proclaimed the restoration of icons in 843. Since that time the first Sunday of Lent is celebrated as the feast of the “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”

That is the Sunday we celebrate today.

As Saint John of Damascus, one of the most prominent defenders of icons, has rightly stated, “I do not venerate matter, but I venerate the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake, and deigned to live in matter and bring about my salvation through matter. I will not cease from venerating the matter through which my salvation was achieved.” So, because God the Son was incarnated in human flesh, we hope to incarnate Christ within our own flesh, the faith of which is depicted on these walls around us.

The use of holy icons in our worship is an important aspect of our Orthodox faith. The icons offer us a glimpse into the mysteries of salvation, the life and passion of Christ, theological Truths, and help us connect with the saints who have gone before us. They remind us that the Incarnation is not just a theological concept, but a reality that occurred in history, through the incarnation of the Truth found only in Christ as the Law of the Spirit of life, a law meant to be lived, manifested, and incarnated into the world.

Saint John Chrysostom, one of the most revered fathers of our Church, often spoke about the importance of icons in the life of the faithful. He recognized the value of the visual representation of the divine, stating that “we see the invisible through the visible.” He also emphasized the role of icons in our spiritual development, encouraging us to contemplate on them and let them lead us to a deeper understanding of our faith.

Saint Theodore the Studite, another defender of holy images, was a monk who lived during the height of the iconoclastic controversy. He was a prolific writer who composed many hymns and prayers in defense of the use of holy icons. Saint Theodore argued that the use of holy icons was necessary for the Church’s spiritual well-being. He believed that the images of Christ and the saints served as tangible reminders of the spiritual reality that we cannot see with our physical eyes. The images help us to focus our minds on God and to connect with the spiritual realm.

On this day of Orthodoxy, we reaffirm our commitment to the use of holy icons in our worship of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We honor the memory of those who fought to preserve this sacred tradition and we renew our dedication to the Truth, of which our Orthodox Faith expresses, of which the Church embodies, and of which the faithful within uphold. We are to become living icons of Truth, living icons of Christ, as living stones of the body of Christ.

May the use of holy icons continue to be a source of strength and inspiration for us as we journey through this life, and may the light of Christ shine through them to guide us on our way. Let us follow the example of Saint John Chrysostom, who encouraged us to contemplate on the holy icons and let them lead us to a deeper understanding of our faith.

Also, let us remember the saints who steadfastly defended the use of holy icons against the heresy of iconoclasm with their powerful prose and passionate preaching. Let us honor their memory and follow in their footsteps, boldly proclaiming the truth of the Orthodox faith and upholding the use of holy icons as an integral part of our worship. May their intercessions before the throne of God guide us in our own journey of faith and inspire us to remain faithful to Truth, and constant in the safeguarding of her Holy Mysteries through a genuine life of faith.

Oh Lord Jesus Christ our God, by the prayers of thy most pure mother, the holy and God bearing angels, all the saints, and the martyrs, and the angels have mercy on us and save us.

Amen.

HOMILY: The Parable of the Good Samaritan

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HOMILY: The Parable of the Good Samaritan

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

What shall I do to inherit eternal life? That is the question levied by a lawyer towards Christ in today’s Gospel reading, preceding the story of the Good Samaritan. It is a question that is answered within the law, something for which one would expect a lawyer to be well versed. Yet, the mind and heart are not always on the same page. Furthermore, the heart and hand are not always in one accord. Yet, Christ shows how little the lawyer knows by the answer he provides. Despite this, the lawyer tries to justify his question, and quite possibly his known personal failures to abide by the answer he was given, by asking further, who is my neighbor? Perhaps, being a lawyer, he had a very legalistic understanding or definition of this word, and so in his own mind he was abiding by the law. Yet, this is a trap of legal scholasticism, of reason, or an understanding of a Truth only as written, and no understanding of the Truth in praxis.

In part, we are warned against this in our reading of the lesson for today, when Paul exhorts: “We have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” The letter here is of course the law of Moses, the law that condemns sinners, but it can today easily be a reference to the totality of scripture, all of which points to Christ, who has assumed the mantle of the Torah as the law of the Spirit of life. He is life. He gives life. His path leads to life everlasting.

All we have to do is follow, listen, and obey. Though, Is it not curious that we sometimes justify our omissions and occasional evils with the very same words and teachings we use to justify the good? How many of us, before finding the Church, followed our own understanding, devised our own truths about Christ, about the Church, and what it was to be Christian. Many of us were quick to interpret the word of God in our own image, in our own likeness, carrying our own opinion, often finding some way to use scripture to justify ourselves in our own ideas, our own lives, much like the lawyer tried to justify himself with his inquiry.

The Law, and the Spirit. One tells us what to do, and the other tells us how to do it. What spirit are we following? One presents the guidelines of life, much like the canons do the Church, but the spirit shows us how to walk within them. Look around us at the milieu of those amidst the colors and trappings of popular Christianity. They go to their respective places of worship on Sunday, sing their songs, hear a sermon preached, and they go out into the world devoid of any sacramental life, most lacking in any spiritual discipline, and missing the unity of teaching found in the fullness of Truth. Is it any wonder this same “church crowd” is so despised by nearly every server at every restaurant I have ever dined at? Why should we ever see or hear an angry Christian driver on a Sunday morning or afternoon after services have ended? Why should we ever witness the angry frustrations of a post church service Christian over something as simple as an item being out of stock? Why should we ever see a Christian lose their temper over trivial things on the day they should have received the kiss of peace? They know the Truth, or at least they heard it, but they have no idea how to put that Truth into practice. They have no Church, which is the Pillar and foundation of Truth (1 Tim 3:15), established upon the foundation of the teachings of the Prophets and the Apostles, of which Christ is the cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). We are all living stones apart of the Church (1 Pet. 2:5), which is the body of Christ. It is as a living part of that Church, living a sacramental life within, that we not only come to know the Truth rationally, but understand spiritually how to live it as well.

The Lawyer knew the Truth. He knew what the law said, but not how to live it. He sought a different answer from Christ, from what he knew to be true. Likewise, the priest and Levite both knew what the law said, and what the law required of them in this circumstance, but they instead used that same law to justify their passing in order to maintain their ritual purity. They knew the Truth, but now how to exercise it. It was only the Good Samaritan who truly understood the spirit of the law, and how to incarnate what was written.

So, in response to the lawyer’s question Christ told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. This parable, according to some Fathers, encompasses the entirety of the Gospel, and the spirit of Truth it conveys to us all. The realities of the Gospel are found within this simple story: Christ, the Church, and the means by which we are saved.

Nearly all the Fathers interpret this parable in some allegorical fashion. They tell us that in the Samaritan we see Christ, who does not define His neighbor, nor ours, in respect to action or honor, but of nature. We were all created in the image and likeness of God, and all equally a worthy recipient of love, both of God’s and our own. The oil wine the Samaritan poured on his wounds symbolizes the sacraments of the Church, and the two coins he paid are the two testaments we have received. The inne is the Church, of which has been established upon Christ’s honorable blood. It is in the Church that we find healing from the wounds of Sin. This is one of many reasons the Church is often referred to as a hospital for our souls.

The battered man is each one of us, beaten by the world and wounded by our own sin. The priest passed him by for his priestly sacrifice could not save the man. The Levite passed him by because neither could the law save him. While these two were very near to the man by birth as Israelite, they were most distant at heart, bearing little compassion for the man who lay before them. It was the Good Samaritan, who had compassion on him, and in a selfless act helped his fellow man.

Let us remember what Christ has said in the Gospel of Matthew:

‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Compassion and Humility are bedfellows, for compassion helps to develop humility as we place the needs of the other before our own. If we have compassion, then we also have humility, for one exists inside the other, and Humility is the beginning of all virtue

The Good Samaritan incarnated virtue by himself becoming Love in action. In the good Samaritan we find an archetype of Christ, who is Love incarnate. We should love every man and woman, and have great compassion for them, and whatever their needs my be, regardless of who they are; whether they have wounded us or not; whether there is hatred between us or not; whether there is offense or injury, forgiveness being of great importance; and whether we love them or not. Compassion for the suffering of another is the easy part. Learning to Love as God Loves is much harder. But fear not, we are surrounded by God, by God’s love, and by God’s grace as much as a glass submerged in water is both filled with it and surrounded by it. We can never be without it.

We should love so vigorously that there is no room in our hearts for hatred, for Saint Maximos the Confessor tells us that the Gospel absolutely precludes us from hating any human being, even those who would hate us without reason.

Let us heed the words of Saint Isaac the Syrian:

St. Isaac of Syria tells us how.

“Let yourself be persecuted but do not persecute others.

Let yourself be crucified but do not crucify others.

Let yourself be insulted but do not insult others.

Let yourself be slandered but do not slander others.

Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Such is the sign of purity.

Suffer with the sick. Be afflicted with sinners.

Exult with those who repent. Be the friend of all.

But in your spirit remain alone.

Spread your cloak over anyone who falls into sin and shield him.

And if you cannot take his fault on yourself and accept punishment in his place, do not destroy his character.”

Simply saying you love is not enough. If your actions alone do not speak loudly to the contents of your own heart, then we are simply lying to ourselves in order to justify our weaknesses, our failings, and our sin. We must become love, for that is what God is, and that is what we strive to be.

By the prayers of thy most pure Mother, the Holy and God bearing fathers, have mercy on us and save us.

Amen.

HOMILY: Pentecost – Trinity Sunday

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HOMILY: Pentecost – Trinity Sunday – June 7th, 2020

Readings: Epistle – 1 Corinthians 12:4-13, Gospel – John 14:23-31.

Christ is in our midst! (He is, and ever shall be!)

Glory to Jesus Christ! (Glory forever!)

In the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God! Amen.

The Church is one in her essence; her essence of faith; her essence of spirit and the teaching received therein; but, she is diverse in both gifts and function. Despite what the world may try to force us to believe, unity does not mean uniformity; and, equality does not mean sameness. The Church is diversity in operation; not a diversity of faith nor truth, but of people. We are all living stones, just as Saint Peter exhorts, altogether comprising the Church. Look at the walls of any Church, the grains of the wood, the variations in the stone, the adornments they bear, the scars they hold, and no two are alike. Likewise, we are each unique in person, yet we all strive towards the same fullness of our humanity. It is towards this fullness of our humanity in Christ that we are “guided by gifted people for the sake of maturity and stability of the body,” those Bishops in whom the unity and continuity of the Church is ensured; for, as Saint Ignatius has said, where the Bishop is, there also is the Church. It is the fullness of Christ towards which we all strive together, as a flock guided by her shepherd, through our cooperation with the Holy Spirit of which the Church has received, and our humility through obedience to the commands of Christ; for, as Christ himself exhorted in our Gospel reading for today, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

Both Saint Paul and Saint John the Evangelist well establish the divinity of the Father and the Son, and tie the two of them together with the work of the Holy Spirit. While the Father is the source of all things, and it is by the Son through which all things are created, the Holy Spirit “is the very Content of the Kingdom of God” While the Spirit functions as a luminary of Holy mysteries, the Spirit remains mysteriously hidden from all things, functioning in us to reveal the Son to us. It is by Love that the three persons of the Trinity are connected and commune with one another, and it is within this Love that is found the salvation for all mankind; for, God is Love. As the Trinity exists as persons in Communion, so then must we, the Body of Christ, exist as persons in communion, so bringing us closer to the uniting and enduring love of the Father.

By the prayers of our holy Fathers and Mothers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.

Amen.

HOMILY: Theophany – A day of illumination.

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HOMILY: Theophany – A day of illumination – January 19, 2020

Readings: Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 60:1-6

Thus ends the twelve days of Christmas! Having just celebrated the birth of Christ our Savior, our God and our King, here marks the beginning of Christ’s ministry on earth. Today is a day of illumination, the revealing of God the Son incarnate in the flesh, and the revealing of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a day that predates our celebrations of Christmas, preserved from the second century. It is also a public holiday in a number of European nations. If only we could be so lucky.

This is a feast which I find to be somewhat unique in the life of those Orthodox Churches who celebrate the western rite. It is a multi faceted feast day, whose focus of celebration and remembrance differs depending on the direction you are facing. In the western traditions, this particular feast day is referred to as the day of epiphany, where the day is identified with the visit of the Magi in Bethlehem to behold the Christ child, to which the star in the east had led them. This is the event foretold in our lesson from Isaiah:

“A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.”
Isaiah 60:6

On this day, through the visitation of the Magi, is celebrated the physical manifestation of God incarnate in the flesh, and His revelation to the Gentiles. The Magi were the first Gentiles to whom He was revealed, but this is not a revelation they could have come to on their own, for they were teachers of a false faith. They had been illumined by the grace of God overflowing from the birth of Christ. As Saint John Chrysostom has said, “The Magi are enlightened so that the goodness of God may be made manifest: so that no one need despair, doubting that salvation through faith will be given to him, seeing He bestowed it on the Magi. The Magi therefore were the first from the Gentiles chosen for salvation, so that through them a door might be opened to all the Gentiles.”

Today is a day of illumination, or more appropriately a celebration of illumination. We remember the illumination of the Magi in the west, but we also remember our own illumination in the east, wherein the focus of this day – the Feast of Theophany – is centered on the Baptism of our Lord and God and savior Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan river. This is the day that Christ made himself known to all mankind, for the people had not yet known him. It is also upon this day that the Holy Church asserts its faith in the mystery – most noble and incomprehensible to the rational mind – of the Three Persons of the triune God. Jesus Christ ascended out of the waters of Baptism, the Holy Spirit descending upon him in the form of a dove, with the voice of the Father echoing from above, unseen, “this is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” Jesus Christ, having no need of cleansing, having no sin to be cleansed of, and being born of a Virgin and without the corruption of Adam’s sin, was baptized in the waters of the Jordan not for His sake, but for our own. Christ descended into the waters of the Jordan that all the waters of creation may be sanctified for our sake, for our own purification and cleansing of sin through our own baptism. His baptism is our baptism. His life is our life. His death is our death, and His resurrection is our resurrection.

By our baptism, cleansed of our sin and joined to Jesus Christ, we renounce the world and live a new man. So, it is not unreasonable for us to remember our own baptism on this day, remembering the vows we took, or were given on our behalf if one was blessed enough to be born into the Church. It is within these vows, as Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky) has said:

“…in which a Christian has promised God to renounce Satan and all his works and to join himself, to unite himself with Christ, these vows are not only forgotten by people, but many in general know nothing about them or about the fact that these vows were pronounced for them and that they ought to think a little about how they must fulfill [them]… One thing is needful – only one thing is necessary – and to remember that we must join ourselves with Christ, that is, not only fulfill His commandments, but also endeavor to unite ourselves with Him.”
Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesenksy) – Holy on Theophany.

He further exhorts us later in his Homily to think and remember what it means to each of us to renounce Satan and all his works; that we may join ourselves to Christ. We do this through the process of theosis, which we began through our own baptisms, when we were purified of our sins, and purified of all the defilements of this world. Having been cleansed, we began “the perfecting of Holiness in the fear of God,” just as Saint Paul exhorts in his second letter to the Corinthians. Holiness is achieved through the path and process of Theosis, a path which begins in the Church, for the Church is Christ, and He is “the way and the Truth and the life.”

The Church is humanity illumined; a humanity baptized in the grace of God; a humanity illumined by the beauty of its creator; a humanity illumined and healed by His dignity – our own dignity restored – God becoming man that we may become more like Him; a humanity illumined in His beauty, that we may incarnate His beauty into the world, becoming living icons of truth; and a humanity illumined by the Light of Life, that we may shine like morning stars, and lead others to the truth just as the Magi were led to Christ.

Theosis presupposes life within the Church, the body of Christ; the body of illumined humanity. We enter it by following Christ through the waters of baptism, and together are illumined by the same Spirit that sanctified them. It is within the Church that we become a part of, and partake of, the body of Christ. It is within the Church in which we partake of the sacraments, that which is necessary to acquire the sanctifying spirit and be transformed into the divine likeness of God. It is within the Church that we come into communion with Christ, and so participate in the divine worship of the Church triumphant, the Church militant being the living icon of that Church in heaven, the living icon of Christ. It is within the Church that the meaning of the scriptures are revealed to us. It is in the Church alone that the truth is revealed to us, and the means necessary to our salvation are provided to us. The Church is taught by the Holy Spirit, and there exists an indissoluble unity between God and His Church, for “The Church is the earthly heaven in which the heavenly God moves and dwells.” We must choose to be where God is, in striving towards a unity of spirit.

Christ’s baptism on the Jordan River revealed this unity of spirit, the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Theophany illumined all of creation with the revelation of the Triune God: God in three persons, yet one essence; three wills, and two natures; infinite and present in all things, yet udivided; ineffable, yet knowable through Jesus Christ, our King and our God. Christ’s baptism opened the door to follow him into unity with Him as living stones within the Church provided by his honorable blood. This Church confesses and asserts our faith in the mystery of the Trinity. It teaches to confess and glorify with equal honor and divinity each person of the Godhead. It reveals and renders impotent the teachings of those wherein finite and human terms attempted to describe the Creator of all things. It establishes for us the place, importance, and necessity for our own baptism, a gift and grace of God granted unto us by the Holy Spirit, for “as many as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ.”

The world changed when Christ rose from the waters of the Jordan: the waters of creation were sanctified, the divinity of Christ was revealed, the triunity of God was made manifest unto men, and Christ went forth to begin his ministry. Christ left the waters the same as He entered into them: God the Son incarnate in the flesh; yet, everywhere he went, the fire of God’s love molded the very hearts of men. So, go and do likewise.

By the prayers of our holy fathers and mothers, and Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.

Amen.

Image result for icon theophany — Icon of the Theophany

Homily: Of Truth and gifts.

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Homily: Of Truth and gifts – November 9th, 2019

Readings: Epistle – Ephesians 4:7-13, Gospel – John 15:17-25

Today we remember and celebrate the Greater feast of Saints Simon and Jude. Two of the twelve apostles, their names mentioned in the synoptic gospels, and Saint Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. Yet, outside of these mentions in scripture, we know very little about them or their works following Pentecost. Even those extra biblical sources we have seem to disagree somewhat on their lives, and how they ended. Western tradition and martyrology dating from the sixth century holds that Saint Simon first preached in Egypt, and later joined Saint Jude to preach the gospel in Persia, where they both suffered martyrdom. On the other hand, The Monology of Saint Basil the Great tells us that Simon died a peaceful death at Edessa. Yet, no matter where they went, no matter the means by which they went to the Lord, we remember them nonetheless, because we are the Church. Disregarding all else about them, we know with certainty that they are counted among those – the Apostles of Christ – who constitutes the foundation of our Church, for indeed the Church was built upon the foundation of her prophets and Apostles. They hold up the Church, which itself exists as the pillar and foundation of truth, as well as being the body of Christ, who is Truth. It is only within this body, the Church, that the Truth is received, and so given to others “ to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” just as Saint Paul exhorts us in our Epistle reading for today.

It is to this body that is given the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Christ ascended that the Holy Spirit might descend and endow us with those gifts necessary to the building up of the Church in the fullness of Christ. We all possess those gifts of God’s grace common to all, as Saint John Chrysostom highlights in his own homilies on the letter to the Ephesians: “baptism, salvation by faith, having God as Father and partaking of the same Spirit.” We also possess diverse spiritual gifts in varying degrees; though, one must not allow one’s self to descend into arrogance at what they themselves possess, nor must one look at another’s gifts and fall into despondency that they have not been so gifted. It is against this which Saint Paul fought in his letters to both the Ephesians and the Corinthians, and why he used the analogy of the Church as one body consisting of many members elsewhere in scripture. This is why Saint Paul did not say “to each one of us according to the measure of their faith,” lest one should fall into arrogance or pride. But this is also why Saint John Chrysostom also says “If someone has more in grace, feel no resentment, for his task is greater too.” For, if those who have been given do nothing with what they have received, they are just like the man who received the one talent, and buried it in the earth.

What Christ has given is a gift of immense price. This is why, Christ being both the Gift and the price paid for it, that our own lives are the only gift that is reciprocal of itself. I say of itself, for our very lives are a gift bestowed to us, saved from eternal death, healed from the wounds of sin that we might live fully. Every aspect of our Christian faith, every detail of our Christian life, is intertwined with that great gift to which we have been given. Christ is the great physician, the healer of our souls, and we follow those prescriptions He has given us through the Church: Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Christ is the great medicine and food for our souls, that which we receive by the cup of salvation at the Holy Mysteries of our faith. Christ is the way, the Truth, and the life by which we find our way through the darkness of this world.

What Christ has given us is without distinction from Christ himself, and such are the gifts of the spirit we have received. Those gifts are given to each of us according to that which we need; it is given according to that which we desire; it is given according to that which we are capable of possessing by a measure distinctive to our love and character. We each possess a distinctiveness of spirit, a distinctiveness of person or character, a distinctiveness of individuality, but a unity of persons in one faith. This distinctiveness, the difference of persons does not place anyone above or below another, for we are all necessary. Just as the wall is weaker with stones removed, and a chain cannot hold with missing link, so is the Church when lacking unity, or missing those who belong. The Church grows stronger as each is added to it, according to their own faith, according to their own gifts, and the building up of one another.

There is a saying within the Orthodox Church that we grow and we rise together, but we fall alone. As such, no Christian should ever regard themselves as an isolated individual, for we are all part of the body of Christ. It is not only by our gifts that we labor to build and encourage the Church towards the fullness of Christ, but also our participation in the sacraments, and the sacramental rhythm of the Church. When we sin, we sin not against ourselves only, but against all those who stand with us. We go to confession that we may be absolved, that our sin does not erode the unity and stability of that body. We participate in the same cup, that we all may receive the eternal remedy; so that no one withers in spirit. We all practice those spiritual exercises – prayer, fasting, and almsgiving – that each of us may grow strong in our own faith, supporting one another as we march together towards the eschaton. We remember our dead, as we remember Saints Simon and Jude. Their souls are separated from their bodies, but we remain in communion with them and all others, for even in death the body of Christ is not divided. We remember one another, praying for one another always and in all things. We all study the same scriptures, adhering to the same teachings of the faith; for the unity of the faith cannot be separated from the knowledge of the Son of God.

The Truth, the knowledge of the Son of God, is the seed planted in each of us, and simultaneously the seed we have been given to plant in others. Those gifts of the spirit are the tools we have been given to work those fields once planted. We must not neglect the tools we have been given, for while iron may sharpen iron, it rusts when left in disuse. We must not neglect the labor at hand, for as Christ himself has said, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The gift of Christ was purchased for us at an immeasurable price. So, let us live worthily of such a sacrifice, that it be not in vain, and we be considered sons and daughters of the living God. May all truth abide in us and save us.

By the prayers of our holy Fathers and Mothers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.

Amen.

Pillar and Foundation

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Pillar and Foundation – June 25, 2019

I have long said that our understanding of the Church affects our understanding of all other theology, for she is the divine-human institution established by Christ for us men, and for our salvation, as a hospital for our very souls. The Church is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27) The Church is the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Tim 3:15), for which Christ is the cornerstone (Eph. 2:19-20), and is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:21-22). The Church exists to incarnate Christ into the world, for which he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We know where the Church is by the marks established by the Church in the fourth century by the words of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed: The Church is One (1 Cor. 10:16-17), Holy (Eph. 3:16-17, 5:27, 1 Pet. 2:9), Catholic (1 Cor. 1:2), and Apostolic (Eph. 2:20, Rev. 21:14).

The marks of the Church identify the foundation upon which the Truth is upheld. If the Church ceases to be one, and she is divided against herself, whether by word, deed, or doctrine, the foundation will fall apart. If the Church lacks holiness, is not set apart from the world in which she exists, and is therefore molded by the world instead of molding the world around her, the foundation will crumble. If the Church does not maintain Catholicity of doctrine, dogma, and teaching; if the Church succumbs to multiplicity of truths; if the Church does maintain a unity of faith, then her foundation will crumble. If the Church does not maintain her apostolicity, that Kerygmatic Charism reaching back through the annals of time to the apostles, that plurality of voices directing the voice and rudder of the Church, unfolding the continuing revelation of the Holy Spirit within its holy abode, then the foundation will crumble. Without her bishops there is no Church, but there is no Bishop without the Church either.

Christ is the way because he is the path that we are to follow. The Church is the way, and baptism is the door. Christ is the Truth, for which the Church is the incarnate body of that Truth, the representative voice of that Truth, and the foundation upon which the Truth finds solid ground. Christ is the life, for he gives life, and gives it eternally. The Church is the hospital for our souls, in which we are healed of our infirmities, and receive that blessed food and medicine: The Eucharist. Christ is simultaneously the path (the Church) and the destination (perfection, τελειότητα) towards which we all strive Godward. Her saints, those holy men and women who have gone before us, are fingers pointing at the moon, guideposts on our journey. It is their voices echoing through time immemorial that encourage and guide us to the end of time.

Giant mosaic unveiled in worlds second largest Orthodox church

Scripture and Holy Tradition

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Scripture and Holy Tradition – May 17th, 2019

I was attacked on Facebook today by a very arrogant, seemingly prideful, and rather belligerent Protestant today. He argued that simply because I did not hold the scripture as the sole source of truth within the context of the Christian faith, that I was somehow in denial of Christ. I eventually had to block him, as there was no reasoning or room for civil discourse. Plus, he kept posturing as some Grand Master of the Christian faith, and claimed I stepped out of my pay grade when I shot down whatever garbage translation he was using by showing him the Greek. I will pray for him.

Placing scripture in its proper place and historical context and understanding is not a denial of Christ. Christ is not the book. Scripture is truth, but YOUR understanding of scripture is not. He argued the understanding of scripture in the early Church, as well as the theology of Christendom, was voted on by mere men, I guess making a de facto assertion that his understanding was somehow superior. To me, this only reinforces how our understanding of Church affects our understanding of Truth.

We should always start with the question, “What did the Church teach,” for truth does not change, and I imagine the Christians of the first four centuries, from whom we get our best commentaries, know better than we do today. Also, we can see how the Church lived, what the Church said regarding them, and understand the same. The Church is the Pillar and foundation of truth, for it is the body of Christ.

I really like the words of Saint Raphael regarding Scripture within the context of Tradition.

“Just as the written word is nothing other than the more brief and at the same time more constant representation of the spoken word, so also holy Scripture can be viewed as the brief and at the same time constant expression of sacred Tradition. Hence sacred Tradition and holy Scripture are thus very closely tied to one another, so that each by necessity requires the other, and the absence of one in these important points is detrimental to the other. In this way, when holy Scripture is disregarded, sacred Tradition runs the danger of distortion because then the human can be mixed up easily with the divine, the profane with the holy, and truth with falsehood. On the other hand, when sacred Tradition is removed, holy Scripture is subject to many misinterpretations because when holy Scripture is left to each one’s free understanding and interpretation, a certain strange diversity within the one and same Christian teaching can hence result.”

~Saint Raphael of Brooklyn.

A Study of Liturgics

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A Study of Liturgics – May 5, 2019

Studying liturgical development from the first through the seventh century really is an interesting field of study. In doing so, one learns how our liturgies came to be what they are today. They were originally fairly small and simple. Yet, over the years more and more prayers were added – prayers for the departed, prayers for the Church, prayers for the people, prayers for the hierarchs and clergy, and the fleshing out of the actual liturgical prayers – giving more beauty, breadth, and depth to the liturgical practice and rhythm of the Church.

Each Bishop had a collection of notes and prayers that he would either add to or subtract from. When he reposed or was no longer the Bishop of the Church for whatever reason, the next Bishop would inherit these notes and do likewise. With the exception of the Liturgy of Saint James – though it is likely even that liturgy changed form over the centuries – there were very few formalized liturgies in use throughout Christendom. It was not until the fourth century that the Church was blessed with Liturgies such as that of Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Basil, or the Liturgy of Saint Gregory later in the seventh century. Many of these are still in use today.

Yet, there is one thing that rang true through the centuries, regardless of the liturgy in use, and that is the Laity never ever had a say in the liturgical praxis of the Church. Heck, the clergy did not even have a say in in. It was the Bishop, who did not exist as a Bishop without the Church, yet nor did the Church exist without the Bishop. He determined the Liturgy and liturgical practices, no one else. Those that refused to follow were considered in disobedience to their Bishop, obedience being a necessary precursor to humility. It is not the place of anyone else to determine the liturgical life and well being of the Church, or everyone then becomes their own Bishop, much like a particular Christian milieu that was lamented to have a million Popes. But, I digress….

Liturgical development, as well as Ecclesiology are two things I would like to dive more into when I am done with school. For now, I will keep writing essays on the world wars and such…..

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