HOMILY: The presentation of the Theotokos

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Today, she who would become the Holy of Holies, her womb destined to bear the fullness of the living God, enters the Holy of Holies.  She who is more honorable then the cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim, makes more holy the holy of Holies by her very presence.

Homily: The presentation of the Theotokos

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

Our Father in heaven is the God of promise.  Our Patriarch Abraham grew old, and his wife was barren.  When he was one hundred years old, and his wife Sarah was 90, God promised him a child, and it was made so.  They conceived, and their son Isaac was born. Later, the son Isaac, because he also was childless, prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant and gave birth to twins, Jacob and Esau. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the great patriarchs of our faith.  God first made his promise with Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing,” and later he would say “’Look up at the sky and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.”  Isaac was the son of the covenant made with Abraham, and therefore a stepping stone or bridge to the fulfillment of that promise.  He represented a continuation of that promise by God.  Then, Jacob would follow after to become the beginning of the fulfillment of that promise, his twelve sons becoming the twelve tribes of Israel. From one of these twelve tribes the messiah would arise as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

Abraham prefigures the Father’s love for his son, and offers a foreshadowing by nearly sacrificing his son Isaac, and on the same mountain Christ would be crucified.  Isaac, who was nearly sacrificed by his father, is a prefiguration of Christ.  Jacob, who wrestled with an angel for a night, portrays the greatest struggle of anyone’s faith: “recognizing God and figuring out what to do with that knowledge, wrestling and embracing God’s will.” Yet, what of the once barren wives of these great patriarchs? The Fathers of the Church are in agreement that the opening of the barren womb of these high esteemed and virtuous women are all a prefiguration of the Virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So we circle back to Jacob and his miraculous vision, where he dreamed “and beheld a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.”  Jacob’s ladder, as it has become known, has been identified in Eastern Orthodox theology and iconography with the incarnation of Christ through Mary.

So, we come to the parents of the Virgin Mary, who, like so many before them, were old and without child.  While the entirety of the old testament points forward to Christ, they are not mentioned here.  Neither are they mentioned in the annals of the new testament.  Their lives, conception, and the presentation of the Theotokos to the temple, which we commemorate, all flows from the living Tradition and memory of the Church.

According to the Tradition of the Church, Joachim and Anna had been married for fifty years, and during that time remained barren and without a child.  Despite this and their longing for a child, they lived quiet and devout lives.  They only lived on one third of their income, giving the other two thirds to the poor and to the temple.  For their faith, they had been well provided for. Yet, despite their faith, and because of their barrenness, they were chided and ridiculed by the other Jews.  Even the high priest had scolded him by saying, “You are not worthy to offer sacrifice with those childless hands.” They were treated and deemed as unworthy.  So, the holy and righteous Joachim and Anna gave themselves to prayer that God would work in them the same wonder he worked in Abraham and Sarah, and bless them with a child that they may be assuaged in their old age.  God sent the archangel Gabriel to each of them and announced to them “a daughter most blessed, by whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed, and through whom will come the salvation of the world.”  At this new promise of God, the holy and righteous Joachim and Anna in turn promised to raise their child in the Temple as a holy vessel of God.

At the age of three, Joachim and Anna took their daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the temple to be dedicated to the service of God. They processed from Nazareth to Jerusalem, a three day journey.  The procession was led by virgins holding lighted tapers, with the Blessed Virgin Mary flanked and accompanied by her parents. Following them were kinsman, family, and friends all bearing lighted tapers.  Fifteen steps ascended to the temple in Jerusalem, and when the procession arrived at their destination, the holy and righteous Joachim and Anna lifted the Blessed Virgin Mary onto the first step, then she quickly ascended the remaining steps on her own. At the top of the steps she was greeted by the High Priest Zacharias, who was destined to be the father of Saint John the Forerunner.  He took her by the hand and led her into the temple, and then into the Holy of Holies, a place into which only the High Priest ventured, and that but once a year.

Today, she who would become the Holy of Holies, her womb destined to bear the fullness of the living God, enters the Holy of Holies.  She who is more honorable then the cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim, makes more holy the holy of Holies by her very presence.

Today, she who is to become the ark of the new covenant, one day giving birth to the living law of the spirit of life, is presented to  the ark of the old covenant.  The law which brings death will soon give way to the law which brings life life.

Today, the Blessed Virgin Mary enters the Temple as a golden censer, destined to contain within her Christ the coal of fire, whom Holy Isaiah foresaw. Her prayers will one day rise like incense before all the saints, and for all the saints.

Today is the preview of the good will of God, of the preaching of the salvation of mankind. The Virgin appears in the temple of God, in anticipation proclaiming Christ to all. Let us rejoice and sing to her: Rejoice, O Divine Fulfillment of the Creator’s dispensation. (Troparion)

[Today] The most pure Temple of the Savior; The precious Chamber and Virgin; The sacred Treasure of the glory of God, Is presented today to the house of the Lord. She brings with her the grace of the Spirit, Therefore, the angels of God praise her: “Truly this woman is the abode of heaven.” (Kontakion)

Today we celebrate the end of the physical temple in Jerusalem as the all holy dwelling place of God. The presentation of the Theotokos – she who would bear the fullness of God within her – offers a prelude and preview to the good will of God.  We celebrate Christ’s mother that we too are worthy to be an abode for, and living tabernacles of the Lord.

Today we venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary as a prefiguration of Christian life.  Just as Abraham was the first to have faith in God, The Blessed Virgin Mary was the first to have faith in Christ, He who took flesh from her flesh, and from her womb the Son of God became the Son of Man.  She epitomizes obedience, when at the annunciation of Christ she proclaimed “Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to the word.” This is in spite of her desire to remain a virgin until her death, but her virginity would remain intact, and her faith remembered, rewarded, and exalted. She was a person of prayer.  Raised in the Temple, she was rooted in a life of unceasing prayer.  Without this kind prayer upon her heart she would not have been equipped to deal with the level of communion and contact with God that only she was especially prepared to experience and comprehend. She is a person who embodies forgiveness, who as a mother chose to forgive rather than hate when she witnessed the unjust persecution and execution of her son upon the cross.  She is the great example, the prelude to Christian life.

May the following weeks of this great fast of the Nativity season be a prelude and preparation for us to receive Christ as we step into the joyous occasion of His Nativity.  As we remember the Blessed Virgin Mary’s entrance into the Temple, may we prepare ourselves that Christ may enter into us as living temples of the living God; living tabernacles of the Holy Spirit.  My prayer for us all is that we will use this time wisely, seeking out that which is most needful in our lives, while avoiding the anger and anxiety of our society, and not becoming poisoned and polluted by the spirit of our age.  There is surely nothing more important that we could do for the salvation of the world, for the benefit and healing of our souls, and in preparation for the joy of Christmas.

By the prayers of thy most puer mother, the Holy and God bearing Father, all the saints, 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: Where is your heart? (The Unjust Servant)

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

What are we doing with our lives?  What are we doing with what we have, with what we have been given, and are we being good stewards with the many gifts that some of us have been blessed with? Nothing in this world is our own, for we take none of it with us to the grave.  We are but sojourners.  We are but stewards, in a sense, of that which God has given us; of those bits of this world’s detritus of which we possess.  For that is what the things of this world are to the Kingdom of Heaven, detritus, or refuse; the corruptible.  Yet, even trash has its uses.  What is the saying, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure?  Yet, which man are you?

    In today’s Gospel reading we hear the story of the unjust steward.  In this story we learn both what kind of man the unjust steward is, but also the sometimes zealous preoccupation that is required to receive the treasure we seek. The unjust steward preoccupied himself with his own personal and worldly comforts. Different commentaries state that he either lived off the wealth of his master, or the more believable view is that he overcharged the debtors of his master, living comfortably off his dishonesty. Perhaps this is why stewards were not viewed favorably, and were often grouped together with publicans, tax collectors, and other men often known for their dishonest handling of money.  Regardless of the reasons, he was being put out by his master by his unfavorable handling of his master’s goods.

    What does the steward do?  He knew he could not work, either because he was too lazy, or failed to learn any skills of use, living lavishly on the successes of others, mainly his master.  He was a prideful man, so it was beneath him to beg.  He knew only how to use those skills – his dishonesty and shrewdness – and set out to use them again to his favor.  He wiped out a large portion of each of his master’s debtor’s debt, likely to the detriment of his master, who was about to cast him out. I suppose the confusing part to many who read this particular parable, is why is it being praised?  Why are the deceitful actions of one being praised by another who was cheated by those same actions?  The world praises the world, and his master, who is himself a man of business and wealth, recognized the shrewd cleverness of his steward to ensure his worldly comforts.  Yet, it is no surprise that the world sees deceitfulness and cleverness just and honest, simply look at the world around you: lies are lauded as truth, deceit us praised as honesty; unchastity and debauchery are considered moral, normal, or even praiseworthy.  Love is misaligned and misattributed.  Sin is given a place on the altar of society.

    But what can we learn from this? We are told that “the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”  The world has a better judgment towards the things of this world as concerns their own material comforts. The children of this world are far more diligent in their planning and scheming in how to advance in this world and their acquisition of wealth, than the children of God are diligent, clever and conscientious about our calling and completion of God’s plan.  We do not work as hard for God, as the world does in working for money.  The unjust steward, although his actions may be seen by some as charity, he did not give so out of love.  He was not generous out of his own charity.  He gave only out of concern for himself and his own needs.  Where is our heart?  If time is money, as the world often says, then where we spend the greatest  measure of our time is perhaps the greatest indicator of that which we love the most. If our actions speak louder than words, as the world also says, what are our actions speaking to the world?  What are our actions speaking loudly about our heart? We love Christ. We say we love Christ, but if our actions have no alignment with what we say, and what we pray, then our words are vestigial and empty, and there is no faith in us.

    We live in this world, but not of it.  This is one reason we are told to “ make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.” In this we are to understand that all that we have, our wealth, our goods, our talents, our gifts and abilities, and even our love are all to be used to succor those who suffer; those who have need and for the carrying out of good works, that not only you may be received by them, but that they may receive also Christ who sent you.  Be mindful, for you may be the only Christ that some may ever encounter.

    On this, Saint Gaudentius in his own homily of the Unjust steward adds to this in saying:

    “When you have given your substance for the needs of the poor and spent it all, ‘they may receive you into everlasting habitations, ‘that is, our friends will obtain our salvation, since they are the same poor in whom Christ the Eternal Rewarder will confess that He has Himself received the kindness of our love for our fellowman. The poor themselves do not therefore receive us, but they receive us through Him who is given to eat in them.”

    The bible is full of scriptures that tell us to avoid a love of money, and the things in this world. First Timothy 6:10 tells us “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Proverbs tells us “such are the paths of all who go after ill gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.” Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews tells us “keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

    It is not that money itself is bad, but Christ did warn us it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Money is a tool, as are all things within the spirit of an age.  Some tools are double edged swords.  Others bear a greater responsibility and temptation for misuse and personal gain at the expense of others.  It is our lot, our goal,  to not become beholden to the things of this world, lest we become debtors to it.  In this sentiment our Epistle reading is rather apropos:

 “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

We are more than stewards, but heirs to the Kingdom of God.  Stewards are essentially hired servants, while we are heirs as Sons and Daughters of The Living God.  A steward simply watches over what he has been given, whereas we have been given everything, possessing all things in all Truth, yet own none of it. A steward lives for the sake of that which he possesses and has been given, while the sons of God live for the sake of He who gave it all.  We live with the world, and by the things of this world shrewdly and conscientiously bring Christ to the world, hoping that in doing so the seeds will be planted, the fruit will grow, a harvest will be taken, and the people of this world will follow us into the fullness of Truth.

The world is not bad.  No, that is Gnostic thinking.  The way this world is used is bad.  A preoccupation with the things of this world at the expense or exclusion of the things of God is bad.  Let us be mindful of a parallel to our spiritual lives.  We learn the things of God that they may bring us to God, that they may bring us to the mountain upon which God rests; yet, it is only in the cloud of knowing, like Moses, that we may ascend it. Likewise is it with the things of this world.  The weight of this world, the things in it, its temptations, its struggles and tribulations all make us stronger. The things of this world only weigh us down to the detriment of our spiritual growth. We cannot ascend to heavenly heights of heart and mind until we are no longer shackled by the fetters of this world.  So, in time, as we grow in our spiritual walk, we shed the world from our shoulders, from our hearts and minds, some faster than others. Just remember, even our worldly wealth is nothing but detritus, and some day our house must be swept clean, whether by our own hand, or those of another.

In the three verses following our Gospel reading today, we find the ultimate moral of this story, the story of The Unjust Servant. “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and  mammon.”

We are faithful with what we have been given, that we may be given spiritual treasures.  If what we have has been taken away, our heart is revealed for the true object of its love.  We cannot possess two loves, for our God is a jealous God, and our hearts can possess only the love of One.  What is in our heart?  The answer to that is revealed by whatever we direct our greatest time and attention to, and by what we do.  Let us remember the words of Christ, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

By the prayers of the Most Holy Lady Theotokos, the Holy and God bearing Fathers, all the saints, and the martyrs, and the Angels, have mercy on us and save us.

Amen.

1st Sunday After Ascension / The World will hate us.

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

Christ has ascended! From Earth, to Heaven.

Let us remember, and believe, as we say every Sunday, and every service

Christ,  “who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; from thence he shall come with glory, to judge the living and the dead ;whose kingdom shall have no end.”

Christ came as a servant, but never ceased being Lord of Lords and ascended as a King. Christ condescended to become man, but never ceased being God, and ascended to his rightful place at the right hand of God the Father.  Christ descended into hell, but hell could not contain him, and heaven received him once again. He came into the kingdoms of men, and left us with the Kingdom of God.

Christ has ascended, and we shall follow in His steps, but the way shall not be easy.  Anyone that reads the scriptures and believes in a Gospel of prosperity, believes in an easy path without pain or suffering, is reading a different Gospel, and holding to something other than the Truth.  Two millennia can and does clearly show us that The Way, as it is and was so dutifully called, is not a path of peace and prosperity. Yes, we preach peace, we love those who may not love us, or those that may not even love themselves, but we will likely receive neither of these things from the world; for the world is at enmity with God.

Christ has ascended, and before doing so He gave us both a warning, and a command. He commanded us to “ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” We have gone, and continue to go into the world, incarnating the Truth, bringing Christ to the world, and “ministering to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Christ also warned us of the world. The world will hate us. The world loves truth when it is revealed, but it does not love Truth when it is revealed about titselfs, and so the world hates us and has hated us because it has first hated Truth, that is Christ.

Look at the world around us.  It seems at every turn, and around every corner there is something that stands against God. The scriptures tell us to “Be still and know that He is God,”yet the world is a cacophony of visual white noise, commercials, advertisements, pseudo pornographic imagery, and various things that not only pull us away from Him, but make it nearly impossible be still. The world pulls us forward into the worries of the future, and causes us to look at the past and regret what we have or have not done. The world has lost its presence in the present moment. Perhaps it is with great clairvoyance that Saint Isaac the Syrian penned the words, “ Silence Is the Mystery of the Age to Come.” 

Father Seraphim Rose has shown how The world makes a mockery of the sacraments. Abortion makes a mockery of the Eucharist, incorporating the words “this is my body” into their act of selfish sacrific. Pornography, which pervades every corner of the internet, is the the devil’s iconography. We ignore our humanity in death by cremation.  We destroy the sanctity of marriage by treating it as unimportant. Even this very month, a so called pride month celebrates, lauds, and elevates sexual immorality into a place of virtue, forgetting that it was pride that brought humanity into death; forgetting the pride is sin and folly.  It is only humility that can change it, and change us all.

The world is against us, and though Christ has ascended, we are not alone. Christ tells us “when the ]Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.“ And so we look forward with expectation to the day of Pentecost, one week from today, when the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles like tongues of fire, establishing the Church upon the foundation of Christ’s honorable blood, that Christ may be revealed to us, and through Christ, the Father.  The Holy Spirit, the perfecter of all things, works in us all to help us be perfect just as He is perfect; to become Christ and become one with Christ, so that no matter how dark this world may seem or become, that the light of Truth will light the way like a lamplight at our feet, providing a light for our paths as the psalms have sung.

The world hates us who are of Christ, and are in Christ, but we do not hate those who are in the world, and of it.  Hatred is at enmity with God; at enmity with Truth.. We must love those who do not love us;  Give to those who have taken from us; Speak love and truth even to those who have lied to us, and spoken spitefully and harmfully in every word and deed.  We must show compassion to the indifferent, and empathy to the apathetic; be present to everyone, even those who are distant or distracted, for the present moment is the only moment in which we can encounter God. Put simply, we must walk the path that Christ has laid before us, that those who are blinded may then see it, and follow you in your own footsteps into the fullness of Truth.  For, you see, you may be the only Christ that some may ever know.

The world will reject us. Let us remember the words of Saint Anthony the Great, “A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, ‘You are mad; you are not like us.” Indeed, we are not like the world, nor should we wish to be, but through the same persistence of water, dripping on a rock for an age, we can change the world around us one act of love and kindness at a time.  See the early Church, and three centuries of martyrdom and peaceful persistence of faith, hope, and love, it won over the greatest empire in history from within.  With that, let us remember the word’s of Saint Seraphim of Sarov,  “Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved.” This, and all of this, is how we make disciples of the world, by first becoming disciples ourselves..

Christ has ascended! From Earth to Heaven!  May we all be with him in the age to come, and unto ages of ages.

By the prayers of thy 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.

Вечная память Владика!

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It is with great sadness that we all bare the passing of our beloved Metropolitan and spiritual father, his Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), the First Hieararch of ROCOR. It was with bitter sadness I received the news. It was with many tears that I watched the funeral service of our great pastor. Though, in the end, during this paschal season, it is with great joy we all move forward knowing that we will see him again, because Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed.

I wish to share the Eulogy that was given for his eminence, shared by Fr Victor Potapov. He is loved. He is missed. We shall see him again.

Eulogy for Met Hilarion by Fr Victor Potapov

Our hearts responded with acute pain to the news that, on May 16 of this year, the day of commemoration of Venerable Theodosius, Abbot of the Kiev Caves, and the eve of the 15th anniversary of the re-establishment of liturgical communion within the Russian Orthodox Church, our Vladyka Metropolitan Hilarion, ruling archpastor of the Eastern American Diocese, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, had departed to the Lord. How we shall miss the opportunity to be with him, to hear his soft but cheerful voice, to look upon his kind and disarming smiling face.
I am often asked what Vladyka was like in his youth. I always give everyone the same response: he was born to become a monk, and his entire life was a convincing apologia for the institution of monasticism!

After the announcement of Vladyka’s death, social networks were instantly filled – and to this day continue to be filled – with numerous reminiscences about Vladyka. And this is wonderful, because it will give the future biographer of our deceased First Hierarch the richest material for describing his life, his vita.

Many considered him to be a close friend, and so he was. He had many friends but, as far as I am aware, practically no foes – except, of course, the common enemy of our salvation.

I first made the acquaintance of Igor Kapral, the future First Hierarch of ROCOR, 55 years ago, in 1967, when we both began our studies at Holy Trinity Seminary at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. He came from the far-Western Canadian city of Edmonton, AL, and I from the city of Cleveland, OH. Igor was a quiet, deeply pious young man, who had been so brought up by his parents and by the ever-memorable Archbishop Sava (Saracevic; +1973), a “special” friend and spiritual ally of St. John Maximovitch.

Initially, we first-year students were housed in the large so-called “common cell” in the old seminary building. There were nine or ten of us in that common room. Later, we were moved into separate rooms, each for two people. Igor and I ended up as roommates. For more than six months, we lived side by side. As they say in Russian, in cramped conditions, but without offense! (“Вътеснот?, даневъобид?!”)

The future hierarch spent little time in our common cell. He devoted most of his time to reading in the library or working at a variety of obediences. In those days, the monastery had a large farming operation, with enormous fields under cultivation, cows, chickens, etc. There was no end to the work, and the small monastic brotherhood depended upon help from the seminarians. Each student was expected to devote two to four hours per day on obediences to work off the cost of his education.
Igor never refused a single obedience. He was always ready to help everyone, whether in the kitchen, in the printshop, or on the monastery farm. And, for many years, he cared for the paralyzed Archbishop Averky (Taushev; +1976) day and night. In this manner, he tirelessly spent his entire monastic life in Jordanville, until he was called to an even more responsible hierarchical service.

The future Metropolitan studied well (straight As), read a great deal, and gradually improved his facility in Russian. By the way, in the 1960s all subjects at the seminary were taught in Russian, and at the time, neither of us spoke Russian well.

In the evenings, Igor would take a book and climb into the upper bunk. (I spent the night in the lower one). He would often ask me to listen to an excerpt from a book he was reading. He especially loved the Lives of the Saints. One day he read to me a description of the excruciating tortures inflicted upon the martyrs during the early centuries. He was reading aloud while weeping, and unwittingly transmitted that feeling of compunction to me, as well.

Sometime later, we were moved to vacant cells on the fourth floor of the large monastic residential building. We had adjacent cells. His door was always slightly ajar. From my room, I often heard monks and seminarians coming to him to talk or to ask for his help. And I would often stop in, either to discuss personal or general problems, or just to chat. That did not seem to tire him out; if it did, he did not show it.

He always listened patiently and lovingly to everyone, and even if he did not tell his visitors anything particularly special, they nonetheless left feeling reassured and at peace. He had the rare spiritual gift – an ability to listen.

After graduating from the seminary in 1972, we went our separate ways, I as a deacon to a parish church, and he remaining under obedience at his native monastery.
While living in a monastery during my years of study at the seminary, I would often think of the nature of monastic podvig [ascetic struggle], and what prompts a person to undertake such a difficult struggle. During my years of study at Jordanville, I observed young novices who came to the monastery, and some who could not endure and left, having realized that they did not have a calling to such a way of life. My close association with Igor convinced me that there are rare people like our future Vladyka who are born to lead such a life. In conversations with people who doubted the expediency of the monastic path, I would always point out Vladyka Hilarion as an example of true monasticism.

Our friendship continued to grow stronger, and we even became kumovya [the relationship between a child’s father and the one who is godfather at the child’s Baptism] when he became godfather to my second son Sergei. My son was Vladyka’s first godchild, and how many others followed! An entire host!
In 1984, Fr. Hilarion became Bishop of Manhattan, secretary of the Synod of Bishops, and vicar bishop of the Eastern American Diocese.

He was always accessible. One could call him at any time. He always picked up the phone, patiently listened to requests and complaints, and would find solutions.

Vladyka was a missionary-minded hierarch. During his time as one of the monastic brethren at the Holy Trinity Monastery, he diligently translated our Russian spiritual literature into English, and became editor of the quarterly magazine “Orthodox Life.” During his administration, many English-speaking communities were formed in our Eastern American Diocese.

Vladyka was Ukrainian by birth and Russian in spirit. He was a total human being, someone who made no distinction among people based on ethnic origin, skin color, or gender. All were precious to him, and in each person he saw first and foremost the image and likeness of God. He was convinced that every soul was equally in need of pastoral care and salvation.
Vladyka was always attentive to the needs of others. If you asked him for some kind of written reference, he would always fulfill the request by the end of that day, or at the very latest, the next day.

Several years ago, Vladyka was diagnosed with cancer. The faithful of the Church were quite alarmed by that circumstance. Yet Vladyka did not pay much attention to the state of his health. To the very end, he continued to visit parishes, to receive visitors, and to be involved in church matters.
Knowing of the worsening state of his health, I would like to bring to your attention the Beatitudes that applied to him. It is no coincidence that that Gospel passage is read on days of commemoration of venerable saints, the holy monks.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Blessed poverty, which Vladyka possessed, represents the absolute openness of the person before God, freedom from all pride and belief in the power of one’s own spirit, one’s own ideas and opinions, freedom from the vain speculations of one’s heart. Our late Vladyka possessed that quality in abundance.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Meekness is the spiritual force that removes anger, malice, enmity, and condemnation from the heart and adorns the soul with a quiet disposition. To be meek means to be gentle and kind, free from all selfishness and worldly ambition, and in everything to reject the possibility of coercion and violence. And to have the firm and calm conviction that good is stronger than evil, and that sooner or later, it always wins.

Was not our late Vladyka such a person?

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The heart is the source and guardian of our spiritual life. The heart is the spiritual eye with which we contemplate what is invisible to bodily eyes and incomprehensible to the mind. The ability for spiritual contemplation depends exclusively on purity of the heart.

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord said: “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22-23).

According to St. John of Kronstadt, a pure heart is “meek, humble, simple, trusting, not deceitful, unsuspicious, not malicious, kind, unselfish, not envious, unadulterous” (My Life in Christ, v.1 p.81).

Vladyka was sincere, and with that quality, he calmed and encouraged his flock. How he disliked hearing condemnations! I witnessed how in his presence someone was “washing other people’s little bones” [nitpicking, condemning others’ faults], and he felt uneasy, for words of condemnation wounded his pure heart. He listened in silence, perhaps while mentally reciting the Jesus Prayer. One could often notice that an accuser would tell Vladyka everything he wanted to, and suddenly, inexplicably, would lose interest in expressing further condemnation…

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” To be merciful means to be like unto God, for, according to Psalm 102, “compassionate and merciful is the Lord, long suffering and plenteous in mercy.” Our Lord Jesus Christ speaks about the same thing in His Sermon on the Mount:
“…Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for He is kind to the unthankful and the evil. Be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36).

To be merciful means to have compassion for those gone astray and pity on those imprisoned by sin. To forgive those who do wrong, who not only harm others, but first of all destroy themselves, destroy their own human nature.

How much mercy our late Vladyka demonstrated over the course of his 74 years of earthly life! He helped everyone, both prayerfully and financially. Quite often he gave his modest funds to the needy, and hid that fact from others. How many amazing stories of his generosity could we tell!

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, [Vladyka,] for great is your reward in the Heavens!” (Matthew 5:12).
One could continue to consider in the same spirit other Beatitudes and how they applied to our deceased archpastor, but the above is already enough to outline his image.

The earthly wandering of our Metropolitan Hilarion has come to its conclusion. For us here on earth, it is a loss, but for the Heavens, it is a gain. I am certain that even there, “where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing,” our dear Vladyka will not leave us, and will continue to prayerfully care for us and for the Church Abroad which is so dear to his heart.

Memory Eternal to you, my dear brother in Christ, friend, kum, and archpastor. You will be sorely missed!

Archpriest Victor Potapov
May 21, 2022. New York

Paschal Epistle of Metropolitan Hilarion First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia | Western American Diocese

I am not alone.

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I am not Alone
Welcome to memory lane  Let us take a little walk.

I have this weird habit of walking around my apartment and monologuing, practicing one side of conversations that will likely never take place.  On one hand, it is a good way for me to work through things that have been on the back of my mind for a time.  In other ways it is a way to practice my dialogue, for I still have issues speaking, forming sentences on the fly (off script if you will, which is one reason I much prefer writing to speaking).  My monologue turned into a diatribe of sorts, and I found this to be unexpected. I came to some self realizations, realized some offenses that maybe I had not forgiven, and found solace in these self revelations, albeit minor in the grand scope of things.

The last 20 years have been no easy road for me.  Every real or meaningful thing I had wanted to do in this life was derailed by one thing or another, and at each failure along that journey, most of them were endured alone.  I couldn’t join the military because I suddenly became diabetic.  I lost my first good job to 9/11. I worked hard for over a year saving for a car, having walked everywhere for a year before that, only to have the money stolen by the man I was buying the car from. I lost my home after helping a friend get back on his feet, he neglecting to tell me he was a registered sex offender.  I was homeless for 48 hours.  I was denied a government job that would have opened all other doors to me, all because of a bankruptcy caused by hurricanes that took my job and everything else from me. The first time I followed my heart, I ended up in Baltimore and was punished for it.

I remember after losing my job to the hurricanes, and being evicted after helping my friend, I took a test at the workforce center in south Florida.  I was referred there by a friend of the man that had taken me in.  After taking the aptitude test, we were walking down the hall and talking.  I hadn’t noticed she stopped until I was a few paces ahead.  I looked back and she was staring at the page with my test results.  She simply looked up at me:

“Why are you here?”

“I need a job?”

“Yes, but why are YOU here?  We don’t get test scores like this here?”

I had a job within a week.  It was not long after this I followed my girlfriend at the time to Baltimore, and found myself floundering in another hopeless situation with no job, and no way out.  In the end I went home.

There is a lot more to that story, but that is for another time. I did not know where I was going.  I did not know what I was doing.  All I knew is I was searching FOR  something that had meaning, and that was bigger than myself.  I wanted something that gave my life meaning, because few others in my life have ever seen any meaning in it.

Then I found the Church.

Looking back over the last 7 years, while that journey has only gotten tougher, I have never been more determined. While others may not see value in what I do, I could care less.

Before I even began my educational journey, I had a stroke.  I lost the ability to talk clearly, write anything legible at all, and typing was a near impossibility.  I sounded like I had downs syndrome for months, and it took many months after that to regain some degree of muscle memory.  After much hard work I regained about 80% functionality, without which online schooling would have been an impossibility.

The following year, at the end of my very first semester of what would be 5 years of school, I went into full respiratory failure from my 7th bout with pneumonia.  It was right in the middle of finals, and it was a miracle there alone that I passed.  I was Chrismated onto what was supposed to be my death bed.  Looking back years after the fact, I see the lineup of dates involved and realize that I was not alone. January 7th is Christmas on the Old Calendar for the Orthodox Church; January 9th was my Birthday; January 11th was the day I almost died; January 14th is Saint Basil’s feast day, for whom I was Chrismated and later named at my ordination.

In my room, I was given a a framed paper icon of Saint Luke of Crimea.  I could have sworn I saw a single tear run down the glass, but I dismissed it at the time.  A couple days later I was able to get out of bed and I inspected the framed icon, and on the glass there is a single streak that was not there before, from his right eye half way down the glass.  I still have that icon. That streak is still there.  At that moment, I knew I was not alone.

For the next three years I was expected to read stacks of books for my theological education, and then my vision started to fail.  Multiple eye surgeries, and countless migraines from reading so many books on one functioning eye took its toll over time, but I finished.

In the months leading up to finals, and eventually Ordination, the home life fell apart.  Amanda’s car broke.  Amanda broke her foot shortly after having major surgery.  For two and a half months I worked overtime, sold things of sentimental value to me in order to keep the house afloat on my paycheck alone.  Yet, I finished up my last semester while doing all this and working more than full time hours.

The day I was ordained, my retina detached.  I had yet another eye surgery the following week.  Not long after this, though I was not looking, a door opened and I could not pass by and started my Bachelors in History.  Sometime after all this, Amanda started having her own issues.  I won’t go into details, but a year later it ended in my being served divorce papers, and right in the middle of finals.  Yet, on the day I was served, I was called and approved for an apartment, something I was told never happens that quickly, like ever.  Also that day, I received in the mail a vial of myrrh from the Holy Myrrh streaming Iveron icon in Hawaii.  At that moment, I knew I was not alone.

Now that I have finished school, I am awaiting my next step.  What is the road I will take next? In the meantime, my life may or may not have meaning, but it is doing something meaningful.  I serve the Church every week as much as I am able.  I perform those duties that are given to me that are of import to others.  I have continued my writing, of which others have found useful, and many more are encouraging me to publish.  I get messaged daily by people daily on Twitter, Discord, sometimes Facebook, and even email, all asking me for advice. I don’t have a beacon lit, and I am a sinner just like the rest of them, so I have no idea why they come, but I make myself available to all those who seek it.  I myself am unimportant, and someday I will pass on, but my work will live on after me and hopefully be of benefit to others for years to follow.

I could die in my apartment right now, and it would likely be a week or more before anyone realized I was missing (except maybe my boss, or Peter, because no one wants my job), but even in realizing this, I will always remember that I am not alone.  Yes, I am eccentric, sometimes temperamental, maybe even a little OCD, and for this reason there are many people that don’t want to be around me; yet, even in my isolation, I am not alone.  I ride a motorcycle, for why drive a 4 door car when you have no one to ride with you; yet, despite the number of wheels beneath me, I am not alone.  I wanted a wife and family more than words can express, and for a time I had a wife I loved, and a daughter that I always wanted.  Even though others have sought to take this away from me, and even though I can never have this again, it is at least comforting to know that I am not alone.  Friends have turned their back on me; awards, events, graduations and all things of import to me have been walked alone, but regardless if my side is empty, I will always know that I am not alone.

Loneliness is born of blindness.  Open your eyes and see that you are not alone.

May be art of water

I am still here

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Finding stillness amidst the chaos of this world.

It has been quite a few months since my last blog entry. I will try t fill you in, and then share a meditation that I wrote many years ago and is relevant to today’s chaotic world.

Maybe a week after my last blog entry, my wife handed me divorce papers. My world was turned upside down, and right in the middle of college exams. I was forced to move and essentially start a new life. Since then the pandemic has gripped the nation in a number of different ways. Society, in some ways, has fundamentally changed. The political dichotomy has only seem to grow, and the world is full of unknowns. Personally, I have graduated college with a Bachelors degree in history, I have started painting once again, I have learned to ride a motorcycle, and my life personal life has gotten smaller as I learn to find stillness in a world that never stops moving or making noise.

With that said, I found an old meditation of mine that I will be reflecting upon this weekend. We should all learn to seek peace and stillness within ourselves.

Water of Life

There are few persistent elements that form a thread through the entirety of scripture: bread, water, wine, etc.  Water, perhaps, is most significant.

It was by water that God cleansed the world.  God parted the waters of the Red Sea to save his people.  It was by Moses’ anger that water flowed from a rock.  It is by water we are baptized, and thus cleansed of stains of our fallen nature.  It was water, that Christ turned into wine. It is by water we are grafted into His Holy Church, the body of Christ.

Water is an example to the Christian life…

Water rests in the lowliest of places.  It is unassuming and takes the shape of the world in which it rests.  It provides life and refreshment to everyone around it.  Water in its stillness reflects the true face of the world that would choose to gaze into its depths.  In its purity, one can see through to the deepest parts of its being, and therefore the truth therein.

Water is patient.  It does not fight, but takes the path of least resistance.  Yet, it is persistent, and in time can change the face of the world

Water is life, quenching our thirst, and renewing us amidst the deserts of this life.  It is a renewal of life, washing away the collected impurities of the world.  Without water to keep us refreshed, to keep us clean, we would surely die.

So it is like us with Christ.

Christ in us is our living water.  He is our wellspring, without whom our spirit would surely die of thirst amidst the arid spiritual deserts of this world.  Christ is our redeemer, washing our souls clean with the blood of his sacrifice, without which our souls would be forever marred by the stain of our iniquities.  He is our peace, the stillness in whom we may see the face of our true self.

To be like Christ is to be like water, that we may fall down like rain upon the rest of the world, like God’s Love has fallen upon us, and to be a refreshment to those trapped in the arid spiritual desert of this world, until they find the oasis on their own, the oasis that is Christ. We must flow forth like a river, and follow the hills and valleys of His will, wherever it may lead us.

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“Contemplation” by Father Basil

HOMILY: The Church of Remembering

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HOMILY: The Church of Remembering.- June 21, 2020

Readings: Epistle 1 John 3:13-18, Gospel Luke 14:16-24

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

Glory to Jesus Christ! (Glory forever!)

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

We are the Church of remembering.  We look back at the great spiritual journey which we have all endured.  We passed through a time of preparation and remembered the prodigal, the publican, and the last judgement; we turned our minds towards repentance.  We passed through the great fast, a spiritual exercise in which we remember our sins and conquer ourselves that we may be found worthy of the promises of Christ.  We remember that God the Son became incarnate in the flesh, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, died, and was buried, and we are mindful of our own deaths; for, death comes for us all, and so we live always mindful of it: memento mori.  We remember that Christ rose from the dead, defeating death by death, that we may no longer be held captive by the Evil One.  We remember Christ ascended into heaven, where he sits on the right hand of God the Father, and he shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead.  We recently remembered and celebrated the sending of the Holy Spirit, upon which our Church – the Body of Christ, the Pillar and Foundation of Truth – was established upon the foundation of the prophets and the apostles.  We feasted in celebration of this great gift we have been given, those gifts of the Holy Spirit of which we have all been given, that we may embolden and strengthen the Church for the work for which she was established.

Now, we enter a point of transition in our liturgical and sacramental lives, where we transition to a time where Christ walks among us and transforms us as each of us walks together towards the perfection of all things.  We have entered the Apostles fast.  This fast is unique, in that it starts relative to Pascha, but ends every year on June 29th following the old calendar.  

Anything you have left unfinished from the Great Fast, do it now. If there be anyone you have not forgiven as you should have before this moment, go and make amends.  If there persist any transgressions you have failed to confess before God, take yourself to the priest and do it without delay.  If you have not started to pray as you should, it is not too late to do so, for all things begin with prayer.  This is a time of preparation, to get ready to go forth like the saints before us; to go forth into the world to love and serve the Lord; to go into the world and make disciples of all nations.  We go forth into the world to spread the light of His gospel unto all nations, embarking on the great mission and commission for which we have been established.  

We do not go alone, for we rise together, yet we fall alone.  We rise as the body of Christ, as living stones of the Church founded by Christ’s honourable blood, but we fall away as apostates and heretics conforming to this world, following our own ideas apart from the teachings of the Church.  We march forward together with the Saints, surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, loving one another not just in word or in tongue, as our Epistle exhorts us this day, but in deed and in truth.  So, we go forth with one mind, together in one accord, united in one loaf, one cup and one teaching as Saint Paul teaches in his first letter to the Corinthians, remembering that we do not go alone.  The Saints are with us, just as Christ is with us.

So it is with great cheer that today we remember All the Russian Saints of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.  Today is in essence the name day of all Russia, where we remember the Saints who through both sorrows and great love, labored to build the Church of Russia we hold fast to today.  Kievan Rus’ was baptized in 988 after Prince Vladimir sent ambassadors from Kiev in search of true faith, recognizing the failings of their pagan gods.  They found the Muslims of the Bulgarian lands to be without joy, and rejected the abolition of alcohol and pork, for what joy can be found in a life without Vodka and bacon – though especially Vodka?  Also, Vladimir found the Jewish faith to be weak, for they had lost Jerusalem, and as a result saw them as having been abandoned by God.  They found the services of the Romans to be relentlessly bleak and without beauty.  Yet, when they came to the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, they indeed found what they had been searching for, and reported back to their lord:

“And we went into the Greek lands, and we were led into a place where they serve their God, and we did not know where we were, on heaven or on earth; and do not know how to tell about this. All we know is that God lives there with people and their service is better than in any other country. We cannot forget that beauty since each person, if he eats something sweet, will not take something bitter afterwards; so we cannot remain any more in paganism.”

So, the Russian people joined Prince Vladimir through baptism into the Orthodox faith. The old pagan gods were rejected, and many churches were built in those places they once held.  The Orthodox faith united disparate tribes across the land, giving them new meaning and new life.  The Orthodox faith regenerated Russian princes and rulers, so  that in time Russia would rise from the shadows of this world to become a beacon of Orthodoxy to all men. From the Russian Church many luminaries of Truth and virtue arose to lead her into the ages to come.

We remember the likes of Saint Sergius, who founded the largest Orthodox Monastery in all of Russia, today known as the Trinity Lavra of Saint Sergius. It is from him that the cultural ideals of Holy Rus emerged.  We remember Vasily the blessed, a fool for Christ, and known all across Moscow in the 15th century, now buried in the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Red Square.  We remember the holy hierarch Saint Germogen, who gave strength to the Russian peoples amidst the time of troubles; who in both faith and confession, “spiritually and morally regenerated the Russian nation, [wherein] it again started on the path of seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, the righteousness of subordinating the earthly life of the state to spiritual principles.” We remember Saint Seraphim of Sarov, that great light of Orthodox Spirituality, who exhorts us to acquire a spirit of peace, that thousands around us might be saved. We remember the likes of Saint John of Kronstadt; a model for all Orthodox priests; the great pastor of Russia who breathed into the Russian people on the eve of its great peril a lasting reserve of spirituality, a reserve that would allow it to survive and endure the coming years of atheist Soviet Russia.

So, we stand with such as these, each of us together, united in one Orthodox faith, one teaching, one mind, and one Love, for God is Love.  Love is the common denominator.  Love is the unending and enduring fire of God’s grace on earth, burning through the hearts of men, and bringing light to where there is none.  It is within the light and warmth of love that the faithful persevere in the cold, and the darkness of this world. It is this love the Church carries into the world, and it is by this love that the Church has prevailed, prevails today, and will continue to prevail in the ages to come.  For, the world is a cold and dark tempest against which we are all tested. It is only by the fire of God’s love that we can survive and prevail.  The Saints have shown this to be True.  The Russian Orthodox Church has shown this to be true, having endured perhaps the greatest darkness the Church has ever known.  So, as we look forward towards the days to come, let us not be disturbed by tumults and turmoil; let us not be troubled by social unrest, revolts, and upheavals; let us not stumble by the fraying of the moral fabric of the very Republic in which we live.  Instead, as Father Seraphim Rose exhorts us to do, “let all true Orthodox Christians strengthen themselves for the battle ahead, never forgetting that in Christ the victory is already ours.”

Closing with the words of our most reverend and beloved Metropolitan Hilarion: 

“Let us pray to all the saints, especially to the saints who shone forth in the Russian land and in the Diaspora, that they might confirm in us the faith, teach us to live virtuously, and help us to bear our cross with humility and patience and to love, treasure, and hold fast what we have, unto the salvation of our souls.  Amen.

Oh Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, for the sake of the prayers of Thy most pure Mother, our holy and God-fathers and all the saints, have mercy on us.

Amen.

All Saints of Russia - Holy Trinity Icon Studio
Icon: All Saints of Russia (Holy Trinity Studio)

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.

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 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.” 

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, so 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 holy Fathers and Mothers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.

Amen.

ICON: Pentecost.

Homily: Sunday of the Blind Man

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HOMILY: Sunday of the Blind Man – May 24, 2020

Readings: Acts 20:17-38, Epistle James 1:22-27, Gospel Reading John 9:1-38

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

Christ is Risen!

So, today is the Sunday of the Blind man, and I am sure that the irony of my giving the homily on this day is not lost on any of you.  Yet, as we remember this story, I cannot help but look back towards Pascha, where Christ rose from the dead, and also forward toward ascension where Christ will rise to sit at the right hand of God the Father, from whence “He shall come again to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.”  Yet, in between these days we follow a thread of Sundays and stories tracing a path of faith, and restoration.  Pascha was a season of penitence, a season of turning ourselves to God.  The weeks that follow are a season of receiving, of acceptance, and of healing, for indeed the Church is the very hospital for our souls.

The first Sunday after Pascha is the Sunday of St. Thomas, wherein Thomas believed when he saw Christ’s hands, feet, and pierced side.  Then came the Sunday of the Myrrh bearing women, who saw Christ’s Tomb, and preached Christ is Risen to the Apostles. After this, we have the healing of the Paralytic, who by some transgression of his own was left paralyzed for a lengthy season of his life. Christ gave a command, and he obeyed, and so he was healed. Then today, we have the Sunday of the blind man, who disadvantaged by no fault of his own, was rendered without sight, that the Glory of God may be made manifest at this very moment, not only for the blind man’s  sake, but for the sake of those who followed.

Great and Holy Pascha saw the brilliant light of Christ’s resurrection dispel the terrible darkness of the tomb, mankind having been trapped within, because the wages of sin is death.  Christ’s resurrection illuminated the path that man had wandered for so long in spiritual darkness, becoming a lamplight at our feet.  Yet, a blind man cannot see the light of the sun, but only feel the warmth of its radiance upon his face. He knows it is there, but that is enough.   A blind man cannot walk the path, lest one who can see it leads him on the way. One cannot see what lies ahead, unless his eyes are opened, for even in being led down the path, one may still encounter the unexpected, and stumble over the unknown.  Even though we who are present here today can see the light of life, and the very joy of our salvation, Jesus Christ, we should not forget that we too were once blind.  We should all see ourselves in the blind man.  We should see in the blind man a faith expected of us from the gift we have received, and our expectations of the world to whom the cross is foolishness.

Let us remember in the chapter before this, Christ was in the temple with the Jews.  He had spoken to the Jews, saying “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” But, who will follow what they cannot see?  The Jews did not believe because they were spiritually blind, and their eyes were closed. So, the Jews rejecting the revelations of Christ, left the temple. Christ and the Apostles encountered the blind man, whereon the Apostles asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  Now, it is a reasonable question given that at the healing of the paralytic some time before, of which we celebrated last Sunday, the words of Christ attributed his ailment to his sins, where upon his healing he was told “behold, you are made whole, sin no more.”  

Christ came to him unbidden; Christ did not ask if he wished to be healed for the blind man knew nothing else, having been born with his infirmity.  Yet, if we look back to the healing of the paralytic, Christ asked him if he wished to be healed, for he was fully aware of his state, and how he ended up where he was.  The blind man was given without request, without prayer, and without any sign of faith. This is grace.  This is the free gift of healing, or σῴζω, often translated as salvation in the scriptures.  Christ, who created the heavens and the earth, who authored all of creation, He who spoke all things into existence, He who created man from the dust of the earth, knelt down and fashioned clay with his own spittle and dirt, then placed it over the blind man’s eyes.  Some say he fashioned new eyes with the very clay.  Then, Christ’s work complete, commanded him to wash in the pool at siloam. The blind man was bidden by the unseen, and by faith he obeyed, and in his obedience his eyes were opened. Such is our own life in Christ.

The story of the blind man is the story of us all. We were all blind, but now we can see.  We were all blind, but healed by the grace of God, and by our own obedience and contrition of heart, our eyes were opened in the waters of baptism, for which the blind man’s bathing in the pools of siloam is a typology.  We were blind, but now we can see the light of life, and fully see, receive, and experience the joy of our salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.  It is within this joy that we proclaim Christ to the world, much like the myrrh bearing women preached the Risen Christ to the apostles; and the blind man, once healed, proclaimed Christ to the Pharisees, even though he did not yet know who Christ was as the Son of the living God.  For, it was not by great knowledge of God that he was healed and brought to Truth, but by faith.  All knowledge of Truth can be brought by faith.  Indeed, the Pharisees had all knowledge of Truth, but not Truth itself; they possessed great intellectual wealth, but were poor in spirit.  They lacked faith.

Our Epistle reading for today tells us about this faith; a faith in action and what it looks like (in part), giving us an idea of what the Pharisees lacked.  They were hearers of the word, but not doers.  The Pharisees thought themselves religious, but their praxis of faith was empty, and without justification.  For the θρησκεία, or religion, of the Pharisees was one of intellect alone. They knew the prayers, but did not live them.  They knew of love, for God is Love, but possessed none themselves.  They possessed the Law, but did not follow it.  They worshiped God, but their offering was empty, because they lacked a “broken and contrite heart,” of which God will not despise.

We, as the body of Christ, are to manifest Christ into the world; we as the body of Christ are to live out and manifest the light Truth and the joy of salvation into this world. This is why we hear James, the same who penned that “faith without works is dead,” also wrote in our epistle reading for today that “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

So as we regard the courageousness declarations of the blind man before the Pharisees, we look forward to the ascension of Christ, only a few days ahead of us, whereupon we receive our great commission to go forth into the world and “ make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  For, the joys of Holy Pascha are not confined to a season; the joy of our salvation is not confined to us alone who have received it; the light of Christ is not confined to the Church, for one does not light a lamp to hide it under a basket; the light of Christ is for the whole world, for whom Christ came to save.  

The way is open.  It was made by He who gave life, and the living keep it until the end of days.  So, lead the blind to the hospital for our souls, the Holy Orthodox Church, wherein Christ the great physician will heal them of their blindness and infirmities. May we all walk the way together and keep it, that the blind shall not stumble on their way to be healed. May we not stumble in our own journeys, keeping Christ’s commandments and true religion through contrition of heart, prayer, humility, obedience, and our participation in the Holy Mysteries of the Church. 

Our participation in our faith is required.  For, If the paralytic did not pick up his mat and walk, would he have been healed?  If the blind man had not washed, would he have received his sight?  We can receive the free gift of God’s grace, but if we do nothing with it, then it is of no benefit to us. So, just as Paul lived out his faith among the Ephesians; as James has exhorted  us to  incarnate our faith in deeds beyond words; as the blind main proclaimed Christ in the face of great opposition; as Paul instructs us to run the race, and work out our faith with fear and trembling; as Christ himself begins his ministry with the words “follow me,” go and do likewise.

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

Amen.

Sermon on the Sunday of the Blind Man / OrthoChristian.Com
Icon: Sunday of the blind man.