20080928 Jars of Clay
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2 Corinthians 4: 6-15
St. Matthew 22: 35-46
This is a difficult world. There are so many of us who are sick. There are so many of us that are hurting. Not just sick and hurting from physical ailments and pain, but also mentally and spiritually. We are a wounded people. And among almost all of us, there is the mistaken belief that we should bear our pain in secret. While there is a time and a place for stoicism, this is not it. Despite what the world teaches us.
You see, modern psychology has it exactly backwards. It teaches that you take care of the necessities first (health, food, clothing, shelter), then move on towards things like self-actualization later. But Christianity turns this hierarchy of Maslow on its head: we are to seek perfection and salvation through Christ first, trusting that He will take care of our other needs in turn. We do not wait to dedicate ourselves to Christ and His Church until everything else is taken care of: we seek Him first so that everything else is ordered around Him. So that everything else is established on a firm foundation. We do not wait until our pain is gone, until we are healed of all our ills, until we are perfect and have “everything together” to come to Church. We should never, ever, suffer alone, apart from Christ and the Church.
St. Paul teaches us the right way to approach our suffering in his epistle lesson today, and today we will go through this epistle in order to understand this teaching. St. Paul calls us “earthen vessels” to remind us of the frailty of our bodies; and to tell us that despite this frailty we can endure. We can endure because it is God Himself, the one who “commanded light to shine out of the darkness” [who created the world from nothing] has come into our hearts through the mercy of Jesus Christ. It is thanks to what fills us that we can endure.
“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed.”
St. Paul is referring to the Roman practice of putting criminals under slabs of granite, adding weight until they were crushed beneath them. Have you felt this way? Of course you have. All of us have. I dare say that most of us probably do right now. We use the word “stressful” to describe modern life, and it fits with this metaphor. St. John Chrysostom says that these “sides” that press in on us are “concerning our foes, our friends, necessities, other needs, from them that are hostile and of our own household”. The responsibilities of this world – and our inability to address them all properly – seek to crush us. Despite this and the frailties of our fallen bodies and minds, we can endure.
“We are perplexed, but not in despair.”
St. Paul wrote this referring to the impossibility of getting every calculation right. He wrote this two-thousand years ago – how much more is it true now! The array of choices before us is bewildering, and often the consequences of failure seem so catastrophic as to be downright paralyzing. And none of us have gone through this computational gauntlet unscathed: everyone has miscalculated and suffered as a result. Worse yet, we have all caused others – people we love dearly - to suffer as a result of our own miscalculations. Such mistakes and the fear of making more can build over time, threatening to throw us into hopelessness; to suck the life and joy out of our world. Yet somehow we can endure.
“[We are] persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed”.
A person is persecuted for going against the prevailing law; it cannot happen unless those who administer the law hate you or see you as an enemy. They see you as an enemy and they try to destroy you. And please do not doubt that the powers and principalities of this world work for your destruction. But the ultimate power, the authority greater than those that rule this world, never turns against you. Never forsakes you. As long as we walk in it, this fallen world will strike us down. We fall so many times, both due to our weakness and the strength of those that oppress us. But we need not be destroyed. Somehow, we can endure.
This flesh and blood, this earthen vessel, is so fragile, so weak, but it need not break. It need not break because it is “always carrying about ... the dying of the Lord Jesus.” God does not will us to suffer- it is the evil we ourselves have planted here that does that – but God will (through the Christ we bear within us) preserve and strengthen us through our suffering.
To summarize St. Paul’s lesson, we are able to endure and thrive through suffering because Christ makes us more than the easily shattered jars of clay that we inhabit.
But there is something more; another way that Christ works through us in our suffering. We are made to live in community. Just as our miscalculations harm those around us, so too do the things we do right bless and strengthen those around us. I am not talking about making the right investments, keeping a sound budget or portfolio, or being attentive to the needs of our family. This is something more profound and more difficult for many to understand. St. Paul teaches us that we persevere despite our human frailty “so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh”. Christ endured suffering not for Himself, but so that we might endure through Him. And when we persevere, it is obvious to all that we do it in Christ; through Christ. We become victors that inspire others toward victory themselves.
I say that this is difficult for many to understand because endurance and perseverance are not always pretty. They do not always look like victory to the world. It, in its fallenness, thinks suffering to be humiliating; something shameful to be hidden. Worse yet, it teaches us to think this way. We hide our suffering in our hearts, in our veiled expressions, in our closed mouths, behind our closed doors. We do not think it proper to share our pain, to let others see our weakness. This is the culture we must break. And we must break it for at least two reasons.
First, the Church is not just for those who are well. It is the hospital and Christ is the Great Physician. You do not go to the hospital when you are well, but when you are ill. We should not wait until we have healed from the pain of broken relationships [or whatever else] to come back to Church, we come immediately and constantly so that Christ can hasten our healing. Remember that God ate with lepers, healed them, and brought them salvation. He wants to do the same with you. Do not hide your pain from Him and His Church.
Second, we suffer together so that the Love of Christ might grow among us. As a priest, I am occasionally allowed to see things that few others do, so let me share a short testimony. Part of my calling is to visit the sick, and especially those whose bodies have all but failed them. This is a very difficult time for everyone. To many it seems as though the sick have been robbed of all dignity; that they have been “brought low”; that, perhaps, it would be better for it all to have ended long ago. I sympathize with this sentiment – no one desires to see anyone suffer, much less those whom they love. It is difficult, but I always come away from such encounters moved. The tears they bring are not just of sorrow for the pain and loss; but due to the love the encounter has grown in my heart – for Christ is so strongly manifested in our mortal flesh. When we suffer alone, we keep this witness hidden, like a light beneath a bushel.
In conclusion, we suffer together because we are Christ. When we see the cross, we do not just see the suffering, but straight through it into the Resurrection. We are strengthened in suffering, knowing that “He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up.” As St. Paul ends today’s lesson, we suffer together because “all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
20080921 Humility and Offering
20080921 Humility and Offering: The Nativity of the Theotokos
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Philippians 2: 5-11
St. Luke 10: 38-42; 11: 27-28
Today we celebrate the feast of the Nativity (the birth) of Our Holy Lady, Mary. In the hymns for the feast, we sing that on this day the barrenness of Joachim and Anna has been removed. It is also the removal of barrenness from the world – the one who is born today is the gate through which Christ the Messiah, the salvation of the world, enters. This means that we are celebrating something much more than the birth of a great saint today: we are celebrating the Incarnation of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. For without the Incarnation of Christ, the birth of even this most blessed Lady would not adorn our calendar; nor, for that matter, would her icon adorn our walls.
To make this point, the iconography of the Church rarely depicts Our Lady separate from Her Son. [Notice above you: this, like this one on my right, has her holding Christ. Even the one over the altar has her bowing to Him.]. Nor is this is not an insult to Our Lady. No icon is EVER written without reference to Christ – for when we reverence any saint, we do not reverence them, but the Christ who is in them; who has purified them. So today’s celebrations of Our Lady’s birth is proclaimed not just as the joy of her parents or of the holy life the newborn child would eventually lead, but within the context of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, the salvation of the world, and the salvation of all who believe in Him.
In the birth of Mary, you have a juxtaposition of weakness and strength; the weakness of the elderly and heretofore barren Joachim and Anna, [and] the weakness of their newborn babe; with the strength of God and the inexorable tide of history leading through their small efforts to the grand climax of the world’s remaking. St. Paul reminds us today of another juxtaposition, when he says that “Christ Jesus, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” The point St. Paul is making is that Jesus Christ was one with God the Father. He was God. All glory and honor were His natural due. But He did not cling to this; rather, He humbled Himself to also become man.
We have much to learn from this example. There is so little humility in the world today. Whereas God did not cling to the glory and honor that really were His due; we devote all of our energy clinging to things we do not even own. I do not just mean the culture of debt through which we are destroying ourselves and our economy; we cling greedily to everything that lies within our reach: our homes, our cars, our collections, our time, our reputations, our children, our pride. Do we not realize that none of these things are ours by right? That even the good things in our care are just ours “on loan”; given to us by God in our roles as His stewards? Only a thief clings so hard to things that are not really his.
Everything really was God’s; but as St. Paul goes on to say in today’s epistle; “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” God gave up so much; as Father, He gave “His only begotten Son”; as Son, He gave up His own glory to become man, then suffered immeasurably on the cross. God is shown to be so humble, so loving, that He gave up everything up for us. But there is more: not only was God willing to give up all the good things that really were His, He accepted pain and punishment for crimes He did not even commit. The death He suffered on the Cross was not for things He did: it was for our sins – it was punishment for what we have done. What a tremendous example and offering of humility and love!
But what about us? Just as we cling to all those things that are in our possession only through providence; so, too, do we reject all the punishment that we really have earned! How rare it is to meet a person in today’s world who will step up and take responsibility for the mistakes he has made! Rather, we like to present ourselves as victims of someone else’s crime, or of some huge conspiracy against us. We have created entire institutions to shield us from the results of our folly. We have come to the point where we do not even recognize “sin” and “heresy” as meaningful concepts. And as far as we are from taking ownership of our own sin, we are so much farther from being willing to sacrifice ourselves for the sin and mistakes of others.
In our greediness, our irresponsibility, and our lack of love; we are so utterly unlike Christ. And this is tragic. We are greedy and avoid blame because we are proud: we want to be recognized as good and worthy. Having lots of things and avoiding blame are signs of success here in this world. But here is the irony: the path of Christ, the one that takes us through poverty and self-sacrifice, is the one that really leads to Glory; as St. Paul finishes today’s epistle reading; “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
As Christian’s here at St. Michael’s, we have forsaken the ways of the world; we cling not to our possessions or our pride, but to the Truth. We acknowledge our own sins and we help others work through the consequences of their own. And through this, we receive glory. Through this, in Christ, we are perfected. Through this we look to a life of abundant riches, not just now, but for all eternity.
www.stmichaeluoc.org
www.orthoanalytika.org
Philippians 2: 5-11
St. Luke 10: 38-42; 11: 27-28
Today we celebrate the feast of the Nativity (the birth) of Our Holy Lady, Mary. In the hymns for the feast, we sing that on this day the barrenness of Joachim and Anna has been removed. It is also the removal of barrenness from the world – the one who is born today is the gate through which Christ the Messiah, the salvation of the world, enters. This means that we are celebrating something much more than the birth of a great saint today: we are celebrating the Incarnation of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. For without the Incarnation of Christ, the birth of even this most blessed Lady would not adorn our calendar; nor, for that matter, would her icon adorn our walls.
To make this point, the iconography of the Church rarely depicts Our Lady separate from Her Son. [Notice above you: this, like this one on my right, has her holding Christ. Even the one over the altar has her bowing to Him.]. Nor is this is not an insult to Our Lady. No icon is EVER written without reference to Christ – for when we reverence any saint, we do not reverence them, but the Christ who is in them; who has purified them. So today’s celebrations of Our Lady’s birth is proclaimed not just as the joy of her parents or of the holy life the newborn child would eventually lead, but within the context of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, the salvation of the world, and the salvation of all who believe in Him.
In the birth of Mary, you have a juxtaposition of weakness and strength; the weakness of the elderly and heretofore barren Joachim and Anna, [and] the weakness of their newborn babe; with the strength of God and the inexorable tide of history leading through their small efforts to the grand climax of the world’s remaking. St. Paul reminds us today of another juxtaposition, when he says that “Christ Jesus, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” The point St. Paul is making is that Jesus Christ was one with God the Father. He was God. All glory and honor were His natural due. But He did not cling to this; rather, He humbled Himself to also become man.
We have much to learn from this example. There is so little humility in the world today. Whereas God did not cling to the glory and honor that really were His due; we devote all of our energy clinging to things we do not even own. I do not just mean the culture of debt through which we are destroying ourselves and our economy; we cling greedily to everything that lies within our reach: our homes, our cars, our collections, our time, our reputations, our children, our pride. Do we not realize that none of these things are ours by right? That even the good things in our care are just ours “on loan”; given to us by God in our roles as His stewards? Only a thief clings so hard to things that are not really his.
Everything really was God’s; but as St. Paul goes on to say in today’s epistle; “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” God gave up so much; as Father, He gave “His only begotten Son”; as Son, He gave up His own glory to become man, then suffered immeasurably on the cross. God is shown to be so humble, so loving, that He gave up everything up for us. But there is more: not only was God willing to give up all the good things that really were His, He accepted pain and punishment for crimes He did not even commit. The death He suffered on the Cross was not for things He did: it was for our sins – it was punishment for what we have done. What a tremendous example and offering of humility and love!
But what about us? Just as we cling to all those things that are in our possession only through providence; so, too, do we reject all the punishment that we really have earned! How rare it is to meet a person in today’s world who will step up and take responsibility for the mistakes he has made! Rather, we like to present ourselves as victims of someone else’s crime, or of some huge conspiracy against us. We have created entire institutions to shield us from the results of our folly. We have come to the point where we do not even recognize “sin” and “heresy” as meaningful concepts. And as far as we are from taking ownership of our own sin, we are so much farther from being willing to sacrifice ourselves for the sin and mistakes of others.
In our greediness, our irresponsibility, and our lack of love; we are so utterly unlike Christ. And this is tragic. We are greedy and avoid blame because we are proud: we want to be recognized as good and worthy. Having lots of things and avoiding blame are signs of success here in this world. But here is the irony: the path of Christ, the one that takes us through poverty and self-sacrifice, is the one that really leads to Glory; as St. Paul finishes today’s epistle reading; “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
As Christian’s here at St. Michael’s, we have forsaken the ways of the world; we cling not to our possessions or our pride, but to the Truth. We acknowledge our own sins and we help others work through the consequences of their own. And through this, we receive glory. Through this, in Christ, we are perfected. Through this we look to a life of abundant riches, not just now, but for all eternity.
Monday, September 15, 2008
20080914 Grateful Service
20080914 Grateful Service
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www.orthoanalytika.org
1 Corinthians 16: 13-24
St. Matthew 21: 33-42
In this Gospel lesson, the Lord is trying to open up the eyes of His audience, to help them understand that He is the Son of God, and that the natural way to receive Him is with repentance and gratitude. He does this through a parable and scriptural interpretation.
“The landowner established a vineyard, then leased it to with the ability to run it, and went to a far country.” The landowner here is God the Father. The vineyard can be thought of as Israel, a people set apart. The people that he leased the vineyard to can be thought of as the leaders of Israel, empowered with the tending and growth of Israel. The “far country” shows that God has given the stewards of His creation free will. The stewards are not micro-managed automatons or slaves, but people empowered with the abilities and resources for successfully implementing God’s will. His will in this parable is that vinedressers tend the vines and offer its fruit back to the owner – after all, the deal is described as a “lease”, which means that God remains sovereign and that the vinedressers owe Him rent. The meaning is that the leaders of Israel were to lead them into a deeper and stronger relationship to God; to grow them spiritually as a vinedresser grows grapes physically.
But what did these stewards do when the landowner sent his servants in order to receive the fruit? The proper thing to do would have been to show the servants hospitality and to give them the Master’s share. And they should do this not just because of the letter of the contract that they entered into with the landowner, but out of gratitude to him for allowing them to benefit from His vineyard. But they do not show the landowner gratitude. They do not offer hospitality to his servants. They do not even live up to their part of contract. Instead, they beat and kill the landowner’s servants and refuse to send him his due. He sends more, hoping to soften their hearts, but they do the same to them. Then he sends his own son, the ultimate sign of his power and authority. At this point they could and should have seen their folly, repented, and given to the son all that was due his father. But instead, they kill him as well.
The interpretation is clear: the Lord sent prophets to Israel, in order to gather Israel closer to Him, but the leaders rejected and killed them. When He sent more, they did the same. Then when He sent His own Son, the obvious sign of His authority, who told them to recognize their folly, repent, and give to the Son all that was due His Father, they rejected Him, humiliated Him, and killed Him. As in the parable, as a result of the vinedressers folly, the Lord has given the vineyard over to new stewards, with the expectation that they will “render to him the fruits in their seasons”. He has created the Holy Orthodox Church, with bishops, saints, and councils to tend it.
Christ’s audience knew what Christ was warning them about with this parable. He did not build it from scratch, but relied on scripture from the prophet Isaiah, something all of them would have immediately understood. And just to leave no doubt, he punctuated the parable with another bit of scripture (this time from the Psalms), saying “the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes?”
Christ was giving the Jews every opportunity He could to get them to repent and accept Him as the Messiah, the Son of God. But rather than being grateful for this opportunity and accepting it; they, like the vinedressers in the parable, rejected Him and killed Him.Can you imagine anything worse than ingratitude? But as difficult as this story is, it does not end here. I have told you before that the rule of thumb for understanding such lessons is for us to put ourselves in the place of the Jews.
God had given us His Creation to tend. He has given us all the tools and abilities to tend it well. All that He asks is that we gratefully offer up its firstfruits to Him. Are we doing any better than those whose place we took? Are we living up to our part of the deal?
Looking around at this world, I have to say that we are failing in our task. We are doing our very best to turn a beautiful vineyard into a garden of weeds.
More importantly, Christ is in our midst, just as He was with the vinedressers and Jews. And while we may not kill Him, we do something that may well be worse: we ignore Him. The vinedressers in the parable at least recognized the son for what he was; the Jews who met Christ conspired to kill Him because they recognized the dangerous potential of His message. But we, in our complete ingratitude and selfishness, do not even acknowledge that He is here, much less that we owe Him anything.
We act as if we created this vineyard ourselves, as if we – its laborers with God-given tools and abilities – were naturally due all of its fruit. You know, we react in horror at the ingratitude of children who completely ignore the role that good parents play in lovingly setting them up for a successful life. But how often do we behave like ungrateful children as we go about our own lives?
Christ is in our midst. As a Church, we turn to Him first in repentance for not putting Him first, then in gratitude and thanksgiving for His mercy and love for us (the word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving”, and it is the very center of our lives).
You have accepted Christ, He is with You. Please, do not kill Him. Please, do not ignore Him. Be a good host to Your master. Offer Him His due. Not only is this “meet and right”, He takes these offerings and – like the bread and wine this morning – gives them back for our own salvation.
www.stmichaeluoc.org
www.orthoanalytika.org
1 Corinthians 16: 13-24
St. Matthew 21: 33-42
In this Gospel lesson, the Lord is trying to open up the eyes of His audience, to help them understand that He is the Son of God, and that the natural way to receive Him is with repentance and gratitude. He does this through a parable and scriptural interpretation.
“The landowner established a vineyard, then leased it to with the ability to run it, and went to a far country.” The landowner here is God the Father. The vineyard can be thought of as Israel, a people set apart. The people that he leased the vineyard to can be thought of as the leaders of Israel, empowered with the tending and growth of Israel. The “far country” shows that God has given the stewards of His creation free will. The stewards are not micro-managed automatons or slaves, but people empowered with the abilities and resources for successfully implementing God’s will. His will in this parable is that vinedressers tend the vines and offer its fruit back to the owner – after all, the deal is described as a “lease”, which means that God remains sovereign and that the vinedressers owe Him rent. The meaning is that the leaders of Israel were to lead them into a deeper and stronger relationship to God; to grow them spiritually as a vinedresser grows grapes physically.
But what did these stewards do when the landowner sent his servants in order to receive the fruit? The proper thing to do would have been to show the servants hospitality and to give them the Master’s share. And they should do this not just because of the letter of the contract that they entered into with the landowner, but out of gratitude to him for allowing them to benefit from His vineyard. But they do not show the landowner gratitude. They do not offer hospitality to his servants. They do not even live up to their part of contract. Instead, they beat and kill the landowner’s servants and refuse to send him his due. He sends more, hoping to soften their hearts, but they do the same to them. Then he sends his own son, the ultimate sign of his power and authority. At this point they could and should have seen their folly, repented, and given to the son all that was due his father. But instead, they kill him as well.
The interpretation is clear: the Lord sent prophets to Israel, in order to gather Israel closer to Him, but the leaders rejected and killed them. When He sent more, they did the same. Then when He sent His own Son, the obvious sign of His authority, who told them to recognize their folly, repent, and give to the Son all that was due His Father, they rejected Him, humiliated Him, and killed Him. As in the parable, as a result of the vinedressers folly, the Lord has given the vineyard over to new stewards, with the expectation that they will “render to him the fruits in their seasons”. He has created the Holy Orthodox Church, with bishops, saints, and councils to tend it.
Christ’s audience knew what Christ was warning them about with this parable. He did not build it from scratch, but relied on scripture from the prophet Isaiah, something all of them would have immediately understood. And just to leave no doubt, he punctuated the parable with another bit of scripture (this time from the Psalms), saying “the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes?”
Christ was giving the Jews every opportunity He could to get them to repent and accept Him as the Messiah, the Son of God. But rather than being grateful for this opportunity and accepting it; they, like the vinedressers in the parable, rejected Him and killed Him.Can you imagine anything worse than ingratitude? But as difficult as this story is, it does not end here. I have told you before that the rule of thumb for understanding such lessons is for us to put ourselves in the place of the Jews.
God had given us His Creation to tend. He has given us all the tools and abilities to tend it well. All that He asks is that we gratefully offer up its firstfruits to Him. Are we doing any better than those whose place we took? Are we living up to our part of the deal?
Looking around at this world, I have to say that we are failing in our task. We are doing our very best to turn a beautiful vineyard into a garden of weeds.
More importantly, Christ is in our midst, just as He was with the vinedressers and Jews. And while we may not kill Him, we do something that may well be worse: we ignore Him. The vinedressers in the parable at least recognized the son for what he was; the Jews who met Christ conspired to kill Him because they recognized the dangerous potential of His message. But we, in our complete ingratitude and selfishness, do not even acknowledge that He is here, much less that we owe Him anything.
We act as if we created this vineyard ourselves, as if we – its laborers with God-given tools and abilities – were naturally due all of its fruit. You know, we react in horror at the ingratitude of children who completely ignore the role that good parents play in lovingly setting them up for a successful life. But how often do we behave like ungrateful children as we go about our own lives?
Christ is in our midst. As a Church, we turn to Him first in repentance for not putting Him first, then in gratitude and thanksgiving for His mercy and love for us (the word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving”, and it is the very center of our lives).
You have accepted Christ, He is with You. Please, do not kill Him. Please, do not ignore Him. Be a good host to Your master. Offer Him His due. Not only is this “meet and right”, He takes these offerings and – like the bread and wine this morning – gives them back for our own salvation.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
20080907 Just Follow Me
20080907 Just Follow Me
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www.orthoanalytika.org
1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
St. Matthew 19: 16-26
What a wonderful day to celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ! In fact, could there be anything better than gathering together here in this beautiful temple and offering the first few hours of this new week in communal praise of God? No, brothers and sisters, this love that you feel – for one another and for Our Lord – is what we are made for and the thing that perfects us.
Evidently, the Christians at Corinth had forgotten this. They were a community divided, a community that was torn by division, immorality, and spiritual weakness. St. Paul addresses each of these in turn in his epistle, but today he goes to the very root of the matter: the Church at Corinth suffered because it had wandered from the fundamental Truth: “that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again on the Third day.” (1 Corinthians 15: 1-11) He knew that this fundamental Truth was not only essential for their salvation, but that without it, any of his attempts to reform the community were doomed to eventual failure.
[Nor did St. Paul offer this Truth as if it were his opinion. If he had, those who loved him might have listened, but those who did not – or were threatened by the message he delivered – would have treated it as the opinion of a political adversary and denigrated or dismissed it. St. Paul, like all true apostles and preachers, shies away from offering personal opinion, instead relying on the Scriptures, the testimony of eye-witnesses, and what he had seen first-hand. He does not think of himself as offering a “lecture on a moral theme” (the definition of homily) so much as he is simply “declaring the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 15:1), which is the very same thing being preached by the other apostles (1 Corinthians 15:11). The fact that the Orthodox Church follows in this tradition is attested to by the fact that the homily is offered in the same place as the Epistle and Gospel during our Divine Liturgy.]
Today St. Paul is reminding the Christians at Corinth of the only thing that really matters; that Christ died for our sins and was resurrected so that we might be perfected in Him. This Truth must order everything in our lives, and everything that pulls us away from this Truth must be stripped away lest it eternally tether us to this fallen world and limit our sanctification. We cannot allow anything – not brothers or sisters of father or mother, or wife, or children, or lands – to come between us and Christ. As God said with His own mouth: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (St. Matthew 19: 28-30). Of course those whose relationships with their houses, families, and lands, are based on Christ need not forsake them. But in order to grow, in order to survive, we must identify and purge all those things in our lives that are not of Christ.
This was the message that Christ gave to the young man, and he went away sorrowful. He went away sorrowful because he liked all of his possessions more than he cared about eternal life; more than he cared about the Truth. Can you imagine such folly? Please do not follow his witness! Choose joy and eternal life over sorrow; chose Christ over your possessions. As Jesus says; ‘if you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Returning to the example of Corinth, we can see that this choice is not just faced by individual people, but their communities and parishes. At the time St. Paul wrote his first epistle to them, the community of Corinth was at a crossroad – it could either hold onto its possessions … or it could surrender itself completely to Christ and follow Him without reservation. One would lead to further divisions, sorrow, and death, and the other to unity, fulfillment, and eternal salvation.
This parish of St. Michael’s is committed to Christ. As such, it is constantly identifying those things that are essential to perfection and growth and embracing them. Because the world is changing, this sometimes means giving up things that we cherish in order to better witness to Him. Today is Ukrainian Sunday, when we offer up most of our praises to the Lord in the Ukrainian language. This is our heritage, how our founders came to know and follow Christ, and we celebrate it. It was not that long ago that every service was offered in Ukrainian, but we now offer almost all of our services in English because this is what it takes to spread the Gospel to our newest generations and to the broader community. I mention this because it speaks to the faith and strength of the people of this parish. Offered the choice between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and something very precious and dear and that had, indeed, so long been such an integral part of sharing that Gospel, it chose Christ.
This faith in Christ is our Heritage. It is what we are really celebrating today both here in our Liturgy and later during our festival. This is the faith passed to us through the Apostles, through our Ukrainian forefathers, and through those strong men and women who brought it to us here in America: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” May God continue to give us the strength as individuals and as a parish to continue to embrace this and to order our lives accordingly.
www.stmichaeluoc.org
www.orthoanalytika.org
1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
St. Matthew 19: 16-26
What a wonderful day to celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ! In fact, could there be anything better than gathering together here in this beautiful temple and offering the first few hours of this new week in communal praise of God? No, brothers and sisters, this love that you feel – for one another and for Our Lord – is what we are made for and the thing that perfects us.
Evidently, the Christians at Corinth had forgotten this. They were a community divided, a community that was torn by division, immorality, and spiritual weakness. St. Paul addresses each of these in turn in his epistle, but today he goes to the very root of the matter: the Church at Corinth suffered because it had wandered from the fundamental Truth: “that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again on the Third day.” (1 Corinthians 15: 1-11) He knew that this fundamental Truth was not only essential for their salvation, but that without it, any of his attempts to reform the community were doomed to eventual failure.
[Nor did St. Paul offer this Truth as if it were his opinion. If he had, those who loved him might have listened, but those who did not – or were threatened by the message he delivered – would have treated it as the opinion of a political adversary and denigrated or dismissed it. St. Paul, like all true apostles and preachers, shies away from offering personal opinion, instead relying on the Scriptures, the testimony of eye-witnesses, and what he had seen first-hand. He does not think of himself as offering a “lecture on a moral theme” (the definition of homily) so much as he is simply “declaring the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 15:1), which is the very same thing being preached by the other apostles (1 Corinthians 15:11). The fact that the Orthodox Church follows in this tradition is attested to by the fact that the homily is offered in the same place as the Epistle and Gospel during our Divine Liturgy.]
Today St. Paul is reminding the Christians at Corinth of the only thing that really matters; that Christ died for our sins and was resurrected so that we might be perfected in Him. This Truth must order everything in our lives, and everything that pulls us away from this Truth must be stripped away lest it eternally tether us to this fallen world and limit our sanctification. We cannot allow anything – not brothers or sisters of father or mother, or wife, or children, or lands – to come between us and Christ. As God said with His own mouth: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (St. Matthew 19: 28-30). Of course those whose relationships with their houses, families, and lands, are based on Christ need not forsake them. But in order to grow, in order to survive, we must identify and purge all those things in our lives that are not of Christ.
This was the message that Christ gave to the young man, and he went away sorrowful. He went away sorrowful because he liked all of his possessions more than he cared about eternal life; more than he cared about the Truth. Can you imagine such folly? Please do not follow his witness! Choose joy and eternal life over sorrow; chose Christ over your possessions. As Jesus says; ‘if you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Returning to the example of Corinth, we can see that this choice is not just faced by individual people, but their communities and parishes. At the time St. Paul wrote his first epistle to them, the community of Corinth was at a crossroad – it could either hold onto its possessions … or it could surrender itself completely to Christ and follow Him without reservation. One would lead to further divisions, sorrow, and death, and the other to unity, fulfillment, and eternal salvation.
This parish of St. Michael’s is committed to Christ. As such, it is constantly identifying those things that are essential to perfection and growth and embracing them. Because the world is changing, this sometimes means giving up things that we cherish in order to better witness to Him. Today is Ukrainian Sunday, when we offer up most of our praises to the Lord in the Ukrainian language. This is our heritage, how our founders came to know and follow Christ, and we celebrate it. It was not that long ago that every service was offered in Ukrainian, but we now offer almost all of our services in English because this is what it takes to spread the Gospel to our newest generations and to the broader community. I mention this because it speaks to the faith and strength of the people of this parish. Offered the choice between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and something very precious and dear and that had, indeed, so long been such an integral part of sharing that Gospel, it chose Christ.
This faith in Christ is our Heritage. It is what we are really celebrating today both here in our Liturgy and later during our festival. This is the faith passed to us through the Apostles, through our Ukrainian forefathers, and through those strong men and women who brought it to us here in America: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” May God continue to give us the strength as individuals and as a parish to continue to embrace this and to order our lives accordingly.
Monday, September 1, 2008
20080831 Forgive or Die!
20080831 Forgive or Die!
www.stmichaeluoc.org
www.orthoanalytika.org
In today’s Gospel lesson, we are told of a king who forgave a servant of a very great debt, and how the servant then tormented a fellow servant who owed him much less, refusing to forgive him his debt. We are to notice the great contrast between the actions of the king and his servant, and to know that in this parable the king represents our merciful God, and the unforgiving servant represents all those people who accept the mercy of God, but hold grudges in their hearts and refuse to forgive others.
This parable comes immediately after the Lord told the Apostle Peter, when he asked how many times we should forgive others, that it is more than just seven times, but seventy times seven. Christ is teaching us that we are to develop an attitude of forgiveness. It is as silly to try to come up with a specific number of times we should forgive as it is to come up with the number of times we should love one another or how many times we should pray. The goal is Christ-like perfection, and this requires continual love, continual prayer, and continual forgiveness.
The problem is that some of us refuse to do this. We keep an account of wrongs done against us like a treasure in our hearts. Often it is not “seven”, or even “seventy times seven” wrongs that we hold between us and another, but one! How well we play the part of the petty servant! In so doing we not only do an injustice to our brother, sister, or community; we do immeasurable harm to ourselves, for the resulting bitterness becomes ingrained, coloring how we see not just that other person or community, but how we see the world. This bitterness and spite cripples us, rendering us unable to continue on our journey to everlasting peace.
A few weeks ago (Sunday of the Paralytic, 3rd Sunday after Pascha), we heard of the man beside the pool at Bethsaida who had been crippled for thirty-eight years. Before He healed him, Christ asked this crippled man “do you want to be made well?” The Lord was not being facetious when he asked this. Nor is He being facetious when He asks us this same question now. Of course, the rational answer to this question is “YES!”, but sin is not rational. Hate is not rational. We carry around the remembrance of wrongs committed against us despite the damage that it does. The Lord sees our spiritual infirmity and the willful pride that is its source, and in His infinite love, He wants to heal it – but not against our will.
Do you want to be healed of your spiritual infirmity?
If you want to be freed from your sins, then you must forgive others. If you refuse to forgive, then you cut yourself off from your brother and, in your lack of love and compassion, you cut yourself off from God and everything good. You see, there are only two roads: forgiveness and voluntary excommunication. There are obvious examples: if someone refuses to come to Church and to participate in her Sacraments because of wrongs committed against them here, then they have visibly excommunicated themselves. They have chosen pride over the salvation, peace, and unity in Christ that is found in its fullness within the walls of the Holy Orthodox Church. It is worse than cutting off your nose to spite your face. But even if someone comes to Church every day, if they hold grudges against their neighbor, then they are still resisting the salvific healing that our Lord offers. It is like going to the doctor every day but refusing to follow his advice. Why bother? Is it so much fun to be crippled?
I am not saying that it is easy to forgive. In the parable, there was a legitimate debt owed. I am not telling you to pretend that you have not been hurt by the actions of others. People sin against us and the resulting pain is very real. What I am telling you is that if you want to be healed, if you want to be made well, and if you want to be released from your own debt of sin, that you must let go of the hate threatening to fester in your heart.
Only through forgiveness and love can the peace that passes all understanding grow within your heart.
www.stmichaeluoc.org
www.orthoanalytika.org
In today’s Gospel lesson, we are told of a king who forgave a servant of a very great debt, and how the servant then tormented a fellow servant who owed him much less, refusing to forgive him his debt. We are to notice the great contrast between the actions of the king and his servant, and to know that in this parable the king represents our merciful God, and the unforgiving servant represents all those people who accept the mercy of God, but hold grudges in their hearts and refuse to forgive others.
This parable comes immediately after the Lord told the Apostle Peter, when he asked how many times we should forgive others, that it is more than just seven times, but seventy times seven. Christ is teaching us that we are to develop an attitude of forgiveness. It is as silly to try to come up with a specific number of times we should forgive as it is to come up with the number of times we should love one another or how many times we should pray. The goal is Christ-like perfection, and this requires continual love, continual prayer, and continual forgiveness.
The problem is that some of us refuse to do this. We keep an account of wrongs done against us like a treasure in our hearts. Often it is not “seven”, or even “seventy times seven” wrongs that we hold between us and another, but one! How well we play the part of the petty servant! In so doing we not only do an injustice to our brother, sister, or community; we do immeasurable harm to ourselves, for the resulting bitterness becomes ingrained, coloring how we see not just that other person or community, but how we see the world. This bitterness and spite cripples us, rendering us unable to continue on our journey to everlasting peace.
A few weeks ago (Sunday of the Paralytic, 3rd Sunday after Pascha), we heard of the man beside the pool at Bethsaida who had been crippled for thirty-eight years. Before He healed him, Christ asked this crippled man “do you want to be made well?” The Lord was not being facetious when he asked this. Nor is He being facetious when He asks us this same question now. Of course, the rational answer to this question is “YES!”, but sin is not rational. Hate is not rational. We carry around the remembrance of wrongs committed against us despite the damage that it does. The Lord sees our spiritual infirmity and the willful pride that is its source, and in His infinite love, He wants to heal it – but not against our will.
Do you want to be healed of your spiritual infirmity?
If you want to be freed from your sins, then you must forgive others. If you refuse to forgive, then you cut yourself off from your brother and, in your lack of love and compassion, you cut yourself off from God and everything good. You see, there are only two roads: forgiveness and voluntary excommunication. There are obvious examples: if someone refuses to come to Church and to participate in her Sacraments because of wrongs committed against them here, then they have visibly excommunicated themselves. They have chosen pride over the salvation, peace, and unity in Christ that is found in its fullness within the walls of the Holy Orthodox Church. It is worse than cutting off your nose to spite your face. But even if someone comes to Church every day, if they hold grudges against their neighbor, then they are still resisting the salvific healing that our Lord offers. It is like going to the doctor every day but refusing to follow his advice. Why bother? Is it so much fun to be crippled?
I am not saying that it is easy to forgive. In the parable, there was a legitimate debt owed. I am not telling you to pretend that you have not been hurt by the actions of others. People sin against us and the resulting pain is very real. What I am telling you is that if you want to be healed, if you want to be made well, and if you want to be released from your own debt of sin, that you must let go of the hate threatening to fester in your heart.
Only through forgiveness and love can the peace that passes all understanding grow within your heart.
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