We now are just one week away from Holy Week.  One week away from experiencing what that “Gate of Life” has done for us.  On the last Sunday of Great Lent, we are presented in the Church with the life of St. Mary of Egypt.  We are given the example of a woman who, as we heard in the hymn above, was at the brink of destruction.  She spent her early life as a harlot that would put even the worst of them to shame, but our Lord worked a miracle in her life that awoke her conscience and her soul.  St. Mary went from living in darkness to (as the church so eloquently says in the matins service) “a woman who has become godlike through her holy actions”. 

We have so many lives of the saints that we celebrate throughout the year in the Orthodox Church, which led to an interesting question that was posed to me this past week:  “Why does St. Mary of Egypt get so much attention paid to her on this 5th Sunday of Great Lent?” Why is she called “a shining star from Egypt” in the hymns, and is regarded as one who truly stands out as unique among the saints?”

There is a very ancient prayer from the 4th century that has become the most recognizable prayer for Orthodox Christians during Great Lent called the prayer of St. Ephraim.  It describes and directs us on what we are to focus on as we enter the Great Fast:   

“O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.  But give rather the spirit of chastity…humility…patience…and love of Thy Servant.  Yea O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages, amen.” 

St. Mary was one who not only gained and lived the virtues that we so desperately seek after in this prayer…she performed all of them to the extreme!

Humility:  Even the way that we read her life, we don’t even know that it is about her until a quarter of the way through!  The story begins with St. Zosima who is searching for someone to teach him what it means to live a Holy Life!  When he finally meets St. Mary in the desert, he sees this woman who levitated when she prayed.  He comes face to face with a woman who knew details about Zosima despite never meeting him before.  He saw with his own eyes someone who walked on the Jordan river like Christ.  Despite all of these incredible things, we see the humility of St. Mary in her very first encounter with a human soul in 47 years!  She fell down before Zosima, and continued to ask him to “bless her” over and over! 

Patience:  St. Mary spent 47 years in the dessert waiting for St. Zosima to come and to receive the Divine Mysteries of God!  47 years fighting internal demons like wild beasts!  47 years without seeing another human soul!  47 years learning what repentance and patience truly look like!

Love:  She would not have gone to such great lengths to purify herself if she did not have a love for God, a love for the blessed Mother, a love for the Saints, and a love for others…as she continually prayed for all of them while in the dessert.

These are all easy virtues to explain with St. Mary’s life, but the one I want to speak the most on is what St. Ephraim calls “chastity”.  It is a common mistake, especially when thinking of the repentance of St. Mary of Egypt, to think that chastity refers to “sexual purity”.  It goes so much further beyond that! The Greek word used in St. Ephraim’s prayer is “Sophrosini, which takes on the connotation of “sanity” or “sobriety”.  When we read the prayer, we are asking God for the spirit of sanity!  For our minds to be made whole!  To live a sober life and to not be “insane”!

 St. Mary of Egypt, before her repentance, even by today’s crude moral standards lived a completely insane life.  What kind of healthy person would do the kind of things that she did and for the reasons that she did them?  In her own words she described her early life by saying:

“I had an insatiable desire and an irrepressible passion for lying in filth.  This was life to me!  Every kind of abuse of nature I regarded as life…and this is how I lived……how the earth did not open up its jaws, and how it was that hell did not swallow me alive, when I had entangled so many souls into my net.”

Mary tried to find happiness and fulfilment in her own passions and came so close to the gates of destruction.  But when she tried to come into the presence of Holiness…into the presence of God through His Life-Giving cross in Jerusalem…she “came to herself”.  She snapped out of her insanity and began to think clearly for the first time!  She changed her life in such an extreme way, that she is now held as an example to the entire world on what it means to be sane!

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, if you are to take one thing from this reflection, it is this:  True and full happiness and satisfaction cannot be found in the world…but only in the love of God.  To think otherwise is insanity. 

Holy Week begins later this week dear ones!  May our Lord help us to approach it, not just with repentance, not just with humility, not just with patience, not just with love, but with the thing that all of those virtues lead us to:  “Saintly Sanity.”

In order to truly appreciate the image St. John offers us this morning, the first thing we must do is define what a ladder actually does for us.  We have many different devices in this life that help us in reaching a higher level.  Our iconographer has been using scaffolding to reach the heights of the Church.  When he goes to other churches that don’t have a basement and can hold the weight, he uses an automatic lift to reach the heights that are necessary to begin his work. 

Our lives as Christians also require us to ascend to new heights and not remain stagnant in our relationship with God.  There are some, perhaps even that are reading this article, that see they journey to Christ and their lives as an Orthodox Christian as riding up that automatic lift.

“All I need to do is get on…come on Sunday morning…receive the Eucharist…and I will comfortably be taken to my destination.”

It feels safe, smooth, and doesn’t require any effort on your part except to simply get on.  But, as Fr. Barnabas Powell in our retreat these past few days pointed out, it’s an illusion.  If you are a “Sunday only Orthodox Christian”, you are deluding yourself into thinking that this journey through life, and into a real and meaningful relationship with God Himself, only requires you to sacrifice 2 hours on a Sunday morning to come to the Divine Liturgy.

To be “Orthodox on purpose”, and not just an automatic lift riding “Sunday Only Christian”, requires us to make a sincere effort to climb the ladder to a relationship with God.  We come to services during the week.  We pray at home. We should be reading from the Divine Scriptures every single day. We plan and pattern our life and events around the feasts, around the Lenten Services, and around Saturday Vigil and Sunday Divine Liturgies. These are the minimum steps that are necessary to simply begin our ascent…and that’s not to even speak of the other steps that are further up in our climb like fasting, generosity, stillness, and sobriety of the mind and heart.  

15 years ago, when I was in much better shape than I am in right now, I took part in a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House Charity.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a chicken nugget eating contest…of which I would have been much better prepared!  No, for some reason, this fundraiser required lovers of Mcdonalds to “tackle the tower” by climbing Terminal Tower…42 flights of stairs in order to get to the observation deck up at the top.

Thinking I was in much better shape, I vividly remember a sense of excitement at the beginning of this race, while I was waiting for my turn to go up the flight of steps.  As soon as that volunteer said “go”, I shot up those steps like “the flash”, even skipping steps as I began my ascent. My dear Mother in Law, a veteran of this event, immediately tried to warn me to slow down, or I would never make it to the top, and in her experienced wisdom, she was right.  I went about 5 flights before I realized that if I didn’t slow down, the name of the tower “terminal” was going to be describing me before I get to the top. By the time I got up to the top, I wasn’t met with a cool sip of water, but rather with paramedics who had to do an EKG on me to make sure I was going to be ok. 

I share my tackle the tower story for those who are not “Sunday Only Orthodoxy”, but rather to those who have recently converted, or are on their way to becoming Orthodox. When inquirers come into a Church for the first time. They see this ladder that is placed in front of them that is leading them to where they have always wanted to go in their relationship with God.  With great emotion, zeal, and enthusiasm, they try to shoot up the ladder as quickly as they can:

 “I’m going to fast like the desert fathers and eat locusts and wild honey in honor of St. John the Baptist”

“I’m going to pray for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening”

“Behold, I’m going to sell my home, give it to the poor, and buy a tent so I can camp out on the front lawn of the Church to be near Christ”

To try and shoot up the ladder of Divine Ascent with emotion and zeal alone, will lead to absolute ruin. You will, without a doubt, completely burn out, and fall flat on your face. For every person on the icon that is ascending the ladder, there is an equal (if not more) people who are stumbling and falling off of it.

I put these two images of how not to approach your relationship with God, in the hopes that we will find a sober way to do so in our own life. If you are a Sunday Only Christian, and only give these 2 hours of your life to God, start coming to Vigil on Saturday and add an extra hour and a half to your weekly relationship with Him. If you don’t pray at home, start each day with making the sign of the cross and going through the Trisagion prayers.  End each day with going one time around your prayer rope with the words” O Lord Jesus Christ, Have Mercy on Me, The Sinner” after each knot. If you don’t read the scriptures, dust off your bible and read one chapter a day before you go to bed.

Yet, if you are new inquirer or convert, filled with tremendous zeal and wanting to use your excitement to move too quickly…One step at a time dear ones. Put one foot in front of the other…and allow the Church to guide you in your walk to Christ. 

Today, on this St. John Climascus Sunday, let us all take a moment to meditate on where we are at in our own ascent to God.  If you have begun to climb the ladder, keep going. If you have been skipping up the steps at a breakneck speed, slow down. If you have not yet begun your journey…sober up and ask “what is standing in the way of my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…He Who loves me like no one else can…He Who has destroyed my only enemy…death itself.”

In her infinite wisdom, as her children are experiencing wearied and tired, the Orthodox Church around the world brings our attention and focus to the precious wood of the cross. We bring it down to the center of the Church, arrayed in flowers, and we bow down before this instrument of God’s love. We do this so that our difficult journey towards Great and Holy Pascha might be sweetened., because the Cross is a reminder to us that despite the many times we feel like giving up…or we lose faith…or we begin to grumble against God…despite all of these things, the cross is a reminder to us that mankind is still lovable. 

Our march through this period of Lent, and indeed through life itself, is not unlike the journey that the Israelites took with Moses after they entered into the wilderness of Sin. We remember from Exodus, how Moses delivered Israel out of the hands of Pharoah after decades of harsh slavery.  They plundered Egypt and made their way out into the desert, only to have Pharoah change his mind, and send his armies to slaughter the people.

Despite seeing all that God had done for them, the people began give up and to doubt God: “Are there no graves in Egypt? Is that why you have taken us way to die in the desert?”

Yet, in the midst of their grumbling, God told Moses to stretch out his wooden rod over the sea, and through that wood, God blocked Pharoah’s armies with a pillar of fire, and opened the sea for Israel to escape. Once they were safely across, Pharoah’s armies chased after them until God told Moses to once again stretch out his rod over the sea, and the waters crushed the enemies of God’s people in one swift blow. 

The people shouted a hymn of praise from the shoreline after seeing God’s power and love for them.  “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorified in holiness, marvelous in praises, doing wonders?”

One would think that after seeing a miracle like this, Israel would be strengthened and have an unwavering faith towards God! Yet that faith and trust lasted only 3 days.  The people, thirsting in the desert, came a place called Marah and saw that the water that was there was too bitter to drink.  The scriptures say that they complained again, until God told Moses to take a tree (another piece of wood) and to throw it into the waters.  As soon as the wood hit the water, it became sweet, and Israel’s thirst was quenched.

This is a pattern that continues throughout the entire Old Testament!  The people ran out of water again, and complained again: “Why is it that you brought us here to Egypt, to kill us, our children, and our cattle with thirst?” So God sends Moses to a rock and tells him to use his wooden rod to smack it, causing life giving water came from the lifeless rock. By this time, Moses had been fed up with all of the complaining that God’s people had done, that he called that place “Temptation and Abuse” because of all the abusive language the people had used and because they tempted the Lord saying: “Is the Lord among us or not?!” If you were to keep reading in your Orthodox Study Bible through the first 5 books, you see every few subheadings the title: “The People Grumble”

 All of this I bring to our attention, not to be judgmental or accusatory, but rather to point out that over the past 4,000 years…nothing has changed when it comes to the human race. It has been this way since the very beginning, when Adam fell by disobeying God’s commandments and turning His back on our Lord’s Love for him. We can look at our own lives and the many miracles that God has worked for us, ( indeed they are numerous) yet how often do we grumble against Him when things don’t go the way we want them to?  How often do we lose faith, or forget about the works of God when we look at the suffering of the world? 

This is why we give Glory to God for the Cross in the middle of Great Lent. It was a wooden rod that God used to spread the Red Sea and to conquer the enemies of His People. It was through a wooden rod that God made water appear out of a lifeless rock. It was the wood of the tree that sweetened the bitter waters of Marah and allowed God’s people to be nourished. Today, it is the wood of the cross that now sweetens the waters of our Lenten Journey.  This wood that stands before us is a reminder that despite how often we turn our backs on Him, or spit in His face by not making our relationship with Him a priority…and despite all of the times that we grumble against Him, we have a God who continually embraces us.

Somehow through it all, mankind is still lovable. 

We look to the cross and we see Christ’s arms stretched out, waiting for us to turn back towards Him.  Let us continue to find the strength to deny our fallen impulses, to complete the course of the fast, and to enter into the joy of our Lord’s triumph over death at Holy Pascha.

When I was there a few months ago, one of the things that struck me was how small the alley ways in between these houses were.  They were maybe 2 people wide, and the homes were tightly packed together. It comes as no surprise to hear in the Gospel of just how tightly packed the house where our Lord was preaching was, and how it easily spilled out into those ally ways, offering no one, most especially a paralytic, an opportunity to get anywhere close. 

For many of us sitting here today, this is an image of our own relationship with God.  We know He is nearby… “everywhere present and filling all things”, yet we place so many barriers between us and Him, that He feels almost inaccessible at times.  Instead of trusting in Him, we trust in man-made institutions and ideas.  Rather than making our relationship with Him a priority, we focus on our careers, our possessions, our comforts and entertainments.  Instead of repentance from sin, we would rather remain paralyzed by what sin does to us and to the rest of the world.

This morning, we hear of one man who refused to remain in His condition. He allowed himself to be carried like a helpless child on a pallet by four friends. So often, when we hear commentaries on this miracle, the faith of the friends is pointed to as the reason for this healing. St. Gregory Palamas however, points out that it was the faith and repentance of the paralytic that ultimately led to His healing.  The man was in his right mind and would not have been forced onto a pallet to be thrust into this throng of people if he didn’t want to overcome the barriers placed between Him and God. 

This is where our path to repentance starts dear ones.  It is where we started this Lenten Journey over a month ago, when we read about Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Tree, with a true desire to see the Lord.  Do we want to see Him? Do we want a relationship with Him? Do we want to be healed? If this is truly the case, then there would be nothing that would stand in our way!

This certainly was the case with the paralytic. He allowed his four friends, who were no doubt bolstered by his desire to see Christ, to carry his dead weight above the crowd and onto the roof of one of the small houses.  They removed the roof and lowered Him in front of our Lord, and the Gospel says that Jesus saw the faith of the paralytic and that of the four men, who allowed absolutely nothing to stand in their way from coming into the presence of God. 

Jesus said these beautiful words: “Son”. This is a term of endearment. It is a term you use with someone you love. “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

St. Gregory Palamas, who we celebrate today on this Second Sunday of Lent, gives a beautiful commentary on this entire passage, equating this scene to our own fallen condition.  He says:

 “Anyone who is addicted to sensual pleasures is paralyzed in his soul and lying in a bed of voluptuousness, with its deceptive bodily ease. Once, however, he has been won over by the exhortations in the Gospel, he confesses his sins and triumphs over them!  He is taken up and brough to the Lord by these four:  Self-condemnation, confession of former sins, promising to renounce evil ways from now on, and prayer to God.”

St. Gregory reminds us how indeed, all of us are paralyzed by sin. All of us, regardless of our desire to be with God, have put up barriers toward being healed.  What is required of us is humility, confession, a desire to repent, and prayer/conversation with God.

“These alone, however, bring him near to God without uncovering the roof, scattering the tiles, earth, and other building material.  Our roof is the reasoning part of the soul, which is set above everything else within us.  But it has a large quantity of building materials, in its connection with the passions and earthly matters, lying on top of it.  Once this connection has been loosed and shaken off by means of the four things we have mentioned, then we can really be let down, that is, humbled, fall down before the Lord, draw near to Him, and ask and receive His healing”.

Dear ones, we are now in the second week of our Lenten struggle, the time of year where we focus all of our efforts and attention to removing the barriers that keep us away from the presence of God.  We fast to train ourselves to say “no” to our bodily desires. We come to all the services so that we can hear the words of God. We go to confession and begin our turn towards repentance so we don’t remain paralyzed by sin.  All of these barriers we break down so that we can hear those same sweet words from our Lord and Savior: 

“Son/Daughter…I love you…your sins are rorgiven you.”

If you did not have a cause worthy of a blessing and did not attend one Clean Week service this past week, you have some real work and catching up to do! St. Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews likens our life in Christ to a great race, and there are many reading this now that lined up at the starting line with the rest of us, but when he gun went off, tripped and fell flat on their face. If this describes you, I say this with love: “Don’t delay!”.   If you were at the canon this week, you would have heard: “My Soul My Soul arise, why are you sleeping?”  The Church is literally telling you to wake up!  The good news for you, is that even if you stumbled out of the gate, the Church offers you another opportunity to consecrate these days to God with more weekday services, and more opportunities for you to pray, to give, and to fast. Do not waste them dear ones!   

After the lifesaving services of clean week, we come to the first Sunday of Great Lent where we celebrate “The Triumph of Orthodoxy”.  In order to understand what the Church is celebrating today, I want to draw your attention to the beginning of the newest additions to our iconography here at the parish.  In the next few weeks, you will see the completion these two trees which tower up the walls next to the iconostasis.  On my right, you will soon see the tree of Jesse, of which comes the earthly lineage of the Christ. On my left, you will see an icon called “Christ the True Vine”, and on its branches the 12 Apostles. 

I want you to imagine with me what this icon of “Christ the True Vine” would look like if we were able to finish it to scale.  In order to do so, we would need a Church the size of 100 Hagia Sophias in Constantinople, so that we could continue the branches throughout the history of the Church.  You would see that from the apostles came the branches of the Apostolic Fathers, then the early saints of the Church, then the modern day Saints of the Church.  Finally, at the tip of the tree, in the branches near the dome of this massive Church, you would find us! We would be at the very top as the newest Orthodox Christians, who are not yet wearing halos, but who can still trace our roots all of the way back to Christ Himself.

Dear ones, every time you enter into the Church, I want you to look at the trees near the iconostasis, and remember what a true joy it is to be a branch on that tree of the Holy Orthodox Church of Christ.  Many of you come from different faith backgrounds, and all had different reasons for searching out the Church and wanting to grafted to those deep roots.  Yet perhaps the one reason that comes out the most in conversations with many of you is how this tree of Orthodoxy does not change.  It is so deeply rooted, that there are no weekly changes in the services to try and make them more relevant or popular.  There are no changes in morality, or how we should live, to try and fit the ebbs and flows of a fallen world.  There are no changes to this way of life.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”, and it is on this day, this glorious day of Orthodoxy Sunday, that we celebrate the triumph of this deeply rooted faith over the storms of heresy that have tried to alter and change it throughout history. 

Throughout history, and indeed in our own day and age, there are many storms that come and seek to rip our branches down to the ground.  There was the heresy of iconoclasm, which still exists today over a millennia later in Islam and even in some Christian Churches.  Iconoclasm threatened to rip apart the Church in the 8thcentury.  Despite the strong winds of persecution that blasted the tree of Christ for over a century, The Holy Spirit triumphed, and icons were restored to their former glory.  The Church survived because of its deep and unchanging roots.

Centuries before that, heretics like Arius, Nestorius, Apollinaris sought to apply fallen human logic to explain the inner works of the Holy Trinity and of Jesus Christ Himself.  Despite the persecutions, once again, the Church survived because of its deep and unchanging roots.

Fast forward to today, and the many storms that we have that seek to destroy uproot the Church of Christ. We live in a world where society is trying to convince us that sin isn’t a sin, where so called Christian communities change and distort the Gospel and teachings of Christ to embrace societal norms or to justify a particular political movement, or to justify genocide.  Satan indeed uses many tactics to try and destroy the Tree of Christ, and in many instances and many christian communities, he has succeeded.

But do you want to have a cause of great joy this morning? As Orthodox Christians who have been grafted onto the Tree of the Church. no matter how loud and strong the winds of the fallen world will howl, the gates of hell will never prevail and knock down the Holy Orthodox Church and it’s deep roots anchored in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This is a cause for rejoicing!  It is a cause for celebration!

As Orthodox Christians, we don’t change the tree to fit one of life’s fallen narratives, rather it is the tree that changes us. To be a branch that is connected to Christ Himself, means we live in a constant state of repentance.  It means we don’t get caught up in the winds of the storm, but rather look to the strength that is found at our root…and that strength that is found in our ever-growing relationship with God.

Glory. be to Jesus Christ!

I remind all our faithful parish family today, as well as all incoming catechumens and inquirers to the faith, that to be “pro-choice” is not compatible with being an Orthodox Christian.  If anyone struggles to hear these words, my office is open, and I will be more than happy to sit with you over coffee and explain exactly why this is the case without exception.

Our life as Christians is one of “giving thanks”.  We give thanks to God for life he has given us.  We give thanks to God for our successes and our failures.  We give thanks to God for our country and for our family.  The Eucharist that we will receive today is literally translated as “Thanksgiving”…yet access to abortion allows a human being turn its back on God’s greatest gift…not just to say “no thank you”, but to rather destroy the greatest gift that God has given to mankind…life itself.

All life is sacred. All life is sanctified. Life is not a right, it is a gift, and for all gifts of life, we are called to give thanks to God. 

Along with the 65 million children we weep for today, we also remember all the Holy Innocents who have lost their lives in the womb, not due to any choice of the parents, but rather because of the effects of the fallen world.  Anyone who has ever suffered through this unique kind of pain knows just how dark and numb the world feels when life is prematurely taken away. Yet despite those difficult moments, the Church still calls for us to be at peace, and to “Thank God”.

Thank God?  For What?  How are we supposed to give thanks to God for a gift that was never completely realized in life?  How are we supposed to find peace in these moments of tragedy? It’s hard for us to fully fathom this calling, yet the Church teaches us through its Divine Experience, how we are to approach a beginning to answering these questions: With Gratitude…Faith…and Hope.

The first one is the hardest, and that is having Gratitude to God. We give thanks that the author of life allowed a soul…a life, from the moment of it’s conception, to come into the world.  Although the mothers and fathers of the unborn never had the chance to interact with their young child, they are still known to them in their hopes, and their dreams.  God gave those parents a gift of life.  He chose loving parents with which to bring a soul, and yes, bring a life into the world…even if it’s one that we won’t be able to physically interact with until the second coming.  In this we say: “Glory to God for All Things.”

The second way we approach the loss of a child is with faith.  We approach this pain with faith that Christ is Risen from the dead.  With this knowledge planted directly in our hearts, death loses its sting and hell relinquishes its victory.  It is our faith in the resurrection that allows us to look past grief and see the glory that stands within the path that is before us: The knowledge that all innocent children who have fallen asleep in the womb are not consigned to oblivion, but rather will be with us again. 

Yes dear mothers and fathers who have lost a child, there will be a time where you will be able to physically offer kisses, hugs, and love to that sweet baby boy or girl…those moments were not taken away from you, but simply delayed for a short time.

Finally, we approach these moments of difficulty with hope.  We do not grieve like those who have no hope (as St. Paul says).

We have indeed lost many children in the womb within our parish family, and throughout the world…but our Hope is in the knowledge that their lives are not destroyed…but rather changed for the better.  They who we love are not hidden in the ground, but as the icon depicts for us, they are literally embraced by their Creator. 

Instead of baths in the tub, they are being bathed in Christ’s light.  Instead of needing to feed, they are constantly being nourished by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Instead of weeping and tears in the middle of the night, their cries are directed towards the presence of God, interceding and praying for the only people who they ever knew in this world…their mother and father.

Gratitude, Faith, and Hope…today as we all remember the Holy Innocents, these are the virtues that are needed to wipe away our tears…reminding us that all we need to do is wait a little while longer, and we will once again be with them in paradise.

St. Gregory Dialogos, in his Nativity Homily, points out to us a reality that each of us has faced more often than not.  The very earth we walk on, which has no brain, no organs, no image of God inside of it, is able to recognize God incarnate. How is it that we, who are the pinnacle of creation, so often dismiss His presence in our own lives?

God is with us.  This is a phrase repeated over and over during this period of Epiphany. 

God is with us…yet we only spend a fraction of our days, if that, acknowledging His presence in the world. 

God is with us…yet we would rather spend our free time on Facebook, or watching Netflix, or prioritizing sports and hobbies, instead of deepening our relationship with the Eternal One. 

God is with us…yet we spend so much time wrapping our arms around the material world, our possessions, our wealth, our comfort…instead of opening our arms to embrace Him. 

The dumb elements see things more clearly than we do, and that is a humbling reality when we begin to examine our lives. 

We heard in this morning’s gospel reading, after spending the past week celebrating the Birth of God in the Flesh, a prophecy of what is to come as our Lord begins His ministry:

“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before you.  The voice of the one crying from the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight” (Gospel Reading on the Sunday before Theophany)

From the wilderness itself…from the very elements of the earth that knew that God is with us when mankind refused to…comes the voice of the greatest of the prophets, St. John the Baptist.  He came with one message, and one message only:  There is one coming after me, who I am not even worthy to loosen His sandal strap.  How do we embrace this light and life? Change your life…Change your priorities…Change Your Heart…Change Your Focus In Life…Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

One of the reasons that New Year’s Day is considered an International Holiday, is the hope for a new beginning and a fresh start.  This was the hope that St. John pointed the way to in his earthly ministry, and it is a hope that all of us can partake in, but only if decide to make the necessary changes in our lives to fully embrace it.  In circling back to the words of St. Gregory, I offer to us this one change that we call can make together as a parish family going into this new beginning:  Let us all take a hint from what Creation itself tells us, and begin to perceive God constantly in our lives. 

Making this resolution a reality starts out every time we are in the Divine Liturgy.  Block out the distractions of life when you find yourself in prayer within the Church.  Keep your eyes and your hearts focused on what is about to happen to you when you will partake of the Body and Blood of God.  After you receive the Eucharist and leave the confines of the Church, let God still be on your mind.  The Choir sings “we have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly spirit…”…don’t dirty it by dismissing Grace as soon as you get back into your cars to go home. 

God being with us is not a reality that ends on Sunday morning.  We take that holiness with us and allow it to permeate and carry us throughout the rest of the week, lighting up our lives and the lives of those around us. This is the reality that we have to reflect…the reality that is given to us during this festive season, that God is with us.  Imagine what that can do for a world that is so desperately searching for a new beginning. 

We then hear about a second family, led by the very king who the Holy Family is fleeing from.  King Herod’s family is one that is steeped in evil and wickedness.  The famous historian Josephus from the first century, points out to us that King Herod was an extremely vicious and cruel man, who murdered two of his own wives and killed three of his own sons!  And if that wasn’t bad enough, we hear about how he is so afraid of the rumors of a rival messiah king being born, that he goes and has all of the holy innocent infants slaughtered in Bethlehem.   St. Matthew gives us that chilling prophecy by the Prophet Jeremiah, which is enough to cause all of us to cringe at the wickedness that was on display: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning…Rachel, weeping for her children…refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Unimaginable terror from an indescribably wicked family…

The horror of this family, unfortunately, does not end there.  We also know about Herod Antipas, the one who murdered St. John the Baptist, and took his brother’s wife to be his wife!  The Third Herod Generation, Herod Agrippa the 1st, in order to please the Jews who did not convert to Christianity, was the one who murdered St. James! 

On this one side, we have the satanic, blood thirsty, and demonic family of Herod, whose eyes were fixated on their worldly power, and were guided by the demons of pride, jealousy, greed, lust, and envy.  Their family thought only of themselves…of their own needs, wants, and desires…without ever giving a thought to the law of God…or to anyone else.  We can be assured, that Herod wasn’t thinking about the lamenting mothers when he issued the order to slaughter the holy innocents.  His mind was focused on his earthly rule...on his kingdom…on himself.  These things were his priorities in life, and we see from history, that that wickedness was passed down to his family. The father’s conduct was inherited like a disease by his children for generations. 

In sharp contrast to all of that, we have the Holy Family.  This was a family who was guided by their love and devotion to God.  Rather than conversing with generals and nobles of the earth, each member of this family had personal conversations with the angels.  Rather than being guided by royal advisors, the Holy Family remained in obedience to God’s messengers, who told them to flee into Egypt.  This was no vacation spot for them…they followed God’s command and went into the belly of the beast!  Egypt was so wicked at the time, that the Jews would use it as a slang term which meant “ungodly way of life”…and yet the family obeyed…and went. 

The holy family never had their eyes fixated on the earth. They were never worrying about their wealth, happiness, and property.  They always had their gaze on what was above and were guided by the very Child who had been entrusted to their care. 

 Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the Gospel lesson today is a wonderful reminder for us, that how we act within our families speak volumes about us and our devotion to God.  It starts at home for us.  For those who are parents or grandparents of young children…every action has a consequence.  The Young Herod Antipas learned to live his life not with a fear of God, not with a love for others, but with an eye only on himself. It led to the death of the last and greatest prophet St. John the Baptist.

What impact are we having within our own homes when it comes to interacting with our spouses and children? Do we as parents show a life of love, devotion, and self-sacrifice to our children…so that they may in turn pass that on to the world?  Is the spark of holiness that we take with us from the Divine Liturgy and worship with God made manifest within our homes? Do we prioritize sports and other entertainment over the Divine Liturgy? Are we showing our children that our priorities in life surround God, or something of the world?

When God is absent from our homes…when we don’t take the time to converse with Him in communal prayer…when we don’t give thanks before our meals…when we don’t show gratitude for all that He has given us…we fall prey to the temptations that Herod’s family had fallen into.  Truly, one of the greatest sins we can fall into with our families…is to dismiss, mis-prioritize our relationship, or just flat out forget about God. 

We have the new year coming up quickly…and perhaps the greatest resolution we can make within our own homes is to strengthen our family’s faith. Like the Magi did all of those years ago, may God allow us to follow the bright and shining star of the Holy Family, and bring some of those principals and virtue into our homes, as we begin a new year of drawing even closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning, we will come to the Church to celebrate the manifestation of a Divine Plan that literally changes and transforms the world.  At the Royal Hours on Christmas Eve Morning, we hear a hymn that describes this beautifully for us when the Church sings how:

“…He who holds the whole creation in His hand is born of a virgin.  He whose essence no one can touch is bound in swaddling-clothes as a mortal man.  God, who in the beginning fashioned the heavens, lies in a manger.  He who rained manna on His people in the wilderness is fed on milk from His mother’s breast!“

The creator of the universe, out of tremendous love for us, humbles Himself to be born in the midst of a cave in Bethlehem.  When you think about it, it’s truly mind-blowing!

During this Holy Period of preparation, I have been re-reading St. Athanasius’s incredible work: “On the Incarnation”.  I often like to dig into this text before Christmas, because in order to understand the magnitude of this Feast, you have to be reminded of why God coming into the world was necessary in the first place.

We were created from the dust of the earth, by the hands of God Himself, to be immortal.  We were called to live in a paradise of delight, and we were promised eternal life and the enjoyment of everlasting blessings in the observance of God’s commandments.[1]   Life was supposed to be teeming for us.  Paradise was bright.  Nothing was wasted. Nothing passed away.  Yet, through our ego and pride, humanity introduced an infection into this beautiful gift of creation that we had received.  Beginning with the murder of Abel by his brother Cain, and carrying throughout all of the generations after that, St. Athanasius tells us that:

“Man gradually went from bad to worse, not stopping at any one kind of evil, but continually, as with a satiable appetite, began devising new kinds of sins.”  It’s all there in the book of Genesis!  “Adulteries and theft were everywhere.  Murder and rapine filled the earth. Law was disregarded in corruption and injustice.  All kinds of iniquities were perpetrated by all.  Cities were warring with cities, nations were rising against nations, and the whole earth was rent into factions and battles, while each strove to outdo the other in wickedness…”

God’s beautiful creation…that beautiful life…grew cold and dark.  We all know this feeling, as it is one I hear about often in counseling someone after they fall into grave sin, or has lost a battle to an addiction, or someone who loses a loved one to the greatest enemy of us all…death itself. Our life feels depressing and dark.  We feel as if we are shackled, and we know deep down inside that it isn’t supposed to be this way. 

Yet despite the way in which we ruined creation by abandoning Him…God never abandoned us.

Throughout the Old Testament, and indeed through many of the lives of the people we read in the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, we hear about the incredible plan that God set into motion.  He not only sent prophets and performed mighty works from the heavens above, but even on occasion, God visited mankind in various ways. 

On the ceiling of our Church, we have an icon called “The Angel of Great Counsel”, which represents all the times that God appeared to His people before He became Flesh:

God the Word appeared to Abraham to tell him that Sarah was to be with child…the beginning of Abraham’s lineage that would lead to the nation of God’s people Israel.

 God the Word came to Jacob and wrestled with Him, eventually blessing Him and changing His Name to Israel.

 God the Word appeared and gave the Law to Moses.  Indeed it was the voice of Jesus Christ in the burning bush who began to bring order to the chaos in the life of God’s chosen people.

 God the Word appeared and brought peace to the 3 Holy Youths, who were being thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar because they refused to bow down to His idols.  In this visitation, He changed the harsh effects of the fire into a cool dew that spared the lives of the 3 men and changed the heart of the Pagan King.

God never abandoned His creation.   But this week, He does something that goes beyond visitation.  Jesus, the Word of God, combines our human flesh with His Divinity.  While we had small sparks of His presence in the darkness of the Old Testament, now His light shines and permeates the entire universe.

All of those who found themselves shrouded in the cold and dark days before Christ’s birth will take their place beside us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Adam, our forefather,  along with all of those who came after him, will shout with us saying:

“Glory to You O Lord, Who for our sake have now become like us!  You have assumed a body of lowly clay O Christ, by sharing in our humble flesh.  By doing this, You have made mankind a partaker of Divinity, and have raised us from death!”

God became man, so that we, who still deal with the effects of the darkness of sin in this world, could become like God.  He came into the world so that we can once again return to a paradise of delight. Jesus Christ became our Flesh, so that our human soul could overflow with unspeakable joy… “for the Spirit of God fills with joy whatever He touches” (St. Seraphim of Sarov)

So you see dear ones, this week isn’t just another week.  Christmas Day isn’t just another day.  The Nativity of Christ isn’t just a celebration of Birthday…it is rather the culmination of plan that had been in the works for millennia by a God who Loves us.

 Let all creation bless the Lord, singing and exalting Him throughout all ages!

[1] Anophora Prayers of St. Basil the Great

 St. Paul describes for the Colossians what the Old Man represents: The animalistic passions we spoke about a few weeks ago when talking about fasting.  The Old Man represents those who are fornicators, unclean, full of passion, evil desires, and covetousness.  It is those passions within us, deep down, that cause us to have anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, avarice, and lust. 

Anyone who is thinking to themselves: “well, none of those describe me”, I invite you to read a single chapter of the New Testament, compare yourself to Christ, and then put on some truth goggles so that you can see that from time to time, all of us are still afflicted with this life of the “Old Man”.  Despite being made new in Holy Baptism, all of us have “sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God”. 

It wasn’t always like this, dear ones.  There was a time when mankind didn’t have an assemblance of this “Old Man” syndrome.  When we were fashioned in paradise, man was a superb creation!  We were created even higher than the angels!  There was no evil inside of us!  Genesis describes man walking around in paradise, in the Garden of Eden, completely naked.  That point is made in scriptures not just to point out that we had no need of clothes, but it rather described our innocence as well!  We were healthy!  We had no experience of sickness or death.  There was no envy or evil desires.  God described His creation of mankind as being “very good!”. 

Yet, because of our carelessness, we gave birth to the greatest catastrophe in the history of mankind through sin.. The Old Man was born on that day, and that one germ of sin infected all of humanity and even creation itself.  It was sin that brought tears into the world, starting with Cain killing his own brother.  Sin was like an infection that changed us…destroying that angelic beauty and making us unrecognizable from what we were in paradise. 

There is a wonderful homilist who is not widely known of here in the states named Archbishop Agostinos of Florina in Greece.  He comments on the difference between this Old Man and the life that we are called to get back to by offering this image:

“Imagine a sculptor making a statue from pure bronze.  It is beautiful and perfect, and when the unveiling happens, everyone stands there marveling at its splendor and glory! Then sun’s rays bounce off of it, making it radiant to all who come near it!

One day, barbarians come and knock the statue off of its pedal stool.  It is left abandoned, covered with dirt and filth, and buried for centuries.  Yet the sculptor discovers it and does not despair.  He takes it, throws it back into the fire, melted it, and from its own material, makes a statue that is 1000 times more beautiful than the first one!”

Bishop Agostinos is describing our lives in Christ dear ones!  It is what this entire 40 days of preparation for the Nativity of Christ is pointing to!  We all have fallen from that angelic beauty and have become that “Old Man”.  Mankind was buried in the dirt, bereft of glory and form.  Yet our Lord, our sculptor, in the middle of a cave in Bethlehem, came down into the very dirt that he created man from in order to raise us up and restore us…not to our former glory, but to something new…an even greater glory than mankind had in paradise.

 This is the new man…the transformation that we receive at Holy Baptism and Chrismation.  And, as St. Paul says at the end of the epistle today, it is the life that unites us all! 

May we continue to walk together towards the brightness of the Nativity as shining examples of what it means to live a life clothed with Christ!

The priests brought the Ark into the Holy of Holies, which was the highest and most sacred place behind the veil, and they placed the Ark there.  When they came out, the presence of God in the form of a cloud filled the entire temple, so much. So that “the priests could not stand there ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the House” (3 Kings 8:11)

 King Solomon, standing before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel, offered a dedication prayer in which he said: “Will God indeed dwell with men on earth? If the heaven and the heaven of heaven will not be sufficient for You, how much less even this temple I built in Your name?” (3 Kings 8:25) 

Despite building this incredibly beautiful temple, Solomon was asking God how any kind of earthly temple would be worthy to house Him?  This was a question that, little did he realize, would be answered 1000 years later through one of His descendants. 

On the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos, we remember how Mary, when she was just a few years old, was dedicated to the Temple in Jerusalem by her parents Joachim and Anna. In a symbolic way, she replaced the Ark of the Covenant when she entered into that temple…and ultimately, this was the beginning of the answer to King Solomon’s question. 

What temple would be sufficient for God to dwell on earth? Not one built with gold, but rather the womb of a simple peasant girl from the tribe of Judah.  The Ark of the Covenant, which once held the word of the law, is now being replaced by the new Ark, the Theotokos, who will soon hold within her THE WORD…the Logos…God Himself.

After she was dedicated into the Temple, Mary spent the next decade before the Annunciation, unknowingly preparing this Great Mystery that would take place within her.  In a very real way, it should remind all of us of the preparation that we also should be undertaking as we approach the Great Feast of the Incarnation. I’m not speaking about all of the Christmas cards that need to go out or the way our house is decorated, or the way we display our trees and stockings.  Like King Solomon reminded us…all of these externals are not worthy to House the Living God. 

We are on day 8 of 40 in our preparation for the Nativity.  Have we been preparing our inner temples and curbing our desires by denying ourselves meat and dairy during the fast?

Have we increased the amount of prayer and quiet contemplation of God within our families and homes?

Have we given alms to the poor, or dedicated any of our time in service to others?

Have these last 8 days been different, set apart, or more “holy” than the days leading up to the Nativity Fast?  

There is often a lot of confusion surrounding fasting in the Orthodox Church.  Sometimes, people on the outside think that the Church demands things like daily prayer, fasting, and approaching the Holy Eucharist in order to somehow “earn” our salvation through works…but we know as Orthodox Christians that this couldn’t be further from the truth. 

This period of Advent, and the upcoming Great Lent in a few months, are special times during the year that the Church teaches how to regain control over our bodies and over the direction of our soul.  We are so used to blindly following our passions and bodily desires, almost like animals…with animal instincts. Our stomach gurgles and we immediately to go the pantry to get something to eat (see food, eat food). When we get angry at someone, our first instinct is to raise our voice (my dog does this when he sees someone out the window). When men and women are afflicted with lust, they might turn to self-abuse (again, animalistic instincts)

 When we fast, we are seeking and training ourselves to once again gain control over those animalistic instincts…and once again become human.  When we desire a burger during the fasting periods, we train ourselves to say “no”. When we want to buy something that we want, we train ourselves to say “no” and give that money to others in need. When we are too tired to pray after a long day, we say “no”, and force ourselves to our icon corners. We do this so when we are faced with anger, or lust, or gluttony on a daily basis, we have the strength to say “no”. 

Disciplining ourselves with practices like fasting and almsgiving is necessary for our, not only because we don’t want to act like animals, but because we know the truth! We are created in the image and likeness of God.  We are special and unique in all of creation….and like the Theotokos, for those who are prepared to receive the Holy Eucharist at every Divine Liturgy, God indeed dwells within us! Does He have a place to lay His Head?

May we look to the example of our Mother, the Theotokos, and continue to prepare the temple of our bodies for the coming of the Incarnation.  Amen!

After this miracle, we hear about how our Lord comes from the Gadarenes into Galilee, and is confronted by Jairus, who was a very esteemed ruler and the leader of the synagogue.  We learn that he is overcome with sadness, as I’m sure many of us would be, because his 12-year-old daughter is near death.  He comes to Christ and begs for His help and for his deliverance from this unspeakable pain that his family is going through.   

On the path to Jairus’s house, our Lord is then confronted by a woman, who for the same amount of time that Jairus’s daughter had been alive, has been hemorrhaging blood.  This woman had spent all of her resources to try and fix her health problems, and was eventually left in social and financial decimation.  Her faith in the healing power of Christ was so powerful, that if she could just touch a tassel of his garment, all of her problems would melt away.  And as soon as she touched him, by the Grace of God, the power went out from Christ and into this woman’s body…and she stood up healed.

Our Lord, by his mere presence to this point shows that He is above the fallen world. He has overcome the demons which plague us and the diseases which ail us.  If that was not enough, Christ continues to Jairus's house and is met by Jairus's friends who say “Send Jesus away…it’s too late.  Your daughter is already dead.”  What does our Lord do in the midst of this grief?  He comforts the family, and raises up their daughter…destroying the sting of death itself.   

These three miracles, all happening one after another, are a beautiful picture of what Christ does for us.  The demons cannot stand to be near us when we sign ourselves with the cross of Christ. Sickness melts away in the presence of Him.  Death is transformed into eternal life. 

Despite these miracles however, Jairus’s daughter, after receiving an incredible healing, no doubt lived her life as a living witness to the power of Christ…but eventually, she too departed this life.  The woman in the Gospel today, who we know from Holy Tradition as St. Veronica, after she received her healing, no doubt experienced other sicknesses in her life, and eventually passed away. When we look at the world, we still see wars being fought, children being slaughtered, hunger plaguing nations, and people who are still under the grasp of the demonic powers.  Why does God allows these troubles to befall us, knowing full well He has the power to stop them? 

Our Lord allows these things to happen to us, so that we might draw closer to Him. 

Look at the life of St. Nektarios of Aegina.  There is a famous miracle that happened at the end of His life, while he was laying in a hospital bed about to die.  He shared a room with a man who had fallen off of a cliff, and was left paralyzed from the head down…unable to move, to feed his family, to hug his children. 

One might ask, why did God allow this man to fall off the cliff and live? Yet, God had a purpose for Him.  As St. Nektarios breathed his last his cassock and bed sheets were removed, and accidentally were placed on the paralyzed man, who immediately received healing.  His life had been restored to Him, so that He might glorify God, and help the world recognize the holiness of St. Nektarios. 

Dear ones, no matter what trials we face, Trust in the providence of our Lord in all things.  He holds power of the demons. He has power over sickness, and yes, even over death itself.  And while we sometimes don’t understand why He allows trials to befall us, we trust in His Tremendous Love for us. 

There is a small phrase that I have shared with many who have had trials…and have had to say it to myself all too often.  It was a popular meme that I have preached about before that is on the internet that says: “Keep Calm, and Kyrie Eleison”.   Keep Calm, and Lord have mercy.

That is the attitude that we all must have in the midst of the trials and tribulations of our life.  Because if it hasn’t already, the waves of life will eventually catch up to everyone that is sitting here today. And in the midst of grief, if we have not learned to put our complete trust and life in God’s hands, nothing will be clear.  But if we train ourselves to keep calm…and say, “Lord have mercy”, we will be given the grace to go through life and take whatever comes…because we know that the presence of our Lord has overcome the world.  

He did not come to save us from sickness and death…but rather THROUGH sickness and death.  Why?  Because He Loves us more than we can know.  It is this knowledge will give us the strength to face the trials of our life with peace. 

Keep Calm Dear ones…and Kyrie Eleison.

Our Lord presents to us the image of Lazarus, a poor beggar who stood outside the gates of a rich man, seeking only to feed himself from the crumbs that were thrown out after one of the glorious feasts a rich man would throw.  The scripture continues and tells us how both men passed away…but we notice how differently their deaths were described.  Lazarus, who had lived through many trials and tribulations…having never been shackled with a love of money because he had none…was carried by angels into Paradise.  The rich man also died, but scripture simply tells us he was buried…not just in the ground, but in the torments of Hades.   

Divine Justice is complete.  “There was a time when the rich man had seen Lazarus cast down in front of the gate, a victim of hunger, writhing on the ground in the dust unable to move, and he turned a blind eye.  Now that he is lying in the depths, buried, being tortured and cannot escape his torments, he looks up and sees Lazarus comfortably settled high above, passing his time in profound ease and dwelling in Abraham’s bosom.”[1]

We notice next how the rich man doesn’t repent.  St. Gregory Palamas points this out in his homilies on this passage:

 “The rich man doesn’t say “Have mercy on me, for I have kindled this fire and stored up these torments for myself.  Instead of the sound of flutes, hand-clapping, and disgusting songs, I now hear shouts, wailing, and the horrible noise of the fire raging around me. Instead of sweet fragrances, I smell the fumes of the fire.  Instead of abundant food and drink and the pleasures they brought, I now have my tongue utterly parched by this fire and am without even a drop of water. Instead of the flames of impure passion, the fire consumes my whole body.””[2]

 He doesn’t repent or ask for forgiveness, but rather asks Lazarus to come and to help quench the pain that the rich man himself had created in his life.  

 For everyone listening to the words of the Gospel, the words coming from our Savior’s lips, this is a scary image.  Do you want to know why the Rich Man doesn’t have a name in this parable?  Because all of us here today are the rich man!  Whether we have full time well-paying jobs, are living out our years on a fixed income in retirement, or are receiving welfare checks from the government…this is US the Gospel is talking about!  We have been given an abundance from God.  All of us reading this have a roof over our heads, and access to food and running water.  We eat sumptuously.  We attend parties and celebrations with one another…and if we are not careful, the parable tells us the fate of each and every one of us here today.  This is scary stuff! 

The good news, and the shining light in this frightening parable, is the other rich man who is given a name by our Lord.  Abraham had tremendous wealth in this life!  Genesis recounts how he had servants, lots of silver and gold, tons of land, and an abundance of livestock.  Yet what makes Abraham different than the rich man?What makes him different than we who are listening this morning? He had an overabundance of virtue. Abraham used what God had given him not for himself, but rather to show his love back to God, to have compassion on others, and to show hospitality to strangers. 

In light of this parable, let’s take a moment to examine our own attitudes towards the wealth that we have been given. It is not a sinful to have wealth, but we must be incredibly careful how we use the gifts God has given us.  In order to do that, God taught us an important virtue that protects us from falling into the trap of the Rich Man: The Tithe! 

Contrary to popular belief, Tithing isn’t for the Church! The Church is a non-profit, and it isn’t meant to make money! Tithing is for us!  It forces us to correctly prioritize our lives, so that we don’t put our own comfort and desires above Christ, the Church, and each other.  We are called to give a percentage of our FIRST FRUITS back to God…not the crumbs that fall at the end of our monthly budgets.  

 If we are on a fixed income, yet are spending more in Netflix and peacock subscriptions than what we are giving weekly to the Church…there is a tremendous imbalance in our life’s priorities.  If we have well-paying jobs and are pulling in six figures a year, and yet donate to the Church and Charities few hundred dollars a month, there is a disconnect within our souls.

Dear ones, if tithing isn’t a part of our spiritual life, we must ask our self why?  Our Lord tells us: “Where your treasure is, there your heart is also”…and if our treasure is somewhere other than the Christ’s church…where is our heart?

I don’t offer many homilies or articles on how to deal with abundance, and for that I ask your forgiveness.  I came from a financial background, and perhaps subconsciously I have tried to steer clear of mentioning how to deal with wealth too often in my homilies, but this lesson is an important one for us.  It’s something our Lord talked about and warned about often in the Holy Scriptures:

“You cannot serve both God and Mammon…for what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:13-15)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

“It is easier for a camel to enter into the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.”  (Matthew, Mark and Luke)

Tithe of your treasurers and of yourself dear ones. May our Lord continue to guide us, and lead us to clarity in our lives…so that do not become just another nameless victim of our own selfishness…but rather be given an eternal place in the mansion of the righteous with Christ who we offer our entire life to…Amen

[1] St. Gregory of Palamas, Homily 48:8 “On the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus”

[2] St. Gregory of Palamas, Homily 48:10 “On the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus”

St. John lived in the 10th century near what is present day Sofia.  At a young age, he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, gave all of his worldly possession to the poor, and sought after the angelic life of monasticism.  Eventually, he ended up in the mountains of Rila, where he lived in a cave about 4 kilometers away from where the monastery is today.  He lived a life of solitude, deep in prayer, until one day a group of shepherds discovered him.  They went down from the mountain and told the villagers of this great ascetic that lived in the midst of the wilderness.  Men seeking the monastic life, and St. John as a teacher, sought after him, and eventually he founded a small monastic community which eventually became the Great Rila Monastery that still exists today! 

St. John wrote a testament to his spiritual children, which has been preserved to this day by the Rila Monastery library, and has been translated into dozens of languages.  It isn’t a long testament, but one that I wanted to touch, especially as we ourselves are endeavoring to draw closer to Christ within our parish community. 

St. John begins by saying:

“Above all, I instruct you to keep the Holy Faith unblemished and untouched by any slander, as we received it from the Holy Fathers, without mixing it with foreign and different teachings.  Stand firm, hold on to the traditions you have heard and seen in me. Branch out neither to the right nor to the left, but go along the royal way…”

We had a wonderful meeting last Sunday with His Holiness Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria in his Cathedral in Sofia.  Afterwards, he invited us over to his residence for coffee, and we had an hour or so discussion on the effects of politics within the Church…specifically what Bulgaria and other eastern European Orthodox Countries went through under communism in the last century. 

 One of the final words of advice His Holiness gave us regarding our Church in America, was to always boldly speak the truth to people. Do not be swayed by the whims of the government…or what might be popular…but rather stay grounded in the truth that is only found in Christ and His Church. 

 “Always tell the truth, and never fear it...be bold about it.” His Holiness offered to us as we departed. 

St. John says:

“Do not seek to be known and loved by earthly kings and princes, nor place your hope in them by abandoning your heavenly King, for Whom you have signed up to be soldiers and to fight not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this age.”

St. John lived this by his own example.  After he was discovered by those shepherds, his fame spread throughout the entire kingdom. It attracted many people to him, not the least of which was the King, Tsar Peter the 1st, who travelled the nearly 500 km to meet and honor this great ascetic. 

After the long and grueling journey, St. John refused to meet with the King, but rather saw him from a distance and they bowed their head to one another over the great distance. He didn’t want to be flattered.  He wasn’t looking to be honored. He refused the riches and gifts King Peter had brought. St. John did these things because there is only one king that He served.  It is the same king that we all find ourselves with face to face this morning. 

How do we serve the king? Do we offer up our riches to the glory of His Kingdom? Do we serve in the capacities that he has called us to serve…or are we more concerned with offering up riches and serving others only when we ourselves benefit? 

“No one can serve two masters” our Lord says in Matthew.  “Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Mammon.”   

I’ll end by offering one more word from St. John’s Testament, where he offers this advice on how a Christian Ascetic should live:

“Instruct yourselves in the law of the Lord day and night, read the books of the fathers often and strive to imitate our Holy Fathers Anthony, Theodosius, and the others, who by their good deeds shone as lights in the world.  Hold fast to the rules of the Church and do not lay aside or neglect anything that is prescribed by the Holy Fathers.

Do not neglect handiwork, but always have work in your hands. Let the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” be constantly on your lips, and together with it, the memory of death in your mind.”

These are the things that allow the soil of our hearts to remain rich.  Prayer, Divine Services, a closeness to scripture and the lives of the Saints…all of these are tools that cultivate the soil of the heart so that the seed that our Lord has planted will grow within us and bear fruit…and they are tools that St. John used in his life to reach the spiritual heights and relationship with God that all of us are seeking here this morning.

Through the prayers of St. John of Rila, may we continue to bear fruit here in the vineyard which our Lord has planted.  Amen!

We hear in the gospel how our Lord used an empty boat near the sea as His pulpit, while the owners of the boat were cleaning their nets after a long night of not catching a thing.  Jesus then commanded Simon Peter to launch out into the depths and to cast their nets. It is here where we learn our first lesson from Gennesaret.  Our Lord didn’t go into the synagogues to seek out the highest-ranking rabbis to begin his ministry…he rather sought out men who were at work.  My former seminary professor Fr. Dan Kovalak once commented on this in saying that as fellow disciples of Christ, “anyone prone to laziness or idleness need not apply”…because that is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the growth of the Church.”  Fr. Dan called them “Pew Potatoes”…people who find their way to Sunday Liturgy but fail to pray and work for the Kingdom of God once they leave. 

As much as I love potatoes as a Slav, and even though we don’t have pews in our Church, we cannot call ourselves disciples of Christ if we do not labor for the Kingdom of God. That is what last Sunday was all about, beginning to answer the question: “In what ways can I serve you O Lord?” 

 It is in the response to the workers that Christ was seeking out that we get our second lesson from Gennesaret.  Simon Peter answered our Lord’s command to go out into the deep with the all too familiar grumbling that we all have when God asks us to do something:

“Lord, we have been at this all night!  It’s daytime, there won’t be any fish…but because you say to do it, I will.” 

Despite his grumbling, Peter did indeed go out into the depths.  He cast out his net, and immediately it was filled to the brim with fish!  What was needed before this great catch? Obedience to God. 

 Obedience and patience are probably the two virtues that everyone in this Church struggles with daily, but it is in the Gospels that we see just how importance obedience truly is. St. Nikolai of Zica made an interesting comment on this passage when it comes to the obedience of Christians.  He said that the Apostles had ears and eyes…they were able to see and hear what Christ did and what He preached.  Yet they still grumbled and complained when Christ asked them to do something.  The real obedient example in the Gospel that we should emulate is the fish! Fish don’t have reason the way that we do!  They don’t see the miracles of God in their lives. They don’t hear the word of God because they have no ears! Yet despite this, the fish heard and obeyed the word of Christ and swam into the nets!

The fish obeyed…but do we who have the ears to ear…do we obey Christ in our own lives?  Let’s silently test that theory among ourselves with some of the other things our Lord will tell us to do elsewhere in the Gospel.

“Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods, do not ask for them back. Just as you want men to do with you, you also do to them likewise.”

But Jesus…that’s not fair…

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”

But Jesus, they wronged me.  Where is my justice?

“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” 

Dear ones, what happens when we follow the example of the fish? We saw an answer of this in the power and energy that emanated from the funeral for Charlie Kirk, where his widow, in front of a nationally televised audience, remembered her first Love which was Christ, and forgave her husband’s murderer in front of the world…and perhaps no doubt inspired many to do the same in their own lives to people that had wronged them.  That is what Christian Obedience looks like.

The Apostles, after their grumbling, did what the Lord commanded them, and they hit the jackpot.  Enough fish to feed their families for a long time, and to sell the rest that would get them that upgrade on their house they always wanted!  A fortune in fish…and what do they do?  Christ tells them: “Do not be afraid.  For now, you will become fishers of men.” It is here that we learn our final lesson from Gennesaret this morning.  Christ says come, and they leave behind all their material riches for an even greater spiritual wealth that they were about to acquire.

On the shores of lake Gennesaret, our Lord offers up these three enormous examples of virtues that are necessary if we too are to become disciples of the Kingdom. May we continue to labor hard as workers in His vineyard…in obedience to His word…forsaking worldly and material aims in order to become beacons of Christ’s light, that permeates the darkness of the fallen world

The Cross is everything for us!  We bring it out to the center of the Church.  We decorate it with beautiful and fragrant flowers.  We bow down low before the life-giving wood.  In all of these movements, we give Glory to God for the Cross!  

A question that many will ask in the outside world is “Why?” This was an instrument of death.  As we heard in the Gospel today, it was used to humiliate God Incarnate…to crucify Him naked and in public, with the crowds “wagging their heads” at our Lord as they walked by.  Why would we lift up and magnify the cross?

Next week, we will hear in the Gospel our Lord taking it a step further.  He says: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” If we want to walk towards He Who Is our Salvation, we have to carry our own crosses…our own difficulties, our own passions, and all of the tragedies that the fallen world places on our shoulders. We are called to bear them with strength, humility, and yes (as backwards as it might seem) with gratitude.

This past week, I happened across a documentary on the “De-Stalinization” of Russia after the death of Joseph Stalin. When he died, there was a massive state funeral, where his body was carefully placed next to Lenin, the supposed other “Hero of the Russian Revolution”.  However, a few years after his death, the truth came out in government circles of just how much of a lunatic this man was.  He would turn on his loyal generals and closest allies out of fear and in the blink of an eye. From an Orthodox Christian standpoint, Stalin was responsible for the slaughter of millions of Orthodox Christians, many of which were Bishops and Priests, so that he could stamp out the “opium of the people”, which is what he called the Christian Faith. 

After these truths came out, the Soviet Union started to remove all of the statues built to Stalin.  They removed him out of Red Square and quietly buried him with other lesser-known generals and leaders. 

At the end of this documentary, there was a video of an Orthodox Priest blessing a new statue of Stalin that was erected near Pskov. I watched this priest and immediately asked myself similar questions that I asked about the Cross:

“What is that priest thinking!? Is this some kind crazy resurgence of a love of Stalin and Soviet nostalgia? Doesn’t he realize that this man was directly responsible for destroying the lives of millions of Orthodox Christians? Why would he go and throw holy water on this statue?”

After the blessing, the priest explained why it was that he was thanking God for Stalin.  He first turned to the people and said: “Christ is Risen! During Stalin’s time in power, if we are being honest, the Church suffered. But without him, we would be without thousands of Martyrs and Confessors who are now interceding for the Resurgence of Faith in our country.” 

Giving thanks to God for our crosses, for our sufferings, and for our weaknesses.  To be able to have the faith that is necessary to see them not as a curse, but rather as a blessing….this is what it means to see clearly. This is freedom. This is holiness. This is the peace that the Church offers to us who are bearing our crosses in the world.  It is the very reason why the priest comes out multiple times in the Liturgy, and with his hands in the shape of “ICXC”, says “Peace be unto all” in the shape of the cross. 

The people of the Soviet Union, along with all of those who have been killed in the numerous persecutions of Christians that have occurred since the time of Christ, bore the crosses that Stalin placed upon them with tremendous love of Christ and Hope in the Resurrection. It was through that hope and perseverance that the goals of eradicating faith in Christ were foiled…and now these former Soviet States are the some of the fastest growing Christian Countries in the world.

Fr. Roman Braga, a man who many of you knew, and who this past week the process of canonization to sainthood began, stated many times that it was through his tortures and hardships that he was able to acquire tremendous peace and closeness to God.

In the past few weeks, parents lost their children while praying a mass in Minnesota.  Christians in Palestine starved to death. The Kirk Family this week had a tremendous cross placed upon them with the shooting of their husband and father.  While it is difficult now, these families will be able to endure this present evil, because of the one thing they all have in common…an unwavering love of God, and the faith that these crosses will lead to Glory.  Until they get to that point, we pray that the cross of Christ and the peace of the Church will sustain them.

“O Cross of Christ, You are the hope of the Christians.  You guide those who have gone astray. You are a haven of the storm-tossed, victory in war, a firm foundation of the inhabited earth, a physician of the sick, and the resurrection of the dead..” [1]

Glory to Thy precious Cross O Lord…and give us the strength and courage to bear our own.

[1] Troparia of the Cross, Matins Tone 6

 “The door, who now passes through the doorway”, because it was through her that God entered the world.

“Heaven Who now enters heaven”, because her womb which was more “spacious than the heavens”, was home to the Word of God from the time of the Annunciation to the Nativity.

“The Throne of God who know ascends the Throne of God” because for a time, it was God made the womb of the Theotokos into His Throne. 

 As awesome as those images are, as it is with every funeral service, there are also hints of sadness in the hymnography. At one point, we echo the words of the Apostles on the day of her Dormition, asking her: “Do not leave us as orphans, O Mother, who taken from Earth to Heaven, shall abide together with your Son and God.”

When we look at the icon of the Dormition, we see the sadness of the Disciples and Apostles as they are weeping.  This woman had been a fixture in their lives with Christ.   When our Lord was preaching throughout all of Israel, the Theotokos was at his feet listening to His words.  When Jesus was crucified and sent to the Cross, his Mother was there watching at his feet, as her son and God was weeping in agony for the Human Race. After the Resurrection and Ascension, she went into the protection of St. John, who’s home was near the Mt. Of Olives, and no doubt carried on her relationship with the Disciples when their missionary journeys took them back to the Holy Land.   She was a mother to Christ, in many ways she was a mother to Disciples, and she is a mother to all of us today who seek to follow after Christ.

 Some might ask, what makes this woman so special in the Christian world?

 There is a Gospel reading that is called for at every feast of the Theotokos which answers this question for us, and the reading isn’t even about the same Mary.  It is about Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, who were offering hospitality and a meal to Jesus.  When he came into the house, Martha went about the kitchen frantically making sure that everything was in it’s proper place…but Mary her sister didn’t worry about any of the business, and rather took her place at Jesus’s Feet, listening to his words, and being in his presence.

 When Martha went about complaining to Jesus, He responded: “Martha Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her”

What as the Good part?  Simply being in the presence of Christ. This was precisely how the Mother of God lived her life.

A good mother is one that not only teaches her children with words…but rather leads them by example.  The Disciples loved and honored the Theotokos, not for of the words she offered to them, not simply because she was the Mother of God, but because of how she lived her life…in complete faith and in humble obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

 For those coming to Holy Orthodoxy, who are not yet used to how the Church honors and loves the Theotokos, I offer this small image to you that we see in her icons around the Church.  In many instances, she holds the Divine Child with one arm, and with the other, she points towards Him.  This is because the Church sees Mary, among other things, as the ultimate guide to Christ.  If we want a relationship with Him…if we want to learn how to live a life that fully embraces Christ, then we need to honor, love, and learn from the example of His Mother…because she is the one who points the way to God.

Through Her Prayers, may our Lord Save and protect us.  Amen!

We are all familiar with the old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  The idea behind the statement is to force reflection on the situation at hand and then focus on our own personal strength to pull through.  It is the ultimate call for self-dependance, relying on our own abilities to win the day.  But today’s Gospel lesson should cause us to think about total self-reliance in a different light, understanding that there is an outside source of strength that we are called to depend on as Christians.  In other words, “When the waters get rough, our faithful gets stronger.”

It is easy to be good followers of Jesus when the waters of life are calm.  When things are sunny and the breeze is gentle, we tend leave Christ on the shore.  He’s never that far away, always within sight, but never right here, next to us.  The boat we sail in our daily lives is often crowded with friends who are happy to share the good times with us.  We may take a few minutes to offer up a brief prayer of thanks for the beautiful day, but the thought of needing to keep Jesus near will likely not be at the top of our mind.  Why spoil a perfectly good day with the reminder of our personal sins and failings?  Jesus can stay on the distant shore while we play.

But in every life, there will be storms that threaten our good times.  In the previous verses in the 14th chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, the disciples take part in the great miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 (Matt. 14:13-21).  With Jesus’ blessing, the five loaves and two fishes were enough to feed everyone, with 12 baskets of leftovers, demonstrating that with God’s blessing and our faithful participation, miracles can happen.  With their bellies and spirits filled, the disciples follow Christ’s direction and begin sailing across the Sea of Galilee to the opposite shore.  I can only imagine what the conversation must have been like as sailed across the initially calm waters.  It would certainly be hard to contain their enthusiasm after witnessing Jesus’ ability to multiply the small fare the disciples had on hand and turn it into a feast for 5,000 people, but there they were, not only witnessing a miracle but being an active part in it.

Then came the storm.  St. Matthew tells us that “the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary” (v. 24).  The boat was not going in the direction the disciples intended, which was the opposite shore.  It was being drifted off course and no matter what they did, they could not get their boat going in the right direction.  To top that off, the water was rough, making it even more difficult to steer the craft.  Remember, these were experienced fishermen, so this situation must have been dire for them to be concerned for their own safety.  But as our Gospel lesson shows us, our comfort and salvation are never too far away.

Jesus understands His disciples fear and proceeds to walk across the water to meet them in their place and time of need.  Jesus did not go to them because He needed a ride; He walked across the water as a demonstration of His love and care for His followers.  The disciples were initially scared by what they witnessed: Jesus walking across on the water, unaffected by the waves and wind (vv. 25-6).

St. Peter, recovering from the initial shock of seeing this “ghost” walking on the water (v. 26), decided that he, too, was able to defy the laws of nature.  And initially, he did.  The account tells us that St. Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (v. 28).  St. Peter needed proof that his eyes were not deceiving him, that the miracle unfolding before him was real and not an apparition.  By Jesus’ command, St. Peter steps out the boat and onto the water towards Jesus (v. 29).  If St. Peter kept his eyes and mind on Jesus, he too was able to defy nature, participating in the same miraculous action as his Lord.  This is an important point in this Gospel lesson that we should apply to our own lives.  We also can perform miracles, but only through faith and by the grace of God.  Jesus told us that total faith, even as small as a mustard seed, can move mountains (Matt. 17:20) and uproot trees (Luke 17:6).  But when our attention, and thus our faith, is focused more on the turbulence that surrounds us rather than the peaceful strength of Christ, then we too will sink. 

All of us at some time in our lives will come to that crossroad where we need to decide where we need to turn our focus.  Will it be on Christ or on the chaos of the world?  Is the draw of sinful living more enticing?  This is the question that we face every day of our lives.  Fortunately, most of us choose the good over the evil.  But what about those men and women, all made in the image of God just like each of us, who choose the path of destruction?  Are they any less deserving of God’s love?  The purpose of the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM) Sunday is to bring our incarcerated brothers and sisters out of the darkness and into the light.  Many of the prisoners I have encountered do have a strong faith in Christ, but at some point in their life they took their eyes off Jesus and began to sink into the sea of despair.  Many of them, like St. Peter, cried the words of total abandon of self and pleaded with the One capable of pulling them up out of their desperate situation: “Lord, save me!” (v. 30) By these three simple words we acknowledge the fact that we are incapable of walking on water by our own power.  In this sense, we are not much different than those brothers and sisters who are in prison.  Those who are part of the OCPM correspondence ministry understand this and can see the humanity in those who have turned their lives over to Christ despite their circumstances.  They understand that it is often harder for a person in prison to be true to their Christian faith, living each day surrounded by negative influences.  Unlike us, they cannot escape the situation they are in.  And regardless of whether we believe that they deserved to be in prison or not, they still are trying their best to live up to the title of “Child of God.”  So, for all we know their faith, being purified in the crucible of prison, may even be stronger than our own.

So let us never forget our brothers and sisters behind bars.  Continue to pray for everyone who is incarcerated that they may find peace through the grace and love of Christ.  Ask God to allow each of us to be the one who delivers the Good News of the Transfigured and Risen Christ to those who may have never heard the Gospel message.  And may those who are incarcerated be examples for us of how difficult situations in life can be used to strengthen our faith rather than sink it.  We must never forget that we are all capable of walking on water when we have the faith that only comes by keeping our eyes on Jesus.

Time moved on towards evening, and over 5000 men, not including women and children, had gathered in the deserted place high above the banks of the Sea of Galilee. The disciples become anxious, and urged Christ to dismiss the people from His presence so they can go get something to eat and refresh themselves. Yet Christ denied their request, and instead gave them a command: “Give them something to eat!”

The disciples were astonished! They only had five loaves and 2 fish with which to feed this massive crowd. In that very moment, the disciples forgot something that I think we often forget when faced with one of life’s many challenges. They were too overly concerned with their limitations, that they forgot Who it was that is in their presence. 

 St. John Chrysostom tell us: “Although the place was a desert, He who feeds the universe is present.  Although the day is over, Christ and His words are ever present, never submitting to time or element, never yielding to mortality”. 

This is something that often happens to us, especially in moments when we are stressed out or worried about one of life’s many trials.  We forget that God is in our midst.  We experience His presence in the Divine Services, in the reception of the Holy Eucharist, throughout the day in our prayers and in our conversations with Him…yet despite His presence in our lives, there are still moments where we become like little “Marthas”. We become worried and anxious about things that are beyond our control.

Today in Ukraine, as the faithful were going to attend the Divine Services, no doubt many of them were worried if the government would show up at their door in order to close them down. In our own country and throughout the world, during the pandemic, we had worries about an unknown virus that was supposedly killing our brothers and sisters if they happened to touch an amazon box.

On a persona level, we worry about all kinds of things. We are anxious about our health. We fear being alone or losing a spouse. We fear the market and how it might affect our jobs. We worry about our friendships and our family. Perhaps one that I hear often is the worry associated with loved ones who are not in the Church. Parents often worry about their grown children who have been swayed by the world to either ignore or forget the life that Christ offers us. This is one of the biggest regrets of parents, who become heartbroken when their children stop praying and stop attending Divine Services.  

In all of these moments that bring tremendous worry, anxiety, and stress…what can be done? What is missing in our moments of forgetfulness? The remembrance that in the middle of the desert, God is With us.

I have spoken to the catechumens and inquirers who have been beginning their journey to Holy Orthodoxy about the tremendous challenges that await them spiritually.  The Church likens our lives to being in the midst of the stormy sea, with the waves smacking us “to and fro”. Coming into the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church, and beginning this life of Metanoia means coming into the boat of the Church.  But I remind them that having God in our boat doesn’t mean we won’t face storms. It does however mean that nothing, especially those things that are out of our control will ever sink us. 

For the Ukrainians and the Palestinians facing persecution, like in the times of persecution under Nero, Diocletian, Caucescu, and Lenin, they take comfort and strength in knowing that the gates of hell have never, and will never prevail against the true Church. 

For those who have lost a loved one, we who have Christ do not grieve, as St. Paul says, like those who have no hope in the resurrection…knowing that there will be a moment when we will embrace each other again. 

 For those who have loved ones outside of the boat of the Church, we rely on God to support us while we, through our prayers, throw life savers to them…keeping them from drowning in the sea of life until they decide to come into the boat.

Through it all, God is will us.  He was with the disciples that day in their moments of doubt with the 5000, and when they remembered Who it was that was with them, they obediently brought the little offering of 5 loaves and 2 fish that they had…and watched our Lord go to work.  This also is our response to situations that are beyond our power and beyond our control.  Offer what little we have to offer through our prayers, support, and love for one another…and watch God to work.

Just this morning, I received a message from an inquirer on this exact topic. In reference to the way Orthodox Christians worship, she said: “One of the things that really stands out to me is the deep reverence for God. It’s always bothered me when there are so many distractions during worship. I’ve never been anywhere where all the members are so focused on God and hold such reverence for Him.”

It is our sacred responsibility to ensure that we maintain this understanding of what reverence should look like in the Church. As someone who was born into the faith, I think this is an area that we sometimes take for granted, or we just flat out forget when we come into the Church.  We forget where we are…and what honor and respect are due in God’s House. 

This is not meant to be an admonishment of anyone, or to embarrass anyone. All of us come from different backgrounds where being “in Church” means something different.  For some, being in the “Church” on Sunday meant being in the place where we could drink coffee and raise our hands with the praise band.  For others, being in the Church was the place we could send our children off to another room so we could listen to the preacher tell us how to lead a better life. But for the Orthodox Church, and for us as Orthodox Christians, we have a sacred duty to protect the sanctity and holiness of our Lord’s Throne Room…of our Church and the Divine Services.  

It is my God Given responsibility to teach and to make sure that the flock entrusted to me remembers this incredible responsibility, so I challenge all of us to remember these 6 ways in which we can keep the reverence, awe, and respect of this Throne Room of God that we are blessed to enter for worship every week!

1.) Avoid Social Talking

If we were to enter Buckingham Palace in the presence of the King while he is sitting on the throne, would we be having social conversations with one another? How much more so should it be that we avoid unnecessary speech when standing in the presence of God, especially during the Divine Services and Prayer.

We are a family, and we have people that we love to see and greet every time we enter into the Church. Greet them with a hug, but it’s best to save the social conversation for the coffee hour after we leave the sanctuary. If we must speak, we do so in hushed tones so as not to disturb those around us praying before the Throne of God!

2.) Avoid Leaving the Church

 While sometimes leaving the Church during the service is needed, especially with parents of young children, we should only leave when it is absolutely necessary.  Going to the narthex for any other reason, such as casual conversations during the homily or to "take a break" during parts of the Liturgy are never acceptable times to leave the presence of God, especially after the reception of Holy Communion.

The early Church took being in the Church for the entire service very seriously…as we should as well! There were saints who would receive the Eucharist and go to a quiet corner of the Church to sit for hours after they had received God within them! At the very least, we can wait until the veneration of the cross before departing the Throne Room of God!

3.) Stillness 

Walking into the House of our Lord requires reverence and stillness, which is often difficult for us living in such a fast paced world. With young children especially, we should endeavour to keep them close by. If they want to venerate an icon, we walk with them to do so in a reverent manner.  It is never acceptable to allow children to run, jump off of steps, or crawl under the Church furniture.  

We have a sacred responsibility to not only learn how to be still in our own lives, but to pass it on to our children to the best of our ability. The world is only getting faster…and our children won’t have as easy of a time as we did growing up to learn stillness. Church and prayer are the places that we can instill this incredible virtue within our Children(but of course, not without trial and error :) )

Parents, keep bringing those kiddos. It will get easier! If you are getting frustrated or want to vent a bit, come talk to me!

4.) Timeliness

We are often on time for work, for sporting events, and even early for concerts. Why is it that we don’t put as large of a priority in being on time to be in the presence of the King of Kings?!

Adults that come after the Epistle and the Gospel, unless they have a special blessing from the priest to do so, should not approach the Holy Chalice for Communion.  It’s a scary thing to approach the chalice unworthily, and with the exception of an emergency, if we can’t get to the Liturgy at a decent time, we simply are in no position to approach the dread mysteries. 

If you are having an issue getting to Church on time, talk to the priest!

5.) No Food or Drink

Under no circumstances should we bring food or drink (including gum) into the Church, with the exception of having a bottle for a baby.  All of us who are preparing for Holy Communion, with few exceptions, should be fasting from food and drink before receiving the Body and Blood of God. For children, it is a general rule that they should start the Eucharistic fast after their first confession (around 7 or 8 years old).

6.) Standing, Sitting, and Kneeling

At certain points in the Liturgy, unless physically unable to do so, it is necessary for us to stand in reverence. These points include the reading of the Gospel, the Entrances with the Gospel and the Holy Gifts, the Anophora Prayers, and the Distribution of Communion to the faithful.  

On Sunday’s with very few exceptions, we do not kneel. During the weekday Liturgies, it is appropriate for us to kneel during the Anophora Prayers and the Our Father.