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As often happens in our society, people who big-note themselves are often the ones who suffer the greatest humiliation. There's a very simple correlation between how far up you put yourself and how far down you come — simply as a result of being human; simply as a result of being a human being in a fallen world.

Today's Gospel reading teaches us many things. It teaches us about attitude to prayer — on how we should pray. It teaches us about self-righteousness, and not to be self- righteous. But let's look at something else...

Two men went up to pray, One was a Pharisee, a respected member of his religious community; one who did all the right things — externally. And yet, when he stands before God, he stands before a mirror. Because, if you noticed, the Gospel says to us "and he prayed to himself thus." So he wasn't praying to God — he was justifying himself. He was justifying his own existence. He was trying to make himself look good, He was trying to convince himself that he was superior to others, and why did he do that?

Simply out of pride. Often we act like that because of low self-esteem. Often we try to convince ourselves that we are something beyond what we are, not only because of pride, but often because we don't have what is good and fruitful self-esteem.

The other man in the parable is a tax collector. Now, a tax collector in first century Palestine collected taxes for the occupying power — the Roman oppressors, Being a Jew himself, you can imagine how this man was treated. He was an outcast, The Jewish community considered him a traitor. Not to mention, that what the tax collectors would do, was that if it was their authority to collect fifty dollars for the Roman authorities, they would collect seventy from you and pocket the other twenty! So, not only did they collect for the enemy, not only did they collect from the people that oppressed your people, but they also stole from you as well!

Now, this tax collector goes up and prays; and he doesn't stand at all close to the altar, He stands far away. (You see, this man has self-esteem, but we'll talk about that later). Then he beats his breast and he wouldn't even look toward the heavens. He doesn't have to convince himself of anything because he knows who he is; and so he talks to God. And he asks God, out of the sincerity of his heart, a simple request that is intimately related to how he sees himself. He says, "Lord God, have mercy. I do these things. This is what I am. I'm fallen. I'm sinful. This is what I am."

Yet the Pharisee looks at the tax collector and says, "Lord God, thank you that I'm not like all these other people: adulterers, murderers, etc." As if this is not bad enough, he doesn't leave it at that general level, but he has to personally attack the person praying behind him. "And thank you, Lord, that I'm not like that man over there — that tax collector."

There's a two-edged sword in this story.

People walk away and say, "See why I don't go to Church? The Pharisee is like the people in Church. They fast, they pray, etc." But, Jesus doesn't say not to come to Church. He doesn't say don't pray. He doesn't say don't fast. He orders those things. Jesus is talking about the attitude with which we do all these things. The other side of this, of course, is the people who don't come to Church and are doing the same kind of things as the people who are. The attitude is the issue. "I don't need to go to Church, I don't lie, I don't steal, I don't do anything to anyone, I say my prayers" (I'd love to listen to them!), You see, hypocrisy is within and without the community. Within the group that always goes to Church, and within the group that never goes to Church. Thus, nobody is justified.

Now, people like the Pharisee may say things like: "I'm not like this tax collector," or "I'm not like the people that go to Church" or "I'm not like the people that don't go to Church."

One may wish to ask the Pharisee, what's the difference between you and the tax collector? Have you got three legs instead of two? He's got two hands, you've got two hands, He's got two legs, you've got two legs. He's got a brain, you've got a brain. He's got emotions, you've got emotions. He's got hardships, you've got hardships. Your life's a mess, his life's a mess.

But, do you know what the Pharisee's real problem was? Beyond the fact that he is talking to himself; beyond the fact that he is trying to convince himself what a great Jew he is; even beyond the fact he's judging another human being — there's something deeper. There's a raging subconscious river here. "I'm superhuman," he thinks. He's trying to convince himself that he's something beyond the human. He's trying to convince himself that he has self-esteem.

What is self-esteem? Self-esteem is to know what you are. Self-esteem is to be at peace with what you are, knowing that through prayer, through the grace of God, it is being transformed, it is being developed, it is being saved, and being made into something beautiful — and knowing that it is the grace of God that is performing this miracle in your life.

Thus, the tax collector has self-esteem — he knows what he is. He doesn't pretend he's anyone else. The Pharisee is the one with low self-esteem. Because, not only does he have to prove himself against everyone else, but he's standing before God talking to himself, trying to prove something to himself.

So, why does the tax collector have humility? Is humility walking around beating ourselves on the chest, throwing ashes over our heads, and putting ourselves down? Is that what humility is? No. If we look at the experience of the saints, none of them talked about putting yourself down. They talked about being what you are, They talked about being real. That's the aim of Orthodox Christian life — to become a human being. What a paradox! We think that we are! But, we are not yet in the image and likeness of God There's a shadow of it there, but we should be aiming to become truly human. To become honest, sincere, and genuine human beings. That's what our aim is. And what it means to have humility, is simply to know what you are.

The word "humility" comes from humus, the Latin word for "soil." "Human" is the creature that comes from the soil. Humility means to know that you are human — that you come from the soil. You don't need humility to put yourself down. Your sins will do that for you, if you're genuine.

So, to stand like the tax collector before God (but not to stand there trying to convince ourselves we're something we're not) is the hardest thing to do in life — it's easy to say, but it's the hardest thing to do. And what should you say when you stand before God? Say what the prophets of the Old Testament always said to God who called them by name, "Here I am, Lord!"

Cheesefare Sunday (St. Patriarch Tikhon, Bellavin).

Today is called "Forgiveness Sunday." It received this name from the pious Orthodox Christian custom at Vespers of asking each other's forgiveness for discourtesy and disrespect. We do so, since in the forthcoming fast we will approach the sacrament of Penance and ask the Lord to forgive our sins, which forgiveness will be granted us only if we ourselves forgive each other. "If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14-15)

Yet it is said to be extremely difficult to forgive discourtesy and to forget disrespect. Perhaps our selfish nature finds it truly difficult to forgive disrespect, even though in the words of the Holy Fathers it is easier to forgive than to seek revenge. (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk after St. John Chrysostom) Yet everything in us that is good is not accomplished easily, but with difficulty, compulsion and effort. "The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."(Matt. 11:12) For this reason we should not be discouraged at the difficulty of this pious act, but should rather seek the means to its fulfillment. The Holy Church offers many means towards this end, and of them we will dwell on the one which most corresponds to the forthcoming season of repentance.

"Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother." The source of forgiving our neighbors, of not judging them, is included in seeing (acknowledging) our sins. "Imagine," says a great pastor, who knows the heart of man, Father John of Kronstadt, "picture the multitude of your sins and imagine how tolerant of them is the Master of your life, while you are unwilling to forgive your neighbor even the smallest offense. Moan and bewail your foolishness, and that obstruction within you will vanish like smoke, you will think more clearly, your heart will grow calm, and through this you will learn goodness, as if not you yourself had heard the reproaches and indignities, but some other person entirely, or a shadow of yourself" (Lessons on a Life of Grace, p. 149) He who admits his sinfulness, who through experience knows the weakness of human nature and its inclination toward evil, will forgive his neighbor the more swiftly, dismissing transgressions and refraining from a haughty judgment of others' sins. Let us remember that even the scribes and Pharisees who brought the woman caught in adultery to Christ were forced to depart, when their conscience spoke out, accusing them of their own sins. (John 8:9).

Unfortunately, brethren, we do not like to acknowledge our transgressions. It would seem natural and easy for a person to know his own self, his own soul and his shortcomings. This, however, is actually not so. We are ready to attend to anything but a deeper understanding of ourselves, an investigation of our sins. We examine various things with curiosity, we attentively study friends and strangers, but when faced with solitude without extraneous preoccupation even for a short while, we immediately become bored and attempt to seek amusement. For example, do we spend much time examining our own conscience even before confession? Perhaps a few minutes, and once a year at that. Casting a cursory glance at our soul, correcting some of its more glaring faults, we immediately cover it over with the veil of oblivion until next year, until our next uncomfortable exercise in boredom.

Yet we love to observe the sins of others. Not considering the beam in our own eye, we take notice of the mote in our brother's eye. (Matt. 7:3) Speaking idly to our neighbor's detriment, mocking and criticizing him are not even often considered sins but rather an innocent and amusing pastime. As if our own sins were so few! As if we had been appointed to judge others! "There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy"? God. (James 4:12) "Who art thou to judge another's servant? It is before his own master that he stands or falls" (Rom. 14:4). "Thou hast no excuse, O man, whoever thou art who judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou dost condemn thyself. For thou who judgest dost the same things thyself" (Rom. 2:1). "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; put yourselves to the test" (2 Cor. 13:5). The pious ascetics provide a good example of this. They turned their minds to themselves, meditated on their own sins and avoided judging their neighbors at all costs.

One pious starets, noticing that his brother had committed a sin, sighed and said, "Woe is me! As he sinned today, so will I tomorrow." And the following is a story about another ascetic, Abba Moisei. A monk committed a sin. The brethren, who had assembled to decide his case, sent for Abba Moisei, but the humble starets refused to attend the council. When the rector sent for him a second time, he appeared, but in quite a striking manner. He had taken an old basket, filled it with sand and was carrying it on his back. "What does this mean?" asked the monks, catching sight of him. "See how many sins I bear behind me?" answered Moisei, pointing to the heap of sand. "I don't see them, yet I have come to pass judgment upon another."

So therefore, brethren, following the example of the ascetics, upon observing others' sins, we should consider our own sins, regard our own transgressions and not judge our brother. And should we hold anything against him, let us pardon and forgive him, that our merciful Lord may forgive us also.

Prodigal Son (Fr. Dimitri Tsakas).

What an incredibly powerful story! In only a couple of weeks we come to Lent — that period of fasting and prayer that the Church puts before us; and the next few weeks are a preparation for it.

Last week, it presented us with the story of humility (only with humility can we come close to God). This week it presents us with repentance — we need repentance to come to God. Next week it will present us with judgement — the Gospel of the Second Coming of Christ.

Humility, repentance and then coming face to face with God. This is the journey that the Church takes us on before Lent. But today Jesus teaches us with symbols, People have got a problem with symbols in Christianity. "You Orthodox always use symbols." Jesus used symbols — that's why we Orthodox use symbols. Because Jesus used metaphors, and Jesus used parables, and Jesus used symbols, We follow Jesus in using symbols — and those who accuse us of being too symbolic — let them read the scriptures and know what they're talking about.

And so today Jesus uses symbols. A father who symbolises who?..God. Two sons who symbolise who?..us. Property and wealth that symbolise what?..everything that God has to give us. Inheritance which symbolise what?.. the grace of God that has been given to us.

And the younger of the two sons goes to the father, "Give me my inheritance." Now I don't know about you but if my son came to me, while I was still alive and asked for my inheritance, I'd be very upset.

You'd think "wouldn't it be nice if you just waited till I died, at least, before you wanted to take whatever is yours anyway."

And yet this father says "if you want it, here, have it."

"What was the younger brother's problem? The inheritance was his, he was going to get it — everything the father had was for the two sons. But no, he wanted it NOW! He wanted it on his terms. He wanted it self-centredly. He wanted all the gifts without the relationship with the father. In fact, the ultimate insult to the father was what?..that he asked for his inheritance while his father was still alive. Only hate could inspire a son to do this. The ultimate self-centredness. Yet the father in today's Gospel reading gives it to him, And what does the son do? He squanders it, he goes to a foreign land and he spends all his money at the Treasury Casino, and on picking up girls at New Farm and partying; and then guess what?.. Indonesia invades Australia and there's no food, and he's got no money, and he's a long way from home.

So he finds someone and this person says "hey, listen, mate, I need someone to feed my pigs." It's a job. So here he comes, from a mansion, here he comes from wealth, here he comes from where he had everything he wanted — and he feeds pigs. And not only does he feed pigs, he lives like one. Why? Because he says "if only I could eat what these pigs eat" — that's how hungry he was. And the parallels between this man and us are phenomenal.

What does Adam and Eve do? They want their inheritance. What's the inheritance? if God is the Father then everything that God has: immortality, love, harmony, peacefulness, even an identity — all of these things He gives to us. He will gee to us. These are the things he wanted to give to Adam and Eve. These are the things He wanted to give to humanity — His own likeness, He wants people to become like Him. This scandalises a lot of non-Orthodox Christians. If the biblical teaching is nothing less, then we are all to become partakers of the divine nature, as Peter says in his Epistle: "That we are created in the image of God to achieve His likeness" — to become gods, through grace as a gift from Him. And yet we want inheritance without the relationship. Adam and Eve took their inheritance and because of their spiritual immaturity, they squandered it. They took the gifts, they tried to live by the inheritance and made a mess Of it. And so they were exiled from paradise and humanity has lived like pigs since. Because humanity continues to steal, to rape, to murder, to exploit.

Humanity continues to crush all the gifts God gave it...and itself on top! That's what it means to live like a pig. Because a pig in Jewish culture was unclean. And that's why Jesus in the parable, specifically chooses pigs. The prodigal son did the most unthinkable job for a Jew. He worked with swine, he worked with what was unclean. To show that that's how unclean he had become, to show that that's how unclean humanity has become.

And yet this guy comes to his senses. He experiences an awakening. A conversion. Something happens within him. You see, he's blessed. Because in the depth of his futile existence, he wakes up. After he's been to the Treasury Casino, after he's slept with all the prostitutes, after he's drank himself senseless, after he's smoked every drug there is on earth and injected himself with whatever is available, he still woke up — others don't. They die in that state.

He wakes up and says "hang on a sec, at Dad's place the people who are the servants, the hired servants, the slaves of the household — these people have more than enough bread to fill their stomachs. And here I am living like a pig!"

And so he comes to his senses, which means what? When he starts thinking logically, when he starts thinking rationally, when we start thinking rationally, when we start thinking logically, we turn to God. When we come to our senses, we come to our Father in heaven, and we too think "hang on a sec, God promises all these things — bread — heavenly bread — the Eucharist. He promises safety, salvation. He promises eternal life, regardless of the suffering that we go through in this world — sometimes because of the suffering we go through in this world." And the person that comes to his senses and the person who thinks rationally and logically goes to God the Father and says "Father I have sinned against you, I have sinned against heaven. I have sinned before my brothers and sisters — forgive me. If you have something in your mercy give it to me." And if you feel that it can't be done for you, well, then let me tell you what this young man is called in Greek, because "prodigal" son doesn't quite get it, O Asotos Yios — the unsaveable son, And so when we turn and when we present God with our sins and we pray " Father, I too have sinned against heaven and before you," His only response can be "Bring the fatted calf and kill it so that we can eat and rejoice," Put a ring on his or her finger. Bring a robe which symbolises the gifts, or rather the fruits, of the Holy Spirit. "Put a ring on his finger" symbolises what? ... That when we turn to God like that, He adopts us as sons, as daughters. And our inheritance is given to us on the way, through obedience and humility to the Father, who knows what to give us when for our salvation. Amen.

Forgiveness (Father Alexander Schmemann).

As once more we are about to enter the Great Lent, I would like to remind us — myself first of all, and all of you my fathers, brothers, and sisters — of the verse that we just sang, one of the stichera, and that verse says: "Let us begin Lent, the Fast, with joy."

Only yesterday we were commemorating Adam crying, lamenting at the gates of Paradise, and now every second line of the Triodion and the liturgical books of Great Lent will speak of repentance, acknowledging what dark and helpless lives we live, in which we sometimes are immersed. And yet, no one will prove to me that the general tonality of Great Lent is not that of a tremendous joy! Not what we call "joy" in this world — not just something entertaining, interesting, or amusing — but the deepest definition of joy, that joy of which Christ says: "no one will take away from you" (Jn.16:22). Why joy? What is that joy?

So many people under various influences have come to think of Lent as a kind of self-inflicted inconvenience. Very often in Lent we hear these conversations: "What do you give up for Lent?" — it goes from candy to, I don't know what. There is the idea that if we suffer enough, if we feel the hunger enough, if we try by all kinds of strong or light ascetical tools, mainly to "suffer" and be "tortured," so to speak, it would help us to "pay" for our absolution. But this is not our Orthodox faith. Lent is not a punishment. Lent is not a kind of painful medicine that helps only inasmuch as it is painful.

LENT IS A GIFT! Lent is a gift from God to us, a gift which is admirable, marvelous, one that we desire. Now a gift of what? I would say that it is a gift of the essential- that which is essential and yet which suffers most in our life because we are living lives of confusion and fragmentation, lives which constantly conceal from us the eternal, the glorious, the divine meaning of life and take away from us that which should "push" and, thus, correct and fill our life with joy. And this essential is thanksgiving: the acceptance from God of that wonderful life, as St. Peter says, ." . . created out of nothing ...," created exclusively by the love of God, for there is no other reason for us to exist; loved by Him even before we were born, we were taken into His marvelous light. Now we live and we forget. When was the last time I thought about it? But I do not forget so many little things and affairs that transform my whole life into empty noise, into a kind of traveling without knowing where.

Lent returns to me, gives back to me, this essential — the essential layer of life, Essential because it is coming from God; essential because it is revealing God. The essential time, because time again is a great, great area of sin. Because time is the time of what? Of priorities. And how often our priorities are not at all as they should be. Yet in Lent, waiting, listening, singing. . . you will see, little by little that time — broken, deviated, taking us to death and nowhere else, without any meaning. You will see that time again become expectation, become something precious. You wouldn't take one minute of it away from its purpose of pleasing God, of accepting from Him His life and returning that life to Him together with our gratitude, our wisdom, our joy, our fulfillment.

After this essential time comes the essential relationship that we have with everything in the world, a relationship which is expressed so well in out liturgical texts by the word reverence. So often, everything becomes for us an object of "utilizing," something which is "for grabs," something which "belongs" to me and to which I have a "right." Everything should be as Communion in my hands. This is the reverence of which I speak. It is the discovery that God, as Pasternak once said, was ." . . a great God of details," and that nothing in this world is outside of that divine reverence. God is reverent, but we so often are not.

So we have the essential time, the essential relationship with matter filled with reverence, and last, but not least, the rediscovery of the essential link among ourselves: the rediscovery that we belong to each other, the rediscovery, that no one has entered my life or your life without the will of God. And with that rediscovery, there is everywhere an appeal, an offering to do something for God: to help, to comfort, to transform, to take with you, with each one of you, that brother and sister of Christ. This is that essential relationship.

Essential time, essential matter, essential thought: all that is so different from what the world offers us. In the world everything is accidental. If you don't know how to "kill" time, our society is absolutely ingenious in helping you to do that. We kill time, we kill reverence, we transform communications, relationships, words, divine words into jokes and blasphemies, and sometimes just pure nonsense. There is this thirst and hunger for nothing, but external success.

Don't we understand, don't we understand, brothers and sisters, what power is given to us in the form of Lent. Lenten Spring! Lenten beginning! Lenten resurrection! And all this is given to us free. Come, listen to that prayer. Make it yours! Don't even try to think on your own; just join, just enter and rejoice! And that joy will start killing those old and painful and boring sins, because you will have that great joy which the angels heard, which the disciples experienced when they returned to Jerusalem after Christ's Ascension. It is that joy which was left with them that we nobly adopted. It is first of all the joy of knowing, the joy of having something in me which, whether I want it or not, will start transforming life in me and around me.

This last essential is the essential return to each other: this is where we begin tonight. This is what we are doing right now. For if we would think of the real sins we have committed, we would say that one of the most important is exactly the style and tonality which we maintain with each other: our complaining and criticizing. I don't think that there are cases of great and destructive hatred or assassination, or something similar. It is just that we exist as if we are completely out of each other's life, out of each other's interests, out of each other's love. Without having repaired this relationship, there is no possibility of entering into Lent. Sin — whether we call it "original" sin or "primordial" sin — has broken the unity of life in this world, it has broken time, and time has become that fragmented current which takes us into old age and death. It has broken our social relations, it has broken families. Everything is diabolos — divided and destroyed. But Christ has come into the world and said: ." . . and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32).

It is impossible to go to Christ without taking with me the essential. It is not the abandonment of everything as we go to Christ; it is finding in Him the power of that resurrection: of unity, of love, of trust, of joy, of all that which, even if it occupies some place in our life, is at the same time so minuscule. It is tragic to think that from churches, from seminaries, what comes to heaven are complaints . . . being tired, always something not going right . . . You know, sitting in my office from time to time, I am admiring people for inventing new "tragedies" every half hour.

But we are Christ's and Christ is God's, And if we had — because we know — just a little bit of that which would bring us together, we would replace all my little offenses with even a little amount of that joy. That is the forgiveness we want and ask God to give us. Because if there is a strict commandment in the Gospel, it is that commandment: "if you forgive ... your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive. . . neither will your Father forgive…" (Mt. 6:14-15). So, of course it is a necessity. But the now of that, I repeat it once more, is to be horrified by the fragmentation of our own existence, by the pettiness in our relationships, by the destruction of words, and by the abandoning of this reverence.

Now we have to forgive each other whether or not we have any explicit sins or crimes against each other. That reconciliation is another epiphany of the Church as the Kingdom of God. We are saved because we are in the Body of Christ. We are saved because we accept from Christ the world and the essential order. And finally we accept Christ when we accept each other. Everything else is a lie and hypocrisy.

So, fathers, brothers, sisters: let us forgive one another. Let us not think about why. There is enough to think about. Let us do it. Right now, in a kind of deep breath, say: "Lord, help us to forgive. Lord, renew all those relationships." What a chance is given here for love to triumph! — for unity to reflect the Divine unity and for everything essential to return as life itself. What a chance! Is the answer we give today yes or no? Are we going to that forgiveness? Are we gladly accepting it? Or is it something which we do just because it is on the calendar — today, you know, forgiveness; tomorrow, let's do. .,? No! this is the crucial moment. This is the beginning of Lent. This is our spring "repair" because reconciliation is the powerful renewal of the ruin.

So, please, for the sake of Christ: let us forgive each other. The first thing I am asking all of you, my spiritual family is to forgive me. Imagine how many temptations of laziness, of avoiding too much, and so on and so forth. What a constant defense of my own interests, health, or this or that . . . I know that I don't even have an ounce of this self-giving, self-sacrifice which is truly a true repentance, the true renewal of love.

Please forgive me and pray for me, so that what I am preaching I could first of all somehow, be it only a little bit, integrate and incarnate in my life.

2. Lent.

1. Triumph of Orthodoxy (St Patriarch Tikhon, Belavin).

Delivered on the occasion of Orthodoxy Sunday, February 23, 1903 in the Cathedral Church of San Francisco

This Sunday, Brethren, begins the week of Orthodoxy, or the week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, because it is today that the Holy Orthodox Church solemnly recalls its victory over the Iconoclast heresy and other heresies and gratefully remembers all who fought for the Orthodox faith in word, writing, teaching, suffering, or godly living.

Keeping the day of Orthodoxy, Orthodox people ought to remember it is their sacred duty to stand firm in their Orthodox faith and carefully to keep it. For us it is a precious treasure: in it we were born and raised; all the important events of our life are related to it, and it is ever ready to give us its help and blessing in all our needs and good undertakings, however unimportant they may seem. It supplies us with strength, good cheer and consolation, it heals, purifies and saves us. The Orthodox faith is also dear to us because it is the Faith of our Fathers. For its sake the Apostles bore pain and labored; martyrs and preachers suffered for it; champions, who were like unto the saints, shed their tears and their blood; pastors and teachers fought for it; and our ancestors stood for it, whose legacy it was that to us it should be dearer than the pupil of our eyes. And as to us, their descendants,? do we preserve the Orthodox faith, do we keep to its Gospels? Of yore, the prophet Elijah, this great worker for the glory of God, complained that the Sons of Israel have abandoned the Testament of the Lord, leaning away from it towards the gods of the heathen. Yet the Lord revealed to His prophet, that amongst the Israelites there still were seven thousand people who have not knelt before Baal (3 Kings 19). Likewise, no doubt, in our days also there are some true followers of Christ. "The Lord knoweth them that are His" (2 Timothy 2:19) We do occasionally meet sons of the Church, who are obedient to Her decrees, who honor their spiritual pastors, love the Church of God and the beauty of its exterior, who are eager to attend to its Divine Service and to lead a good life, who recognize their human failings and sincerely repent their sins. But are there many such among us? Are there not more people, "in whom the weeds of vanity and passion allow but little fruit to the influence of the Gospel, or even in whom it is altogether fruitless, who resist the truth of the Gospel, because of the increase of their sins, who renounce the gift of the Lord and repudiate the Grace of God" (a quotation from the service of Orthodoxy). "I have given birth to sons and have glorified them, yet they deny Me," said the Lord in the olden days concerning Israel. And today also there are many who were born, raised and glorified by the Lord in the Orthodox faith, yet who deny their faith, pay no attention to the teachings of the Church, do not keep its injunctions, do not listen to their spiritual pastors and remain cold towards the divine service and the Church of God. How speedily some of us lose the Orthodox faith in this country of many creeds and tribes! They begin their apostasy with things, which in their eyes have but little importance. They judge it is "old fashioned" and "not accepted amongst educated people" to observe all such customs as: praying before and after meals, or even morning and night, to wear a cross, to keep icons in their houses and to keep church holidays and fast days. They even do not stop at this, but go further: they seldom go to church and sometimes not at all, as a man has to have some rest on a Sunday (...in a saloon); they do not go to confession, they dispense with church marriage and delay baptizing their children. And in this way their ties with Orthodox faith are broken! They remember the Church on their deathbed, and some don't even do that! To excuse their apostasy they naively say: "this is not the old country, this is America, and consequently(?) it is impossible to observe all the demands of the Church." As if the word of Christ is of use for the old country only and not for the whole world. As if the Orthodox faith is not the foundation of the world. "Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel into anger" (Isaiah 1:4)

If you do not preserve the Orthodox faith and the commandments of God, the least you can do is not to humiliate your hearts by inventing false excuses for your sins! If you do not honor our customs, the least you can do is not to laugh at things you do not know or understand. If you do not accept the motherly care of the Holy Orthodox Church, the least you can do is to confess you act wrongly, that you are sinning against the Church and behave like children! If you do, the Orthodox Church may forgive you, like a loving mother, your coldness and slights, and will receive you back into her embrace, as if you were erring children.

Holding to the Orthodox faith, as to something holy, loving it with all their hearts and prizing it above all, Orthodox people ought, moreover, to endeavor to spread it amongst people of other creeds. Christ the Savior has said that "neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candle stick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house" (Matthew 5:15) The light of Orthodoxy was not lit to shine only on a small number of men. The Orthodox Church is universal; it remembers the words of its Founder: "Go ye into the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Luke 16:15), "go ye therefore and teach all nations" (Matthew 28:19) We ought to share our spiritual wealth, our truth, light and joy with others, who are deprived of these blessings, but often are seeking them and thirsting for them. Once "a vision appeared to Paul in the night, there stood a man from Macedonia and prayed him, saying, come over into Macedonia, and help us" (Acts 16:9) after which the apostle started for this country to preach Christ. We also hear a similar inviting voice. We live surrounded by people of alien creeds; in the sea of other religions, our Church is a small island of salvation, towards which swim some of the people, plunged in the sea of life. "Come, hurry, help," we sometimes hear from the heathen of far Alaska, and oftener from those who are our brothers in blood and once were our brothers in faith also, the Uniates. "Receive us into your community, give us one of your good pastors, send us a Priest that we might have the Divine Service performed for us of a holy day, help us to build a church, to start a school for our children, so that they do not lose in America their faith and nationality," those are the wails we often hear, especially of late.

And are we to remain deaf and insensible? God save us from such a lack of sympathy. Otherwise woe unto us, "for we have taken away the key of knowledge, we entered not in ourselves, and them that were entering in we hindered" (Luke 11:52)

But who is to work for the spread of the Orthodox faith, for the increase of the children of the Orthodox Church? Pastors and missionaries, you answer. You are right; but are they to be alone? St. Paul wisely compares the Church of Christ to a body, and the life of a body is shared by all the members. So it ought to be in the life of the Church also. "The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Ephesians 4, 16) At the beginning, not only pastors alone suffered for the faith of Christ, but lay people also, men, women and even children. Heresies were fought against by lay people as well. Likewise, the spread of Christ's faith ought to be near and precious to the heart of every Christian. In this work every member of the Church ought to take a lively and heart-felt interest. This interest may show itself in personal preaching of the Gospel of Christ.

And to our great joy, we know of such examples amongst our lay brethren. In Sitka, members of the Indian brotherhood do missionary work amongst other inhabitants of their villages. And one zealous brother took a trip to a distant village (Kilisno), and helped the local Priest very much in shielding the simple and credulous children of the Orthodox Church against alien influences, by his own explanations and persuasions. Moreover, in many places of the United States, those who have left Uniatism to join Orthodoxy point out to their friends where the truth is to be found, and dispose them to enter the Orthodox Church.

Needless to say, it is not everybody among us who has the opportunity or the faculty to preach the gospel personally. And in view of this I shall indicate to you, Brethren, what every man can do for the spread of Orthodoxy and what he ought to do. The Apostolic Epistles often disclose the fact, that when the Apostles went to distant places to preach, the faithful often helped them with their prayers and their offerings. Saint Paul sought this help of the Christians especially. Consequently we can express the interests we take in the cause of the Gospel in praying to the Lord, that He should take this holy cause under His protection, that He should give its servants the strength to do their work worthily, that He should help them to conquer difficulties and dangers, which are part of the work, that He should not allow them to grow depressed or weaken in their zeal; that He should open the hearts of the unbelieving for the hearing and acceptance of the Gospel of Christ, "that He should impart to them the word of truth, that He should unite them to the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church; that He should confirm, increase and pacify His Church, keeping it forever invincible," we pray for all this, but mostly with lips and but seldom with the heart. Don't we often hear such remarks as these: "what is the use of these special prayers for the newly initiated? They do not exist in our time, except, perhaps, in the out of the way places of America and Asia; let them pray for such where there are any; as to our country such prayers only needlessly prolong the service which is not short by any means, as it is." Woe to our lack of wisdom! Woe to our carelessness and idleness!

Offering earnest prayers for the successful preaching of Christ, we can also show our interest by helping it materially. It was so in the primitive Church, and the Apostles lovingly accepted material help to the cause of the preaching, seeing in it an expression of Christian love and zeal. In our days, these offerings are especially needed, because for the lack of them the work often comes to a dead stop. For the lack of them preachers can not be sent out, or supported, churches can not be built or schools founded, the needy amongst the newly converted can not be helped. All this needs money and members of other religions always find a way of supplying it. Perhaps, you will say, that these people are richer than ourselves. This is true enough, but great means are accumulated by small, and if everybody amongst us gave what he could towards this purpose, we also could raise considerable means. Accordingly, do not be ashamed of the smallness of your offering. If you have much, offer all you can, but do offer, do not lose the chance of helping the cause of the conversion of your neighbors to Christ, because by so doing, in the words of St. James, "you shall save your own soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins" (5:20)

Orthodox people, in celebrating the day of Orthodoxy, you must devote yourselves to the Orthodox faith not in word or tongue only, but in deed and in truth.

Sunday of Orthodoxy (Metropolitan Iakovos of Krinis).

We gather this evening in this radiantly beautiful house of worship as we have gathered for many years now, to celebrate in all our diversity our unity in Christian Orthodoxy. We gather to celebrate the victories of the past, and to look forward to a victorious future, to a future grounded in the solid foundation of our history, in divine worship.

Indeed, we join countless Orthodox faithful throughout the world today in celebrating a uniquely eastern and Orthodox Christian victory – the restoration of the holy icons. We celebrate our shared Orthodoxia not so much in ideas or polity, but in icons, in images of divine worship and Divine Liturgy. We gaze upon our ancestors’ victory most fully as we gaze upon the holy icons that surround us, and that indeed, are enshrined within us and within all persons.

It is, we offer to you this evening, in divine worship that we recognize this truth most profoundly. Surrounded by holy icons of our Christ, the Theotokos and the saints in our churches and at our home altars, we begin to realize the vision of Genesis 1 and 2, the vision of ourselves created as icons, as images of God.

Standing within our churches, we watch as the clergy cense first the icons of our Christ and the saints, and then the very human icons of all who have gathered for divine worship. Indeed, through this offering of incense, we recognize our own potential – our own calling and destiny – to be living icons, holy icons of the living and holy God. Likewise, we learn to reverence and respect all other persons as living icons, even as we cense all persons present without distinguishing ethnicity, race, gender or any other difference.

We look upon our faith incarnate in sacred art, just as we have seen our God incarnate in human flesh. We celebrate that divine beauty which shines from holy icons and from divine worship. We recall that first, breathtakingly beautiful temple of Solomon, where by Moses’ design, golden icons of the heavenly cherubim surrounded the Ark, in the Holy of Holies. We recall that throughout biblical history, the beauty of holy icons and divine worship stood as a powerful sign and a witness of God’s blessing of material creation, and indeed, of God’s own ‘taking on flesh and dwelling in our midst.’

In our contemporary North American diaspora home we have also come to recognize other ways of ministering these same truths. Parish programming, preaching, rational comprehension, study groups, academic theology, social activism and political engagement all have a unique appeal to Christians living in these United States.

And certainly all of these things have important places in the life of the Orthodox East as well. Parish programs are valuable tools. They create opportunities for fellowship, give a sense of belonging and help strengthen Orthodox Christian identity. Motivating sermons also contribute to the edification of God’s people, as they prophetically proclaim and teach the divine Scriptures and traditions of our holy ancestors.

So too, understanding with the mind, group study and learning opportunities, as well as theological development are all good and noble endeavors. Together with countless other saints, the Three Hierarchs taught us the importance of learning by their very lives, traveling to the distant Academy of Athens to acquire formation in the literature, arts and sciences of their day. One of them, St. Basil the Great, showed us that social activism also has a critical place in our Tradition, as he advocated for mercy and justice for all before ‘the powers that be’, and did all within his means to undo the bonds of poverty and abuse in his own Cappadocian world.

Especially on this Sunday of Orthodoxy, however, we would contend that our future as Orthodox Christians is not limited to any of these preeminently North American expressions. Yes, ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ are important parts of our ancient Christian life, but the future lies more in ‘being’ – in bowing before the mystery of God-in-Trinity, in celebrating the stories of our salvation and the lives of the saints. So it is, then, that for us Orthodox believers, the future is in divine – and especially Eucharistic – worship.

A look at our Orthodox Church history shows just how true this all is. What was it that so deeply moved Prince Vladimir’s emissaries in Constantinople? Was it the rational excellence of the Byzantines? Was it the Christian activism of the Byzantines? No, though both of these were certainly present, what moved those Rus explorers was divine worship. It was holy iconography and chant, it was fragrant incense and sacred ceremony. That is what moved them to proclaim for all the generations and for all the races and for all the nations of humankind, that they ‘knew not whether they were in heaven or upon the earth’.

That vision of radiant icons and divine worship is what captured the minds and hearts of the entire Russian world, what led to the miraculous ‘conversion of the Slavs’. It was that experience within the courts of Hagia Sophia that gave birth to a family of peoples that would come to proclaim that ‘beauty shall save the world’ in our own day. Indeed it shall. Indeed, the future is in the beauty of icons and worship.

And does not the history of our Mediterranean Orthodox peoples point in the same direction? What was it that kept faithful for four hundred long years millions of Greeks and Antiochians, Armenians, Serbs and Albanians as we endured the brutal slavery of Ottoman colonial rule? Was it books and book learning? Was it parish programming and administration? Was it political involvement and maneuvering? It was none of these things. It was divine worship.

It was the power of the holy mysteries and the vision of the holy icons. Divine worship kept our Christian Orthodox identity alive. Divine worship kept our spirits buoyant in spite of daily dehumanization and martyrdom. Divine worship – in all its radiant, iconic beauty – sustained us when there was little other hope.

And it is to our final hope that our worship and icons ultimately point. Remember that the observers at Hagia Sophia spoke of not knowing whether they were ‘in heaven or on earth’. The reality is that they were in both places, for among the holy icons in worship, we experience heaven on earth – the Kingdom, the eschaton is in our midst. It is the end-time vision of Revelation 21.3, the faithful gathered ‘at the altar, before the throne of God’.

In no act of worship is this Kingdom, this eschaton more a reality than in the Divine Liturgy, the Eucharist. Surrounded by the holy icons in that experience, we actually become ‘the body of Christ’. In the evangelical eloquence of St. John Chrysostom, it is when we gather in worship that ‘we are in Christ and Christ is in us.’ It is in that context of sacred beauty that, according to St. Nicholas Kavasilas the brilliant liturgical commentator, we behold ‘the entire oikonomia of the Savior signed and signified’.

Such is the case in the midst of our struggles to be in Christ, to love God and our neighbor even in a most challenging time and world. And this is why, in the words of our Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos’ most recent Nativity Encyclical, the Church offers us ‘the proclaimed word, the grace of the sacraments, the icon, the symbols, and the feasts’. By such, he concludes, the Church ‘calls the faithful to a continuous struggle to… ascend and take on the divine and ineffable beauty of the virtues of Christ.’ (Nativity Encyclical, 1999)

Again, this is all realized in the Divine Liturgy, the divine ‘work of the people’. In our Eucharistic worship, we realize that ‘our communion and community is the very embodiment of Christ in the faithful. It is the renewal of the entire created cosmos. It is the seeding of our lives with ‘the life of the age to come’, a life already sensible in the living Church.’ In that unique context, heaven and earth converge. ‘That which transcends the rational meets the rational, the divine meets the human and the invisible meets the visible. All converges and dwells together in the Divine Liturgy, where the word and faith, where the symbol and the symbolized are all perfectly interwoven.’ (M. Rev. Dionysios of Drama, 1998)

This evening, we celebrate this eucharistic faith, this liturgical faith, this living faith, this restoration of icons. This faith, like our Christ, is unchanging. Yet the world around us is changing more rapidly than many of us can comprehend. The very term ‘icon’ has been appropriated and changed radically in our own computer age, often signifying an ultimately unreal, ‘virtual’ world, or an outrageously paid celebrity. The meeting place between heaven and earth has been reduced to an image to click, or to a model of popular culture. We must thus reclaim even the word ‘icon’, restoring it to its rightful and sacred identity.

Let us embrace our work of reclaiming and restoring the holy icons in our own day. Learning from our past, we are motivated to blaze a new trail in this new millennium. We will most profoundly honor our ancient roots when we allow ourselves to blossom and bear fruit in ever new ways, rooted in this rich American soil.

Recalling God’s victory in the beauty of the holy icons, we shall find creative ways to flourish our unique Orthodox vision of beauty and of divine worship for the future. Being of ‘one mind and one heart’ in all our inter-Orthodox diversity, we form a remarkable mosaic icon, a unified witness to the world around us. Especially in this season of Great Lent, with its many rich divine prayers and services, we have abundant opportunities to rekindle our worship life in Christ, to restore the icon within. Claiming our roots, let us boldly move forward, my beloved, with the sure knowledge that indeed, our destiny as images of God is even now being realized, that our future lies in the beauty of divine worship, that the life of the age to come is even now in our midst. Amen.

2. Second Sunday of Lent.

Today on the 26th day of March, the year 2000 we have come to the beginning of the second week of Lent. Today we are all gathered together to honour three separate occasions, a tri-hypostatic commemoration.

The first occasion is the Sunday of the Paralytic, which actually commemorates the twofold miracle of forgiveness and healing performed by our Lord on a certain paralysed man. It is the commemoration of the power of God working through Jesus Christ.

We may look upon the paralytic as a messenger of God, an imperfect human messenger. Nevertheless he was made complete by the power of God, and was sent home by our Lord to be a living and walking message of hope to his family and friends.

The second occasion is the commemoration of a heavenly body, a messenger of good news, the Archangel of our Lord. His name is Gabriel which in Hebrew translates as "the power" or "might of God."

Third and last (yet not least of all) is the commemoration of a Holy messenger — St. Gregory Palamas. Saint Gregory was a mere mortal filled by the wisdom and power of God. He was a vigilant contestant of the Orthodox faith, trying to keep Orthodox Christianity unpolluted by heretical doctrines. A proclaimer of the reality of the powers and energies of our God and the uncreated light which our Lord revealed at Mount Tabor.

From these three different types of mediators or messengers, we observe that God works in many different and mysterious ways. He works through His angels, he works through His Apostles and Saints — but he may also choose to work through his sinful, imperfect servants. In other words God may also work through any of us here today.

How does God work through us you may ask? We are all sinners, we are all imperfect, we are all unworthy.

Yes indeed this is true we are all unworthy, but God who has eyes everywhere can see through and beyond our sins and can penetrate our hearts.

God can also see through our false piety our empty prayers and pietistic tears. He alone knows our potential our true intentions, whether they are good or bad. He alone knows if our faith is true, or false.

Ultimately — we are all unworthy, but by the grace and power of God we may become counted worthy to serve our God.

The Church proclaims that those whom God loves He tests and chastises in order to strengthen them spiritually. The Old Testament is filled with such examples, the prime example being the chastisement of the faithful and righteous Job.

In the New Testament Saint Paul is perhaps the prime example, who proclaims that he is the first of all sinners. He initially persecuted the Church, yet God chose Him, God knew that deep inside Saint Paul was the potential to protect and proclaim the truth to all the Nations. A later example? Saint Mary of Egypt, initially she was a prostitute but was chosen by God nevertheless to become a Saint of our Church.

Today we celebrate a similar occasion where our Lord recognised and discerned the heart of the sinful paralytic. In conjunction, He also saw the faith and heard the wishes of the four loyal friends who carried the afflicted man. And with one Word, He forgave the sins of the paralytic, and with another Word, He healed him of his bodily paralysis.

But let us pause for one moment, and let us think; how is it possible that a mere mortal can forgive the sins of another mere mortal? Surely it is only God who has such authority, It is His power alone which can forgive our sins. Yes indeed God alone has this power, but they failed to realise who exactly Jesus was. This is exactly what the devil wanted the people following Jesus to believe. But Jesus perceived the deception in the hearts of the scribes, who reasoned against His actions. So Jesus revealed His true power to the unbelievers. He performed a second miracle; He made the paralytic walk. Jesus proclaims that this was done in order for them to "know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2:10).

Jesus the Son of Man was the righteous judge foretold by the book of Daniel the prophet. But what does the title Son of Man mean? It does not mean what most of us think it means today; that he was born by a human. Son of Man in Hebrew Ben Iysh means that He is the Son of the image and likeness of God. Son of Man in Hebrew means one that has God's authority and God's power yet appears to be human in every way.

The wise men the scribes (or as they are called today) the theologians of Jesus time knew very well that only God could do what this seemingly simple man could do. But they were deceived by their self-righteousness and pride. Satan had put up a wall against their reasoning and deceived them to think that Jesus was a blasphemer.

They could not, they dared not, open their subjective minds and look upon Jesus Christ's face to see his righteousness, his truthfulness, the true light shining from within. Instead they were scared and lacked true faith and so plotted against Him.

Let us now look more closely at this twofold miracle. One notices that not only was this paralysed man forgiven and made to walk after being healed by the power of God, he was also told by Jesus to take up his bed and go home. To lift up his bed after so many years of having lost all power to the muscles of his limbs. He was physically weak, however his faith together with the faith of his four companions and friends, who lowered him down through the roof, all contributed to this very special miracle recorded in Mark's Gospel today.

If we are saved in the last days, my brothers and sisters, it will be in Christ. If we are granted God's mercy and forgiveness it will not only be our soul which will be saved, it will also have to be our body as well. Our body must be pure so that our soul may also be pure, but more importantly our soul must be pure in order for our body to be pure. If we defile our body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, then what hope do we have of God saving our souls?

We observe then in this particular order — that sin defiles the body and that the defiled body harms the soul. We observe that Jesus Christ being pure and sinless works in the opposite way — He first cleansed the soul of the paralytic, and then He cured and revitalised the body.

This was done to show that neither fasting nor praying nor even righteous acts can forgive our sins if we do not first repent. It is almost futile to fast and pray and do all manner of righteous acts if we do not first go to confess our sins and reject our old selves in order for the power of God to empower and revitalise our degenerating limbs and souls.

Only God knows our sins and so can heal both our souls and our bodies. Holy Scripture tells us that our body will be resurrected together with our soul and will be transformed by the grace of God into a spiritual body on the day of the resurrection of the dead.

Today Saint Mark implores us to believe in the saving power of God working in this world. Today Saint Mark reminds us to believe and trust in the power of God working through His messengers, whether human, divine or angelic. Most of all my brethren, the central message we must remember today is to pray for one another and carry each others burdens as these four men did for this man. If we would just do this for each other, then assuredly all of us gathered here would be saved. And remember that it is never too late to be healed, it is never too late to repent. Arise then my beloved brethren so that we may take up our Cross daily no matter how heavy it is and follow Christ. And may God grant us all perfect health to our souls and our bodies.

3. Veneration of the Cross.

Many a time we have heard the Scriptural passage that says, ‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends’. We can view this passage in a new light: Greater love has no one more than God who became man, Who laid down His life for His creation, and Who left behind a symbol of hope as a result of this sacrifice (the Holy Cross). Today we commemorate the middle of the season of Lent with the celebration known as ‘the veneration of the Cross'. It is on this day that we have reached a mountain of hope after travelling along the long hard road of Lent. It is this mountain of hope that offers us strength to carry on until the feast of feasts finally arrives. It is this mountain of hope upon which we can climb up and see the coming of Pascha in the distance. This mountain of hope is the Cross.

Today we venerate the Cross of Christ to not only remind ourselves of the coming of His crucifixion and Resurrection, but to gather strength from it and to thank Jesus Christ for what He did for us on the wood of the Cross. Let’s ponder on the symbol of the Cross for a moment. What a profound paradox this symbol is. An instrument that was used to kill people on becomes the instrument of salvation. It was through this instrument that Christ died, but it was also because of this instrument that Christ was able to defeat death, to rise on that first Pascha, and to open for us the gates of paradise.

On the topic of crucifixion it is a well-known fact amongst historical and medical circles that Roman crucifixion was the most cruel and painful form of execution. If you were caught on charges ranging from theft to insurrection and were crucified for it, you would be fortunate if you were dead within a few hours. This was the case with Jesus, and the two thieves who likely died by asphyxiation considering the type of crucifixion that they underwent. Sometimes the unfortunate ones hung on a cross for up to a week before death finally came. Not only would these victims starve and become exhausted but they would also attract a variety of animals and insects from the area that would slowly pick at the victims. Yet, our God was willing to undergo this cruel and humiliating form of execution for our sakes. Holy tradition relates to us that many of our Saints died by crucifixion. For example, St. Andrew the First Called was crucified on a cross that resembled the letter X, and St. Peter was crucified upside down because he did not consider himself worthy to be crucified in the same manner as his master.

The instrument of death that becomes the symbol of life is everywhere. It is around our necks, on top of the church, behind the altar, on top of the iconostasis, on the priest's vestments, in our homes, in our cars, on flags and coats of arms. Its even on the koliva and above grave sites as a reminder to us that because of the death on the Cross, the dearly departed can now enjoy everlasting life.

Jesus tells us that if we wish to go after Him we too must take up our cross and follow. This means that we must suffer with Him in truth and love, that we’ve got to live through the trials and tribulations that this world brings to us, and that we must endure the rejection of this world. We are rejected for being Christians, for living a Christian life, for standing before the world and saying "I believe in Jesus and follow his teachings." This means that we must put into practice the life that Christ Himself lived, the life that Christ Himself is, the life which is given to us in Christ’s name in the Church. Then will we gain the life that awaits us.

This is why we venerate the Cross of Christ, which tells us of God’s coming to us and of our return to Him, both accomplished by the way of the Cross. This is what we venerate and contemplate in the middle of great lent, the wisdom and the power of God as Christ crucified on the Cross. This symbol tells us the truth about life. It tells us of the truth and love of God for the world, and it tells us what we must do to be alive for eternal life in God’s kingdom.

Furthermore, Jesus chose this symbol so that he could outstretch his arms and embrace the whole of humanity with his love even in pain and death. If you can see the image of Christ crucified standing behind the altar you will notice that Christ is not withering in pain with a look of despair on His face as you see so often in Western religious art. However, He has a look of peace and serenity on His face exactly because he is embracing us with His love. He is triumphing over death through His death. He is saying to us 'I did this because I love you and I want you to be with me for eternity'. There is no greater love than this.

As we witness the procession with the Cross on this day and we go forth to venerate it let’s think to ourselves ‘thank you Jesus for dying on this symbol for our sakes. Thank you Jesus for leaving us this symbol of hope. Thank you Jesus for opening the gates of paradise for us with the Holy Cross'.

Nick Brown

4. Fourth Sunday of Lent.

How much it must grieve a father or a mother to see his or her child suffering without reason. To undergo pain and confusion — for what? Where is God in our plight — we may often ask ourselves. Where is God in all this pain and confusion?

Today we arrive at the fourth week of Lent. In today’s Gospel reading we heard of a father who was on his last hope. His son was possessed by a certain spirit from childhood, which was causing his son pain and confusion. Not even Jesus’ disciples could cure the boy. He brought his son to Jesus, who upon hearing of the father’s plight became exceedingly upset at the whole crowd and expressed these strong and direct words "Oh you faithless generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you." The Child was immediately brought close to Jesus and the spirit convulsed him instantly. As we know the child was eventually healed. But at what price one may ask? The father accepted and confessed his unbelief and beseeched God with tears to make his faith complete? This is the price, the fulfilment of our faith — payed by Christ himself yet we must pray and beseech Him as well.

It is perhaps important to stress here that this miracle account nowhere refers to the spirit by any title such as demon, or devil. It is perhaps because this spirit is in reference to the spirit of this world, the enemy of Christ. It is the spirit of this generation well rooted in society, it is passed on to our children like a virus. Brethren remember these words well — it is the spirit of this generation which throws our youth about like the child with the spirit we heard earlier today. It smashes them to the ground, it throws them into the fire to be burnt, it throws them into the water to be drowned — today its drugs, alcohol, gambling, anything to distort the image and likeness of God, within them.

This spirit has a very old history going way back to primordial Man, Adam and Eve. It is firmly established and can not come out by anything — except, as our Lord instructed Moses, as our Lord instructed his disciples, as our Lord instructs us today, by beseeching God through prayer and fasting.

"Why could we not cast it out," his disciples asked their master in shame. We also must ask why can’t we cast this spirit out from our lives and our childrens lives?

Brethren, because as our Lord tells us "This kind can come out by nothing except prayer and fasting." This is the key to contrite repentance. this twofold formula which treads on the head of this serpent of old and yields our first step towards heaven — contrite repentance.

It is no coincidence then that the first and second steps of Saint John’s 30 chapter book "THE LADDER — (OF DIVINE ASCENT)" are concerned with the renunciation of this life, this world we live in and detachment from all it’s pleasures. We honour Saint John of the Ladder today as a great Saint of our church who reminds us that going to heaven is not as easy as getting into an elevator and pressing a button. On the contrary, it is a long and hazardous climb which is impossible to scale fully unless we beseech God for assistance. May God grant us all fullness of faith, peace and joy on our climb to heaven — Amen.

6. Palm Sunday.

Throughout the entire history of the known world, men have conquered other men. Rulers have conquered cities. Emperors have conquered entire nations. At times, Kings have strived to conquer the entire world. But there remains one uncharted territory that has eluded men of power all throughout history. This unconquered territory is the human heart, and its sole conqueror is Christ the king.

Today we celebrate together one of the great feasts of the Church calendar- the feast of Palm Sunday. Today we gather together to celebrate Christ’s entry into the city of Jerusalem. Today we celebrate Christ as the king who enters our own personal Jerusalem- our hearts. Today’s feast day is a momentary feast of joy and celebration, because tonight we begin the final leg of our journey towards Pascha. Our mood changes from one of joy this morning to one of solemnity, almost of sorrow this evening as we lead up to the great sacrifice that Christ performed for us on the cross.

The feast of Palm Sunday has been celebrated in our Church since the earliest days of Christianity, but the use of Palms in connection with religious celebrations goes all the way back to Old Testament times. Oddly enough Palm trees did not grow around the city of Jerusalem, and people would often buy imported Palms for religious celebrations, in particular The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated at the temple in Jerusalem. The Palm branch was used as a visual tool proclaiming the sovereignty of God as the true king of the Israelites.

With the expectation of the Messiah, and the events of Christ’s ministry on earth, word travelled quickly around Judea that Jesus was the one whom the prophets had spoken about and whom everyone was expecting. Yesterday Christ performed a miracle by raising Lazarus from the dead, the miracle that foreshadowed his glorious resurrection next Sunday. Now everyone is convinced that this is the Messiah-king who will save the Israelites. And Christ fulfils the prophecy of Zachariah, entering Jerusalem on a donkey. All of Israel is preparing to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, and Christ enters also as the salvific king who will save Israel not from the tyranny of the Roman Empire, but from the curse of death through His own death and resurrection.

For Orthodox Christians around the world, we celebrate these events as they happened not only in the past, but as they also happen today. We celebrate Christ as the king who enters our hearts, our own personal Jerusalem. But is Christ able to enter? Is there room in our hearts for Christ to rule as king? Often the doors of our hearts are locked. Often Christ is unable to enter because there is already another king of the heart — ourselves. And how do we solve this problem of trying to let Christ in? How do we instil within ourselves the one thing that is missing- God?

The answer is to surrender. Surrender to the will of God. Surrender your life to the one who gave you life. We are constantly bound and held captive by the temporal things of this life. We are prisoners of our own selves, of this world, of our careers, of money, of the politicians who rule over us, we are even slaves to our own passions. The only way to find peace, to find true happiness, to experience true love is to surrender yourself to God, to make Him your king, to live in total communion with Him. And the way in which we turn our hearts from the kingdom of the self into the kingdom of God is through constant daily prayer, reflection, and meditation, frequent Holy Communion, frequent Confession, reading and understanding the Scriptures. So many people complain that they can’t find time to come to Church, they can’t find time to pray and read the Scriptures, they can’t find time to fast, or go to Confession and Holy Communion. The reason they don’t have time is that they are slaves to their own selves, to their own will. If we don’t have time for God, then why on earth should God have any time for us? But God always has time for us. He is constantly knocking at the door to our hearts, to our lives and asking to come in. Some of the Church Fathers go so far as to liken God to a crazed lover who constantly seeks to be with the one that He loves- us, and who would do absolutely anything to be with the people that He loves.

Today, as we receive our Palm branches at the end of the Divine Liturgy, let us take them to our homes and place them somewhere where we can always see them. Let the Palms remind us that Christ is the king of our families, that Christ is the king of our hearts, that Christ is the only true answer to happiness and meaning in our lives. And if we do proclaim Christ as our king, let us try and make time for Him in our daily life, let us be reminded that He is the one with whom we will be spending eternity. Let us be reminded that our careers, our education, our finances, our homes, all of the basic material needs in our lives are only temporary. Let us prioritise and place Christ the king as the primary concern in our lives. It is only when we have done this that we will find true peace and happiness in such a confused and complex world. Amen.

Entrance of Our Lord into Jerusalem (Rev. George M. Benigsen).

"You were bought at a price," says the Apostle Paul regarding our salvation. (1 Cor. 6:20) During Holy Week we become witnesses to the truly enormous price at which our salvation was obtained. Several major American medical experts have just published research on what crucifixion is in general, and what tortures were endured on One who was crucified in particular – Our Lord Jesus Christ – perfect God and perfect Man.

Christ’s physical sufferings were preceded by spiritual ones which were manifested in the physical area. The Evangelist Luke, himself a physician by trade, says that during Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane, "His sweat became like great drops of blood." Physicians say that such a phenomenon is possible in a state of heightened spiritual tension, from which the blood vessels in the skin can burst open, and drops of blood, along with perspiration, can redden the face of the sufferer.

Jesus, who was given over by Pilate for execution, had to endure, as all who were sentenced to death through crucifixion, the cruelest scourging with Roman whips into which metallic balls or sharp pieces of bone were sewn. For this the prisoner’s clothes were removed, his hands were tied to a wooden post, and usually two soldiers would whip his back and legs with the aim of bringing him to semi-consciousness. After this, the soldiers would mock the prisoner.

Jesus the Man must have had a strong constitution, for otherwise it would have been difficult for Him to bear His untiring work of preaching, which involved constant and exhausting walking from place to place. However, within twelve hours, from nine o’clock in the evening on Holy Thursday to nine o’clock in the morning of Holy Friday, He endured the agonizing tension which brought on the bloody sweat in Gethsemane. He endured betrayal on the part of His dear disciple Judas, and endured a sleepless night and numerous moves from one place of His condemnation to another. And then came the scourging, with the whips cutting up the skin with bloody stripes, penetrating into the body’s muscles, and causing loss of blood and unbearable pain. And so, the soldiers start mocking this totally worn out Prisoner – they clothe Him in what looks like am imperial cloak, place a crown of thorns on His head, put a stick – a scepter – into His bound hands, spit in His face, and hit His head with a cane. Finally, they tear the cloak off Him in this way causing even more pain to His back, which is full of wounds from the scourging.

Thus, even before His crucifixion, the Lord was close to total physical exhaustion. This is why He didn’t have the strength to carry His cross to Calvary, and the help of Simon of Cyrene, who was on his way from the field, was needed.

Before His crucifixion there was an attempt to give Jesus some gall mixed with wine. This was a mild painkiller, whose aim was to prolong the agony of the crucifixion. The Lord refused to drink this concoction. He was thrown to the ground. His back and legs, torn up by the scourging, rubbed against the dirt with open wounds. His hands and feet were nailed to the cross with four-sided nails, five to seven inches long. The hands were nailed through the wrists, so that the body could not break loose from the cross. The nails went in between the main wrist bones and damaged the central nerves in the hands and feet, causing the person unbearable searing pain. Once upon the cross, the sufferer touched the rough surface of the cross with the wounds of His mangled back. The weight of the body hanging by extended arms, made breathing agonizing – not just inhalation, but exhalation as well, which explains the brevity and abruptness of the Lord’s words from the cross.

The crucified person usually died either from loss of blood, or from asphyxiation. The period from the start of the crucifixion to death could take three to four hours, and sometimes it took three to four days. To hasten the onset of death, the soldiers would break the legs of the person, which was the case with the two thieves who were crucified along with Christ. A Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear. The Gospel account regarding blood and water coming from the wound is in accordance with medical data – blood from the heart which had already stopped got mixed with moisture from the pierced lung. So worn out was the crucified Christ, so much physical and moral agony did He endure, that the divine heart stopped beating three to four hours after the crucifixion.

The American physicians, who were from the Mayo Clinic, the well-known medical research center, presented in their report much more data about crucifixion than we have room for in our brief discussion. But this is enough for an even deeper understanding of St Paul’s words, "You were bought at a price," and for us to have a sense of the whole tragic reality of Christ’s Passion, the sufferings and agony of Christ who died for us. Holy Week will take the faithful to that time when Christ died, and into those conditions that brought about God’s murder. And it will do so not simply in turns of pious recollections, but in the full reality of mystical experience – the experience which has the power to take us out of the present time, out of the "contemporary scene" and to unite us to that eternity which entered time and remained in it through the Incarnation.

And on this Sunday, as we meet the Lord coming into Jerusalem, and as we mingle our voices with the hymns of the crowd greeting Him, calling to Him "Hosanna in the highest," it is good to keep in mind how easily "Hosanna" can change into "Crucify, crucify Him"!

3. Easter.

"Christ is Risen from the Dead."

For twenty centuries, and every year, the Christian world celebrates the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus. Christians expect this glorious event through special rituals, extensive prayers and a long period of Lent.

This Feast is referred to as Easter, because Jesus came from the East, like the sun, enlightening the world; as Passover, because by Jesus we pass from death into life; as the Resurrection, because Jesus has trampled down death and came, alive, out of the tomb.

The Church observes this momentous occasion as "The Feast of the feasts, The Season of the seasons," and calls upon us to rejoice and be happy for the light has shone in the world vanquishing the darkness of death.

The teachings of the Church, the dogmas, the doctrines, the traditions, the rituals, and all other expressions of faith might become mere rational realities and thus empty of their true meaning, empty of life. Because Jesus is the Life, the events that He experienced are but channels through which we receive this very life when and only if we make His events our own; in other words, we have to experience what Jesus experienced and then only His life becomes ours, His death becomes ours, and His Resurrection ceases to be a meaningless repetition; then only do we resurrect with Jesus. And if the Resurrection of our Saviour is not ours, the Resurrection of our own selves, why should we celebrate it? Why should we delude and deceive ourselves by pretending that the festivities of Easter alone are sufficient and capable of giving us all the spiritual benefits of the Resurrection? We know very well that the rituals—the symbols—derive their value from the meaning which they symbolize. Thus the rituals of Easter, including its annual celebration, must be observed only as both living and lived expressions of our authentic participation in the Resurrection of Christ. I have to live Christ, then when I celebrate His Resurrection I am, myself, Resurrecting with Him, because Jesus has not Resurrected once in the time: as His birth is a continual process, since the fullness of time has been achieved, in the same manner His Resurrection is occurring continuously in the time, and we can rightly and duly say that at no moment the Resurrection of Jesus is not happening as fully and authentically as it happened for the first time.

Thus the celebration of the Resurrection is not limited to one day of the year, or one day of the week (Sunday). Every day, every hour, and every moment of my life is the Resurrection of Christ in me, and my Resurrection in Jesus.

From this scope, we can realize the awesome responsibility that a Christian must assume in order to be a true Christian according to what Jesus teaches, and expects from the members of His Body.

Awesome responsibility, because—I—the flesh and the bones, the fragile creature, the finite mind and limited possibilities—I said because I am called to live the Resurrection of my Lord continually, in order to become that very light which sprung from the tomb to illuminate the whole world so every man may see it, and, by it, may share effectively the Resurrection of my Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ.

Archbishop Gibran (Ramlaoui) of Australia and New Zealand

Easter Message.

What a precious message of personal hope and joy there is in the true realization of the Resurrection! Death has been overcome; the grave has been transformed into the gateway to Eternal Life, and we are assured of a glorious future. There is no other promise in the world that can offer the smallest fraction of the joy conferred by the Divine Presence in the experience of Easter when we are assured of our own immortality.

We human beings are so devised that we do not naturally linger long on the heights or in the depths of emotion. The memory of the most excruciating pain is gradually forgotten, nor can we recall with the same vividness as before the personalities of departed loved ones, no matter how close they were or how dear. Our joys and triumphs buoy us up for a while, but the pleasure or satisfaction they have brought us is eventually dimmed by time which brings us new experiences and new responsibilities to which we must address ourselves. Every so often we may recall hours of distress or pleasure, but we can never for long avoid the demands of the present in which we must carry on our daily existence.

The same is true of the realization of Easter. By rights it should illuminate every moment of our lives. Every Sunday's Divine Liturgy has the Resurrection as its theme, and Saint Seraphim of Sarov used the greeting "Christ is risen!" all through the year. But most of us know that our recollection is not strong enough to allow us to live the Easter message fully through every waking hour. We have the duties and responsibilities of our daily lives to engage our attention and distract us. Then too, the concept of the Resurrection overwhelms us by its very immensity, and its significance is connected somehow with the end of life while life itself demands our full attention so long as we are part of it.

The Resurrection is the doorway to fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. This we can enjoy here and now through prayer and the Sacraments and self-sacrificing service to humanity. Our Lord expected that His disciples would enter the Kingdom here on earth by knowing Him in this world where they walked the pathway that He revealed by teaching and personal example. To follow Christ is the Resurrected Life, the Redeemed Life, the Christian Life. For those who experience this life from day to day, Easter is an event that occurs continuously. Full of confidence and hope, they walk through life close to the Risen Master. They know Him on the road to Emmaus, and in the Breaking of Bread they feel the painful wounds in His Sacred Body.

So it is that we need the annual renewal of the Easter experience lest we, caught up in the never-ending pressures of daily life, allow its significance to become hazy in our recollection. If we are trying to live in harmony with the will of our Lord and in keeping with the Easter message, we will welcome the opportunity which the Church offers us to relive the Resurrection and to break with Christ the bonds of Hades, to overcome despair, and feel new life flow through the community of the faithful as all stand again by the empty tomb to welcome the dawn of a new day.

For all its personal import, Easter is not a feast for individuals alone. It is experienced in the company of the Church and in the communion that binds us to each other in the Eucharistic Body and Blood. The Risen Lord sweeps away the barriers of self-centeredness and selfishness and unites all the children of the Heavenly Father, not merely for a moment or two of sentimental fellowship, not merely as a superficial gesture, but through dedication to the service of others. Freely we have received: freely must we give. The certain, infallible, and positive sign that we share in the Resurrection, that we live in the Kingdom, is our willingness to live for others. When our minds are alert to the desperate need of those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, when our hearts respond to the pain of friend or foe, when our hands serve to help and heal the evils of the world, we are showing that we have felt the liberating force of the empty tomb.

May Easter be for us, not just a happy annual holiday which is soon past, nor a short religious digression, but the renewal of a firm commitment to our Faith which will be evident to others as they observe our way of life. If we walk in the light of the Resurrection, Easter will renew and refresh us. Even if we have known it only as the retelling of an old story, let us have the courage this year to bow in faith to the Master who died-who suffered an ignominious death for us-and has given us life. This Easter can be the beginning of a new life as well as of a new day. The shining Figure beside the empty tomb beckons to us. For almost twenty centuries many thousands have witnessed to His power and His love. May we all be among that immortal fellowship both this year and forever!

The Empty Tomb.

by Father T.E. Ziton

Montreal, Canada

Resurrection in Nature

Winter is now past! The snow is gone, and the gardener prunes his trees and vines for another harvest. Nature joyfully cries out: "Stop, look and listen for spring is here!" Yes, there is a glorious resurrection in nature. STOP! or you will tread upon the tender flowers that have just risen from the dead. LOOK! and you will see that old tree whose branches in winter resembled the long arms of a ghost, but now the tree begins to bloom with fragrant apple blossoms. LISTEN! and you will hear the singing bird so full of song that it seems he will burst his little throat. The earth sounds a note of joy and gladness. Everyone picks up the melody and intones the words: "Stop, look and listen, for there is a resurrection in nature."

In the Songs of Songs we read: "Arise, my dove and come: Winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth." (2: 10-12). Yes, the winter of Calvary is past; the storm of sorrow is gone, and Jesus the Nazarene, whose very title in Hebrew means the Flower, has appeared in glory today. Beautiful was that Flower when it took its roots in the dark cave of Bethlehem. Fragrant was that Flower when it was bruised and pinned to the Cross which became its vase: but glorious is that Flower today, for It now fully blooms never to wither away again.

Angels had announced Christ’s birth at Bethlehem, and now they would announce His Resurrection, which is the birth of the new hope of the world. Appropriate it was that Jesus should rise from the dead while it was yet dark, for He who is the Light of the World had come to dispel its darkness. Appropriate it is that Easter should be celebrated with song, for no doubt, the angels of heaven who sang at His birth at Bethlehem, burst into song at His Resurrection from the tomb in Joseph’s garden. It is appropriate that it be celebrated with flowers, for He who burst the bonds of death and snatched victory from the grave is the "Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley." (Song of Songs 2: 1).

On Good Friday bitter hate had struck down its Victim. Pharisees, Saducess, and Herodians had returned to their homes in great satisfaction that an end had been made of the troublemaker. Demons rejoiced that He whom they most feared had been incarcerated in the tomb. But instead of its being the day of victory for Christ’s enemies, Easter sunrise proclaimed their defeat, God’s angels had rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre and had sat upon it, giving His assurance that it should remain open, and never again be closed. The Resurrection of Christ gives joy and gladness not to one particular part of the country, but to the entire Christian world. The world stops at the tomb of Christ: it looks at the place where He was buried; it listens and hears an angel’s voice: "He is risen: He is not here. Behold the place where they buried Him."

Day of Rejoicing

Easter is the queen of feasts, the solemnity of solemnities, because the Saviour of the world had risen. Let the bells ring till the steeples reel; let the organs peal forth their loudest notes; let the flowers of spring exhale their sweetest fragrance, for this is the day the Lord has risen. Yesterday and the day before we saw Him covered with wounds: today we see Him glorified. Yesterday and the day before our hearts were sad, because He who raised people to life—was dead Himself. It is natural for a flower to die in the autumn: it is natural for the sun to go down in the evening, but when the flower withers in the summer, and when the sun grows dark at noon—that is sad. On Good Friday The Flower of Nazareth died; today It is risen in an eternal spring. A few days ago the Sun went down at noon. but now It has risen for an eternal day. The Lord has risen today, and He will die no more. Let the whole earth rejoice, for "This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24).

During the holy season of Lent our eyes were moist with tears of sorrow, but today they glitter with tears of joy. In the tears of Good Friday our eyes saw clouds of sorrow: in the tears of Easter Morning they see the rainbow. The showers of weeping eyes on Good Friday refresh the garden of our soul for Easter Day. The premature Flower of Nazareth that was plucked and crushed on Good Friday gave its sweetest fragrance on Easter morning. Our altars that were as bare as the desert, are now decorated with flowers, and the bells that were hushed as a sepulchre, now peal out the gladsome tidings of the Resurrection. On Good Friday the cruel enemies cried out to Christ: "Come down from the cross!" On Easter Morning an angel from heaven sings: "He is risen!"

On Easter day the soul of Christ returns to take possession of His body. Those sightless eyes again sparkle like jewels. Those ears are once more open to hear the sorrows of men. That Royal Blood spilt on Calvary once more flows through His veins. No purple garment of mockery is on Him now. No crown of sharp thorns disfigures His sacred brow. No blood trickles down that Holy Face which angels delight to admire. The crown of thorns is replaced by a halo of heavenly light. His disfigured Face is changed to a beauty that is rare on earth. His five wounds remain, but they are not gaping wounds; rather they are tender lips which proclaim the glory of His Divinity.

2. Sunday of Saint Thomas.

This greeting, which we use so frequently in the 40 days following Pascha every year, seems to many of us to become merely a greeting and nothing more. It becomes ‘something you do’ as a Paschal (Easter) tradition, something akin to the greeting of ‘Merry Christmas’ around the feast of the Nativity. However, let us look for a moment at what the real meaning behind this salutation is. To begin with, the whole concept of Pascha and the Resurrection of Christ is one of the most central and fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith. The great Apostle Saint Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, states, "If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain … if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." In other words, if there is no Resurrection of Christ, then Christianity is the biggest lie ever told, and we, and all those that have gone before us, have to be the most gullible fools that ever walked the earth. If we choose to term ourselves as Christians, and discard or even ignore the Resurrection of Christ as some kind of myth or fairytale, then we really need to opt for a completely different religion and way of life. That is how important the event of Christ’s resurrection is to our faith and us.

Acknowledging and confessing Jesus as the Christ or the Messiah is also equated with the Resurrection and the fundamental belief of Christianity. It was man who was the first to die, but it was the God-man, the Theanthropos who died in order to raise up fallen man, and who Himself resurrected after His necessary death on a cross. So the first part of the Paschal greeting ‘Christ’ is in itself an expression of faith, of us confessing Jesus as the Christ, the Saviour, the Messiah. The second part ‘is risen’ is a confession of Christ in the here and now.

Throughout the hymns and prayers of the Orthodox Church, we always use the term ‘today’, and various other words to denote an event as happening now. For example at the end of the doxology, before the liturgy commences, we chant 'today salvation has come to the world', as if everything was happening right here and now; so too with the Resurrection of Christ. We don’t commemorate the Resurrection of Christ as something that happened nearly two thousand years ago, we celebrate the Resurrection as a timeless event that happens for us now. In fact, we celebrate Christ's Resurrection every single Sunday in the Church calendar. This is why the hymn of the small entrance, when the priest proceeds through the church holding the gospels up high, is based solely on the Resurrection, and on Sunday the book of Gospels always has the icon of the Resurrection instead of the crucifixion facing upwards. This is why we call this Sunday of St. Thomas Antipascha. This is not translated as anti-Easter, but it is the first instead of Easter- instead of the great celebration that we experienced last Sunday, that we continue to celebrate every Sunday of the year until the great celebration of the Anastasis, the Resurrection greets us again next year.

Therefore, we say Christ is risen, replied by Truly He is risen, as if His Resurrection is an immanent event in our lives. We don’t say Christ rose, or Christ has risen, as if it is a distant concept to us, but we confess the Christ who is present with us here and now.

The truth of Christ's Resurrection is becoming more and more the topic if debate among various groups of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and other Christian sects, while within the secular world the idea of Jesus rising from grave is totally disregarded as some type of myth created by the church to give a more God-like credibility to Christ. Many non-Orthodox Christians (and I use the term non-Orthodox with both upper and lower case ‘O’) are claiming forthright that Jesus never actually physically rose from the dead. They also claim that all those testimonies recorded in the New Testament of the 500 that saw Jesus after the Resurrection, as well as the 12 Disciples and the myrrhbearing women, were just ways of saying that Jesus was living on in their hearts. This is the same sort of thing you say when a loved one goes to their rest. In fact there are so many theories around from scholars who claim themselves as credible authorities that would make your head spin. Theories ranging from a conspiracy by Joseph of Arimathea to take down the body of Christ off the Cross before he had died, to the wrongful death suit where Simon of Cyrene who helped Jesus to carry his cross was accidentally crucified instead of Jesus, and has Jesus popping up 3 days later to witnesses. Moreover, who could forget the theory that all of those who saw Christ after the Resurrection had actually ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms and only thought they saw Christ who was dead and buried?

Thank God, and I say this with all of my heart, that the Orthodox Church is the last remaining bastion of the fullness of the Christian faith. This includes without any doubts, faith in the actual Resurrection of Christ, and the last remaining bastion of Christian faith where absurd theories are not thrown around as if to make a mockery of this most exceptional event in the life of Christ, and indeed in our lives. Sure enough each and every one of us at some stage in our life will be like Saint Thomas in today’s Gospel, where we will question certain things sometimes to the point of doubting. To question things about your belief is a sign of a healthy attitude toward your faith, because obviously you are not doing what so many in the Church seem to do; that is, to take their faith for granted. It actually shows that you are showing an interest in something that is an important part of you. However, don’t go out of your way seeking or justifying with signs and proofs. That is the whole experience of faith, to seek and to know within your heart that your faith is the ultimate truth, and don’t ever forget it. Let’s take the example of Saint Thomas who didn’t need to put his finger into Christ’s side, but confessed openly that Jesus is his Lord and God. Then when we have done this, we will know that it is you and I that Christ was talking about when He said, "Blessed are those have not seen and yet have believed."

by Nick Brown

3. Myrrhbearing Women (Archim. Panteleimon P. Lampadarios).

The event of Christ’s Descent from the Cross and Burial is odd and praiseworthy, because it was not looked after by His Disciples, but by two counselors of the High Court of the Jewish nation, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus. The Apostle St. Peter was still in tears for his denial and the rest of the Apostles were scattered, as was foretold by their Teacher, "I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad" (Matth. 26:31).

According to the Jewish law, "cursed is every one who is hanged on a tree" "(Gal. 3: 13). The two counselors of the High Court, moved by their philanthropic feelings for the crucified and abandoned — by — all Teacher of Nazareth, and because of their personal characters, showed readiness and courage to carry out the task. Great courage and boldness, was required, to ask to bury the body of a person who just died and who was condemned officially by the Roman Government.

The name Jesus itself, the reason of His condemnation and the way it was carried out, justify St. Mark, the Evangelist, using the term "courage," to describe the courage of St. Joseph of Arimathaea. Jesus was a deadly enemy of the Pharisees, Scribes and Saddoucees. He was condemned by the High Court of the Temple, as a blasphemer of God and an enemy of the Mosaic Law and the Jewish nation. He was sentenced to death as a traitor, as a revolutionary who attempted to stir up a revolution against the Roman suzerainty. Finally, He was condemned, because He was accused of being ambitious of kingship, an act which made Him an enemy of the Roman Emperor.

Great courage was required in order to appear before the local Governor and ask to bury, with honor, the body of such a man. The fierce crowd, the fanatic archpriests, the members of the High Court, Saddoucees, Pharisees, Scribes and Pilate’s attitude, who in public officially condemned Jesus, were the great obstacles which Joseph of Arimathaea had to surpass.

Joseph, "being a disciple of Jesus," as many other counselors, "for the fear of the Jews" (John 19: 37) remained in hiding. Because of the fear not to be cast out of the Synagogue, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus with whom Christ spoke about the spiritual renewal and salvation which men will achieve, through the Holy Sacrament of Baptism, the basis and assumption to inherit God’s Kingdom.

Two counselors, who opposed the unjust and inhuman decision of the High Court of the Temple, by which Jesus was condemned, now co-operate (? co-operate over what ?) for the descending from the Cross and the burial of the Just Teacher of Nazareth, Whom the centurion (St. Longinus) proclaimed as "the Son of God" (Matth. 27:54). Their spiritual pain led them to express their love and respect, which they had for Jesus.

Joseph took the body of Jesus down from the Cross, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, as was the custom amongst the Jews. "And he laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre and departed" (Matth. 27:60).

Today, in the twentieth century we, the Orthodox Christians are called to confess our faith before a society which denies religion; before the indifferent politicians, the atheists idealist and philosophers, who in one way or the other turn against Jesus Christ and His Church. We are called to cover the naked from God’s Grace body of the human society.(sentence-construction is incorrect . I do not understand what you are wanting to convey. Does "body" want to be after ‘naked" ? Then, I can't work out what you mean.) We are called to spread the precious myrrh of love and alms on man’s sufferings. We are called to spread the myrrh of good works on our souls, in order that the whole man, his whole hypostasis and existence, has the fragrance of the Resurrected Christ.

My beloved friends and brethren in Christ,

Our Orthodox Church reminds us today about the heroic and courageous deed of St. Joseph of Arimathaia and Nicodemus. Let us imitate their faith and life. Today, we who live in a society with few Orthodox, ought to confess our Orthodox Faith with courage, without any hesitation and fears. We must always have in our minds the words of our Lord, who says: "Whosoever shall confess me before men, I will confess him also before my Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven." (Matth. 10: 32-33).

4. Paralytic (Archim. Panteleimon P. Lampadarios).

The life of the Paralytic, who waited at the sheep pool, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda, was dramatic. For thirty eight years he was paralized and abandoned. Alone, amongst so many ill people and fellow country men, waited with patiently the miraculous movement of the waters, which cured the first person to fall in. In this environment Christ meets with the paralytic. God meets with His creation. The God-man with man.

Christ approached with philanthropic intentions the Paralytic and asks him: "Do you want to be sound?" The Lord with discretion asks, in order to cure; with love He seeks, in order to save.

The Paralytic waited patiently for thirty eight whole years and his hopes were never wear down, he never disbelieved, he never drew back. He awaited, although all his friends and relatives had abandoned him. Everyone returned back to their homes, works, families, because they saw that nothing is happening. In vain they were trying to help their relative, to throw him in the pool. Meanwhile others, more advance, were healed and he remained ill. Their faith and hopes had wear away and they abandon him. The paralytic expressed his complain to Christ by saying, Lord, I have no one to assist me."

Lord, I have no one! I have no relatives! I have no friends! I haven’t any fellow man, who would like to stay with me! I remained alone, in the loneliness of my illness and my sufferings, and no one is found to offer me help!

Every day, the five galleries of the pool of Bethesda were full of crowds and invalid, but nevertheless no one was willing to share the Paralytic’s sufferings. As, today, millions of people suffer from different bodily or spiritual diseases, and all with one voice cry out: "Lord, we have no one"! Diseases, which torment man and deliver him to depression and affliction; to isolation and loneliness; and man cries out with a loud voice: "Lord, we have no one"!

Affliction and pain are interwoven with our life. Wealth and material goods do not prevent their invasion into our life. They are brought in by the malaises and sicknesses of our beloved ones. They are brought in by the ingratitutes of friends and relatives. They are brought in by the slanders and mucks. They are brought in by suspiciousness and misunderstandings. They are brought in, when our work and services are not recognized; by feelings, which were rebuted and hopes, which were never fulfilled. Affliction and pain stand before man’s life and knock the door of all. They do not know anyone or any society, conditions or positions. They do not distiguish between poor and rich, learned or illiterate.

The Paralytic of today’s Gospel reading, followed a programme of a sinful way of life. The Lord, is not satisfied to cure him. The sins of the paralytic had ruined him. It would be worthy to cure him, but under the precondition, that he will sin no more.

Sin and the prodigal way of life are the reasons of man’s different tribulations. Our moral and family sufferings have their roots in our own desires. We cause them with our own foolish behaviour and sinful deeds. And because of this reason, our Lord commended the Paralytic, "You have become well; sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you" in other words, now you have been heeled, be careful not to practice a sinful life, in order that nothing worse happens to you.

Unfortunately, although all of us know that this advice is so logical and true, we tend to violate it. We allow our pride to overrule our logic. We run the risk of participating in mischievously amusements, irrational alcoholism, paranoid smoking, unnecessary vigils when playing cards, unlawfully sexual relationships, and calamitous companies with evil men.

How many times, although we had promise, that we shall not sin, we had found ourselves in the mortal tentacles of sin? How many times, although we had the will to withstand to our sinful desires, we had from the first moments surrendered to the passions of the flesh? How many times we felt strong, but have been proven weak?

If the soul is not under God’s Grace, sin will always prevail. Sin drags and humiliates man. The Prophet David says, "If the Lord has not built the city, in vain the builders labour. If the Lord has not protected the city, in vain the guards watched all night."

When man sins, he sins with a ill will, without moral strength. Thus man, who becomes a slave to sin, is compared to an ungovernable ship, which has no helm, neither compass nor anchor. This condition makes man paralytic spiritually and bodily. At the end he is dragged to death itself. St. Paul, the Great Apostle of the Nations, says, "The bread of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). "How miserable am I’ who will deliver me from this body of death?" and he answers, "through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 7:24-25), because "the grace of God is eternal life" (Rom. 6:23).

And truly, my beloved friends, sin can be overcomed only with the assistance of God’s Grace. Our Lord has assured us saying, "that without Me you can achieve nothing" (John 15:5).

My beloved friends in Christ,

Today, we cannot find the proper words to describe the theology of St. Paul who proclaimed, "God has shown His love to us, that when we were still sinners Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8), in order that He offers us the adoption (Gal. 4:5) and to be "inheritors of God, co-inheritors of Jesus Christ" (Rom. 8:17). Let us then struggle to shake off the paralytic sinful life and the spiritual mortification, and with the Grace of the Resurrected Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to receive the health of our soul and body; to become a whole personality in Christ; and generally for our whole life to be a doxology of God’s glory. Amen.

5. Pride and Prejudice, the Samaritan Woman.

Christ is risen! The Sunday gospel reading from two weeks ago presented us with the narrative concerning the Myrrh-bearing women who became the first people ever to witness Christ after His glorious resurrection. These women have come down to us as examples for us to live our lives with acts of love as well as witnessing Christ to others. Today’s Gospel reading again presents us with another female example, a person that our tradition refers to as equal to the Apostles, and evangelist. Her name is St. Photini, and she is also referred to as the Samaritan woman or the woman at the well.

The Gospel states that Christ momentarily rested at Jacob’s Well on His travels with the disciples and it was there that He conversed with a woman from Samaria. Before we understand the narrative in its fullness and its importance, first we must understand who these Samaritan people are. In Old Testament times, the Assyrian armies captured the northern Israelites and exiled them back to Assyria as trophies of their conquest of northern Israel (and at the same time- transplanted their own people into the region of Samaria). While in exile, these Israelites were forced to inter-marry with the pagan Assyrians- something that contravened the law that God had given Moses. They were also forced to adopt certain pagan Assyrian practices into the Jewish religion. When they were allowed to return to the region of Samaria, not only had the religion of their forefathers been desecrated, but also their pure Hebrew blood had been defiled by pagan blood. As a consequence, the inhabitants of Samaria (known as Samaritans) were considered by the Jews as traitors toward the faith, as well as being ritually unclean. Jews were not allowed to touch or even converse with Samaritans. Even the name Samaritan was used as a derogatory term aimed at those Jews who were shunned from society.

So this is what is so strange about the setting of today’s Gospel reading. Christ, a Jewish teacher or rabbi, is seen here striking up a conversation with someone who is an outcast of Jewish society, someone who is considered unclean, someone who is looked upon as being the lowest and most despised out of all the nations on the earth. And this is where the beauty of today’s Gospel narrative lies. CHRIST TRANSCENDS PREJUDICE. It was because of Christ’s conversation with this outcast of society and because of His transcendence of racial barriers, that thousands of people were converted to faith in the one true God. According to Holy Tradition, the Samaritan woman- St. Photini, went and preached Christ with her two sons and five sisters firstly to the inhabitants of Samaria, then to those in Northern Africa, and finally when they were all captured by the Romans for proclaiming the teachings of Christ, they preached to and converted those in the Roman prisons. Even the daughter of the Emperor Nero- Domnina converted from paganism to Christianity after she came into contact with Photini. Inevitably, they were all put to death under the charge of proclaiming and practicing an illegal religion. But St. Photini for us became known as equal to the Apostles and evangelist due to her great missionary activities and her desire to spread the Gospel, something that we can all emulate, and by this I mean being a missionary to those around us, even if it is through a simple brief conversation with a stranger, in the same way that Christ spoke to that stranger at the well nearly 2000 years ago.

Another important lesson that we can learn from Christ in today’s gospel is the breaking down of the barriers that divide humanity. I’m talking about one of the greatest evils that has pervaded the entire history of humanity. It is the evil of racism, and I mean exactly what I say when I call it an evil. It is evil because it is against God; it is evil because it separates us from God, because it is an un-Christian disposition. And yet, even within our own Church, most of us are guilty of it.

How many times have we had an Aboriginal person walk into our place of business and think they are going to steal something- the evil of stereotyping someone because of the colour of their skin? How many times have we said things against the Turks because of political events of the past or present? How many times have I heard people in our community say derogatory things against the Jews out of sheer ignorance? When I hear that, I take it as a personal attack on my faith, because the Holy Apostles were Jews, the Panagia was a Jew, Jesus Christ the incarnate God lived His life on earth as a Jew- a Jew who gave us the New Covenant and called us the New Israel. And the more that we continue to think like this, the more that we choose to separate or to think ourselves superior to people of different races, of different religions, of different cultures- the more we separate ourselves from God. In fact racism could be the one thing that will stop you from entering the Kingdom of Heaven.

When each and every one of us are born, whether black, white, Greek, Turk- whoever, we are born with the image of God in all of us as it states in the Old Testament book of Genesis. This ‘seed’ that God has implanted in us all gives us the ability to love one another, it gives us the ability to see good in one another, it gives us the ability to see God within one another. It’s almost like carrying around a tiny icon of Christ in our hearts. If we can’t see this image of God in others around us regardless of race, religion, or politics, then we hinder our own efforts toward salvation; we tarnish that tiny icon of Christ within our hearts with the sins of pride and selfishness.

Brothers and sisters, Christ exhorts us- begs us to treat each person that we come across in our lives as if we were dealing with Him personally. The next time that you have ill feelings toward someone because of the way they look, because of their race, because they a