Redeeming The Time

Exaltation of the Holy Cross. What is the preaching of the Cross, which is foolishness to them that are perishing, but for us is the power of God? We look a little at what happened on the cross, a subject which our minds are to feeble to fully understand, and more at how we should live because of the cross. This is something we can understand by experience. 1 Corinthians 1:18-24

The Sunday before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we read Galatians 6:11-18, and encounter this verse: "And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." We talk about what this rule is; it is an internal rule, a consequence of becoming a "new creature" in baptism. Let us evaluate how much we walk according to this rule.

Most people know what the Greatest Commandment is. Perhaps some do not know the reason why this Commandment is singled out by the Lord as the greatest. We look at the context of the Greatest Commandment and the second one that is like it (scripture from Deuteronomy and Leviticus), and at the most important scripture verse that a true Christian must know and live by: "Let us make man according to our image and likeness." This scripture fully explains the reason for the Greatest commandment: "Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'" In doing so, we heap scorn upon the recent heresy held by so many: that salvation is obtained by faith alone. Anyone who understands the love of God knows that this new doctrine, which is foreign to the church's thought and came about with the Protestant Reformation, is false and illogical.

If we are true Christians, we will be like the apostles at the Supper who said "Lord, is it I?" when we read the concluding words of the parable: "For many are called, but few are chosen." This is our main point today, but we also talk about other parts of the parable: "The Kingdom of Heaven, " "But they made light of it," which relates to the last line in a frightening way, and the amazing words, "and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good," and the stark words of God to the bad or the good that "make light" of their baptism and supposed belief: "And he saith unto him, 'Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.'" Matthew 22:1-14

Philippians 2:5-11 is read on feasts of the Theotokos. We ask why. This is one of the most important Christological passages in the Scripture. We do an exegesis of it, emphasizing two points. 1. We must continually be changing and renewing our mind. How is this done? This is a skill that all Christians must learn, or else they are not really Christians. 2. All theology, all dogma is moral. That is, if your knowledge does not directly affect the way you live, and continually change the way you live, it is useless for the salvation of your soul.

We ask on the feast of Dormition, what is the purpose of this feast. This is a general question, and not about the theology of the feast and the historical event. It deserves a spiritual answer. Why do we come to church today? We have just finished reading the selection from the Gospel of Luke, about Mary going into the hill country and greeting Elizabeth, 14 days in a row, since it is part of the Paraclesis service (service of supplication, when the supplicatory canon to the Theotokos is swung in sweet melody; we serve it every day during the Dormition fast). We also read it during matins for the feast, as we do for all the feasts of the Mother of God. It tells us of a holy moment, which should be our ultimate goal. Let us meditate for a little while in wonder, mixed with desire and regret, on the important words from Luke: "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."

An experienced reader of the scriptures sees the scripture like a sunset, taking it all in at once, but another useful way to read scripture to organize it as if one were presenting it on a PowerPoint slide, with an outline and expounding major exegetical points. The story of the rich young ruler, who desire to know "one good thing" to be saved and eventually "went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions" lends itself particularly well to this method. We perform the exegesis of this passage, organizing it into "Errors," "Instruction," "Promises," and then the most important category the "Take Home." As always, we read the scripture intensely personally. We are liars if we think the rich young ruler is not "us," and fools if we not understand that also we are referred to when the Lord says, "If thou wilt be perfect..."

At the end of the parable of the unmerciful debtor is a command to forgive others. Commands are not followed well unless they are understood. The parable explains why we must forgive others, if we are willing to hear. All commands have a reason, and they are based on the two most important pieces of knowledge a man can have: knowledge of himself and knowledge of God. The debtor was lost because he did not know himself. He did not remember his sins. Remembrance of our sins keeps us from many sins, and is critical to the fulfillment of the two greatest commandments.

When, regarding the demonized boy, the confused disciples asked the Lord, "Why could not we cast him out?" the Lord told them frankly that it was because of their weak faith. He then proceeded to teach them how to increase their faith, teaching them about prayer and fasting. Nothing expels the demons or the passions except faith in God. Only God can heal the soul, and not our prayer or fasting, but these works increase our faith. We explore how this happens and describe fasting and its effects on the soul. This is critical information, and alas, not well understood, by those who fast and those who do not fast. Since it is the day to commemorate St. Panteleimon, we also add into our discussion something that must be added to our life if our faith is to increase: "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." Everything we do must increase our faith, and with faith in God, all is accomplished.

"Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly." God is always inclined to hear our prayer. The Saints always knew this. The Holy Prophet Elijah (Elias) was among the greatest men of God, and yet he had weaknesses also. His life teaches us much about prayer and struggle if we will listen. There is much encouragement in St. James's words concerning the prophet: "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." Do you understand the implications of this? Your weaknesses and sins do not hinder your prayer, if you have belief, and desire. God always inclines His ear to strugglers who pray, even when they fail. James 5:10-20

On the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul. This a partial exegesis of the three selections read at Vespers from the First Epistle of Peter (1 Peter 1:3-9, 1 Peter 1:13-19, and 1 Peter 2:11-24). This is unequivocal moral teaching based on Jesus Christ, which is much needed and neglected in our age, even in churches that call themselves Christian. Let us check our faith and see if it is a "lively hope," and if this description of a Christian applies to us: "being dead to sins, (we) should live unto righteousness." In between these two bookends to the three selections, Peter prepares his people for persecution and "heaviness of temptations." Nowadays, a priest must also be a prophet as were the Apostles, and encourage his people to pursue purity in their lives and to expect and be prepared for "heaviness through manifold temptations."

In our age when Christian words are redefined by society to have other meanings, we must continually understand our purpose, and direct our life to fulfill the words of Paul: "The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise: The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart." We must understand what sin is and WHY we must avoid it. This skill is particularly important in light of our society redefining marriage and ultimately the purpose of life and sin.

When we read the life of a saint, it should be a very personal experience. Here are the things about St. John that have touched a particular sinner and priest, who began his ministry in Texas 21 years ago on the day of the glorification of St. John, July 3, 1994. St. John always prayed and never "prepared" for prayer. He prayed for everyone he ministered to, often late into the night as they slept. St. John loved the Liturgy and served it every day. He derived great power from this. St John was bold, in ways that we who pray little and sleep much cannot understand. One example is the famous story about him trading vodka for an orphan who otherwise would have been sold into slavery, in the slums of Shanghai.

The "Shepherd" Gospels are read for most hierarchs, and encompass John 10:1-16. We compare these Gospels to the life of St.John, and to what should also be our life.

The life of St. Timothy of Esphigmenou, a man who feigned apostasy to save his wife, and prepared for martyrdom. There are many "take homes" from his luminous life, and we dwell on his radical love, and obedience, his apparent apostasy and how he ran away from his children because of obedience and love.

The Beatitudes describe the Saints. We give a quick overview of them, breaking them into two parts, and then concentrate on the 7th beatitude, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." There are four kinds of peacemakers. We are called to strive to be each one.

The readings for the Sunday of all Saints teach us what we need to do to be "saints" We are ALL called to be saints. The Gospel tells us to confess The Lord before all men, love God above all things, and take up our cross and deny our passions. the Epistle, which we focus on, has two very important phrases, which we look at in detail: " through faith" and "with patience". If we understand these two, we fulfill all in order to be saints.

On the Sunday of Pentecost, Fr. Seraphim shares a short catechesis on the Holy Spirit, covering His procession fro the Father, the various symbols for the Holy Spirit, and the important scripture text which tells us not to "quench the Spirit," and about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit it. Then we get to the best part, the best a pastor has to give his flock. We discuss how the Holy Spirit communicates with us, and how to listen to and "feel" our heart, and this "understanding that is within us" will teach us all things, and guide and help us in everything. We must learn to know when our heart is cold, or warm, enlarged or shriveled up, soft or hard. This is a skill which we must learn; we can speak a little bit about it, but only God can teach us.

The reason that the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council are celebrated between Ascension and Pentecost. Why the theology of Arius is absurd. The purpose of life and how to achieve it. John 17:1-13

A homily given at the crowning (marriage) of Matthias (Kevin) and Natalie. The main part is about the purpose of marriage. It entails a detailed exposition of the most important verse in Scripture: "And God said: let us make man in our own image and after our likeness" (Gen 1:26), which tells us why we were made, how we are made, Who made us, and our destiny, that is, our purpose. There is only one important question in the universe, and we discuss how to go about "answering" it. The words here apply to every Christian, and indeed, every human being, whether or not they are married. For some, the path to answering this question is an honorable marriage and a bed undefiled, and we discuss Adam's important words and prophesy about marriage: "This is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh. for this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh." "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Eph 5:32)