Redeeming The Time

Life is not orderly. Things happen all at once. The Gospel is like this too; it is not like a PowerPoint presentation which proceeds in a logical manner from point a to b to c. Classical homiletics teaches that there should be laser-like focus on one point, and this is good most of the time, but this is not how scripture is structured, not to mention Orthodox services or our lives. All theology and practice is contained in all these things, all at once. We look into the readings for the Sunday of the Last Judgment, known also as "Meatfare" Sunday, as we experience life, and like a bee, take from each flower the nectar it provides. There are many lessons today. Here are some: we see through a glass darkly, and the things we see are not as they seem. We must learn to think spiritually, and then we will be as the sheep, which in appearance in this life, differ very little from the goats. Everything has a purpose, and we cannot be victorious unless we understand this. There is a rule of life which will save us. I