WEBVTT 00:00:01.550 --> 00:00:03.509 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 00:00:03.509 --> 00:00:13.630 of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. There's 00:00:13.630 --> 00:00:16.870 more than sufficient room in this gulf between 00:00:16.870 --> 00:00:26.989 you and me. Did you notice at the end of the 00:00:26.989 --> 00:00:30.980 Gospel, After the blind man received his sight, 00:00:31.059 --> 00:00:37.340 what he did? He followed Christ. That's really 00:00:37.340 --> 00:00:40.500 the main point of that story. But that leads 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:45.240 me into speaking about St. Mark of Ephesus today. 00:00:46.539 --> 00:00:49.579 But let me back up before I talk about St. Mark. 00:00:52.140 --> 00:00:54.880 There are incidents in the history of our Holy 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:57.240 Orthodox Church in which your members have not 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:01.740 followed Christ very well. Some by sin, some 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:08.180 by heresy. I'll say that sin, which brings dishonor 00:01:08.180 --> 00:01:14.780 to the church, for sure, when it's public, and 00:01:14.780 --> 00:01:17.359 hurts the person that does it, and hurts those 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:23.310 around that person, It's a tragic thing, but 00:01:23.310 --> 00:01:26.109 we repent of it. And there's possible repentance. 00:01:26.650 --> 00:01:31.090 But heresy and error is a repression of the truth. 00:01:32.310 --> 00:01:35.849 And that is very harmful, not just to those in 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:41.030 the immediate vicinity, but going down and down 00:01:41.030 --> 00:01:45.989 and down the rows. Sometimes the church's members 00:01:45.989 --> 00:01:51.550 have acted poorly, sometimes faithlessly. Sometimes 00:01:51.550 --> 00:01:54.629 with ambition more than charity. And mind you, 00:01:54.709 --> 00:01:58.810 I'm not talking about anybody here. Just so you 00:01:58.810 --> 00:02:02.650 know. I'm talking about history of our church. 00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:08.030 Some people have acted cruelly, forgetting the 00:02:08.030 --> 00:02:12.069 love of God and the neighbor. There are petty 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:15.530 incidents in the history. And there are profoundly 00:02:15.530 --> 00:02:20.789 disturbing incidents. Remember this. The true 00:02:20.789 --> 00:02:25.449 church is not yet the perfect church, humanly 00:02:25.449 --> 00:02:30.849 speaking. I remember, now this is a petty event. 00:02:31.770 --> 00:02:34.830 I was a student in Boston going to school. This 00:02:34.830 --> 00:02:40.669 is 1979. And at the annual meeting, you know, 00:02:40.710 --> 00:02:43.669 where we gathered together, a man looked at the 00:02:43.669 --> 00:02:46.169 financial report, which is extremely simple. 00:02:46.229 --> 00:02:49.389 The church was rather poor. and raised his hand 00:02:49.389 --> 00:02:52.229 and wondered why the altar spent so much money. 00:02:53.349 --> 00:02:56.990 And the priest said, well, wine, incense, etc., 00:02:56.990 --> 00:03:00.210 etc. And he said, wine? Just use water, it's 00:03:00.210 --> 00:03:07.090 free. Now, it seems foolish, but lest I judge 00:03:07.090 --> 00:03:10.849 that person, I've said and thought and done far 00:03:10.849 --> 00:03:15.430 more foolish things to bring dishonor upon the 00:03:15.430 --> 00:03:19.889 church. It was disheartening. I was only 22. 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:24.990 And there are profound betrayals of the church. 00:03:26.449 --> 00:03:34.229 Abuse. Persecution brought upon the faithful 00:03:34.229 --> 00:03:37.349 by those who used to be in the church, specifically 00:03:37.349 --> 00:03:41.830 during Soviet times. Repression of Jewish people 00:03:41.830 --> 00:03:46.490 in Russia in pogroms. Crushing taxes and so forth. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:48.719 It's not much different from Western Europe, 00:03:48.840 --> 00:03:51.620 but it's profoundly disturbing because it was 00:03:51.620 --> 00:03:55.400 committed by the members of the church. Yet, 00:03:55.419 --> 00:04:02.340 the church is Jesus Christ's. He said, the gates 00:04:02.340 --> 00:04:06.759 of Hades will not prevail against it. Scripture 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:10.719 calls the church the bride of Christ, the counsel 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:14.560 of the upright, the pillar and the ground of 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:19.199 truth. Scripture says it's the congregation of 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:24.199 saints, the body of Christ, God's building, the 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.699 family of God in heaven and on earth, the dwelling 00:04:27.699 --> 00:04:30.959 place of God and man. And more and more is said 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:34.139 in the scriptures about the church. Because the 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:38.100 divine, the sanctifying, the deifying grace of 00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:41.300 God is given in the holy mysteries of the church 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:47.110 by Christ for our transformation. our repentance, 00:04:47.410 --> 00:04:50.949 our salvation. There are those that turn aside 00:04:50.949 --> 00:04:55.629 from that, some of us sometimes. The church is 00:04:55.629 --> 00:05:01.350 comprised of sinners seeking healing and union 00:05:01.350 --> 00:05:06.750 with Jesus Christ. Sometimes we act against the 00:05:06.750 --> 00:05:09.569 church. Sometimes it's petty. Sometimes it's 00:05:09.569 --> 00:05:14.459 profoundly disturbing and tragic. Against the 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:17.939 commandments. Against love. Against the truth. 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:24.220 But it cannot stain or corrupt the holiness and 00:05:24.220 --> 00:05:30.740 the truth of the church. Any more than me turning 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:33.439 on a flashlight is going to change the power 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:39.319 of the sun in the sky. The church is not a worldly 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:43.800 organization. which functions according to accomplished 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:47.100 worldly goals, whatever they might be, good ones 00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:53.519 or bad ones. She continually acts to bring us 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:56.660 into true communion with the Father through our 00:05:56.660 --> 00:05:59.579 Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:05.040 to make us become by grace what Jesus Christ 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:13.040 is by nature. She is God's gift. And our response, 00:06:13.300 --> 00:06:22.339 she is the new creation. The continuance of Pentecost 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:26.759 in this sorrowful world. Not of this world, but 00:06:26.759 --> 00:06:31.459 for this world. The true church, we confess, 00:06:31.699 --> 00:06:34.839 is the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church believes 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:39.779 this, confesses this. The fathers of the church. 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:43.980 Teach it. The councils show it. The saints, the 00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:50.639 liturgy, all assure us of this. Yet still, we 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:55.560 are broken people. I want to offer you this theological 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:59.800 word today in light of St. Mark of Ephesus, in 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:03.939 honor of this great saint. Because the saint 00:07:03.939 --> 00:07:07.180 we celebrate today, January 19th, because... 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:12.939 He alone stood for the truth against ambitious 00:07:12.939 --> 00:07:18.439 men of the church who would make a sacrifice 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:24.360 for expediency to accomplish worldly goals, knowing 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:27.360 that they were doing that, knowing that they 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:30.600 were signing something away that they didn't 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:35.360 believe in. They were ready to sell off orthodoxy 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:40.839 for military support. In the church, there have 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:45.019 been, and there always will be, leaders who betray. 00:07:46.860 --> 00:07:52.060 St. Mark was born in the year 1392 to devout 00:07:52.060 --> 00:07:55.279 Orthodox Christian parents in the city of Constantinople. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:59.000 These were dark and dangerous and difficult days 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:01.639 in the city of Constantinople and in the whole 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:04.180 Eastern Roman Empire. They didn't call themselves 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:06.759 Byzantine. That's a later term the historians 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:11.180 came up with. The city was pressed on all sides 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:17.279 by the powerful Turkish army. St. Mark, given 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:19.720 the name Emmanuel, do you remember what that 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:23.839 name means? God is with us. Acquired an excellent 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:29.319 education, and he began in his early 20s to work 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:33.519 for the patriarch. But by age 26, he gave it 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:36.919 up. Even though he had this great education, 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:39.919 he gave up an academic and bureaucratic career 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:45.179 to become a monk, to devote his life to prayer 00:08:45.179 --> 00:08:50.700 and to the love of God and neighbor. He matured 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:54.659 spiritually in the contemplative life, in prayer 00:08:54.659 --> 00:08:58.100 and worship, in the practice of the Jesus Prayer. 00:08:59.779 --> 00:09:03.779 He was called to participate, not long after. 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:09.440 in a council, a council that was hopeful by all 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.740 sides, seeking union with Rome. And this council 00:09:12.740 --> 00:09:16.980 would take place in 1438 in Florence, Italy. 00:09:17.419 --> 00:09:21.759 So Mark, the monk, was consecrated a bishop so 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:27.039 he could be part of the delegation. He went to 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:31.559 Italy, now get this, with 25 bishops and a staff 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:36.480 of 700. This is more than, you know, our government 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:40.179 sends to delegations. But the hopes for a union 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:43.940 were very high. It's not a history class that 00:09:43.940 --> 00:09:46.379 I'm giving today, so I'm not going to speak of 00:09:46.379 --> 00:09:49.120 what happened at that council, the teachings 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:52.279 and the issues that were on the table. Let's 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:55.120 just call them heresies, and the Orthodox were 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:04.940 being forced to accept them. Difficult negotiation. 00:10:05.620 --> 00:10:09.940 And everyone signed the document of union with 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:14.639 the Pope, Eugenius, in the year 1439, except 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:24.279 for one. Mark of Ephesus. What was one man already 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:29.679 fatally ill with cancer? In comparison with the 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:33.850 whole multitude of Greek dignitaries, headed 00:10:33.850 --> 00:10:37.710 by the Emperor John, the Greek metropolitans, 00:10:37.710 --> 00:10:43.009 and Pope Eugenius and his, the glory that they 00:10:43.009 --> 00:10:46.190 saw there. There's a Russian proverb that says, 00:10:46.330 --> 00:10:51.009 one alone on the field is no warrior. One alone 00:10:51.009 --> 00:10:53.230 on the field is no warrior. However, in this, 00:10:53.289 --> 00:10:56.649 one man was represented the whole mysterious 00:10:56.649 --> 00:11:00.190 truth of the Orthodox Church. This is why when 00:11:00.190 --> 00:11:04.940 Pope Eugenius was solemnly shown by his cardinals, 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:09.399 the paper, the Act of Union, signed by all the 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:14.340 Greek delegates, he could not find the signature 00:11:14.340 --> 00:11:18.779 of Mark, Bishop of Ephesus. And what did he say? 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:24.980 He said, so we have accomplished nothing. St. 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:27.860 Mark returned with the delegation to Constantinople, 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:32.539 but would not serve with the Unionists. The churches 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:35.960 were empty in Constantinople, even though it 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:38.279 was Great Lent, because the people knew that 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:45.000 this was a sellout of their faith. The monastics 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:49.360 and the village priests rejected the union. Mark 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:51.820 was imprisoned for two years, although again, 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:56.500 seriously ill, and freed only in 1442. He died 00:11:56.500 --> 00:12:02.759 June 23rd, the year 1443. four at the age of 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:09.059 52. One of his contemporaries wrote this about 00:12:09.059 --> 00:12:13.080 his death. Our sorrow was increased yet more 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:15.799 by the fact that he was taken away from our embrace 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:19.659 before he had grown old in the virtues which 00:12:19.659 --> 00:12:22.019 he had acquired, before we could sufficiently 00:12:22.019 --> 00:12:25.940 enjoy his presence in the full power of this 00:12:25.940 --> 00:12:30.370 passing life. No defect. nor cunning had the 00:12:30.370 --> 00:12:34.289 power to shake his mind, nor to lead astray his 00:12:34.289 --> 00:12:37.750 soul. So strongly was it nourished and tempered 00:12:37.750 --> 00:12:41.409 by virtue. Even if the vault of heaven should 00:12:41.409 --> 00:12:44.649 fall, even then the righteousness of this man 00:12:44.649 --> 00:12:48.830 would not be shaken. His strength would not fail, 00:12:49.090 --> 00:12:52.090 his soul would not be moved, and his thought 00:12:52.090 --> 00:12:55.269 would not be impaired by such difficult trials. 00:12:56.970 --> 00:13:02.909 The so -called union did not last long. The bishops 00:13:02.909 --> 00:13:05.710 that signed it were rejected by their flock, 00:13:05.929 --> 00:13:11.610 and the next and the last emperor of Constantinople, 00:13:11.750 --> 00:13:16.009 named Constantine, rejected it in days before 00:13:16.009 --> 00:13:24.419 the city fell to the Turks in May 29, 1453. Brothers 00:13:24.419 --> 00:13:27.480 and sisters, be strengthened in your faith. Be 00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:32.179 not shaken. Keep the truth. Make a good confession 00:13:32.179 --> 00:13:36.259 of faith. Be careful in how you live your Orthodox 00:13:36.259 --> 00:13:41.759 life. Why? Because the grace of God then is poured 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:45.139 out on us, not as reward, but because we stand 00:13:45.139 --> 00:13:50.559 then in the midst of the saints with them. There's 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:55.419 a story. of St. Herman of Alaska about some Russian 00:13:55.419 --> 00:13:58.679 sailors who were in Kodiak or Spruce Island where 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.679 he lived. You know, he was not a priest, but 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:05.259 he had a chapel. And he was praying all the time, 00:14:05.379 --> 00:14:08.059 and he invited the sailors to come to his chapel 00:14:08.059 --> 00:14:11.320 and to pray with him the ninth hour or whatever 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:13.899 it might have been. One of the sailors said, 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:20.059 Oh, Abba, Father Herman, we can't go. We're sinners. 00:14:20.669 --> 00:14:23.830 We can't enter into your holy place after what 00:14:23.830 --> 00:14:26.769 we've done. And St. Herman said to the sailor, 00:14:26.850 --> 00:14:32.669 that's good. That's a qualification. You can't 00:14:32.669 --> 00:14:36.309 come to church unless you are a sinner. Unless 00:14:36.309 --> 00:14:39.230 you are a sinner, you can't come. The church 00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:40.929 is not for those who think they're righteous. 00:14:41.450 --> 00:14:44.470 There aren't any anyway, except those who are 00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:46.830 saved and holy and righteous because of faith, 00:14:46.990 --> 00:14:51.769 because of grace. And any person, he said, who 00:14:51.769 --> 00:14:55.029 is holy and righteous because of faith and grace 00:14:55.029 --> 00:14:59.370 would never consider himself a saint, but would 00:14:59.370 --> 00:15:02.970 confess himself a sinner, as you heard in St. 00:15:03.029 --> 00:15:06.350 Paul's marvelous letter to Timothy today. So 00:15:06.350 --> 00:15:09.149 St. Herman said to the sailor again, being a 00:15:09.149 --> 00:15:12.870 sinner is what qualifies you to be a member of 00:15:12.870 --> 00:15:18.049 the church. You can't be one if you're not a 00:15:18.049 --> 00:15:23.120 sinner. But brothers and sisters, you can repent 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:27.480 of sin. Just don't repress the truth. To our 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:32.379 Lord, who is the truth, be glory and honor now 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:33.779 and ever, to ages of ages.