In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. Amen. I greet with the joy of the
feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Not
to give you a sermon, a homily, but a greeting.
Just a few words about our common joy and our
common fast that we've just gone through and
our common festival today with the whole Church.
We are completing the Apostles' Fast. Whenever
we come to the end of a course of a fast, we
remember it's a course. A course, like a class
is a course that we take. And we count up the
blessings at the end. We see that it was an opportunity
for us to deny ourselves, so we become... followers
of the apostles, followers of Christ, because
isn't that what the Lord said to them? Deny yourself,
take up the cross, follow me. It's a simple way.
It's just food. It's just time, which is all
we have is time, really. And some effort from
our heart, and some resistance that we meet,
because if you recall, when the Lord said to
the apostle Peter, about the Son of Man is going
to be arrested and crucified. What did Peter
say? This great man that we exalt today with
his partner, which they weren't always on good
terms. What did Peter say? Oh, Lord, this can't
happen. So the resistance to the cross is something
we encounter right away when we... Enter into
the fast. But now we complete the fast, and we
see that as we move forward, God's blessings
were given to us, and we were changed, little
by little. Christian life, people always say,
and it's true, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon.
Every little bit helps. Every little opening
to our heart to let the light shine in, the light
of the face of Christ shining from God. We changed.
So we ended the fast, and now we should rejoice
in that. We should thank God for whatever gifts
he has given to us, which we may not understand
yet, but will be revealed in our everyday manner
of life, as the King James says in our conversation.
It doesn't mean our speech. It means the manner
of life. And we completed this fast in order
so that we could celebrate this feast day. It
has a special solemnity, a special joy, a special
brightness to it. That's why there's a fast before
Christmas. Christmas is magnificent in its message.
A fast before Pascha, a fast before Dormition,
etc. The brightness of this day is these two
luminaries, Peter and Paul. Paul is depicted
here. Peter is depicted here. The first thing
we have to think about them, for me, is that
they are our heroes and the saints. They're not
going to let us down. You're not going to hear
bad things about them that they didn't already
repent of and make known. Peter, how many times
was he clueless with Christ? No, you can't go
to the cross. And then when Jesus is talking
about avoid the leaven of the Pharisees, that
is the teaching that is corrupting people, Peter
thinks he's talking about bread, even though
Jesus had just fed 4 ,000 people a couple days
before. Peter steps out onto the water. He gets
brave in the sea there of Galilee in a storm,
and he loses his focus. And he sinks. Peter comes
against Paul. And Paul calls him on it. And tells
him he's a hypocrite. Paul, what can we say?
His faults are well known too, aren't they? A
Pharisee among the Pharisees. And he said, everything
I knew, I consider that refuse and dumb. Because
the righteousness he thought he was pursuing
was leading to doing evil acts, killing Christians,
rounding them up. And he was on the road to Damascus
to collect those Jewish Christians when he encountered
the Lord. And we heard this epistle today from
Corinthians to tell us what incredible labors
it is. That the apostles went through. Sounds
like, not just boot camp, but sounds like a training
for special forces. Shipwrecks. It turns out
he said three, but there was one after that.
Four. Beatings. 39 lashes each time. Being jailed.
Being betrayed. Hungry. Perils in the wilderness,
perils in the city. All of these difficulties
he did for what? For some cause? No. The word
apostle means sent. The one who is sent. The
one who is sent by God to give the good news
of the resurrection and the forgiveness of sins.
Whatever sins you forgive on earth, they are
forgiven. This is the best of news because we
are corrupted and weighed down and confused by
our sins and the apostles go to any length to
tell the good news of the resurrection and the
remission of sins. St. Paul teaches us, and we
heard it yesterday, that when we trust in God,
no matter what happens to us, the Lord... in
his love, will care for us. He will not abandon
us. What does he say? We heard this in Romans
yesterday. I glory in my tribulations. The difficulties.
Because tribulation produces character. And you
know the rest of that quote. Perseverance, faith,
and God will be proved constant and faithful
to us. And then today we hear him speak about
all these troubles he goes through and that he
is weak. He has a thorn in his flesh. God does
not take it away. You see the Christian life,
although it's complete trust in God, it's not.
Everything's wonderful. And my life has no problems.
It's that God is in the midst of our life throughout
all our difficulties. Think of what we have.
Brothers and sisters, think of this great gift
of peace and mercy. And St. Paul says over and
over and over again, glory. The glory that we
share. We come into this church, we share in
the glory of all the saints. We share in the
glory of the kingdom of heaven. We share in the
glory of receiving the body and blood of Christ.
And we leave with peace planted in our heart.
Not peace as an idea. Not peace as the lack of
conflict, but peace as Jesus Christ. This is
what we are given. St. Paul tells us over and
over again. And St. Peter, this man who was illiterate.
Don't confuse illiteracy with stupidity. He was
brilliant, and the Lord illumined him after he
came to repentance. I didn't even mention. His
betrayal. After he came to repentance and the
Lord said, feed my sheep. This is what he writes
to the Christians. You are a chosen generation.
A royal priesthood. A holy nation. He didn't
make that up. He got that from Exodus. He sees
Christ as the fulfillment of all of that. We
are his own special people. We've got anything.
But that we have been transformed in baptism
and changed. New creation. We are his own special
people that you may proclaim, proclaim, proclaim
the praises of him who called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light. That's our inheritance.
That light. We were once not a people. But now,
the people of God, who had not obtained mercy,
but now have obtained mercy. And he tells us
to be ready. It doesn't matter how long the Lord
takes. The end of all things is at hand. Believe
it. Therefore, be serious and watchful in your
prayers. And above all things, have fervent love
for one another. You can have all kinds of ideas,
all kinds of political, social, religious opinions,
but if you don't have love, you don't have God.
Above all things, above all things have favorite
love for one another, for love will cover a multitude
of sins. Be hospitable to one another without
grumbling. See, that was in Martha and Mary,
that was Mary's problem. She grumbled. As each
one has received a gift, minister it to one another
as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles
of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it with
the ability which God supplies, that in all things
God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to
whom belong the glory and the dominion forever
and ever. The Lord has given us such wonderful
gifts. Let us be like the apostles. Let the word
which God sent dwell in our hearts. Let that
word transform us. We change. We go from earthbound
beings to eternal beings. We go from those troubled
and weighed down by this world to those who carry
that trouble as a cross and are transformed by
it because God's grace is present. We have the
apostles as our models, but we also have them
as our heavenly intercessors. To the Lord, who
makes apostles and disciples of all who come
to him, be glory and honor now and ever and for
ages of ages. Amen.