WEBVTT 00:00:00.750 --> 00:00:02.890 In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the 00:00:02.890 --> 00:00:06.209 Holy Spirit. Amen. I greet with the joy of the 00:00:06.209 --> 00:00:12.210 feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Not 00:00:12.210 --> 00:00:16.129 to give you a sermon, a homily, but a greeting. 00:00:17.089 --> 00:00:22.489 Just a few words about our common joy and our 00:00:22.489 --> 00:00:25.850 common fast that we've just gone through and 00:00:25.850 --> 00:00:29.789 our common festival today with the whole Church. 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:35.420 We are completing the Apostles' Fast. Whenever 00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:38.460 we come to the end of a course of a fast, we 00:00:38.460 --> 00:00:42.259 remember it's a course. A course, like a class 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:46.640 is a course that we take. And we count up the 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:51.240 blessings at the end. We see that it was an opportunity 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:56.179 for us to deny ourselves, so we become... followers 00:00:56.179 --> 00:00:58.820 of the apostles, followers of Christ, because 00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:02.060 isn't that what the Lord said to them? Deny yourself, 00:01:02.299 --> 00:01:05.200 take up the cross, follow me. It's a simple way. 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:09.579 It's just food. It's just time, which is all 00:01:09.579 --> 00:01:13.099 we have is time, really. And some effort from 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:17.379 our heart, and some resistance that we meet, 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:21.140 because if you recall, when the Lord said to 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:27.370 the apostle Peter, about the Son of Man is going 00:01:27.370 --> 00:01:30.909 to be arrested and crucified. What did Peter 00:01:30.909 --> 00:01:34.250 say? This great man that we exalt today with 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:39.849 his partner, which they weren't always on good 00:01:39.849 --> 00:01:44.390 terms. What did Peter say? Oh, Lord, this can't 00:01:44.390 --> 00:01:48.290 happen. So the resistance to the cross is something 00:01:48.290 --> 00:01:51.290 we encounter right away when we... Enter into 00:01:51.290 --> 00:01:53.810 the fast. But now we complete the fast, and we 00:01:53.810 --> 00:01:57.489 see that as we move forward, God's blessings 00:01:57.489 --> 00:02:00.650 were given to us, and we were changed, little 00:02:00.650 --> 00:02:04.010 by little. Christian life, people always say, 00:02:04.129 --> 00:02:06.829 and it's true, it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. 00:02:07.670 --> 00:02:11.629 Every little bit helps. Every little opening 00:02:11.629 --> 00:02:15.030 to our heart to let the light shine in, the light 00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:20.520 of the face of Christ shining from God. We changed. 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:25.199 So we ended the fast, and now we should rejoice 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:28.159 in that. We should thank God for whatever gifts 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.819 he has given to us, which we may not understand 00:02:30.819 --> 00:02:34.659 yet, but will be revealed in our everyday manner 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:37.759 of life, as the King James says in our conversation. 00:02:38.180 --> 00:02:41.060 It doesn't mean our speech. It means the manner 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:45.699 of life. And we completed this fast in order 00:02:45.699 --> 00:02:50.669 so that we could celebrate this feast day. It 00:02:50.669 --> 00:02:53.569 has a special solemnity, a special joy, a special 00:02:53.569 --> 00:02:56.110 brightness to it. That's why there's a fast before 00:02:56.110 --> 00:03:01.169 Christmas. Christmas is magnificent in its message. 00:03:01.469 --> 00:03:06.270 A fast before Pascha, a fast before Dormition, 00:03:06.349 --> 00:03:13.310 etc. The brightness of this day is these two 00:03:13.310 --> 00:03:17.110 luminaries, Peter and Paul. Paul is depicted 00:03:17.110 --> 00:03:21.360 here. Peter is depicted here. The first thing 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:23.939 we have to think about them, for me, is that 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:27.979 they are our heroes and the saints. They're not 00:03:27.979 --> 00:03:30.759 going to let us down. You're not going to hear 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:35.360 bad things about them that they didn't already 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:40.000 repent of and make known. Peter, how many times 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:45.759 was he clueless with Christ? No, you can't go 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:50.389 to the cross. And then when Jesus is talking 00:03:50.389 --> 00:03:53.530 about avoid the leaven of the Pharisees, that 00:03:53.530 --> 00:03:56.469 is the teaching that is corrupting people, Peter 00:03:56.469 --> 00:03:59.669 thinks he's talking about bread, even though 00:03:59.669 --> 00:04:05.590 Jesus had just fed 4 ,000 people a couple days 00:04:05.590 --> 00:04:10.210 before. Peter steps out onto the water. He gets 00:04:10.210 --> 00:04:13.990 brave in the sea there of Galilee in a storm, 00:04:14.110 --> 00:04:19.509 and he loses his focus. And he sinks. Peter comes 00:04:19.509 --> 00:04:24.389 against Paul. And Paul calls him on it. And tells 00:04:24.389 --> 00:04:30.610 him he's a hypocrite. Paul, what can we say? 00:04:31.189 --> 00:04:35.509 His faults are well known too, aren't they? A 00:04:35.509 --> 00:04:39.209 Pharisee among the Pharisees. And he said, everything 00:04:39.209 --> 00:04:44.389 I knew, I consider that refuse and dumb. Because 00:04:44.389 --> 00:04:47.029 the righteousness he thought he was pursuing 00:04:47.029 --> 00:04:51.209 was leading to doing evil acts, killing Christians, 00:04:51.550 --> 00:04:55.910 rounding them up. And he was on the road to Damascus 00:04:55.910 --> 00:05:00.709 to collect those Jewish Christians when he encountered 00:05:00.709 --> 00:05:06.990 the Lord. And we heard this epistle today from 00:05:06.990 --> 00:05:10.589 Corinthians to tell us what incredible labors 00:05:10.589 --> 00:05:15.319 it is. That the apostles went through. Sounds 00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:18.100 like, not just boot camp, but sounds like a training 00:05:18.100 --> 00:05:24.019 for special forces. Shipwrecks. It turns out 00:05:24.019 --> 00:05:25.980 he said three, but there was one after that. 00:05:26.220 --> 00:05:34.800 Four. Beatings. 39 lashes each time. Being jailed. 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:41.120 Being betrayed. Hungry. Perils in the wilderness, 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:44.579 perils in the city. All of these difficulties 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:51.240 he did for what? For some cause? No. The word 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:54.740 apostle means sent. The one who is sent. The 00:05:54.740 --> 00:05:58.699 one who is sent by God to give the good news 00:05:58.699 --> 00:06:02.800 of the resurrection and the forgiveness of sins. 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:06.259 Whatever sins you forgive on earth, they are 00:06:06.259 --> 00:06:10.759 forgiven. This is the best of news because we 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:14.819 are corrupted and weighed down and confused by 00:06:14.819 --> 00:06:18.199 our sins and the apostles go to any length to 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:20.879 tell the good news of the resurrection and the 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:29.139 remission of sins. St. Paul teaches us, and we 00:06:29.139 --> 00:06:33.300 heard it yesterday, that when we trust in God, 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:38.350 no matter what happens to us, the Lord... in 00:06:38.350 --> 00:06:41.050 his love, will care for us. He will not abandon 00:06:41.050 --> 00:06:44.089 us. What does he say? We heard this in Romans 00:06:44.089 --> 00:06:51.689 yesterday. I glory in my tribulations. The difficulties. 00:06:52.490 --> 00:06:56.930 Because tribulation produces character. And you 00:06:56.930 --> 00:07:01.110 know the rest of that quote. Perseverance, faith, 00:07:01.350 --> 00:07:05.509 and God will be proved constant and faithful 00:07:05.509 --> 00:07:09.660 to us. And then today we hear him speak about 00:07:09.660 --> 00:07:12.339 all these troubles he goes through and that he 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:18.139 is weak. He has a thorn in his flesh. God does 00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:20.519 not take it away. You see the Christian life, 00:07:20.660 --> 00:07:23.300 although it's complete trust in God, it's not. 00:07:24.339 --> 00:07:28.279 Everything's wonderful. And my life has no problems. 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:32.660 It's that God is in the midst of our life throughout 00:07:32.660 --> 00:07:35.500 all our difficulties. Think of what we have. 00:07:35.529 --> 00:07:38.110 Brothers and sisters, think of this great gift 00:07:38.110 --> 00:07:42.170 of peace and mercy. And St. Paul says over and 00:07:42.170 --> 00:07:46.949 over and over again, glory. The glory that we 00:07:46.949 --> 00:07:49.730 share. We come into this church, we share in 00:07:49.730 --> 00:07:52.290 the glory of all the saints. We share in the 00:07:52.290 --> 00:07:54.670 glory of the kingdom of heaven. We share in the 00:07:54.670 --> 00:07:57.269 glory of receiving the body and blood of Christ. 00:07:57.430 --> 00:08:02.629 And we leave with peace planted in our heart. 00:08:02.649 --> 00:08:06.180 Not peace as an idea. Not peace as the lack of 00:08:06.180 --> 00:08:10.819 conflict, but peace as Jesus Christ. This is 00:08:10.819 --> 00:08:13.879 what we are given. St. Paul tells us over and 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:21.199 over again. And St. Peter, this man who was illiterate. 00:08:21.899 --> 00:08:25.740 Don't confuse illiteracy with stupidity. He was 00:08:25.740 --> 00:08:29.680 brilliant, and the Lord illumined him after he 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:33.500 came to repentance. I didn't even mention. His 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:37.440 betrayal. After he came to repentance and the 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:42.779 Lord said, feed my sheep. This is what he writes 00:08:42.779 --> 00:08:47.980 to the Christians. You are a chosen generation. 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:53.840 A royal priesthood. A holy nation. He didn't 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:56.620 make that up. He got that from Exodus. He sees 00:08:56.620 --> 00:09:00.080 Christ as the fulfillment of all of that. We 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:05.509 are his own special people. We've got anything. 00:09:05.889 --> 00:09:09.330 But that we have been transformed in baptism 00:09:09.330 --> 00:09:14.309 and changed. New creation. We are his own special 00:09:14.309 --> 00:09:17.789 people that you may proclaim, proclaim, proclaim 00:09:17.789 --> 00:09:21.970 the praises of him who called you out of darkness 00:09:21.970 --> 00:09:27.009 into his marvelous light. That's our inheritance. 00:09:28.269 --> 00:09:33.850 That light. We were once not a people. But now, 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:37.799 the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:43.700 but now have obtained mercy. And he tells us 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:45.659 to be ready. It doesn't matter how long the Lord 00:09:45.659 --> 00:09:51.679 takes. The end of all things is at hand. Believe 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:55.860 it. Therefore, be serious and watchful in your 00:09:55.860 --> 00:10:00.179 prayers. And above all things, have fervent love 00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:04.399 for one another. You can have all kinds of ideas, 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:10.399 all kinds of political, social, religious opinions, 00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:14.679 but if you don't have love, you don't have God. 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:19.700 Above all things, above all things have favorite 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:22.600 love for one another, for love will cover a multitude 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:26.299 of sins. Be hospitable to one another without 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:30.080 grumbling. See, that was in Martha and Mary, 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:35.129 that was Mary's problem. She grumbled. As each 00:10:35.129 --> 00:10:38.490 one has received a gift, minister it to one another 00:10:38.490 --> 00:10:41.450 as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 00:10:41.769 --> 00:10:44.970 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles 00:10:44.970 --> 00:10:48.110 of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it with 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:51.029 the ability which God supplies, that in all things 00:10:51.029 --> 00:10:54.009 God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to 00:10:54.009 --> 00:10:57.330 whom belong the glory and the dominion forever 00:10:57.330 --> 00:11:02.570 and ever. The Lord has given us such wonderful 00:11:02.570 --> 00:11:07.450 gifts. Let us be like the apostles. Let the word 00:11:07.450 --> 00:11:11.690 which God sent dwell in our hearts. Let that 00:11:11.690 --> 00:11:17.529 word transform us. We change. We go from earthbound 00:11:17.529 --> 00:11:22.509 beings to eternal beings. We go from those troubled 00:11:22.509 --> 00:11:26.029 and weighed down by this world to those who carry 00:11:26.029 --> 00:11:31.070 that trouble as a cross and are transformed by 00:11:31.070 --> 00:11:34.639 it because God's grace is present. We have the 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.419 apostles as our models, but we also have them 00:11:38.419 --> 00:11:42.639 as our heavenly intercessors. To the Lord, who 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:46.279 makes apostles and disciples of all who come 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:48.259 to him, be glory and honor now and ever and for 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:49.919 ages of ages. Amen.