WEBVTT

00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:03.520
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:09.099
of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. A

00:00:09.099 --> 00:00:14.500
joyous St. Nicholas Day to one and all. When

00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:17.039
you think of St. Nicholas, what do you think

00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:21.879
of? Perhaps you think of the story of the daughters

00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:26.160
whose father was going to sell them, and how

00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:30.789
St. Nicholas, he paid for their freedom. with

00:00:30.789 --> 00:00:35.070
gold. Perhaps you think of the first ecumenical

00:00:35.070 --> 00:00:39.369
council and his contributions there and how he

00:00:39.369 --> 00:00:43.170
stood up against Arius and the false teachings

00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:47.950
of heresy. Perhaps you think of after he had

00:00:47.950 --> 00:00:52.950
died. Perhaps the story that we are told through

00:00:52.950 --> 00:00:57.390
sailors who survived because of the intervention

00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:01.829
of St. Nicholas to save their lives. Perhaps

00:01:01.829 --> 00:01:05.030
you think of what happened at my house this morning

00:01:05.030 --> 00:01:08.150
when I got up and found shoes that were filled

00:01:08.150 --> 00:01:13.549
with little special things. Or perhaps you remember

00:01:13.549 --> 00:01:17.370
our church Christmas play, which unfortunately

00:01:17.370 --> 00:01:21.250
we can't look forward to in 2020. But we can

00:01:21.250 --> 00:01:26.530
remember, Oh, who loves Nicholas the Faithful?

00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:31.420
And it has that word in it with St. Nicholas,

00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:37.000
faithful. The song that we sing and we love every

00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:43.480
year has that word faithful. And that is how

00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:50.760
St. Nicholas came to be who he is. One that's

00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:54.780
filled with the love of God that overflows to

00:01:54.780 --> 00:01:59.459
everyone. Even after his death, it overflows

00:01:59.459 --> 00:02:04.480
to us all. Well, St. Nicholas is not the only

00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:09.280
one that has ever achieved that. Perhaps you've

00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:12.400
thought to yourself, well, I could never do that.

00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:16.979
But you know, each one of us are on our way there.

00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:22.419
We may not be like St. Nicholas. But we're on

00:02:22.419 --> 00:02:24.639
our way there. We're being sanctified. We're

00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:30.060
being changed. St. Nicholas began, well, we don't

00:02:30.060 --> 00:02:33.159
know exactly when he began, but we know he achieved

00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:40.400
highly in it. I want to tell you a little story,

00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:45.919
just one, of St. Nicholas, which shows courage.

00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:54.389
There was a governor. where he served the people.

00:02:55.150 --> 00:02:59.750
And that governor had been bribed. And three

00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:03.789
men, because of that bribery, had been unjustly

00:03:03.789 --> 00:03:08.490
accused and condemned and were actually ready

00:03:08.490 --> 00:03:12.610
to be executed. An executioner with a sword stood

00:03:12.610 --> 00:03:18.530
there. And St. Nicholas, bravely, with courage,

00:03:18.770 --> 00:03:23.740
walked up. and took the sword away from the executioner

00:03:23.740 --> 00:03:27.379
and talked to the governor right to his face

00:03:27.379 --> 00:03:33.800
and denounced him for his wrongdoing. Such courage.

00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:39.919
And yet the result we see was not just the three

00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:42.460
that were accused who were going to be killed

00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:48.159
being saved, but that governor repented and begged

00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:52.560
for forgiveness. And that's what each of us need

00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:58.199
to do, just like that governor did. St. Nicholas

00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:01.520
lived a God -directed life. He listened to God.

00:04:01.580 --> 00:04:06.199
He kept his commandments. Well, one of the gospel

00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:09.860
readings for today speaks of a leper, actually

00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:14.460
ten, but then it's down to one. Jesus entered

00:04:14.460 --> 00:04:17.839
a village, and standing afar off, ten men who

00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:20.970
were lepers met him. Of course, with leprosy,

00:04:20.970 --> 00:04:24.250
they were not allowed to be a part of the community,

00:04:24.490 --> 00:04:28.870
a contagious skin disease. They were away, isolated.

00:04:30.410 --> 00:04:35.350
They said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And

00:04:35.350 --> 00:04:38.170
Jesus said, go show yourself to the priests.

00:04:38.410 --> 00:04:41.829
And they went, and as they went, they were cleansed.

00:04:41.870 --> 00:04:46.310
And one of them returned, glorifying God with

00:04:46.310 --> 00:04:50.850
a loud voice. prostrating himself at Jesus' feet

00:04:50.850 --> 00:04:55.790
and giving him thanks. And Jesus asked, where

00:04:55.790 --> 00:04:59.810
were the other nine? And then told the one, arise,

00:04:59.970 --> 00:05:08.689
go your way. Your faith has made you whole. Spiritually

00:05:08.689 --> 00:05:13.009
speaking, you and I are like those lepers. We

00:05:13.009 --> 00:05:17.470
are spiritual lepers. We have sin in our life.

00:05:18.170 --> 00:05:22.550
have died and we're alienated now from God and

00:05:22.550 --> 00:05:27.290
from his angels as those lepers were separated

00:05:27.290 --> 00:05:33.629
unless we do as those lepers did and spiritually

00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:39.850
cry out Jesus master have mercy on us and Jesus

00:05:39.850 --> 00:05:43.920
does have mercy on us and has made possible our

00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:47.139
salvation through the cross, the tomb, the resurrection

00:05:47.139 --> 00:05:49.939
on the third day, the ascension into heaven,

00:05:50.019 --> 00:05:52.459
the sitting at the right hand, and the second

00:05:52.459 --> 00:05:56.459
and glorious coming. And Jesus saves us and heals

00:05:56.459 --> 00:06:00.459
us of spiritual leprosy and restores our fellowship

00:06:00.459 --> 00:06:04.100
with God and grants us eternal life. And how

00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:08.040
can we not be like that one leper and give thanks

00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:11.759
and fall in prostration before our Savior and

00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:15.160
call out with a loud voice and give thanks for

00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:17.819
our healing, for our salvation, for God's love

00:06:17.819 --> 00:06:21.160
for us, who when we had fallen into sin, raised

00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:29.199
us up again. God for loving us so much for caring

00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:35.579
for us even when we were lepers and as we do

00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:39.740
that the Lord says arise just like he did to

00:06:39.740 --> 00:06:45.759
that leper arise go your way your faith has made

00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:50.899
you whole faith in Jesus faith that says from

00:06:50.899 --> 00:06:54.910
the heart Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And

00:06:54.910 --> 00:06:59.509
as we Orthodox Christians say, Lord, Jesus Christ,

00:06:59.930 --> 00:07:06.269
Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. And we

00:07:06.269 --> 00:07:10.100
have faith, just as that leper did. Hebrews 11

00:07:10.100 --> 00:07:13.779
.6 says, But without faith it is impossible to

00:07:13.779 --> 00:07:17.240
please him that is God, for he who comes to God

00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:20.620
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder

00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:23.839
of those who diligently seek him. And St. John

00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:28.800
Chrysostom says, Faith needs a generous and vigorous

00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:33.500
soul, and one rising above all things of sense,

00:07:33.779 --> 00:07:38.600
and passing beyond the weakness of human reasonings.

00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:42.740
For it is not possible to become a believer otherwise

00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:48.339
than by raising oneself above the customs of

00:07:48.339 --> 00:07:54.620
the world. And when those in the world say something

00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:58.660
about Christ that makes him less than the Savior,

00:07:58.920 --> 00:08:02.560
maybe just the words, he was a great prophet,

00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:07.180
maybe something that limits him. to mere humanity,

00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:11.540
we reject that because we have faith and we know

00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:15.000
that he is the Son of God and our Savior and

00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:18.860
that he will return again. Well, this faith,

00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:25.759
this is what St. Nicholas has. When we say, oh,

00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:29.980
who loves Nicholas the faithful, Nicholas shined

00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:33.820
as a saint of the church because of that faith.

00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:37.919
He is our example of a life filled in faith,

00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:41.600
letting the Holy Spirit shine through him, blessing

00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:46.100
not only himself but all others around him. Let

00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:49.620
us, too, live a life of faith. Let us emulate

00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:54.059
St. Nicholas. Holy Father Nicholas, pray to God

00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:55.799
for us. Amen.