But we should pray, St. Vladimir, through your
intercession, please look upon your spiritual
children today in the Ukraine and in Russia.
St. Vladimir is also the patron of the seminary
that I attended and that Father Lawrence attended.
So, Strasnikum, Father, happy feast day. The
first time at St. Vladimir's, when I heard that
troparion to St. Vladimir, which we have just
heard a few moments ago, referring to the merchant
in search of fine pearls and finding Christ,
St. Vladimir, you were like that merchant, you
found Christ, the priceless pearl. I wrote down
that topar in its fullness because nowadays I
don't rely on my memory all the time. So here
it is once again. O holy Prince Vladimir, you
were like a merchant in search of fine pearls.
By sending servants to Constantinople, you found
Christ, the priceless pearl. He appointed you
to be another Paul. washing away in baptism your
physical and spiritual blindness. We celebrate
your memory asking you to pray for Orthodox Christians
in Russia and for all Orthodox Christians and
for us, your spiritual children. That was especially
moving because at St. Vladimir's We were, in
a special way, in a seminary dedicated to him,
his spiritual children. And actually, each and
every one of us, you, all of you, and even I,
I don't have an ounce of Russian or Slavic blood
in me that I'm aware of. Never did my genealogy.
But we're all inheritors of the Russian church
because this parish, one way or another, of course,
was the Russian Orthodox Church in the United
States, which was planted here. So we are, all
of us, spiritual children of St. Vladimir. I
thought also to look at, I was curious about
pearls, where they're mentioned in the Bible.
The first time they're mentioned in the Bible,
is in the book of Job, which I'll get to in a
moment. And then the last time, this is one you're
probably familiar with, the imagery in the last
chapter of the book of Revelation, where the
new Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem, is St.
John the author of the book of Revelation. He's
trying to describe what is undescribable. and
uses the imagery of precious stones and streets
of glass, etc. But he refers to the gates of
the kingdom as made of fine pearl. So that's
where we get that expression. Open to me those
pearly gates, Lord. So when we pass on, please,
Lord, open to us those pearly gates. But the
book of Job, In chapter 38 says, where shall
wisdom, notice this, where shall wisdom be found?
It cannot be gotten with gold or silver or precious
onyx or sapphire. No mention can be made of coral
or crystal. The price of wisdom is above pearls.
And it's interesting that pearls, my matushka
and I were talking about this just recently,
well, preparation for my sermon, that she mentioned,
yes, pearl is the only precious thing that comes
from a living animal. The rest are stones or
metals, but pearl, as you well know, It comes
from oysters, so it comes from a living thing.
This is in chapter 13 of Matthew's Gospel, and
this is what we're reading now, as you probably
noticed in the lectionary, the Gospels, during
the sixth week after Pentecost. Jesus is speaking
about the parables about the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is like a sower who sowed
good seed, like a grain of mustard seed, like
a treasure hidden in a field, like a net cast
into the sea and gathering every kind of fish.
And then in verse 45, again, the kingdom of heaven
is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.
who finding one pearl of great price, went out,
sold all that he had, and bought it. This pearl
of great price, of course, is our Lord Jesus
Christ and our faith in him in the Orthodox faith,
Christ and our Orthodox faith. We did not have
to go out and sell everything we have to acquire
this. Jesus gave us this as a free gift, the
gift of faith, faith in him and faith in his
church. This faith is found in Christ and nourished
in the church. Notice in conclusion when we are
gathered at the divine liturgy, which is par
excellence the church at prayer. the eucharistic
service when we were gathered at the divine liturgy
how does it begin blessed is the kingdom of the
father southern holy spirit so the kingdom of
heaven which is in the future is made present
and inaugurated and the grace of this is given
to us here and now every time we celebrate the
divine liturgy and receive holy communion This
pearl of great price, the Lord Jesus himself,
our Orthodox Christian faith in him, is given
to us and nourished. Let us ask the Lord, please
thank him for this priceless gift and ask him
to nourish that here and forever until we go
through those pearly gates. and see the most
blessed Trinity, to whom we ascribe glory, thanksgiving,
and worship, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now
and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.