Remember when we used to hear things like that,
the clothes make a man. Don't hear that so much
anymore, which is fine, but it's true, isn't
it? It's true in the Christian sense. When we're
baptized, what do we sing? As many as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Christ
is not your average polyester suit. He is the
restoration of what it means to be a human being.
And this we have put on. We call ourselves Christian,
not because we agree, we adhere in an intellectual
way to the tenets, the doctrines, dogmas, the
teachings of the church. We do that, I hope.
Although I know many Christians that seem to
think a lot of that is optional and certain things
they don't like, so they're not going to even
investigate or struggle with those things, which
we should do. We can't answer everything. We're
Christians because we have put on Christ. We
are members of his body. St. John tells us, God
is love. We can love lots of things. Jesus himself
says, men love the darkness more than they love
the light. This is a frightening and horrible
statement that our Savior made. And should tell
us exactly why it's so hard for us to remember
that we have put on Christ. That we are members
of his body. That God is love, so God's love
should be coursing through our veins. So the
most natural thing we could ever do and be is
loving, Christ -like human beings. The transfiguration
is there to show us what we're to be like. In
the life of the kingdom, which is yet to come.
Some saints achieve that through God's grace.
The baptism is there to show us that we are continually
dying to ourself so that we will find our true
self. And the cross is there because we bear
one another's burdens. We carry the cross so
that we can learn God's love, not our love. So
that we can learn that the core of that love,
God's love for us, the core of it, is forgiveness.
It's justification. It's putting us all back
together. So a Christian, an Orthodox Christian,
lives that way. It's hard. And the theme of this
Sunday, is the expulsion of Adam and Eve from
paradise, and that tells us we're not living
in paradise. That's why it's so hard. But when
we enter into the realm of the church, that is
the prayer that we do at home, the divine liturgy,
when we cross ourself, when we come to church
for the liturgy to pray, to confess our sins,
then a little bit of paradise is rebuilt within
us. It's restored. It's cleansed. But it can't
happen unless we forgive and continually forgive.
Peter says, Lord, how often do I have to forgive
these people? Peter's looking for accountability.
Like, they should know they did the wrong thing.
And I should tell them. They should be accountable
to me and fix it. But that's not what forgiveness
is. You see, we want things to be right because
we want paradise. We're not in it, and that's
normal. But that's not going to happen in this
world. We forgive as a statement, a confession,
a commitment that we are Christians. We bear
Christ. We have put him on. This is not a matter
of how we feel. Nothing in the New Testament
talks about our feelings. It hurts to forgive
sometimes. It hurts to be wounded when we're
misused or abused. But you don't want to keep
that poison in you. You want the spiritual dialysis
of forgiveness. We put on Christ, we forgive,
and we become. like God. Because only God truly
can be the forgiver. And if we have trouble with
all that, and we're going to, that's normal in
this fallen world. It's not paradise. Don't get
used to this. No, we don't get used to it. Then
we pray, and we fast, and God finds A place within
our hearts and our souls and minds to impart
his grace to us. And we start to bear that grace.
And it cleanses us. And then we forgive with
the love and the forgiveness that God has. I
want to ask personally for forgiveness. This
has been... Who can say what this year has been
like? But as I look out at the congregation today,
I see members of one another that have kept their
love for one another because they have kept the
true confession of the faith. You have remembered
that God is love. You have remembered you want
to always have peace in your soul. And so while...
Around us, locally, in the county, in the state,
in the country. Things have spun out of control
with relationships and love among others has
grown cold as Jesus said it would be at the last
time. You have remained warm and loving with
one another. This is no thanks to me. And this
is what I want to ask forgiveness for. The many
things I should have done, which you don't even
know about. But if I had done them, things would
be better. Things would be different. But you
have kept the boat afloat. You didn't even need
me. We're bailing out the water and we kept going
through this whole last year by your consistent
love for one another. So I bowed down before
that and I asked that you keep forgiving me and
you keep loving one another. With God's love.
And always remember, we bear the name of Christ.
We bear the name of Christ. This would crush
us, as a philosopher said recently. Someone who
was not ready to accept Christ. He said, this
would crush me if I took it on. But it won't
crush us. The Lord's burden is easy. It's light.
He carries us. Always remember that you bear
the name of Christ. What honor, what nobility
there is. What glory there is to come to us in
humility. So, it's going to be a little odd today.
We usually have the spiral of forgiveness Sunday.
We won't have that spiral today. But I ask that
you would come forward so I can ask your forgiveness.
And then the next person. a little ways over,
then the next person a little ways over, and
the next person out the door and around the corner
and out the front. And as we contemplate the
Lord's forgiveness in asking each other, the
choir will sing the hymns of the destination
that we are starting on now, and that's Pascha.