WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:07.540 Glory to Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is one of 00:00:07.540 --> 00:00:12.359 the most serious days in the year for an Orthodox 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:19.940 Christian. The Lord is teaching us. He's giving 00:00:19.940 --> 00:00:24.760 us a word about our eternal destiny. And each 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:28.320 one of us, each person, every single person born 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:33.689 on this earth, Beloved by God, made by God, has 00:00:33.689 --> 00:00:41.649 a destiny. God has created us to be in love with 00:00:41.649 --> 00:00:45.710 him and to be in communion with him, to share 00:00:45.710 --> 00:00:49.890 his life. To share his life. That's our destiny. 00:00:51.310 --> 00:00:56.609 We weren't created just to go to work, just to 00:00:56.609 --> 00:01:02.310 make money. just to spin our wheels, to find 00:01:02.310 --> 00:01:07.069 entertainment and distraction, and then die. 00:01:07.290 --> 00:01:12.209 No, we are created to live forever in the light 00:01:12.209 --> 00:01:17.629 of God's love, in the light of God's presence. 00:01:18.049 --> 00:01:22.989 This is our destiny. And today, the Lord teaches 00:01:22.989 --> 00:01:28.430 from a specific... perspective about this destiny 00:01:28.430 --> 00:01:34.290 for us. Before I get into this gospel, I want 00:01:34.290 --> 00:01:37.290 to share with you just a few words from this 00:01:37.290 --> 00:01:42.769 brand new book, which is transcriptions of the 00:01:42.769 --> 00:01:46.829 talks by Father Alexander Schmemann of Blessed 00:01:46.829 --> 00:01:52.290 Memory to Radio Liberty for 30 years, a weekly 00:01:52.290 --> 00:01:55.540 talk. This is the first collection in that. These 00:01:55.540 --> 00:01:59.739 are short selections that he gave to believers 00:01:59.739 --> 00:02:05.719 in the Soviet Union. He asks about faith, and 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:10.099 that's a critical question for us today. What 00:02:10.099 --> 00:02:15.759 is our faith? A man once came to me 12, 15 years 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:18.639 ago. I certainly didn't know what to tell him 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:20.560 then. I'm not sure I'd know what to tell him 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.949 now. He said, why did God create us if he's just 00:02:23.949 --> 00:02:26.870 going to have the judgment day and those people 00:02:26.870 --> 00:02:30.930 who he knew would be evil are going to the left 00:02:30.930 --> 00:02:36.150 side to hell prepared for the devil and all his 00:02:36.150 --> 00:02:38.710 angels, not prepared for us, by the way. Why 00:02:38.710 --> 00:02:41.550 would he even create anybody to suffer that fate? 00:02:42.490 --> 00:02:50.159 Doesn't sound fair. Well, He was looking for 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:54.060 some kind of system, I suppose. He was looking 00:02:54.060 --> 00:02:58.400 for a way, this man, to kind of pull down God. 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:01.960 And he had forgotten that God is trying to pull 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:06.080 us up. That we are to be like him. We are to 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:12.539 be his image and likeness in this world. We are 00:03:12.539 --> 00:03:14.919 his servants, so we have a further ministry. 00:03:17.229 --> 00:03:20.810 We have the ability, we have the grace, we have 00:03:20.810 --> 00:03:23.650 the means, the holy mysteries to be cleansed, 00:03:23.650 --> 00:03:28.050 to truly be like him, to be sanctified. This 00:03:28.050 --> 00:03:30.069 is why the church walls have saints on them. 00:03:30.689 --> 00:03:35.349 To call us to join them. They are our brothers 00:03:35.349 --> 00:03:38.650 and sisters. They are like us and we are to be 00:03:38.650 --> 00:03:40.830 like them. Here's what Father Alexander says 00:03:40.830 --> 00:03:43.710 about faith. And perhaps it answers that man's 00:03:43.710 --> 00:03:47.469 question and sets for me the tone. Of what it 00:03:47.469 --> 00:03:53.330 means to believe in God. And by the way, I'm 00:03:53.330 --> 00:03:55.789 sorry, but everybody is required to keep their 00:03:55.789 --> 00:03:58.569 masks on. This is just the rule of our hierarchy. 00:03:59.849 --> 00:04:04.069 And we are limiting our capacity to 30. That's 00:04:04.069 --> 00:04:07.129 our own personal rule. So please listen to our, 00:04:07.229 --> 00:04:10.810 as you do, to our ushers when they want to help 00:04:10.810 --> 00:04:15.080 you. They're only here to help. Here's what Father 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:20.259 Alexander says. Where does faith come from? From 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:25.339 fear of the afterlife? From my inherent passionate 00:04:25.339 --> 00:04:29.600 and ultimately egotistical desire not to utterly 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:35.180 disappear from the face of reality? No. No. For 00:04:35.180 --> 00:04:38.079 the most clever philosophical discourse about 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:42.560 the afterlife, about eternity, and so on, seems 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:47.819 but useless babble to me. What do I know about 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:52.680 all this? And what can I say to others? And I 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:55.480 do not believe in God because I desire the afterlife 00:04:55.480 --> 00:05:00.139 and eternity, but rather I believe in eternal 00:05:00.139 --> 00:05:06.279 life because I believe in God. But then to the 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:09.639 question of all questions, why do I believe? 00:05:11.180 --> 00:05:16.300 Only one answer can be made, because God gave 00:05:16.300 --> 00:05:19.839 me this faith, and he gives it to me all the 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:24.459 time. He gave it as a gift, and I am convinced 00:05:24.459 --> 00:05:28.019 of its reality by the unique joy that does not 00:05:28.019 --> 00:05:31.639 depend on anything in this world, the peace that 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:35.139 does not depend on anything external, which I 00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:38.180 experience in myself in those rare moments when 00:05:38.180 --> 00:05:43.310 the word God ceases to be just a word, becoming 00:05:43.310 --> 00:05:50.370 a boundless waterfall of light, of love, of beauty, 00:05:50.430 --> 00:05:55.089 and true life that washes over me. Peace and 00:05:55.089 --> 00:05:59.129 joy and the Holy Spirit, says St. Paul. This 00:05:59.129 --> 00:06:02.189 is what St. Paul said, and there are no other 00:06:02.189 --> 00:06:08.269 words. This is why we are children. This is why 00:06:08.269 --> 00:06:10.569 we are baptized. This is why we are members of 00:06:10.569 --> 00:06:14.850 the kingdom of God. This is why we come to worship 00:06:14.850 --> 00:06:17.769 him. We enter into this church and we hear, lo, 00:06:17.970 --> 00:06:21.629 the words of Jesus, lo, I am with you even to 00:06:21.629 --> 00:06:25.189 the end of the age. And we hear the words of 00:06:25.189 --> 00:06:27.649 the prayer, attend, O Lord Jesus Christ, from 00:06:27.649 --> 00:06:30.069 thy holy dwelling place and from the glory of 00:06:30.069 --> 00:06:32.870 the kingdom and come to sanctify us. So thou 00:06:32.870 --> 00:06:39.189 who art present with us now. And yet, the Lord 00:06:39.189 --> 00:06:44.449 will come again for all to see. We know he is 00:06:44.449 --> 00:06:48.189 here with us and we worship him. But he will 00:06:48.189 --> 00:06:54.350 come with his angels in all his glory and all 00:06:54.350 --> 00:06:59.709 will see the glory of the Son of Man. The glory 00:06:59.709 --> 00:07:03.550 of the wounds of his hands and of his feet and 00:07:03.550 --> 00:07:07.610 the spear that had pierced his side. The glory 00:07:07.610 --> 00:07:11.029 of the members of his kingdom, which we hear 00:07:11.029 --> 00:07:16.230 today, are not just the people, maybe not at 00:07:16.230 --> 00:07:19.389 all the people that minister to the least, to 00:07:19.389 --> 00:07:22.750 the poor, to the hungry, to the thirsty, to the 00:07:22.750 --> 00:07:25.290 imprisoned. But to those who are imprisoned, 00:07:25.689 --> 00:07:30.089 there is Jesus. To those who are thirsty, to 00:07:30.089 --> 00:07:35.069 those who are hungry and alone, they are the 00:07:35.069 --> 00:07:39.420 Christ. That we can meet. That's the glory of 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:46.079 God that he's coming with. Chapter 24 tells us 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:49.040 something extremely important about the teaching 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:52.339 we hear today in chapter 25. And that is this. 00:07:56.699 --> 00:08:01.639 The disciples of Jesus gathered to him. The twelve. 00:08:04.490 --> 00:08:08.990 And Jesus said to them, See ye all these things? 00:08:10.490 --> 00:08:13.790 Truly I say to you, the temple, there shall not 00:08:13.790 --> 00:08:17.470 be one stone upon another that shall not be thrown 00:08:17.470 --> 00:08:20.370 down. And as he sat down on the Mount of Olives, 00:08:20.410 --> 00:08:26.050 which is across from the temple, he told his 00:08:26.050 --> 00:08:32.480 disciples who came to him privately. All of these 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:35.340 things about the end, they said to Jesus, tell 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:40.059 us, Lord, when shall these things be? And what 00:08:40.059 --> 00:08:43.059 shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end 00:08:43.059 --> 00:08:46.120 of the world? Was Jesus alone with his disciples 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:51.659 on the Mount of Olives? And he spoke about the 00:08:51.659 --> 00:08:57.240 end and about rumors and wars and tribulations 00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:01.970 and plagues. and nations fighting against nations 00:09:01.970 --> 00:09:04.409 and earthquakes. But all these things are not 00:09:04.409 --> 00:09:10.190 yet the end. And the sun shall be darkened. And 00:09:10.190 --> 00:09:12.090 then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man 00:09:12.090 --> 00:09:15.889 in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the 00:09:15.889 --> 00:09:18.950 earth mourn. And they shall see the Son of Man 00:09:18.950 --> 00:09:22.590 coming in the clouds of heaven with power and 00:09:22.590 --> 00:09:26.710 great glory. And then what does he tell the disciples? 00:09:28.330 --> 00:09:30.850 And what does he tell us? Because we claim to 00:09:30.850 --> 00:09:35.789 be his disciples. He's sitting with them on the 00:09:35.789 --> 00:09:39.830 Mount of Olives. We're sitting with them on the 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:44.529 Mount of Olives. And Jesus says these parables. 00:09:45.330 --> 00:09:47.750 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to 00:09:47.750 --> 00:09:50.710 ten virgins. The five wise and the five foolish. 00:09:50.750 --> 00:09:53.529 And the foolish were left out when the bridegroom 00:09:53.529 --> 00:09:57.460 came. Because they were not prepared. And then 00:09:57.460 --> 00:10:00.179 he tells the parable of the man who goes to a 00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:03.039 far country and he gives each of his servants 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:07.100 talents, five, ten, whatever. And then he returns 00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:12.080 and he expects a return on his investment. And 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:14.980 then he tells the parable we just heard. What 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:17.539 is this telling us, brothers and sisters? This 00:10:17.539 --> 00:10:20.580 is a message for the disciples. I don't know 00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:26.070 how God is going to judge others. But you've 00:10:26.070 --> 00:10:29.649 just got to look, a pre -look at the final exam. 00:10:34.029 --> 00:10:39.429 It's clear. The disciples of Christ are to show, 00:10:39.669 --> 00:10:46.210 are to show the fruits of their faith. And the 00:10:46.210 --> 00:10:49.450 greatest fruit of all, and we learned this recently 00:10:49.450 --> 00:10:53.919 in an epistle if we were listening. It's the 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:59.320 bond of perfection is love. God created us out 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:04.740 of love. He has joined us to himself in the church 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:10.259 out of his love. He bestows that love in us and 00:11:10.259 --> 00:11:15.080 through us to others. Our judgment is going to 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:22.639 be based on how we love. Like me, you probably... 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:26.000 could go downtown, could go off of Industrial 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:29.879 Drive. You could drive to Berkeley, get off the 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:33.240 Ashby Avenue exit. You could go to San Francisco 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:36.620 and walk from Union Square to the Civic Center. 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:38.899 And what are you going to see in all of these 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:41.100 three places, and far more than those places? 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:45.120 You're going to see tents and homeless people 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:48.440 and drug addicts and people sitting and sleeping 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:51.720 on the sidewalk. You can't even walk on the sidewalk. 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:57.299 You're going to see all that. The paradox is 00:11:57.299 --> 00:12:04.659 when we give to one of those persons, we're giving 00:12:04.659 --> 00:12:08.679 to Christ. Jesus is not saying here, solve world 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:13.039 hunger. He's not even saying, I hope you can 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:15.519 see the image of God in these people because 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:17.539 that's what you're going to be saved. No, he's 00:12:17.539 --> 00:12:21.730 not telling us that. This is a paradoxical situation. 00:12:22.769 --> 00:12:29.590 The righteous are surprised that they ministered 00:12:29.590 --> 00:12:35.309 to Christ. When did we see the old Lord? But 00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:39.710 their whole life was of love. No matter to who 00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:44.950 it was, they loved. And this is to be the content 00:12:44.950 --> 00:12:49.860 of our life too. We are setting off now. On the 00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:54.120 journey of great Lent. We've heard publican, 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:57.620 tax collector. We've heard the prodigal. Now 00:12:57.620 --> 00:13:00.620 we have the last judgment. We hear about God's 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:03.840 mercy. Now we hear what the servants of God are 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:07.399 expected to be like. Lent is going to be the 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:10.580 time in which we try to attain that love. To 00:13:10.580 --> 00:13:13.539 attain that Christ -likeness. So that our hearts 00:13:13.539 --> 00:13:18.899 become a reflection of the Son. It's almost like 00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:22.440 the moon reflects the sun, but the Son of God. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:23.399 Amen.