In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ.
Glory to God. I greet you, brothers and sisters,
on this third Sunday after Pentecost, where the
Church appoints for us Gospel, Epistle, Once
again, like last week, to remind us of the basics
of being a Christian. Part two today. If you
were here last week and you know that I spoke
about responding to Christ as the apostles responded.
He said, come and follow me. That their response
was not one based on his teaching. but based
on him, his authority personally. I also spoke
about having the saints of this land as our guides
and inspiration as we try to do that. So part
two today, trusting in Jesus very briefly. We
come to the church, and as we become a catechumen,
we're given the creed. And we get to the part
of the creed after we've said, I believe in one
God, the Father Almighty. And we learn in the
scriptures that God is a loving God, almighty
in his love and fatherhood. And then we speak
about Jesus, the Son of God, the only begotten
begotten of the Father, crucified for us. And
rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.
Then we get to the part of the creed which we
probably don't think about that much. And I believe
in one holy Catholic. It doesn't mean Roman Catholic.
It means whole and complete. One holy Catholic
and apostolic church. When I say I believe, it
doesn't mean I believe it exists. That's self
-evident. Here we are. I believe in it. That
St. Paul said is the pillar and the ground of
truth. The body of Christ. Pure and undefiled.
Filled with us. We're sick. We sin. And we've
come to be healed. So the basis of our trust
is not in some idea about Jesus. It's about the
living person of Jesus. And our integration into
his life by becoming Christians, baptism and
chrismation and holy communion and worship and
prayer. We share in his life that way. So this
week, with that little introduction, the gospel
we're given is not a parable. And it's not a
miracle story. It's not even a teaching. It's
the words of life. And as we read it, maybe these
words jump out at us a little bit. Anxiety, worry,
stressed out about the basics of life. The audience
of Jesus at the time didn't have a closet full
of clothes. They didn't have a supermarket to
go to to get their food. It was subsistence.
It was simple. Why are you anxious, Christ says.
The word care in the King James Gospel means
that heavy anxiety that fills one's heart, tangled
up with our thoughts. emotionally charged, which
causes us to be even more anxious at the prospect
of losing what we want, not attaining what we
desire, becoming frustrated and perhaps angry.
Does this sound familiar? Beholding the sea of
life, searching high with the storm of temptations,
difficulties. And into this, Jesus says, why
are you anxious about these things? Your clothes,
your food. Also jumping out at us is not just
the word anxious or cares, but jumps out at us
is God's care for us. His love focused on each
one of us, brothers and sisters. Each hair of
our head. Now, Jesus is not telling us, please
understand, sit back. I've got you covered. I'll
take care of everything. No problem. Don't worry.
Be happy. He's not telling us that. We are going
to work and labor through our life. And St. Paul
is going to... direct us so that we understand
when we are going through tribulation and difficulty
when we are faced with that anxiety about the
cares of our life he's going to tell us as you
heard today we glory in our tribulations now
this means that we have to have a different perspective
than the world if we're going to glory in our
tribulation because tribulation produces patience
And patience produces spiritual character. And
character, spiritual character, produces hope
in the Holy Spirit who will not disappoint us.
The Savior is telling us today that a healthy
eye, if your eye is single, in other words, he
says, if your eye is single, your whole body
is full of light. What does this mean? If your
vision is not fragmented by the worry, of just
living. But we remember that God loves us and
cares to us. That healthy eye, this isn't ophthalmology.
This is the eye that sees clearly during difficulties,
during the trying times, and we remain full of
light. Those who put their trust in Christ that
is, seek first the kingdom of God, have a singular
perspective on what life is all about. Those
who put their trust in Christ have a singular
perspective on what their life is all about.
And we know that it's not about just getting
by and making our way through this life. St.
Paul says, having been justified by faith. Justified
means we've been set right with God. We have
a relationship with him. He's not foreign to
us. He's not out there somewhere. We encounter
him here together where two or three are gathered.
We encounter him when we receive Holy Communion.
Having been justified by faith, we have peace
with God. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Peace
is not an idea. It's the presence of Christ in
the heart. And we have access by this faith that
we have to the grace of God. And that we stand
in it. And that makes our vision and our singular
perspective clear. And we rejoice in the hope
of the glory of God. This is what Christians...
Put their life, everything in the basket. One
basket, no plan B. We put our hope and rejoice
in the glory of God. Right here, right now, this
day. St. Macarius, one of the Optine elders,
his fresco is painted back there. He says this.
To hold the Orthodox faith does not mean only
to believe in God to be our creator. It also
means that we recognize his unceasing and detailed
care for us. And with that, we're empowered to
care for one another. Brothers and sisters, it's
a radical message of repentance in this gospel
today. Repentance is orientation towards God,
not anything else. This is a radical message
of trust in that orientation, which we will struggle
with and we will often fail. We won't reach it.
We'll find ourselves without a singular vision
and perspective. We will find ourselves confused,
dazed. but God loves us and will pull us back
if we but trust him a little bit like the mustard
seed. To our Lord be glory now and ever to ages
of ages.