In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Glory be to Jesus Christ.
Glory be to Him. The remarks that I want to share
with you this morning center around today's Gospel,
and then I will go into reflections on today's
Sunday, the Sanctity of Life Sunday. And I think
that there's a genuine connection between the
gospel and the sanctity of life Sunday. The gospel,
of course, is the healing of the blind man on
the road to Jericho. The gospel event is related
substantially the same in Matthew, Mark, and
Luke. provides the name of this blind man, Bartimaeus.
But in all these three Gospels, this event is
within the context, it's placed near the end
of Jesus' ministry. He's on the road to Jericho.
He's going up to Jerusalem for that great confrontation
between him and the Pharisees leading up to his
own death. imprisonment, and execution. So what
happens here is that a blind man hears a lot
of commotion, and he asks, what's this all about?
And they tell him, Jesus of Nazareth is passing
by. And notice what the blind man says in all
three Gospels. Jesus, son of David, have mercy
on me. The blind man, in other words, acknowledges,
and this is why this point is made in Matthew,
Mark, and Luke. The blind man acknowledges what
the religious establishment, by and large, the
scribes and the Pharisees, and many of the people
at that time, did not see or refused to acknowledge.
that Jesus is the long -awaited Messiah, the
Son of David, who is to come into the world to
save them and to save all human beings from their
sins and offer eternal life. The point here is
that some people realized who Jesus was. Others
did not acknowledge him. And it's hard to look
into their souls why they didn't. Either they
were hard -hearted or they genuinely didn't see.
But some saw and some didn't the truth of who
Jesus is. And this, I think, is my connection,
my bridge to the Sanctity of Life Sunday. It
is certainly well known to all of us. that in
our society one of the most divisive issues is
the question of unborn babies, the legitimacy
or illegitimacy of abortion, terminating the
life of unborn babies. Some people see this.
Other people, for some reason or another, just
do not see it. This is an extension of the commandment
of God, thou shalt not kill. This commandment,
unlike the other commandments, are codified in
the law of Moses, but also more deeply than that
is what many people call the natural law. Human
beings, in their hearts, generally speaking,
do know or should know what is right and what
is wrong. So even without the aid of revelation,
murder is wrong. An example of this is the oath
of Hippolytus, This is 400 years before Christ.
The affirmation by physicians of their ethics.
And within this oath of Apollotus, it says, neither
will I administer a poison to anyone who asks
to do so. In other words, no assisted suicide.
nor will I suggest such a course. Similarly,
neither will I give to a woman a device to cause
abortion, but I will keep holy both my life and
my heart. A pre -Christian pagan realizes this.
This, I think, is reflected In the final conclusion,
and I meant to say this before the oath for Hippolytus,
the encyclical letter of the Metropolitan on
Sanctity of Life, and he concludes with this
message. I believe we should affirm to the world,
to anyone considering an abortion, to anyone
counseling someone to have an abortion, to anyone
who supports this practice, the lessons we have
been taught by our Master, the ways of mercy,
compassion, and love in doing so. I pray that
we will enkindle in their hearts and minds a
change. In other words, to realize what even
a pre -Christian like Hippolytus, or Hippocrates,
I mean. Hippocrates. Thank you. When you get
old, you get goofed up on things. If I say anything,
if I quote Aristotle instead of Jesus, correct
me. But it is Hippocrates' note, not Hippolytus'
oath, not Hippolytus, the early Christian martyr.
So that they too will learn to walk in these
same ways and will be moved to protect and defend
the most vulnerable, That's so true. The most
vulnerable place in America to live is in the
womb nowadays. The sanctity of life is affirmed
in the Old Testament, particularly Psalm 139.
knit me together from my mother's womb. The prayer
of the Aptina elders reflects the same thing.
O Lord, illumine my mind and my heart with the
understanding of thine eternal and unchanging
statutes, not just reflected in the Ten Commandments,
but the eternal statutes. that God implanted
in the hearts and minds of all human beings.
Illumine my mind and my heart with the understanding
of thine eternal and unchanging statutes. This
also, Christians have always maintained, the
sanctity of life. They've understood the commandment,
thou shalt not kill, as applying to all life,
including life in the womb. There's an early
Christian document, which in some instances,
collections, is included with the New Testament,
written about the year 100. It's called the Letter
of Barnabas. presuming to be the companion of
St. Paul. And in this, the letter of Barnabas
states, Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring
abortion, nor again shall you destroy it after
it is born. In other words, no infanticide either.
Life is holy. And years ago, I remember when
people would come to me and say, Father, my wife
and I, or my husband and I, want to have a child,
but can you pray that God will give us a child?
Or also, expectant mothers would say, please
pray for the health of my unborn baby. to say
this prayer. It's sort of made up on my own,
but I think it reflects the teachings of the
scriptures and our Christian message. I prayed
for those unborn infants and for the conception
of those who wish to conceive. This is what I
say. Virgin Mary Theotokos, intercede. for those
who wish to conceive and have conceived, that
they will have safe delivery, healthy children
without birth defects, and that all human beings
will acknowledge the sanctity of life and the
holiness of marriage. This is the message of
the scriptures. our church as well on this Sunday.
We have to pray that this same message illumines
the minds of all human beings. Sure, abortion
is a complex legal and social issue, but the
fundamental idea about the importance of human
life cannot be compromised. So we pray today,
as the Metropolitan said in his message, that
all human beings will see this and acknowledge
it. And as a final manifestation of the holiness
of human life, we have in the center of the Church
the icon of the Visitation, an event which, of
course, you are familiar with. I'll just read
a few verses here from the conclusion of St.
Luke's Gospel, Chapter 1. This is after the Annunciation.
In those days, Mary arose and went with haste
to the hill country, to a city of Judah. And
she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth, her kinswoman. And when Elizabeth
heard the greeting of Mary, The babe leapt in
her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit, and she exclaimed in a loud voice, Blessed
are you among women, and blessed is the fruit
of your womb, what you are containing within
yourself. And why is this granted to me, that
the mother of my Lord, should come to me. For
behold, when the voice of your greeting came
to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
And blessed is she who believed that there would
be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from
the Lord. And Mary says that beautiful hymn which
we sing at matins every day in our church services.
My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices
in God my Savior. So today let us pray for all
of our fellow Americans and for all human beings
around the world that they will realize the natural
law of God, which is implanted in their hearts.
And it is confirmed by revelation of the Old
Testament and the New Testament and the teaching
of the church. And let us pray for the individuals
involved. And I'll conclude again with my own
prayer. Virgin Mary Theotokos. Intercede for
those who wish to conceive and have conceived
that they may have a safe carriage and delivery,
healthy children, no birth defects, and that
all men will acknowledge the holiness of life
and the holiness of Christian marriage. Amen.