WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.040 of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. This 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:11.519 is the second Sunday before Christmas, before 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:17.300 Nativity. We're almost there. And it is chosen 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:21.379 by the Orthodox Church to honor the holy ancestors 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:25.410 of Christ. It is fitting and right that we do 00:00:25.410 --> 00:00:29.129 remember these faithful servants of God who listened 00:00:29.129 --> 00:00:34.649 to the Lord God and did His will that a way of 00:00:34.649 --> 00:00:37.869 salvation for all humanity might be established 00:00:37.869 --> 00:00:44.429 and that path to sanctification, it has been 00:00:44.429 --> 00:00:48.590 built. And the way of salvation is available 00:00:48.590 --> 00:00:52.880 to every one of us. And the question for us all 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:59.659 is, will we walk upon it? In today's Gospel reading, 00:00:59.820 --> 00:01:03.340 the Lord Jesus tells a parable of a great feast, 00:01:03.579 --> 00:01:07.739 where many are called by the host to attend, 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:13.900 but they all began to make excuses. Excuses to 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:20.120 not attend this grand event. I have purchased 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:24.299 some property and must go and see it. I have 00:01:24.299 --> 00:01:27.819 purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to 00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:34.000 test them. I have married a new wife. Certainly, 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.900 none of these things has anything wrong to it, 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:43.609 but it did keep them from the feast. The Lord 00:01:43.609 --> 00:01:46.590 of the feast therefore told his servant, Go out 00:01:46.590 --> 00:01:50.430 quickly into the streets and lanes of the city 00:01:50.430 --> 00:01:53.689 and bring in here the poor and the maimed and 00:01:53.689 --> 00:01:57.709 the lame and the blind. And the servant did so, 00:01:57.829 --> 00:02:01.849 and still there was more room at the feast. So 00:02:01.849 --> 00:02:04.969 the Lord said, Go out into the highways and the 00:02:04.969 --> 00:02:09.509 hedges and compel them to come in that my house 00:02:09.509 --> 00:02:15.139 may be filled. And so it happened, a feast for 00:02:15.139 --> 00:02:20.620 all those who agreed to attend. The feast represented 00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:26.319 in this parable is God's kingdom. What a wonderful 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:31.300 invitation that is given to all, to you, to me, 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:35.039 to all of us, to eat bread in the kingdom of 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:41.569 God. And yet, some will choose not to go. Why? 00:02:43.150 --> 00:02:48.370 Worldly entanglements. They're called elsewhere 00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:52.509 by these worldly entanglements that they value 00:02:52.509 --> 00:02:58.770 more. It could be property. It could be new fleet 00:02:58.770 --> 00:03:01.430 trucks that you have to go get launched for your 00:03:01.430 --> 00:03:05.990 business. It could be any issue that you would 00:03:05.990 --> 00:03:10.090 make more important than reaching heaven. and 00:03:10.090 --> 00:03:14.090 the kingdom of God. And this leads to the questions 00:03:14.090 --> 00:03:20.050 each one of us must ask ourselves. Which way 00:03:20.050 --> 00:03:23.909 am I walking? Am I headed to the great feast? 00:03:24.530 --> 00:03:27.629 Are my life choices taking me towards heaven 00:03:27.629 --> 00:03:33.229 or away from heaven? Are temporary worldly distractions 00:03:33.229 --> 00:03:38.099 keeping me entangled Unable to move forward on 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:40.759 the narrow road of salvation and sanctification. 00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:46.180 And today's epistle, it lays out for us some 00:03:46.180 --> 00:03:49.520 of the things to look for in answering these 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:57.060 questions for ourselves. It says to avoid fornication, 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:00.860 uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, 00:04:00.900 --> 00:04:06.030 which is idolatry, anger, wrath, malice. blasphemy, 00:04:06.090 --> 00:04:10.430 filthy language, lying. And we need to look at 00:04:10.430 --> 00:04:13.669 ourselves and see, is any of this a part of our 00:04:13.669 --> 00:04:17.709 lives? And if so, confess it and move back to 00:04:17.709 --> 00:04:23.230 that right path. It says we are to put off the 00:04:23.230 --> 00:04:30.009 old man and to put on the new man. The old man 00:04:30.009 --> 00:04:33.149 serves the passions of the flesh. the things 00:04:33.149 --> 00:04:36.490 that call us in this world. And the new man seeks 00:04:36.490 --> 00:04:42.009 God and walks in the Spirit. The new man humbles 00:04:42.009 --> 00:04:46.389 himself before God, confesses his sins, repents 00:04:46.389 --> 00:04:50.689 of past mistakes or present mistakes, asks God 00:04:50.689 --> 00:04:56.689 for forgiveness, depends on the Lord for salvation 00:04:56.689 --> 00:05:02.300 and sanctification, not on himself. The new man 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:07.180 desires to go to that great feast and says yes 00:05:07.180 --> 00:05:13.439 to the invitation. You are invited. What is your 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:19.779 answer? Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk says this. The 00:05:19.779 --> 00:05:22.879 hope which is laid up for Christians in heaven 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:27.379 has power to move Christians to piety and patience, 00:05:27.459 --> 00:05:31.939 to confirm them in it with God's help. and to 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:34.899 turn them away from sin by which that hope is 00:05:34.899 --> 00:05:39.420 destroyed. There is the heavenly Father's house, 00:05:39.620 --> 00:05:42.899 and in his house are many mansions. There is 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:46.800 the holy city, the new Jerusalem, mentioned in 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:50.699 Revelation, which St. John saw, and there shall 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:56.100 be no night there, and they need no candle, neither 00:05:56.100 --> 00:05:59.980 light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them 00:05:59.980 --> 00:06:04.649 light. There, the good things are prepared for 00:06:04.649 --> 00:06:08.750 them that love God, which eye hath not seen, 00:06:08.750 --> 00:06:11.829 nor ear heard, neither have entered into the 00:06:11.829 --> 00:06:16.069 heart of man. There, God's elect see him face 00:06:16.069 --> 00:06:20.089 to face. There, the Son of Righteousness, that 00:06:20.089 --> 00:06:24.009 is Christ, the Son of God, is shining in his 00:06:24.009 --> 00:06:28.120 glory. And that sun never sets. nor is he covered 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:31.800 with clouds, but he is always shining, enlightening, 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:35.779 warming, gladdening his elect, and they themselves 00:06:35.779 --> 00:06:39.680 shine as the sun in the kingdom of their father. 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:44.800 There the great supper is made, at which many 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:48.699 that have come from the east and the west sit 00:06:48.699 --> 00:06:54.519 with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. You are invited. 00:06:55.529 --> 00:07:00.810 What is your answer? Have you ever worked with 00:07:00.810 --> 00:07:07.310 string or perhaps even electronic wires? Or perhaps 00:07:07.310 --> 00:07:12.930 with rope? And somehow, someway, it always gets 00:07:12.930 --> 00:07:16.569 twisted up in knots and tangled. No matter how 00:07:16.569 --> 00:07:19.939 you try to keep it. Perhaps yarn. But any of 00:07:19.939 --> 00:07:23.500 these things, they seem to get all entangled, 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:27.420 and it is very, very difficult to untangle them 00:07:27.420 --> 00:07:30.120 by pulling the lines back and forth and getting 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:35.279 it through to properly straighten it. Well, our 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:40.540 lives can be like that string. We get all entangled 00:07:40.540 --> 00:07:44.040 because of worldly desires. and passions that 00:07:44.040 --> 00:07:47.399 pull us in wrong directions and get us all tied 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:50.100 up in knots, and we don't know what to do, and 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:54.660 we can't seem to untie it. And when we are entangled 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:59.740 like that, it's difficult to walk on the narrow 00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:04.699 path to the feast that we're invited to. But 00:08:04.699 --> 00:08:07.939 God is ready and willing to help us untangle 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:13.470 those knots. All we have to do is ask. We just 00:08:13.470 --> 00:08:18.930 need to ask and then let him do it. To say, Lord, 00:08:19.069 --> 00:08:23.370 help me, untangle me, sanctify me, lead me to 00:08:23.370 --> 00:08:29.810 the heavenly feast. You are invited. Let your 00:08:29.810 --> 00:08:34.710 answer be yes and walk on that path to salvation 00:08:34.710 --> 00:08:39.590 and sanctification and we will... We will celebrate 00:08:39.590 --> 00:08:42.730 at that great feast if we can keep our feet on 00:08:42.730 --> 00:08:46.190 the path trusting in God. Let us do so. Glory 00:08:46.190 --> 00:08:47.110 to Jesus Christ.