WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.819 Holy Spirit, glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:00:06.179 --> 00:00:13.000 If any of you have ever been on a pilgrimage, 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:17.679 you know that one of the things that happens, 00:00:17.940 --> 00:00:25.199 I'm talking a big trip to a holy place, monastery, 00:00:25.620 --> 00:00:31.690 holy land, what have you. On a pilgrimage, things 00:00:31.690 --> 00:00:37.329 happen on the way. And it's difficult. There's 00:00:37.329 --> 00:00:41.409 hardships. There's mistakes. There's all kinds 00:00:41.409 --> 00:00:45.130 of obstacles that appear. And that's the way 00:00:45.130 --> 00:00:51.009 a pilgrimage works. As one person said, this 00:00:51.009 --> 00:00:57.210 is God helping us grow and mature like me teaching 00:00:57.210 --> 00:00:59.909 maybe one of my grandchildren. to ride a bike, 00:01:00.009 --> 00:01:02.350 at some point you just kind of stand back. They 00:01:02.350 --> 00:01:04.670 have to pedal without their training wheels. 00:01:05.170 --> 00:01:08.709 And they might fall. But that's part of the process. 00:01:09.750 --> 00:01:14.849 Well, Lent, let's say the journey to Pascha. 00:01:14.969 --> 00:01:19.170 This is a pilgrimage. But a pilgrimage more like 00:01:19.170 --> 00:01:24.090 Exodus than my trip to Mount Athos. A pilgrimage 00:01:24.090 --> 00:01:32.140 like the Hebrews. Leaving Egypt and their enslavement. 00:01:33.260 --> 00:01:37.040 Crossing the Red Sea with the miracle of God 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:42.459 parting it. Dwelling in the desert, complaining 00:01:42.459 --> 00:01:46.340 constantly after that about their situation. 00:01:48.219 --> 00:01:53.260 Some even leaving the worship as it was given 00:01:53.260 --> 00:01:55.480 them and they start worshiping a golden calf 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:57.400 because they think that's the most high God. 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:01.200 And on and on and on. Lent is more like that 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.540 pilgrimage. Why? Let's look at this gospel for 00:02:05.540 --> 00:02:10.659 a moment. Now you might think this gospel and 00:02:10.659 --> 00:02:14.819 today's commemoration of St. John of the Ladder, 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:17.620 this monastic saint that wrote this book called 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:20.520 The Ladder of Divine Ascent with 30 steps on 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:24.900 the road of the virtues, becoming more Christ 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:27.340 -like. What does this have to do with anything 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:32.180 with Lent and Pascha, the resurrection of Christ? 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:36.379 We have a story about a man who comes to the 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:39.639 apostles with a boy who is demon -possessed. 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:46.699 The apostles could not heal him. People come 00:02:46.699 --> 00:02:49.620 running, and no doubt the apostles are being 00:02:49.620 --> 00:02:53.659 criticized for their lack of faith. Jesus has 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:55.840 just come down from the mountain of transfiguration 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:01.759 with James and John and Peter. You think they'd 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:04.740 want to go celebrate the great event? Lord, this 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:07.500 was an amazing thing. Let's celebrate. No, they 00:03:07.500 --> 00:03:10.139 come into the midst of this scene of this boy 00:03:10.139 --> 00:03:17.039 wallowing, foaming, writhing, yelling. A terrible, 00:03:17.060 --> 00:03:20.840 terrible scene. None of us have seen this, I 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:28.360 gather. Yes, you read about such possessions 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:32.379 by demons in some places and in the lives of 00:03:32.379 --> 00:03:34.219 saints, but you and I have never seen such a 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:39.699 thing, probably. Maybe one or two of you have. 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:46.479 I don't know. Nine out of ten of us have not 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:49.280 read the Ladder of Divine Ascent, I would estimate. 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:53.240 So what's this have to do with our journey? And 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:56.099 then there's the last line of this gospel. Jesus 00:03:56.099 --> 00:03:59.300 says to the disciples, you know that the Son 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:01.080 of Man is going to be crucified, he's going to 00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:03.180 be killed, and he will rise on the third day. 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:08.979 It all seems so disconnected to what we're doing. 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:15.439 Well, first off, and I would say about our faith, 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:20.779 this man... provides a much better example of 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:25.139 honest faith to the disciples. They needed it 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:31.019 modeled. For they lacked the spiritual strength 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:34.300 to deliver that young man from the demon. And 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:36.870 the Savior told them, And this is the part which 00:04:36.870 --> 00:04:39.810 I really hesitate to say because I'm such a hypocrite. 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:42.850 This kind cannot be driven out by anything but 00:04:42.850 --> 00:04:46.829 by prayer and fasting. The road to Pascha is 00:04:46.829 --> 00:04:51.930 going to be filled with much obstacle. Many obstacles. 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:59.629 The Savior says prayer and fasting. That will 00:04:59.629 --> 00:05:04.259 get you there. But we don't trust fasting. Because 00:05:04.259 --> 00:05:07.800 we don't see it modeled very well. And for that, 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:12.660 partially I'm to blame. In the life of prayer, 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:18.720 we're not zealous. We have to be in love with 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:24.560 God. Then we want to pray with him, to him, with 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:32.050 the saints. It's about love of God. Nothing else 00:05:32.050 --> 00:05:35.129 is going to make us pray, because God doesn't 00:05:35.129 --> 00:05:40.069 require that from us. But if we love someone, 00:05:40.170 --> 00:05:45.949 we want to be with them. The Savior said, this 00:05:45.949 --> 00:05:48.350 kind cannot come out but by prayer and fasting. 00:05:48.470 --> 00:05:51.829 And he said that because the apostles at that 00:05:51.829 --> 00:05:54.689 time were spiritual weaklings who had neglected 00:05:54.689 --> 00:05:59.040 the most basic spiritual practices. for opening 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:04.240 themselves up to Christ's healing power. Now, 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:07.300 one of them got to the point when the Lord said, 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:09.839 the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:12.680 of men. They will kill him, and after he is killed, 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:16.699 he will rise on the third day. What follows is 00:06:16.699 --> 00:06:19.699 a talk about who's the best in the apostles, 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:23.500 who's going to sit at the right hand. They had 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:26.120 a superficial faith. This is what we discovered 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:30.560 during Lent, that our faith is like that. And 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:33.019 that man, whatever mistakes he made with that 00:06:33.019 --> 00:06:36.339 boy, whatever situation got that boy possessed 00:06:36.339 --> 00:06:39.860 by a demon, we don't know. But that man came 00:06:39.860 --> 00:06:44.199 and he humbled himself. Jesus says, if you believe, 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:47.180 all things are possible. Now, that doesn't mean, 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:51.139 children, that if you pray, you're going to get 00:06:51.139 --> 00:06:57.079 that bicycle. Or that sled. Or those skis. Or 00:06:57.079 --> 00:06:59.579 the car that you want. Or the house that you 00:06:59.579 --> 00:07:02.699 really want. Or on and on and on. All things 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:07.279 are possible according to God's plan. Not our 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:12.579 plan. And what did the man say back? With tears. 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:17.620 Brothers and sisters, it's necessary for us to 00:07:17.620 --> 00:07:22.730 find the way to have tears. And we will only 00:07:22.730 --> 00:07:25.949 see that and only acquire that, excuse me, if 00:07:25.949 --> 00:07:30.089 we see the weakness of our own faith and say 00:07:30.089 --> 00:07:34.649 to the Lord, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. 00:07:34.810 --> 00:07:38.649 This is almost the most famous text in the New 00:07:38.649 --> 00:07:41.730 Testament and one that we could say every day. 00:07:42.670 --> 00:07:46.569 So the first thing we learn on our way through 00:07:46.569 --> 00:07:51.639 Lent is how miserably weak. I should say how 00:07:51.639 --> 00:08:01.639 miserably weak my own faith is. Whether it's 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:06.379 Lent or some other time, we often doubt whether 00:08:06.379 --> 00:08:09.540 God really hears our prayers. And I can tell 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:14.060 you, I've been in the situation many times where 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:19.660 I've asked God for something, and I could not 00:08:19.660 --> 00:08:24.389 heal them. that person. I had no effect. And 00:08:24.389 --> 00:08:30.389 years go by. And those around say, your disciple 00:08:30.389 --> 00:08:35.490 could not heal him or her. I know how they felt. 00:08:37.690 --> 00:08:40.789 We often doubt whether God really hears our prayers 00:08:40.789 --> 00:08:43.570 when we get into that situation. For those we 00:08:43.570 --> 00:08:46.750 love most in this life. And if he does, whether 00:08:46.750 --> 00:08:50.659 we can actually help them. Regardless, And let 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:52.500 me spread this out a little further. Regardless 00:08:52.500 --> 00:08:55.519 of our political opinions, we're often tempted 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:59.759 to despair over the future of our country. Has 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:03.720 God abandoned us? We're often tempted to despair 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:07.679 over the future and our partisan sensibilities 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:11.539 to inflame our passions. And we forget we're 00:09:11.539 --> 00:09:14.360 first Christians and citizens of the kingdom. 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:18.399 And the invasion of one historically orthodox 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:22.889 nation? By another, make us wonder, what's the 00:09:22.889 --> 00:09:25.610 point for all our petitions for peace in the 00:09:25.610 --> 00:09:29.909 liturgy? If we're honest with ourselves, the 00:09:29.909 --> 00:09:33.190 word of the Father in today's gospel must also 00:09:33.190 --> 00:09:38.230 become ours. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. 00:09:39.049 --> 00:09:43.549 Otherwise, Lent is just a superficial spirituality. 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:51.600 Lent is not an exodus. to the cross. And that's 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:55.539 my first, second, and final point. We are on 00:09:55.539 --> 00:10:00.980 a journey to the cross. Where does our hope come 00:10:00.980 --> 00:10:05.059 from? It comes from the fact that Jesus rose 00:10:05.059 --> 00:10:08.039 from the dead. He already, as the epistle said, 00:10:08.299 --> 00:10:14.580 went through the veil of death. The sign of the 00:10:14.580 --> 00:10:18.059 truth of our faith. That St. Paul was teaching 00:10:18.059 --> 00:10:22.200 in Hebrews when he mentioned Abraham is that 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:26.000 Jesus has gone before and that resurrection is 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:28.379 the sign that we're going to be given that gift 00:10:28.379 --> 00:10:32.080 too. But we have to experience a little bit of 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:35.500 what this man experienced. The weakness of our 00:10:35.500 --> 00:10:42.740 faith and the strength of God's faith. Next week, 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:47.730 this coming week, We have Presanctified on Wednesday 00:10:47.730 --> 00:10:52.690 evening, which is much lengthier than other Presanctifieds. 00:10:54.730 --> 00:10:58.669 The trip is intensifying. The pilgrimage, the 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:01.830 exodus is intensifying. Let's not grumble about 00:11:01.830 --> 00:11:05.950 it. Like, it'd be better to be back in Egypt. 00:11:06.009 --> 00:11:08.350 They had good cucumbers there. You took us out 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:10.750 here to die? Aren't there any graves in Egypt? 00:11:10.850 --> 00:11:13.389 And such, you know, such remarks that you can 00:11:13.389 --> 00:11:17.539 read in Exodus. Let's not grumble, but let's 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:19.759 be attentive to the fast. Let's be attentive 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:23.519 to the life of the church. You know, the life 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.539 of the church this coming week is like that magnifying 00:11:26.539 --> 00:11:29.659 glass. You put it in the sun, it's going to concentrate 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:32.720 the light of the sun, and it's going to really 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:37.639 build some heat up. That's what we need. Give 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:41.320 yourself a chance to take part in that. And on 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:44.850 Thursday, we'll... pray the matins with the canon 00:11:44.850 --> 00:11:48.809 of St. Andrew in mostly its entirety, we abbreviate 00:11:48.809 --> 00:11:51.029 a little bit, with the reading of the life of 00:11:51.029 --> 00:11:55.990 St. Mary of Egypt. And as a crown for the week 00:11:55.990 --> 00:11:58.970 on Friday evening, we will sing the praises, 00:11:58.970 --> 00:12:04.750 the akathas to the Virgin Mary. So enter in to 00:12:04.750 --> 00:12:09.919 the difficulties, the obstacles, face them. your 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:14.059 own faith. Don't let it flag. Be strong with 00:12:14.059 --> 00:12:16.960 the prayers of the apostles and with the prayers 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:20.500 of St. John of the Ladder, who we remember this 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:21.500 day. Amen.