I don't really understand what it means to say
someone is spiritual but not religious. But he
said, I think I know what it means because I'm
like that, religious but not spiritual. It's
no laughing matter. This is what we see in the
gospel today. Let me take you back to Holy Saturday
for a moment. Six weeks ago, This is the last
Sunday of Pascha time. So we're asking ourselves,
how have we been enlightened during this period?
What have we spiritually learned about ourself?
Have we gained any humility? Have we seen any
more of the providence of God in our life and
around us? Take you back to Holy Saturday. On
that day, we heard many Old Testament readings
at the Vesper liturgy. We heard a reading about
the Passover, about preparing for the Passover,
the Hebrew people being given the instructions
by God through Moses to prepare lamb. And then
at that last terrible plague that was visited
upon Pharaoh, and God says to Moses, I will overcome
the gods of Egypt. of which Pharaoh was a representative,
they're told to leave. The Hebrews were told
to leave in the middle of the night. Get out
of here. You're too much trouble. Of course,
not long afterwards, why do we say that? And
then they went to chase them. And they left in
the middle of the night. And they escaped the
slavery of Egypt. This is the Passover. And they
ate the lamb hurriedly. And they took all their
things, including jewels from the Egyptians.
They kind of plundered the Egyptians. Well, why
did we hear that? Is it just kind of Old Testament
history, something interesting? No, it wasn't
because of that. It was so that when we stood
in the dark, in the middle of the night, and
we went outside, with our candles, we would know
that we are participating in the Passover, the
Pascha of the Lord, and we have been saved from
death and sin and the slavery of all that darkness.
That's why we did that. And we held our candles.
And what happens when you hold a candle in a
dark room? The darkness recedes. And it's as
if there's this circle. of light that we are
in. That's Christ. That's our faith. There's
also a circle of darkness around there, and it
seems to get a little bit bigger as there is
more light. But remember what we heard in the
gospel on that night. The light has come into
the world, and the darkness could not overcome
it. Darkness and sin take so many forms. It's
always in this world because this world has fallen
away from God. You can blame other people if
you want, but our sin has contributed. My personal
sin has contributed to that darkness. It's heartbreaking.
unjust, horrific, indeed, events all over the
world, every day, things that we don't see that
are going on because we don't hear about it,
the sorrow, the violence, the darkness, the blindness,
these terrible events like what we witnessed
in the news this last week in Texas and the week
before in Buffalo and so on and so forth. And
brothers and sisters, it's not just here. There
are two kinds of evil amidst all these different
kinds of rebellion and darkness against God.
Prompted by the devil, the first kind is outright
violence and craziness. And that which we see
today in this gospel, the denial of the truth
when it's staring you in the face, wasn't that
a count? of the blind man healing, and then the
deposition of his parents coming in before the
judges, the fairies. Wasn't that just insanity?
Either way, whether the evil is outright violence
or crazy, whether it's this denial of the truth,
the gospel is telling us, and the newly illumined
from last week, that the world has fallen. There
is spiritual warfare. It's telling us that the
light of Christ is not overcome. The recent tragedies
don't, they do not change Christ's words, I am
the light of the world. This world can convulse
and turn on itself continually, yet it will be
only for a time because Christ is risen and God
is still acting as bookends in this world. He
is the Alpha and the Omega, St. John says in
the book of Revelation, quoting Christ. He is
the beginning and the end. And from his incarnation
and from his cross, his death and resurrection.
He is everywhere present with us. In between
all of that, this is a world where our free will
operates and causes so much pain and grief and
terror, but also, let us not forget, very frequently
joy. Not the kind that anyone can steal from
us either. The time is coming. May it come quickly,
Lord Jesus, when all this suffering will be concluded
and the love of God and his mercy and paradise
will reign. The former things will pass away.
Behold, I make all things new. But brothers and
sisters, you have been, as the prayer after the
baptism says you have been sanctified, you have
been illumined, you have been chrismated, you
have been washed in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ and by the Spirit of our God. So the paradise
operates within your heart if you allow God to
illumine you. You can be like the apostles, Lord,
why, why, why, why, and be angry at God. This
happens so frequently, but it shows our immaturity
in the faith. Look at St. Paul. What happened
today in that epistle? He's preaching, and this
annoying person goes on and on and on, and then
Paul gets arrested with Silas. Their clothes
are ripped off. They're beaten with rods. They're
thrown into prison. What do they say? Oh, God,
I'm your servant. How could you let this happen
to me? I'm good. Why are you punishing me? Is
that what they did? No. They sang praises to
God. They sang hymns all night long. And an angel
came to them and opened the doors. And this prison
guard thought he was going to kill himself because
the prisoners had escaped. But he was baptized.
What must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ. When Jesus... Secondly, when Jesus
was baptized, what happened? He went into the
desert and he was tempted. What happens to the
newly baptized? You receive all the spiritual
gifts. You are going to be tested, brothers and
sisters. Beloved, you exist to bring glory to
God. You exist to be continually enlightened
by God's light. You bring glory to God best,
not when everything is going well. Of course
we like that, and we're not looking for, as Father
Michael said in his sermon in 2015, which I listened
to yesterday, we're not looking for God to give
us another, as he said, punch in the gut. when
things are going well and when we're healthy
and we have pleasure, we should be giving thanks
to God. When things are not going well, when
we're persecuted, when we're afflicted, when
we're facing terror and tragedy and violence
and death, we don't accuse God. We cannot question
him for lacking care for his creation because
he himself is here. With us today. He is there
when someone's dying. He is there in the hospitals
when people are suffering. He is there in the
nursing homes. He is there in every tragedy.
When suffering intrudes and when sorrow comes,
God is there. Be enlightened. Do you have blindness
when it comes to God? When it comes to wanting
to pray, read the scriptures, or come to church.
Fellowship, reading spiritual books. The Pharisees
were pretty certain these were religious men.
They were pretty certain about certain things,
but it was willful ignorance. Become mature in
your faith. Accept the path that God has given
you. Be the presence of light and joy. In this
world. Carry that Paschal candle. Not just on
Paschal night. Let it stand as a reality in your
life. A candle of faith and flame and warmth
of faith. A candle of joy and trust in God. That
expands the light as you move forward. Because
the light shines in darkness. And the darkness
does not overcome it. The eyes of my mind. We
sang last night in the ex -apostle Aaron, blinded
by dark sin, do thou, O compassionate Lord, enlighten,
putting into my heart humility and washing me
with tears of repentance. Christ is risen.