In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ.
Glory to Christ. Perhaps, like me, as you were
young and growing up, and you went to the movies,
or you watched certain television shows, you
developed certain heroes. People that you kind
of held up as above the rest. They weren't saints.
They weren't what the church would hold up, but
somehow they kind of hit you, and you made them
your hero. And one of those, for me, as I was
growing up, was Clint Eastwood. Now, I don't
think that the characters he portrayed in some
of those westerns where he was a police officer,
Clannahan. I don't recommend that you follow
them as a role model. But I did love them at
the time. And thinking back, why? Why did I like
that so much? Well, if people messed with him,
he messed back harder. If someone disrespected
him and did him wrong, they got what they deserved.
This was a form of justice. And you and I and
all of us know when something is unjust, we have
this sense that something is wrong. And we like
in the world for there to be bad guys who get
what they deserve. But sometimes we look around
and we see bad guys who seem to be winning. And
they seem to be getting away with sin. And we
can see good guys who seem to be suffering. And
we kind of wonder. And so how could this be?
And so when we see the movies and we see what
we think of as justice, sometimes it gives us
a gratifying feeling. So whether it be Clint
Eastwood in Westerns or even Keanu Reeves in
the John Wick films that have just been out.
We like to see this justice done. But as Orthodox
Christians, we have to be very careful not to
take justice into our own hands. God is the judge,
not us. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. There
is justice, and it is a godly justice. for me
and you to try to mete out justice, it becomes
something different. Often, it becomes something
called vengeance or revenge. And this is a very
dangerous course to be on. Jesus knows this and
calls us to a different path. In the Gospel of
Luke, in the section just before today's Gospel
reading, Jesus says, Love your enemies. Do good
to those who hate you. Bless those who curse
you. Pray for those who spitefully use you. To
him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the
other also. And from him who takes away your
cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. And
St. Paul in Romans 12 says, repay no one evil
for evil. Have regard for good things in the
sight of all men. If it is possible, as much
as it depends on you, live peaceably with all
men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather
give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance
is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Do not
be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Perhaps you've heard in our services the mention
of the weapon of peace. What a strange thing
to have a weapon, and yet it is peace. We often
think of weapons as things that will hurt or
harm or protect in some way that is physical.
But the weapon of peace is something that comes
from our soul. It is spiritual in nature, and
it depends on us turning to God. And how can
we wield this weapon of peace? The answer is
in today's gospel, the last verse. Be merciful,
just as your Father also is merciful. The prodigal
son is an example of God's mercy to us. Did the
prodigal son deserve to be brought back into
the good, into the household as he was with the
fatted calf killed? Certainly not. And we need
to give thanks to God that we don't get what
we deserve either. And so out of that grace,
that mercy that we see that God gives us, it
will help us to give it to others. And so we
have a choice. Be merciful as God is merciful,
or make ourselves judge and jury and seek out
revenge. When someone does us wrong, it is easy
to become angry. This is a warning sign. Listen
to the words of St. Tikhon of Zidonsk. is the
feeling of pain in the heart caused by another's
offense, which can be by word or deed. The heart
that is filled with anger is like a boiling cauldron,
and it erupts. Anger turns into malice and the
remembrance of wrongs if it is held and fed in
the heart too long. Therefore, we are bidden
to cut it off quickly. so that it may not grow
into hatred and malice. It all comes down to
this. Do we put ourselves first in all that we
think and do, or do we put God first in all that
we think and do? When we get harmed by an enemy
and we put ourselves first, it can result in
anger, which can lead to malice, which can lead
to revenge. which is more evil. You can't fight
evil with evil. But when we put God first, and
we seek to do the Lord's will, and someone harms
us and does us wrong, and we have a tinge, we
do, of anger that may start, but we say, Lord,
help me to close that down. And we find love
for our neighbor and forgiveness for our neighbor.
and we have the mercy that God has for us, for
our neighbor, then we have the weapon of peace.
Psalm 102 that we've heard this morning says,
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and everything within
me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my
soul, and forget not all his rewards, who is
merciful to all your transgressions, who heals
all your diseases, who redeems your life from
corruption, who crowns you with mercy and compassion.
May we strive to have that same mercy and compassion
for those around us, to become a light shining
in a dark world, and to shine that mercy and
compassion on all those around us, even those
who do us wrong. Glory to Jesus Christ.