WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:02.390 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 00:00:02.390 --> 00:00:05.570 of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ. 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:12.269 Glory to Christ. Perhaps, like me, as you were 00:00:12.269 --> 00:00:15.589 young and growing up, and you went to the movies, 00:00:15.750 --> 00:00:19.910 or you watched certain television shows, you 00:00:19.910 --> 00:00:23.890 developed certain heroes. People that you kind 00:00:23.890 --> 00:00:29.350 of held up as above the rest. They weren't saints. 00:00:29.949 --> 00:00:32.729 They weren't what the church would hold up, but 00:00:32.729 --> 00:00:36.789 somehow they kind of hit you, and you made them 00:00:36.789 --> 00:00:41.409 your hero. And one of those, for me, as I was 00:00:41.409 --> 00:00:46.729 growing up, was Clint Eastwood. Now, I don't 00:00:46.729 --> 00:00:50.490 think that the characters he portrayed in some 00:00:50.490 --> 00:00:55.189 of those westerns where he was a police officer, 00:00:55.429 --> 00:00:59.950 Clannahan. I don't recommend that you follow 00:00:59.950 --> 00:01:04.829 them as a role model. But I did love them at 00:01:04.829 --> 00:01:10.469 the time. And thinking back, why? Why did I like 00:01:10.469 --> 00:01:13.870 that so much? Well, if people messed with him, 00:01:14.010 --> 00:01:19.650 he messed back harder. If someone disrespected 00:01:19.650 --> 00:01:23.230 him and did him wrong, they got what they deserved. 00:01:26.030 --> 00:01:30.730 This was a form of justice. And you and I and 00:01:30.730 --> 00:01:34.510 all of us know when something is unjust, we have 00:01:34.510 --> 00:01:38.310 this sense that something is wrong. And we like 00:01:38.310 --> 00:01:42.790 in the world for there to be bad guys who get 00:01:42.790 --> 00:01:46.049 what they deserve. But sometimes we look around 00:01:46.049 --> 00:01:51.189 and we see bad guys who seem to be winning. And 00:01:51.189 --> 00:01:54.879 they seem to be getting away with sin. And we 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:59.319 can see good guys who seem to be suffering. And 00:01:59.319 --> 00:02:03.540 we kind of wonder. And so how could this be? 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:08.960 And so when we see the movies and we see what 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:12.180 we think of as justice, sometimes it gives us 00:02:12.180 --> 00:02:15.500 a gratifying feeling. So whether it be Clint 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:19.139 Eastwood in Westerns or even Keanu Reeves in 00:02:19.139 --> 00:02:21.659 the John Wick films that have just been out. 00:02:22.009 --> 00:02:26.729 We like to see this justice done. But as Orthodox 00:02:26.729 --> 00:02:30.969 Christians, we have to be very careful not to 00:02:30.969 --> 00:02:35.990 take justice into our own hands. God is the judge, 00:02:36.189 --> 00:02:42.729 not us. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. There 00:02:42.729 --> 00:02:49.090 is justice, and it is a godly justice. for me 00:02:49.090 --> 00:02:52.650 and you to try to mete out justice, it becomes 00:02:52.650 --> 00:02:56.469 something different. Often, it becomes something 00:02:56.469 --> 00:03:02.090 called vengeance or revenge. And this is a very 00:03:02.090 --> 00:03:08.110 dangerous course to be on. Jesus knows this and 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:12.110 calls us to a different path. In the Gospel of 00:03:12.110 --> 00:03:14.689 Luke, in the section just before today's Gospel 00:03:14.689 --> 00:03:19.870 reading, Jesus says, Love your enemies. Do good 00:03:19.870 --> 00:03:23.469 to those who hate you. Bless those who curse 00:03:23.469 --> 00:03:28.289 you. Pray for those who spitefully use you. To 00:03:28.289 --> 00:03:31.210 him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the 00:03:31.210 --> 00:03:34.129 other also. And from him who takes away your 00:03:34.129 --> 00:03:38.289 cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. And 00:03:38.289 --> 00:03:43.610 St. Paul in Romans 12 says, repay no one evil 00:03:43.610 --> 00:03:46.909 for evil. Have regard for good things in the 00:03:46.909 --> 00:03:50.110 sight of all men. If it is possible, as much 00:03:50.110 --> 00:03:53.389 as it depends on you, live peaceably with all 00:03:53.389 --> 00:03:57.849 men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather 00:03:57.849 --> 00:04:04.169 give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance 00:04:04.169 --> 00:04:08.430 is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Do not 00:04:08.430 --> 00:04:13.969 be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 00:04:16.589 --> 00:04:20.329 Perhaps you've heard in our services the mention 00:04:20.329 --> 00:04:26.009 of the weapon of peace. What a strange thing 00:04:26.009 --> 00:04:31.329 to have a weapon, and yet it is peace. We often 00:04:31.329 --> 00:04:35.029 think of weapons as things that will hurt or 00:04:35.029 --> 00:04:38.129 harm or protect in some way that is physical. 00:04:38.230 --> 00:04:41.189 But the weapon of peace is something that comes 00:04:41.189 --> 00:04:45.060 from our soul. It is spiritual in nature, and 00:04:45.060 --> 00:04:52.060 it depends on us turning to God. And how can 00:04:52.060 --> 00:04:56.899 we wield this weapon of peace? The answer is 00:04:56.899 --> 00:05:01.180 in today's gospel, the last verse. Be merciful, 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:08.060 just as your Father also is merciful. The prodigal 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:13.290 son is an example of God's mercy to us. Did the 00:05:13.290 --> 00:05:18.250 prodigal son deserve to be brought back into 00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:23.550 the good, into the household as he was with the 00:05:23.550 --> 00:05:27.769 fatted calf killed? Certainly not. And we need 00:05:27.769 --> 00:05:30.209 to give thanks to God that we don't get what 00:05:30.209 --> 00:05:34.149 we deserve either. And so out of that grace, 00:05:34.209 --> 00:05:37.589 that mercy that we see that God gives us, it 00:05:37.589 --> 00:05:42.170 will help us to give it to others. And so we 00:05:42.170 --> 00:05:47.050 have a choice. Be merciful as God is merciful, 00:05:47.189 --> 00:05:52.449 or make ourselves judge and jury and seek out 00:05:52.449 --> 00:05:57.430 revenge. When someone does us wrong, it is easy 00:05:57.430 --> 00:06:02.589 to become angry. This is a warning sign. Listen 00:06:02.589 --> 00:06:09.259 to the words of St. Tikhon of Zidonsk. is the 00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:13.139 feeling of pain in the heart caused by another's 00:06:13.139 --> 00:06:18.819 offense, which can be by word or deed. The heart 00:06:18.819 --> 00:06:22.839 that is filled with anger is like a boiling cauldron, 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:28.839 and it erupts. Anger turns into malice and the 00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:32.779 remembrance of wrongs if it is held and fed in 00:06:32.779 --> 00:06:36.519 the heart too long. Therefore, we are bidden 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:40.040 to cut it off quickly. so that it may not grow 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:46.579 into hatred and malice. It all comes down to 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:52.079 this. Do we put ourselves first in all that we 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:55.939 think and do, or do we put God first in all that 00:06:55.939 --> 00:06:59.639 we think and do? When we get harmed by an enemy 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:02.759 and we put ourselves first, it can result in 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.759 anger, which can lead to malice, which can lead 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:10.939 to revenge. which is more evil. You can't fight 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:15.420 evil with evil. But when we put God first, and 00:07:15.420 --> 00:07:18.720 we seek to do the Lord's will, and someone harms 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:23.639 us and does us wrong, and we have a tinge, we 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:27.660 do, of anger that may start, but we say, Lord, 00:07:27.779 --> 00:07:31.579 help me to close that down. And we find love 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:35.459 for our neighbor and forgiveness for our neighbor. 00:07:35.930 --> 00:07:39.870 and we have the mercy that God has for us, for 00:07:39.870 --> 00:07:44.610 our neighbor, then we have the weapon of peace. 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:50.730 Psalm 102 that we've heard this morning says, 00:07:50.930 --> 00:07:54.350 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and everything within 00:07:54.350 --> 00:07:57.490 me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my 00:07:57.490 --> 00:08:01.029 soul, and forget not all his rewards, who is 00:08:01.029 --> 00:08:04.350 merciful to all your transgressions, who heals 00:08:04.350 --> 00:08:07.889 all your diseases, who redeems your life from 00:08:07.889 --> 00:08:13.589 corruption, who crowns you with mercy and compassion. 00:08:14.750 --> 00:08:20.569 May we strive to have that same mercy and compassion 00:08:20.569 --> 00:08:24.529 for those around us, to become a light shining 00:08:24.529 --> 00:08:27.699 in a dark world, and to shine that mercy and 00:08:27.699 --> 00:08:31.279 compassion on all those around us, even those 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:34.440 who do us wrong. Glory to Jesus Christ.