WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.060 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:09.060 of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. You 00:00:09.060 --> 00:00:15.980 and I have a problem. All humanity has this same 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:22.019 problem, and it is death. And there is a saying 00:00:22.019 --> 00:00:24.899 that you've probably heard, that nothing in life 00:00:24.899 --> 00:00:32.689 is as sure as Death and taxes. And perhaps you 00:00:32.689 --> 00:00:36.509 might be able to avoid paying taxes, but you 00:00:36.509 --> 00:00:42.469 cannot avoid death. Even such a great saint that 00:00:42.469 --> 00:00:46.189 we celebrate over, you can see the icon in the 00:00:46.189 --> 00:00:50.530 corner, Saint Raphael of Brooklyn, who blessed 00:00:50.530 --> 00:00:55.109 us in America by his many efforts, could not 00:00:55.109 --> 00:01:01.729 avoid death. So how can we humans deal with this 00:01:01.729 --> 00:01:05.890 problem? All of us have experienced the loss 00:01:05.890 --> 00:01:11.170 of a loved one, of a relative, of a friend, experiencing 00:01:11.170 --> 00:01:14.049 the grief and the sadness that comes with such 00:01:14.049 --> 00:01:17.569 a loss. I have been helped through some writers 00:01:17.569 --> 00:01:20.769 who have talked about death and dying and the 00:01:20.769 --> 00:01:26.189 stages of death and accepting it. We also must 00:01:26.189 --> 00:01:31.819 face our own deaths. But ultimately, the problem 00:01:31.819 --> 00:01:38.099 of death can only be dealt with and solved by 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:46.579 God. It comes down to this. God is life. God 00:01:46.579 --> 00:01:51.719 is life. Our very life, everything that we have, 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:57.659 is from God. And humanity chose to separate from 00:01:57.659 --> 00:02:03.140 God. We left the garden, we separated and departed 00:02:03.140 --> 00:02:07.459 from the source of life, and thus discovered 00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:12.699 death. We became as branches that have been cut 00:02:12.699 --> 00:02:16.379 off a tree. Now those branches, they still have 00:02:16.379 --> 00:02:22.560 sap, they still have some life in them, but it 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:28.620 is limited and it runs out. the spiritual sap 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:33.900 that we need to have life from God needs to flow 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:38.900 again. And so the solution is to return to God, 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:42.819 to be regrafted into that proverbial tree of 00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:46.360 life. And God has made this possible for us, 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.539 for you, for me, for all humanity and his Son, 00:02:49.740 --> 00:02:54.360 our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Friday 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:59.699 night's vespers contained these words. By thine 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:03.180 own blood, O Savior, thou hast ransomed mortal 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:07.180 men, and by thy death thou hast delivered us 00:03:07.180 --> 00:03:11.180 from bitter death, granting us eternal life by 00:03:11.180 --> 00:03:15.060 thy resurrection. Thanks be to God for solving... 00:03:15.259 --> 00:03:18.300 this problem of death and calling us together 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:21.879 as the family of God, the Old Testament family 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:25.539 and the New Testament family. And here we are 00:03:25.539 --> 00:03:34.539 gathered in the church. John 5, 24. Jesus says, 00:03:34.659 --> 00:03:38.280 he who hears my word and believes in him who 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:42.199 sent me has everlasting life and shall not come 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:46.919 into judgment. but has passed from death into 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:51.780 life. And in verse 28 and 29, all who are in 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:55.539 the graves will hear his voice and come forth, 00:03:55.639 --> 00:03:59.199 those who have done good to the resurrection 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:04.120 of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:11.199 of condemnation. The Holy Church. has dedicated 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:15.219 this Sunday as the Sunday of the last judgment. 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:19.860 And today's gospel tells us of the Lord's imminent 00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:23.480 return, his second coming with all glory and 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:26.819 all the holy angels with him. He will sit upon 00:04:26.819 --> 00:04:29.899 the throne of his glory. He will separate the 00:04:29.899 --> 00:04:33.420 sheep from the goats. The sheep on the right 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:37.920 hand will hear the words, Come, you blessed of 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:41.399 the Father, and hear it. inherit the kingdom 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:45.220 prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:48.259 And the goats on the left hand will hear the 00:04:48.259 --> 00:04:53.240 words, depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:58.680 fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:03.779 this last judgment will be based upon how we 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:08.100 treated one another, how we treated our fellow 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:12.939 human beings. How did we help or decline to help 00:05:12.939 --> 00:05:17.959 the hungry and the stranger, the naked and the 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:23.319 sick? Did we love others? Our eternal destiny 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:26.759 will be determined at that time, though the outcome 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:30.980 will be based on moments of our lives and decisions 00:05:30.980 --> 00:05:37.750 we have made. Perhaps you are realizing right 00:05:37.750 --> 00:05:41.769 now just how important learning to love others 00:05:41.769 --> 00:05:47.589 really is and how difficult it truly is for us 00:05:47.589 --> 00:05:53.350 on our own without God's help, which leads us 00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:57.829 back to the branches that are cut off from the 00:05:57.829 --> 00:06:02.509 tree with the spiritual sap stopped flowing. 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:07.759 But those branches which represent you and me 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:11.860 can be regrafted into the tree, and the Holy 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:16.420 Spirit can fill us again, and we can be filled 00:06:16.420 --> 00:06:20.519 with God's love shining through us, and then 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:26.839 we can love our neighbor as ourself and live 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:30.660 as if people are more important than things. 00:06:32.779 --> 00:06:39.379 St. Silouan the Athonite says, No man of himself 00:06:39.379 --> 00:06:45.019 can know what God's love is unless he be taught 00:06:45.019 --> 00:06:50.680 of the Holy Spirit. But God's love is known in 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:54.680 our church through the Holy Spirit, and so we 00:06:54.680 --> 00:07:00.459 speak of this love. Now is the time, this Lent, 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:04.399 this year. this moment to let the Holy Spirit 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:09.459 teach you how to love others. Come to as many 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:14.639 services as you can. Pray more. Cut out worldly 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:19.720 pursuits that pull you away from God. Decide 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:24.500 that you will draw near to God and he will draw 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:27.800 near to you. Glory to Jesus Christ.