WEBVTT

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We hear this alleluia so that we can prepare

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our souls to open our ears and open our hearts

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so that the gospel, the word of Christ, will

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dwell within us and not be something on the outside

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of us. That's just a little liturgical tidbit

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that is good to know. So we stand up, we sing

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Alleluia with the choir, we listen, we rejoice.

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Alleluia is a song of victory, of rejoicing.

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Last month, actually for the last month, I have

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been reminding myself and you about the fact

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that the gospel accounts that we hear, it's not

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something I choose every week. The gospel accounts

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come from a lectionary, a book that's handed

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down generation after generation, thousands and

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thousands of years, 2 ,000 years, not quite,

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but 1 ,500 maybe. For the past month, we've heard,

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and I'm repeating what I said last week, accounts

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of Jesus healing the blind, the deaf, feeding

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the hungry. All so that we can trust in God's

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power in Jesus Christ, his son. So we can follow

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him. The church has a method, a lesson for us

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each week. So that faith builds upon faith. So

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that trust builds upon trust. When I was a choir

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director. And then I became a deacon. There was

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no reason for any of you to trust me with anything.

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And then I became a priest, and it took a long

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time. And still, I can't say to you, like St.

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Paul, be imitators of me. No, no. This is about

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Christ. But we learn to trust Christ when we

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hear the word of God about him. Our trust grows

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in him. The lesson builds. So last week, we had

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a lesson that was a pivot point for us, a very

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important message in our spiritual life. It was

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a challenge about forgiveness from the heart

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or the lack of forgiveness. This is a gauge.

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We gauge our faith and our trust in Christ. Are

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we willing to follow him to even do that? Because

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we can only do that if we follow him. We can

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only forgive. So the gospel probes into our hearts.

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It reveals if we're on the right path. That path

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is narrow. It's not at all assumed that we're

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all going to be able to forgive that easily.

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I know that's just a fact. So the gospel last

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week... asked us to examine the gap, as one person

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said, between what we expect God to do for us

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and what we're willing to do for someone else.

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Today, the gospel challenges us again. All summer

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long, we've been hearing about what Christ has

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done. Now Christ is saying, what are you going

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to do? This is a key moment in our Christian

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life. This isn't just some random gospel. This

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is the point where we say, I'm with you, Lord,

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100%. This man that we hear about, young man,

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St. Luke calls him a rich young ruler, someone

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with some influence, someone with some social

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standing. Now just before this man comes up to

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Jesus, St. Matthew tells us what's going on.

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I have to believe that this man was standing

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there waiting to talk to Jesus. And Jesus says

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to the crowd, St. Matthew says that the children

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were brought to Jesus, that he might lay his

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hands on them and pray. And the disciples, you

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know, kind of clueless at this point, like us,

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rebuked the people. Don't bother the master.

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He's busy doing religious things, right? But

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Jesus says what? Let the children come to me.

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Do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom

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of heaven. How wonderful. And he laid hands on

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the children. And immediately, this young man

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comes up to Jesus. And I imagine, doesn't say,

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I imagine that he heard Jesus speaking. And perhaps

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he was touched very deeply by what Jesus said

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about the kingdom of heaven. I think that would

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be true. And coming up to Jesus, what does he

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say? Good teacher, what good thing shall I do?

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I have to believe he put the stress that way.

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What good thing shall I do to have eternal life?

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You know the story. He went away sad since he

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couldn't follow Jesus. He was caught in the middle.

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In the middle of his own devising. He was caught

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in the middle. He went away sad. On the one hand,

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there is what he thought was real. solid and

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important to him. In his case, it's different

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for us. This gospel isn't given because we're

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all rich and rulers and have influence. No, it's

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given to us for more subtle reasons. He thought

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his wealth was dependable. It's what he could

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believe in and depend upon and believe on. His

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riches, which is to say, He trusted himself,

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his own power. And that's an idol. That's an

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idol. That's on the one hand. On the other hand,

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here's Jesus speaking to children about a kingdom.

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It doesn't seem quite real to this young man

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who said he did all the commandments, so he should

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be right with God. But didn't the man just hear

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Jesus say that the kingdom of God is like these

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children? Why children? Well, it's important

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for us to remember it's not because they're cute.

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Children are cute. Or they're innocent because

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they're not always innocent. and wonderful, and

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they are wonderful, but it's not about that.

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It's because children have no agency, have no

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power, have no influence in this world. Do they?

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They can only trust in their mother or their

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father. That's how we are to be with Christ.

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Money and social standing, children don't have

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it. Opinions, children don't have it. But this

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man, he could trust in that. And he needed to

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hang on to that. He forgot what the kingdom,

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and he had just heard what the kingdom of heaven

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is like. Where your treasure is, Jesus says in

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another place, of course, you know, there's your

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heart. There is your concern. There are your

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worries. There is your anxiety. So once again,

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brothers and sisters, we speak today about the

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heart. This man was caught, as we are often,

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in the middle of his own trap between what he

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feels is real and dependable and what he was

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prepared to believe. And the reality of Jesus

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Christ as trustworthy as the kingdom of God himself.

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And the epistle today, you heard it. Let me remind

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you what St. Paul said to the Corinthians. He

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said that Jesus... after the resurrection, was

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seen by 500 brethren at one time, at once, of

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whom the greater part remained to the present.

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He also tells the Corinthians the basic gospel

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message. This was written sometime, I think,

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in the mid -50s, if I'm correct. I declare to

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you the gospel which I preach to you, which also

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you received, and in which you stand, by which

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also you are saved, if you hold fast to the word

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which I preach to you, unless you believed in

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vain. He's saying you could come, you can follow,

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you can do all kinds of religious things, but

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if it bears no fruit in you. It's all in vain.

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Are we caught in the middle of some sin so that

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we can't trust that Christ rose from the dead

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and that he came to destroy the power of sin

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over us so that we are no longer victims of sin?

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We are no longer victims of death, but we have

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power over both. Because we shall rise and our

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sins are washed away and become wheat. Scarlet

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becomes white as snow. That's what Jesus has

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done for us. Are we caught in the middle of some

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sin, some ideology, some passion, some fear,

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some kind of shame, some kind of relationship?

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Maybe some teaching we can't abide by. Maybe

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a personal sin within us. Maybe it's just laziness

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to get up in the morning to pray. Maybe it's

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just inability to get to church on time. Maybe,

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whatever, maybe it's the priest or someone else.

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But it's not about those things. It's about Jesus

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Christ. He's inviting us to share in the love

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and life. In eternity and the glory of the kingdom

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of God, the man says to Jesus, remember, coming

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up, good teacher. No, no, much more than that.

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Christ is inviting us to share in his divine

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life. Elder Paisios, the saint who reposed in

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1994, says this. Completely, completely have

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trust in God. Leave everything. In his hands.

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And believe that his love. Will act. For your

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benefit. Let's bear fruit. Brothers and sisters.

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Week after week of the summer. We've heard gospels.

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Encouraging us to follow Christ. Completely.

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To be his disciples. To truly live as a disciple.

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We've seen his mighty works. To save us. We feel

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in prayer. His grace. And if we don't, we need

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to not pray harder, but to leave our sins behind.

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And now we have this choice. The road can split.

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Are we going to follow? Can we commit? And that

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just might mean something very simple. Christ

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calling you every morning and say, come follow

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me. You pick up your prayer book. You pick up

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your prayer rope. You pray and you follow. And

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your heart is filled with peace. And then you

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have trust in the Savior, like all the saints

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that we are surrounded by now. What a wonderful

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sight this is. Not just the ones on the wall,

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but you too, brothers and sisters. Amen.