WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.700
Sometimes, what would it have been like? What

00:00:01.700 --> 00:00:03.299
would it have been like? We look at this fresco.

00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:06.759
Well, you heard the Apostle Peter tell you what

00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:10.599
it was like. He was there. We have the prophetic

00:00:10.599 --> 00:00:14.779
word confirmed, which you will do well to heed,

00:00:15.019 --> 00:00:18.440
said Saint Peter, reflecting on this feast day

00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:23.320
as a light that shines in a dark place until

00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:27.280
the day dawns and the morning star, that's Christ,

00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:31.019
arises in your heart. It's about light. It's

00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:37.619
about change. Many of you speak to me about concern

00:00:37.619 --> 00:00:41.179
about the division in our country on so many

00:00:41.179 --> 00:00:45.280
different levels. It's amazing how many different

00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:48.880
levels it really is. This brief look at the news

00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:53.740
reveals a deep satisfaction with people. No bright

00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:58.729
stars, no morning stars there. Mostly... People

00:00:58.729 --> 00:01:03.250
are dissatisfied with how other people are. What

00:01:03.250 --> 00:01:07.909
they say, how they act. We're here in this church

00:01:07.909 --> 00:01:11.189
as Orthodox Christians and we regularly go over

00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:14.469
to that corner to be honest about what we say,

00:01:14.590 --> 00:01:20.730
what we do, how we act, our assumptions. Not

00:01:20.730 --> 00:01:24.189
to feel guilty, but to feel cleansed by God so

00:01:24.189 --> 00:01:27.370
we can stand here and receive the Eucharist as

00:01:27.849 --> 00:01:31.129
a vessel of grace, to use the phrase that was

00:01:31.129 --> 00:01:34.450
used at the All -American Council. A vessel can

00:01:34.450 --> 00:01:37.530
be a ship, of course, and the church is this

00:01:37.530 --> 00:01:42.370
vessel, but also a vessel is a holder, and that's

00:01:42.370 --> 00:01:47.790
what we become. This dissatisfaction in this

00:01:47.790 --> 00:01:53.650
country, as I say, we'll apply it to ourself.

00:01:54.549 --> 00:01:58.790
Now, all this can be complicated. I apologize

00:01:58.790 --> 00:02:02.609
for overgeneralization about the political, spiritual,

00:02:02.989 --> 00:02:09.370
emotional, psychological divisions. But it seems

00:02:09.370 --> 00:02:13.270
to me that this discontent, this dislike of that

00:02:13.270 --> 00:02:19.409
group or another group, this strange discomfort

00:02:19.409 --> 00:02:23.750
with one's own body, which we read so much about,

00:02:23.909 --> 00:02:28.129
and the prejudice of all that, it truly reveals

00:02:28.129 --> 00:02:35.169
that we're not really in the right place. That

00:02:35.169 --> 00:02:41.030
heaven is our home. That we yearn to be changed.

00:02:41.229 --> 00:02:48.030
We yearn for others to also be glorified. We're

00:02:48.030 --> 00:02:53.550
not just earthbound, consuming, computing, cloning,

00:02:53.710 --> 00:02:59.159
pleasure -seeking beings. We're not free without

00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:04.379
God. The only true freedom is God. And we're

00:03:04.379 --> 00:03:07.400
bound to him when we offer ourselves to him.

00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:10.740
Because he gives us freedom from sin and death,

00:03:10.939 --> 00:03:16.180
from fear and the devil. Any other freedom is

00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:25.199
just a phantom. God boundlessly loves us. We

00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:30.240
instinctively yearn. to be changed, to become

00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:35.280
what Christ is. When our Savior appears at the

00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:38.319
resurrection, we use the term second coming,

00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:42.099
but we also say Christ is in our midst, so he

00:03:42.099 --> 00:03:46.039
hasn't gone from us. When he appears in the resurrection

00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:49.900
on the day of the Lord, as St. Peter the Apostle

00:03:49.900 --> 00:03:53.659
says, we will see what the Apostle saw that day.

00:03:55.199 --> 00:04:01.370
Christ Even his clothes were changed and sanctified.

00:04:01.530 --> 00:04:05.229
It says they became whiter than any fuller, any

00:04:05.229 --> 00:04:08.930
cleaner could make them. St. Gregory Palamas

00:04:08.930 --> 00:04:12.669
calls this light from Christ, the uncreated light,

00:04:12.710 --> 00:04:18.250
inexpressible, God's divinity, his kingdom, the

00:04:18.250 --> 00:04:21.910
beauty and resplendence of the divine nature,

00:04:22.089 --> 00:04:27.439
the vision and the delight. of the saints in

00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:32.839
the age without end the natural ray and glory

00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:37.959
of the divinity and we will not only see what

00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:40.720
the chosen disciples peter james and john saw

00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:43.740
that day and they heard this is my beloved son

00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:49.019
we ourselves are going to share and we do even

00:04:49.019 --> 00:04:53.600
now but fully and completely will share in the

00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:57.439
uncreated light of God's presence with the saints

00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:01.040
and experience fully his boundless love, which

00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:06.180
we talk about so much. St. John would write of

00:05:06.180 --> 00:05:10.899
the vision he saw near the end of his life about

00:05:10.899 --> 00:05:14.779
the truth of this statement by St. Gregory Palamas.

00:05:15.779 --> 00:05:19.399
He said he heard a loud voice from heaven saying,

00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:24.629
Behold! The tabernacle of God is with men, and

00:05:24.629 --> 00:05:27.170
he will dwell with them, and they shall be his

00:05:27.170 --> 00:05:30.709
people. God himself will be with them and be

00:05:30.709 --> 00:05:34.110
their God, and there will be no sun because God

00:05:34.110 --> 00:05:39.069
himself will be the light. We have a destiny

00:05:39.069 --> 00:05:45.670
not defined by biology, not defined by economics,

00:05:46.110 --> 00:05:50.370
not defined by suffering, not defined by death.

00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:55.000
not defined by our sin. Our destiny, our true

00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.000
calling, our true nature, the meaning of our

00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.139
life is to become, to change, to be like Christ.

00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:07.540
On the mountain, for now, we cleanse ourselves

00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:12.720
as we can. Transfiguration tells us that if we're

00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:17.759
going to attain this, our faith... for 2 ,000

00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:20.199
years, tells us that if we're going to attain

00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:24.939
this, this shining in our hearts of the day star

00:06:24.939 --> 00:06:28.800
of Christ continually, well, we have to ascend

00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:33.420
the mountain. We have to labor. God will not

00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:40.519
send us a taxi driven by an angel. It's the way

00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:46.110
up to heaven. But sometimes, as... Abbott, Sergius,

00:06:46.110 --> 00:06:50.149
and St. Tecans want to say, we have to go down

00:06:50.149 --> 00:06:54.870
before we go up. We have to move towards humility

00:06:54.870 --> 00:06:59.949
before we're ready for what God has for us. In

00:06:59.949 --> 00:07:02.069
the chapter before what we read today, chapter

00:07:02.069 --> 00:07:05.189
17 of the Gospel of Matthew, just previous to

00:07:05.189 --> 00:07:09.230
that, just previous to that, there's St. Peter

00:07:09.230 --> 00:07:13.360
saying to Christ, when Christ says, The Son of

00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:17.759
Man is going to be crucified. You follow me,

00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:19.939
pick up your cross, deny yourself. And Peter's

00:07:19.939 --> 00:07:26.339
like, no, no way. The Messiah does not go to

00:07:26.339 --> 00:07:29.779
the cross. Lord, you're a little mistaken here.

00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:35.120
What kind of Messiah is crucified? Peter pushes

00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.839
back against the message of the gospel, which

00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:42.459
contains God's love for us. And this is a good

00:07:42.459 --> 00:07:45.319
reminder that this comes just before transfiguration

00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:50.660
because we might have a little trouble following

00:07:50.660 --> 00:07:54.459
Christ. We might have a little trouble with that

00:07:54.459 --> 00:07:58.339
message of the cross. We might unfortunately

00:07:58.339 --> 00:08:02.220
question Jesus. Well, an honest and heartfelt

00:08:02.220 --> 00:08:05.220
question to the Lord, our Savior, will be answered

00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:10.360
with love, for sure. But a contradiction? of

00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:15.879
what he says, out of fear, frustration, or pride,

00:08:16.019 --> 00:08:19.319
will not go very well, as we know from how Jesus

00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:21.839
responded to St. Peter. Get behind me, Satan.

00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:25.879
You speak of the things of man, not of God. We

00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:29.699
will learn looking at the saints through prayer,

00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:33.460
through the gift of peace, peace of heart. Have

00:08:33.460 --> 00:08:36.360
you experienced that peace of heart after confession

00:08:36.360 --> 00:08:40.440
or communion? If so, Hold on to that precious

00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:45.080
gift. And when it is gone, when there's anxiety

00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:48.080
in the soul, when there's turmoil in your heart,

00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:51.539
then that's not your normal state. You want to

00:08:51.539 --> 00:08:56.059
attain that. But you have to get up there by

00:08:56.059 --> 00:09:01.620
going low, by carrying the cross. The Lord is

00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:05.639
good. He is trustworthy. Psalm 100 says, He is

00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:08.840
good. His loving kindness is everlasting. His

00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:14.700
faithfulness is to every generation. Let us rejoice

00:09:14.700 --> 00:09:17.639
in this day, knowing that he will transfigure

00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:21.440
us. And we offer ourselves to him like this fruit

00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.899
is offered to him. It started from a seed. It

00:09:24.899 --> 00:09:28.299
didn't look like this when it began. Neither

00:09:28.299 --> 00:09:32.379
shall we. We don't know how we shall be, but

00:09:32.379 --> 00:09:35.240
we know that we shall be like Christ. Amen.