Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory to God. Yes, you
can come closer. This is not the forbidden zone.
The moat around the altar which no one can approach.
You've heard me say before since Pentecost that
June is Holiness Month. The gift of the Holy
Spirit, the sanctification on Pentecost, the
Feast of All Saints, Feast of All Saints of America.
You see, it's all about holiness this month.
The world may be celebrating something else,
but here in the church, we're focused very clearly
on sanctification, becoming like Christ. Tomorrow
is... feast of St. David of Thessalonica. Kids,
he lived at a tree. He had a tree house. No kidding.
See, he's up there in the corner, sitting in
that tree. His tree was much bigger, but that's
an icon. There's not room for a large tree. We
just celebrated the feast of the Nativity of
St. John the Baptist, which is why his icon is
out before us. We'll celebrate Saints Peter and
Paul. It's all about holiness this month. Nobility
in God. Today, we're also celebrating these saints.
This is just a paper print of a very nice thing
that I found. A paper print of Saints Peter and
Padronia of Boron, the intercessors and protectors
of marriage. So I'll let you on your own discover
them and read about them. I'd like to focus on
what the Lord said and what St. Paul wrote. With
the words of the Lord still ringing in your ears
about the eye being, how light is given to the
body. Of course he means this metaphorically,
speaking about the soul and the heart being illumined.
With those words ringing in your ears about how
God knows what you need, that he is a loving
father, about seeking first the kingdom of God,
about avoiding anxiety. Let me read something
to you. There's a common way of approaching a
relationship with God, if you can even call it
a relationship, that goes something like this.
Five points. First, if God exists, who created
and ordered the world, steps back and watches
human life on earth. Not entirely wrong, but
certainly not right. Number two, God wants people
to be nice. I want people to be nice, to be good,
to be fair to each other, as taught in the Bible
and by most world religions. Three, the central
goal of life is to be happy and to feel good
about yourself. Four, God does not need to be
particularly involved in a person's life except
when we need him. Five, good people go to heaven.
Who is the Lord in these five points? I'm Lord
because I'm seeking what? Happiness first. So
I get to decide what that is. As opposed to what
you heard Jesus say. Who is Lord? God our Father
is our Lord. And what are we seeking? The kingdom
of God and its righteousness. Next week, we're
going to talk about that a little bit more. This
modern God, these five points, has no resemblance
at all to the God of the Bible, although point
number two references the Bible. We know we are
enlightened because of Pentecost. That we worship
a God who values what? Not happiness first. He
values the sick, the poor, the sinner. This is
the God that set Moses on a course that he didn't
want to go on at the burning bush. This is the
God whom Isaiah saw high and lifted up, whose
glory filled the temple. This is the God of judgment
and election, who sends Israel into captivity
in Babylon because of their infidelity. This
is the God, the Son of the Father. who doesn't
watch over human life, but entered into human
life and was put on trial on Golgotha for our
salvation. What are the qualities then of the
Christian man and woman and child? Since Pentecost,
we had the lesson being called by Christ. And
what does that mean? What is the goal? We have
all saints. Today is lesson number two on the
basics of being a Christian. St. Paul claims
this. Maybe you've heard it in the epistle. He
says, we have peace with God. Think about what
that phrase means, peace with God. Does it mean
anything to you? Do you have it? You should have
it. It's a real thing. It's a quality of the
heart. Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit
within you and your relationship to the God and
man. St. Paul says, in addition, that we stand.
We stand. We are firm. We're resolute. We're
upheld by the grace of God. Do we feel that?
Or do we feel... Full of anxiety and worry, dread,
fear, maybe apathy. St. Paul says, not only that,
we hope for glory. Not happiness. Happiness is
good. That's the simple thing. We hope for glory,
for holiness, for God's presence. for the righteousness
of the kingdom. These are some of the qualities
of a Christian, according to St. Paul. And he
says, not only are these things does a Christian
have, but he says this too. And this takes us
by surprise. He says, we. So let's include ourselves.
We glory. We remain joyful and trusting in God's
promises in our tribulations. We glory in our
tribulations. It's important that we try to digest
that sentence. That we glory, we are grateful
whatever God allows us to go through. It's important
we digest it because otherwise we will complain
to God about everything and about everyone. And
it will always be somebody else's fault. We need
to ask the Lord for help. When we are struggling.
To ask him. To beg him. To be with us. In our
struggle. In our anxiety. In our temptations.
Not to take them away. But to allow us to mature.
Through the experience of them. He goes on. He
says. Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance.
Perseverance produces character. The Christian.
Quality of gratitude. Thankfulness to God. Love
of the neighbor. Character. Perseverance produces
character. And character produces hope. Now hope
is not hope that tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow
will be a better day. No. That's a Broadway musical.
Tomorrow might not be a better day for you or
me. But we have hope. That in whatever circumstances,
the Lord who rose from the dead will give us
the grace, the knowledge, his presence in those
circumstances. The hope, says St. Paul, hope
does not disappoint because the love of God has
been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit
who was given to us. Wow! Wow! How does this
happen? It's all true. These aren't just pious
religious sentiments. This is our faith. The
Savior is speaking to the faithful today. How
to have these things. He lays it out in three
easy steps. He says, the eye is the way the light
comes into the soul. That is. The eye full of
light, understanding, and purity. It's not distorted.
It's not out of focus. That person doesn't suffer
from the second thing he lists. All the anxieties
and worries of this world. Mind you, listen with
discernment. He's not saying, take it easy. God's
going to send a taxi to heaven. Everything's
taken care of. You don't have to work. No, brothers
and sisters, labor. For your family, for your
church, for your community, for your salvation.
But without anxiety. The light of understanding.
God is faithful. And in the third part, the Lord
just says it easily for us. How to avoid these
things? How to have peace with Jesus Christ?
How to glory in tribulations? How to dwell and
abide in that peace? I'll read you the very end.
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
What does it mean to seek first? It means to
be his servant, to live under God's dominion
in everything you do, in everything you think,
because if you don't, brothers and sisters, Your
faith is going to be washed away in the tidal
wave of this society. But if you seek first God's
kingdom, knowing that these other things will
fall away, the unimportant things, then you will
have the clear eye, the soul that sees God, that
loves God. You'll be seeking first God's kingdom
and all the other things will be added to you.
to our Lord who is faithful in his promises.
Be glory now and ever to ages of ages.