WEBVTT 00:00:01.070 --> 00:00:12.289 Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory to God. Yes, you 00:00:12.289 --> 00:00:14.769 can come closer. This is not the forbidden zone. 00:00:14.970 --> 00:00:19.010 The moat around the altar which no one can approach. 00:00:25.230 --> 00:00:28.410 You've heard me say before since Pentecost that 00:00:28.410 --> 00:00:32.689 June is Holiness Month. The gift of the Holy 00:00:32.689 --> 00:00:37.750 Spirit, the sanctification on Pentecost, the 00:00:37.750 --> 00:00:41.630 Feast of All Saints, Feast of All Saints of America. 00:00:41.710 --> 00:00:44.950 You see, it's all about holiness this month. 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:46.750 The world may be celebrating something else, 00:00:46.770 --> 00:00:50.109 but here in the church, we're focused very clearly 00:00:50.109 --> 00:00:57.609 on sanctification, becoming like Christ. Tomorrow 00:00:57.609 --> 00:01:03.439 is... feast of St. David of Thessalonica. Kids, 00:01:03.579 --> 00:01:08.060 he lived at a tree. He had a tree house. No kidding. 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:10.939 See, he's up there in the corner, sitting in 00:01:10.939 --> 00:01:13.480 that tree. His tree was much bigger, but that's 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:18.140 an icon. There's not room for a large tree. We 00:01:18.140 --> 00:01:20.280 just celebrated the feast of the Nativity of 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:23.760 St. John the Baptist, which is why his icon is 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:27.760 out before us. We'll celebrate Saints Peter and 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:32.319 Paul. It's all about holiness this month. Nobility 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:36.420 in God. Today, we're also celebrating these saints. 00:01:36.939 --> 00:01:40.540 This is just a paper print of a very nice thing 00:01:40.540 --> 00:01:44.340 that I found. A paper print of Saints Peter and 00:01:44.340 --> 00:01:49.879 Padronia of Boron, the intercessors and protectors 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:57.060 of marriage. So I'll let you on your own discover 00:01:57.060 --> 00:02:03.280 them and read about them. I'd like to focus on 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:07.840 what the Lord said and what St. Paul wrote. With 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:10.680 the words of the Lord still ringing in your ears 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:17.419 about the eye being, how light is given to the 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:20.319 body. Of course he means this metaphorically, 00:02:20.340 --> 00:02:23.340 speaking about the soul and the heart being illumined. 00:02:25.189 --> 00:02:28.009 With those words ringing in your ears about how 00:02:28.009 --> 00:02:30.210 God knows what you need, that he is a loving 00:02:30.210 --> 00:02:33.090 father, about seeking first the kingdom of God, 00:02:33.189 --> 00:02:37.669 about avoiding anxiety. Let me read something 00:02:37.669 --> 00:02:41.650 to you. There's a common way of approaching a 00:02:41.650 --> 00:02:44.590 relationship with God, if you can even call it 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:47.009 a relationship, that goes something like this. 00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:54.879 Five points. First, if God exists, who created 00:02:54.879 --> 00:03:00.460 and ordered the world, steps back and watches 00:03:00.460 --> 00:03:07.099 human life on earth. Not entirely wrong, but 00:03:07.099 --> 00:03:11.139 certainly not right. Number two, God wants people 00:03:11.139 --> 00:03:16.340 to be nice. I want people to be nice, to be good, 00:03:16.460 --> 00:03:19.780 to be fair to each other, as taught in the Bible 00:03:19.780 --> 00:03:24.990 and by most world religions. Three, the central 00:03:24.990 --> 00:03:30.069 goal of life is to be happy and to feel good 00:03:30.069 --> 00:03:35.969 about yourself. Four, God does not need to be 00:03:35.969 --> 00:03:38.370 particularly involved in a person's life except 00:03:38.370 --> 00:03:45.330 when we need him. Five, good people go to heaven. 00:03:47.629 --> 00:03:53.349 Who is the Lord in these five points? I'm Lord 00:03:53.349 --> 00:03:59.090 because I'm seeking what? Happiness first. So 00:03:59.090 --> 00:04:06.849 I get to decide what that is. As opposed to what 00:04:06.849 --> 00:04:11.729 you heard Jesus say. Who is Lord? God our Father 00:04:11.729 --> 00:04:16.149 is our Lord. And what are we seeking? The kingdom 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:21.160 of God and its righteousness. Next week, we're 00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:24.740 going to talk about that a little bit more. This 00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:27.959 modern God, these five points, has no resemblance 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:30.980 at all to the God of the Bible, although point 00:04:30.980 --> 00:04:36.480 number two references the Bible. We know we are 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:41.500 enlightened because of Pentecost. That we worship 00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:45.600 a God who values what? Not happiness first. He 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:49.389 values the sick, the poor, the sinner. This is 00:04:49.389 --> 00:04:52.550 the God that set Moses on a course that he didn't 00:04:52.550 --> 00:04:55.350 want to go on at the burning bush. This is the 00:04:55.350 --> 00:05:00.009 God whom Isaiah saw high and lifted up, whose 00:05:00.009 --> 00:05:04.629 glory filled the temple. This is the God of judgment 00:05:04.629 --> 00:05:08.649 and election, who sends Israel into captivity 00:05:08.649 --> 00:05:14.370 in Babylon because of their infidelity. This 00:05:14.370 --> 00:05:18.310 is the God, the Son of the Father. who doesn't 00:05:18.310 --> 00:05:21.910 watch over human life, but entered into human 00:05:21.910 --> 00:05:27.610 life and was put on trial on Golgotha for our 00:05:27.610 --> 00:05:32.430 salvation. What are the qualities then of the 00:05:32.430 --> 00:05:37.949 Christian man and woman and child? Since Pentecost, 00:05:37.949 --> 00:05:42.329 we had the lesson being called by Christ. And 00:05:42.329 --> 00:05:44.430 what does that mean? What is the goal? We have 00:05:44.430 --> 00:05:48.259 all saints. Today is lesson number two on the 00:05:48.259 --> 00:05:51.920 basics of being a Christian. St. Paul claims 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:56.800 this. Maybe you've heard it in the epistle. He 00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:01.399 says, we have peace with God. Think about what 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:05.800 that phrase means, peace with God. Does it mean 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:09.839 anything to you? Do you have it? You should have 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:12.399 it. It's a real thing. It's a quality of the 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:15.759 heart. Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:21.720 within you and your relationship to the God and 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:29.639 man. St. Paul says, in addition, that we stand. 00:06:29.779 --> 00:06:33.600 We stand. We are firm. We're resolute. We're 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:38.379 upheld by the grace of God. Do we feel that? 00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:44.779 Or do we feel... Full of anxiety and worry, dread, 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:54.000 fear, maybe apathy. St. Paul says, not only that, 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:59.899 we hope for glory. Not happiness. Happiness is 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:05.699 good. That's the simple thing. We hope for glory, 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:10.560 for holiness, for God's presence. for the righteousness 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:13.939 of the kingdom. These are some of the qualities 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:15.860 of a Christian, according to St. Paul. And he 00:07:15.860 --> 00:07:19.439 says, not only are these things does a Christian 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:22.279 have, but he says this too. And this takes us 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:27.600 by surprise. He says, we. So let's include ourselves. 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:33.500 We glory. We remain joyful and trusting in God's 00:07:33.500 --> 00:07:37.660 promises in our tribulations. We glory in our 00:07:37.660 --> 00:07:42.139 tribulations. It's important that we try to digest 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:46.959 that sentence. That we glory, we are grateful 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:53.040 whatever God allows us to go through. It's important 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:55.980 we digest it because otherwise we will complain 00:07:55.980 --> 00:08:00.980 to God about everything and about everyone. And 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:05.279 it will always be somebody else's fault. We need 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:08.639 to ask the Lord for help. When we are struggling. 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:16.060 To ask him. To beg him. To be with us. In our 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:21.879 struggle. In our anxiety. In our temptations. 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:25.759 Not to take them away. But to allow us to mature. 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:29.199 Through the experience of them. He goes on. He 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:31.819 says. Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance. 00:08:34.299 --> 00:08:36.559 Perseverance produces character. The Christian. 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:42.179 Quality of gratitude. Thankfulness to God. Love 00:08:42.179 --> 00:08:45.480 of the neighbor. Character. Perseverance produces 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:49.960 character. And character produces hope. Now hope 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:54.080 is not hope that tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:58.220 will be a better day. No. That's a Broadway musical. 00:08:59.659 --> 00:09:02.899 Tomorrow might not be a better day for you or 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:08.639 me. But we have hope. That in whatever circumstances, 00:09:09.019 --> 00:09:12.899 the Lord who rose from the dead will give us 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:17.139 the grace, the knowledge, his presence in those 00:09:17.139 --> 00:09:21.820 circumstances. The hope, says St. Paul, hope 00:09:21.820 --> 00:09:26.500 does not disappoint because the love of God has 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:30.000 been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:35.669 who was given to us. Wow! Wow! How does this 00:09:35.669 --> 00:09:39.929 happen? It's all true. These aren't just pious 00:09:39.929 --> 00:09:43.730 religious sentiments. This is our faith. The 00:09:43.730 --> 00:09:47.830 Savior is speaking to the faithful today. How 00:09:47.830 --> 00:09:52.289 to have these things. He lays it out in three 00:09:52.289 --> 00:09:59.950 easy steps. He says, the eye is the way the light 00:09:59.950 --> 00:10:03.330 comes into the soul. That is. The eye full of 00:10:03.330 --> 00:10:07.009 light, understanding, and purity. It's not distorted. 00:10:07.070 --> 00:10:12.129 It's not out of focus. That person doesn't suffer 00:10:12.129 --> 00:10:16.629 from the second thing he lists. All the anxieties 00:10:16.629 --> 00:10:21.190 and worries of this world. Mind you, listen with 00:10:21.190 --> 00:10:24.990 discernment. He's not saying, take it easy. God's 00:10:24.990 --> 00:10:28.110 going to send a taxi to heaven. Everything's 00:10:28.110 --> 00:10:30.169 taken care of. You don't have to work. No, brothers 00:10:30.169 --> 00:10:33.799 and sisters, labor. For your family, for your 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:36.379 church, for your community, for your salvation. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:43.080 But without anxiety. The light of understanding. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:49.480 God is faithful. And in the third part, the Lord 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:52.919 just says it easily for us. How to avoid these 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:56.399 things? How to have peace with Jesus Christ? 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:02.509 How to glory in tribulations? How to dwell and 00:11:02.509 --> 00:11:07.970 abide in that peace? I'll read you the very end. 00:11:11.090 --> 00:11:14.889 Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. 00:11:15.909 --> 00:11:19.350 What does it mean to seek first? It means to 00:11:19.350 --> 00:11:22.490 be his servant, to live under God's dominion 00:11:22.490 --> 00:11:26.210 in everything you do, in everything you think, 00:11:26.309 --> 00:11:28.960 because if you don't, brothers and sisters, Your 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:31.799 faith is going to be washed away in the tidal 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:39.980 wave of this society. But if you seek first God's 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:42.919 kingdom, knowing that these other things will 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:45.799 fall away, the unimportant things, then you will 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:51.820 have the clear eye, the soul that sees God, that 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:55.620 loves God. You'll be seeking first God's kingdom 00:11:55.620 --> 00:11:58.259 and all the other things will be added to you. 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:01.879 to our Lord who is faithful in his promises. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:04.919 Be glory now and ever to ages of ages.