WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.580 All that joy that they communicate to us, all 00:00:04.580 --> 00:00:07.660 those words that the church says, this is so 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:13.320 important, just pour us forth praise. It's a 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:17.899 feast day. Our secular feast days in this country, 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:23.980 July 4th, Thanksgiving, we should keep them, 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:31.699 obviously. But they eclipse. Practically speaking, 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:39.240 for our Orthodox people, a feast like this. Of 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:42.380 course, Christmas eclipses it too. But the beginning, 00:00:42.500 --> 00:00:45.539 the crowning moment, the crown of our salvation, 00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:49.539 as the hymn says, is this feast day. This is 00:00:49.539 --> 00:00:53.359 the one that we should pour all our energy and 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:56.299 our heart into. July 4th is great. Thanksgiving 00:00:56.299 --> 00:01:00.240 is amazing. Christmas... It's beyond. But this 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:05.180 feast, brothers and sisters, this is the day. 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:08.819 Even if the church is not packed and people don't 00:01:08.819 --> 00:01:13.500 understand and feel the necessity to offer their 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:17.219 own hearts and words and praise and time to God 00:01:17.219 --> 00:01:20.180 for this feast day from our own congregation, 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:24.640 we can share with each other. When I was first 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:29.219 a priest, I remember being so disheartened you 00:01:29.219 --> 00:01:33.319 know a feast like this would happen and uh the 00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:35.840 church wasn't packed because in my mind you know 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:39.140 uh even matt was on tuesday morning and heard 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:41.719 let the church be packed of course simply not 00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:44.420 realistic people go to work and children are 00:01:44.420 --> 00:01:46.659 being fed and get ready for school and all that 00:01:46.659 --> 00:01:50.120 but you know that's a young priest not understanding 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:55.799 but i still felt downcast but then i realized 00:01:58.479 --> 00:02:04.719 Why? Why not imbibe me? Because it's such a great 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:08.599 feast. We present ourselves to the Theotokos 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:13.539 and we say, O Holy Lady, send your help. If you 00:02:13.539 --> 00:02:17.080 are one that is might invincible, as we sing 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:19.360 in that beautiful hymn, to be the champion leader, 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:25.939 then she will help us. Most people believe in 00:02:25.939 --> 00:02:29.979 God, even the so -called nuns. People with no 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:32.500 church affiliation, they check that box. It says 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:35.840 church affiliation, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish. 00:02:36.620 --> 00:02:39.520 At some point, even Orthodox made it onto the 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:42.819 list for the military, as they were called. And 00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:46.500 the last box is none. More and more, as you know 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:49.740 from all the surveys and the polls, more and 00:02:49.740 --> 00:02:52.699 more check none. But it turns out that even the 00:02:52.699 --> 00:02:56.900 nuns believe in God. But this feast is not about 00:02:56.900 --> 00:03:00.219 believing in God as such. It's believing that 00:03:00.219 --> 00:03:05.020 God becomes man. So that man can become a son 00:03:05.020 --> 00:03:10.080 of God and full of grace. A bearer of Christ. 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:14.680 A crystal for us. Today we celebrate the Theotokos. 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:21.960 The one who bore God in her flesh himself. And 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:26.039 if that's true, then there's So many things that 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:32.180 we have to affirm. First, that God in his providence 00:03:32.180 --> 00:03:38.919 has guided the history of salvation and the world 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:44.020 from the beginning. Adam and Eve, messing up, 00:03:44.139 --> 00:03:49.780 didn't call forth a plan. God has been guiding 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:54.370 his world. God so loved the world. that he gave 00:03:54.370 --> 00:03:57.729 his only begotten son. So brothers and sisters, 00:03:58.030 --> 00:04:05.409 don't despair by the chaos, the demonic activity, 00:04:05.810 --> 00:04:10.050 the ignorance in the world. Don't despair. God 00:04:10.050 --> 00:04:13.849 is guiding us. And God is guiding us in a particular 00:04:13.849 --> 00:04:18.709 way that we just don't like and appreciate. He 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:26.430 asks us. As the angel communicated to the virgin 00:04:26.430 --> 00:04:32.089 of Nazareth. And she said, let it be according 00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:35.810 to thy word. God is not coming with the power 00:04:35.810 --> 00:04:39.629 of tanks and airplanes and bombs. And political 00:04:39.629 --> 00:04:42.810 power. Which is what we want. Let's solve the 00:04:42.810 --> 00:04:45.949 problem. Because we're Americans. Let's deal 00:04:45.949 --> 00:04:49.829 with it. In the most practical way. God's way 00:04:49.829 --> 00:04:53.360 is gentle. It's speaking to the heart of each 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:58.800 and every person. It does no good to impose the 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:01.759 truth on someone because they will just reject 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:06.740 it. But when God speaks to the heart, then that 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:11.000 heart, if it seeks God, if it's not captivated 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.720 by the fear of death, and you've heard the epistle 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:16.949 to the Romans. that Christ came to destroy him 00:05:16.949 --> 00:05:19.709 that had the power of death, that is, the devil, 00:05:19.829 --> 00:05:22.490 who held captive all those because of the fear 00:05:22.490 --> 00:05:26.209 of death. When we embrace the freedom from God, 00:05:26.829 --> 00:05:30.029 then we see he is acting in this world, acting 00:05:30.029 --> 00:05:33.629 in our life, and the question is, will we say 00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:38.850 yes? You've heard this story of the Annunciation 00:05:38.850 --> 00:05:42.050 so many times, and no doubt you've read it countless 00:05:42.050 --> 00:05:46.199 times. It's familiar to you. But it's the familiar 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:50.500 thing we should pay most attention to. Especially 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:52.319 in this regard that I mentioned in the background. 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:57.180 How does it end? The Holy Lady says, let it be 00:05:57.180 --> 00:06:02.480 according to thy word. The angel departs. What 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:06.139 we would want is, let's sit down and plot this 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:12.000 out. But she has total freedom and love for God. 00:06:13.930 --> 00:06:18.990 And the let it be is for everything, not just 00:06:18.990 --> 00:06:22.110 one thing. And it isn't that, brothers and sisters, 00:06:22.310 --> 00:06:26.310 what we're doing in Lent. Trying to say yes to 00:06:26.310 --> 00:06:32.990 God for everything. One great saint who really 00:06:32.990 --> 00:06:36.350 paid attention to the details, to the familiar, 00:06:36.629 --> 00:06:41.129 is Saint Philaret of Moscow, giving a sermon 00:06:41.129 --> 00:06:46.579 in the 19th century. I read this short paragraph 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:49.660 to you last year. I plan to read it every year. 00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:54.180 Here's the way St. Pilarite said to his congregation. 00:06:56.019 --> 00:06:59.879 It takes us back to Genesis. During the days 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:03.920 of the creation of the world, when God uttered 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:09.019 his living and mighty words, let it be, let there 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:12.850 be light. The Creator's words brought creatures 00:07:12.850 --> 00:07:17.550 into existence. But on the day, unique in the 00:07:17.550 --> 00:07:21.389 existence of the world, when Holy Mary uttered 00:07:21.389 --> 00:07:26.069 her humble and obedient letter B, I will hardly 00:07:26.069 --> 00:07:29.889 dare to express what took place then. The word 00:07:29.889 --> 00:07:34.910 of the creature caused the Creator to descend 00:07:34.910 --> 00:07:39.649 into the world. God uttered this word here also. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:44.360 Say, you will conceive in your womb and bear 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:47.439 a son. He will be great. He will reign over the 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:53.800 house of Jacob forever. Jacob is Israel. The 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:57.899 Israel of the church. But again, that which is 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:00.459 divine and incomprehensible occurs. The word 00:08:00.459 --> 00:08:04.740 of God itself defers its action, allowing itself 00:08:04.740 --> 00:08:07.939 to be delayed by the word of Mary. How can this 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:12.680 be? Her humble let it be was necessary for the 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:18.800 realization of God's mighty let it be. What secret 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.839 power is thus contained in these simple words? 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:26.660 Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it 00:08:26.660 --> 00:08:30.420 be to me according to your will. That it produces 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:34.519 an effect so extraordinary. This marvelous power 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:38.620 is nearly secure and perfect. self -dedication 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:42.720 to God, a dedication of her will, of her thought, 00:08:42.940 --> 00:08:46.440 of her soul, of her entire being, of all her 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:50.100 faculties, of all her actions, of all her hopes 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:56.779 and expectations. She is pure, we say the most 00:08:56.779 --> 00:09:02.019 pure. One writer says that means not just pure 00:09:02.019 --> 00:09:06.210 in the sense of her body and her mind. But in 00:09:06.210 --> 00:09:10.190 her simplicity, her directness, her discernment, 00:09:10.190 --> 00:09:14.149 her approach to God, her capacity to commit herself, 00:09:14.429 --> 00:09:17.289 her will to God without distraction, without 00:09:17.289 --> 00:09:20.669 hesitation, without reservation, to simply be 00:09:20.669 --> 00:09:25.090 open to God. It's that simplicity that we're 00:09:25.090 --> 00:09:28.669 looking for, that we're working on during Lent. 00:09:29.210 --> 00:09:34.269 Shouldn't we? How? Not self -improvement. It's 00:09:34.269 --> 00:09:38.429 not about that. Coming closer to Christ. His 00:09:38.429 --> 00:09:42.889 pure mother. And letting that grace. Change us. 00:09:43.049 --> 00:09:46.269 It's not that we have to try harder. It's that 00:09:46.269 --> 00:09:50.490 we have to be more simple. And free. Free of 00:09:50.490 --> 00:09:53.950 all the constraints. So that we can say. Also. 00:09:55.870 --> 00:09:59.210 Let it be according to thy will. And rejoice. 00:09:59.990 --> 00:10:05.049 On this day. And forever. Such a glorious glorious 00:10:05.049 --> 00:10:08.870 feast. To him be glory now and ever. Amen.