But you see that we have this custom of blessing
the fruit after the liturgy. It's not just something
nice, we give thanks to God for the fruit. It's
something much, much more and much deeper than
that. The blessing of fruit reminds us that everything
in nature bears a stamp of the presence of God.
And we give thanks to God for that. Everything
that exists. exists from the beginning for communion
with God. So we say to the Lord, bless this fruit.
And it's a means of a simple communion. No, it's
not the Eucharist. That's something ultimately
and essentially different. But it's the sanctification
of nature, starting with us, the fruit, the water.
The grapes, the property, the rivers, the seas,
the mountains, the animals. Everything is blessed
because we have responsibility to care for it
and to return it to God because it's his. There's
transfiguration, but there's disfiguration too.
And the problem with the modern age is... It's
bent on disfiguring nature, us, our bodies, and
the meaning of what it means to be male and female,
husband and wife, but also the nature that God
has given us. That's being disfigured at an alarming
rate, just the same. And you know, there's a
principle. You will go against nature, and sooner
or later, it's going to go against you, because
it's from God. And so we have to be very diligent
in blessing everything in our life and giving
thanks to God because it's all his and it all
bears the stamp of his holiness. We are going
to be like that someday. But so is the rest of
the universe going to be covered in God's light.
So we're rejoicing on this day to celebrate that
fact. You know, we actualize. What that means,
the transfiguration, the Mount of Tabor, the
disciples being there, we actualize that in ourselves
when we receive the Eucharist at the liturgy,
and we leave here having had something of that
experience. A little light, we sang last night,
of thy divinity, O Lord.