WEBVTT 00:00:02.029 --> 00:00:04.410 But even the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 00:00:04.530 --> 00:00:07.650 I was glad when they said unto me, let us go 00:00:07.650 --> 00:00:11.650 up to the house of the Lord. And I said, excuse 00:00:11.650 --> 00:00:16.570 my voice, it comes and goes. And I said, where 00:00:16.570 --> 00:00:20.350 is this house? And they said, Santa Rosa. I said, 00:00:20.370 --> 00:00:24.030 well, that's great. St. Seraphim's Cathedral 00:00:24.030 --> 00:00:27.870 and Church and Parish. I love that parish. And 00:00:27.870 --> 00:00:31.449 I told St. Nicholas, where I was up in Portland, 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:33.799 I told one of the parishioners that. She said, 00:00:33.859 --> 00:00:39.500 oh, I went there in the late 1950s. Protection 00:00:39.500 --> 00:00:42.859 of the Holy Virgin. And she said, there was just 00:00:42.859 --> 00:00:46.119 three of us. We were passing through. We came 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:49.320 to church on Sunday. And there was only the priest 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:52.840 there. He couldn't even do liturgy except that 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:55.979 we came. And so he did liturgy. And it was this 00:00:55.979 --> 00:00:59.399 little church. It was surrounded by golden fields. 00:01:00.170 --> 00:01:02.049 The way she remembers it, there was nothing else 00:01:02.049 --> 00:01:05.469 there but this little church. And so the priest 00:01:05.469 --> 00:01:10.230 was both the celebrant and he was the choir. 00:01:10.370 --> 00:01:13.549 He did everything. And they had liturgy, and 00:01:13.549 --> 00:01:16.709 she just remembered that very fondly. And then 00:01:16.709 --> 00:01:19.909 this parish and this community has continued 00:01:19.909 --> 00:01:24.849 to grow from that church to this church. Father 00:01:24.849 --> 00:01:27.590 Lawrence mentioned last week the consecration. 00:01:28.109 --> 00:01:30.209 Which we remember. I was in San Francisco at 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:33.650 the time. And I was here for that. So even though 00:01:33.650 --> 00:01:37.349 I'm new here. I feel like. It's like coming home. 00:01:37.530 --> 00:01:42.450 To this parish that grows. And that is so. So. 00:01:44.189 --> 00:01:47.370 I would say. Spirit filled. I've never been in 00:01:47.370 --> 00:01:53.650 a parish. That didn't have the Holy Spirit. In 00:01:53.650 --> 00:01:57.859 the smallest. most struggling parish, you still 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:01.260 sometimes audibly hear the Spirit groaning through 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:04.359 the choir. So the Spirit is present one way or 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:07.819 another. But in this, and in this gospel text 00:02:07.819 --> 00:02:10.060 which we heard today, and also in the epistle 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:12.900 where Paul is talking about sharing blessings, 00:02:13.419 --> 00:02:17.199 that we are reminded that in this context, we 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:21.539 are taught to bless. We are taught how to bless 00:02:21.539 --> 00:02:26.389 and how to bless specifically. Specific blessings 00:02:26.389 --> 00:02:29.849 are given to us through the gifts that God has 00:02:29.849 --> 00:02:34.330 given us to use them together. A specific blessing 00:02:34.330 --> 00:02:40.449 is the reader, the choir, those who cook, those 00:02:40.449 --> 00:02:44.530 who greet. People are blessed to unify the parish 00:02:44.530 --> 00:02:50.110 and we all work together and we learn to bless 00:02:50.110 --> 00:02:55.909 one another. We learn to forgive one another's 00:02:55.909 --> 00:02:58.729 sins. And in the gospel text we heard today, 00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:04.289 Jesus said, which is easier, to say your sins 00:03:04.289 --> 00:03:07.710 are forgiven or to say pick up your bed and walk? 00:03:08.409 --> 00:03:11.629 And Jesus, in this situation, he did the harder 00:03:11.629 --> 00:03:16.129 thing in healing the man with palsy, but he asks 00:03:16.129 --> 00:03:19.930 us to do the easier thing, to forgive one another, 00:03:20.169 --> 00:03:24.199 to learn to bless one another. to receive blessings 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:29.419 and to act upon them. And I say this not as instruction, 00:03:29.580 --> 00:03:35.599 but as recognition that this is the kind of parish 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:40.379 community that is here. This is what has built 00:03:40.379 --> 00:03:45.419 this church and this community gradually over 00:03:45.419 --> 00:03:48.780 the years. A few days ago, if you read along 00:03:48.780 --> 00:03:53.229 with the gospel text on the daily readings, Last, 00:03:53.490 --> 00:03:58.629 I believe it was Wednesday the 29th or 30th or 00:03:58.629 --> 00:04:00.810 I don't know. It was midweek. It was that we 00:04:00.810 --> 00:04:03.930 were going through the gospel of Matthew chapter 00:04:03.930 --> 00:04:10.009 13. And Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like 00:04:10.009 --> 00:04:14.310 a mustard seed. The littlest seed, which is what 00:04:14.310 --> 00:04:17.970 I think that church sounded like that our parishioner 00:04:17.970 --> 00:04:23.160 visited in the late 50s. The littlest seed. And 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:27.819 yet it grows into a large bush and birds land 00:04:27.819 --> 00:04:32.540 in it. And this is what we see here. It is a 00:04:32.540 --> 00:04:36.399 work that has begun and a work that has much 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:46.220 more to grow. Much more to, many more people 00:04:46.220 --> 00:04:49.589 to reach. And while we are doing the work of 00:04:49.589 --> 00:04:52.129 the church, we too are being perfected. So let 00:04:52.129 --> 00:04:57.470 us have confidence in this, that Jesus Christ, 00:04:57.569 --> 00:05:01.290 who has begun a good work in us, has the power 00:05:01.290 --> 00:05:04.589 to bring it to completion. Glory to Jesus Christ.