WEBVTT 00:00:02.029 --> 00:00:05.509 There's so much that we could meditate upon today. 00:00:06.290 --> 00:00:10.849 The lives of these deacons that we commemorate 00:00:10.849 --> 00:00:17.210 today, Parmenas and the others. The gospel, which 00:00:17.210 --> 00:00:19.649 is important. That particular gospel is given 00:00:19.649 --> 00:00:22.390 to us twice in a year, sometimes three times. 00:00:24.550 --> 00:00:27.809 The life of the saints, the other saints today, 00:00:27.989 --> 00:00:32.030 for example. But today is the anniversary. of 00:00:32.030 --> 00:00:35.590 an important event in the life of our parish. 00:00:37.170 --> 00:00:42.049 Foundational, I would say. Profound and deeply, 00:00:42.170 --> 00:00:47.369 deeply meaningful for every one of us, whether 00:00:47.369 --> 00:00:50.030 you know it or not. And that is, maybe you saw 00:00:50.030 --> 00:00:53.750 coming in, I put the proclamation of the consecration 00:00:53.750 --> 00:00:57.710 of the church there at the front door. It's a 00:00:57.710 --> 00:01:02.049 little frame signed by ever memorable, Bishop 00:01:02.049 --> 00:01:04.650 Tikkun, who died maybe, what was it, two years 00:01:04.650 --> 00:01:08.650 ago. So today's the anniversary of the consecration 00:01:08.650 --> 00:01:13.590 of this church. I won't ask for a show of hands, 00:01:13.709 --> 00:01:19.790 but some of you were there that day. It was, 00:01:19.790 --> 00:01:26.049 what, 20, it was 2001. We were a lot younger, 00:01:26.329 --> 00:01:33.640 all of us. Matiszka last, but in fact, she prepared 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:38.379 the reception, the banquet for us. We had a huge 00:01:38.379 --> 00:01:41.180 tent in the whole front of the parking lot, like 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:44.180 we did on the 75th anniversary. And she had only 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:46.099 been a parishioner at the Baptist, what, two 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:48.939 years earlier. She gave it her all. It was a 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:52.120 wonderful and beautiful celebration from beginning 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:55.280 to end. And it was very long. I'll tell you, 00:01:55.299 --> 00:01:58.810 I'll just give you a brief overview. It was five 00:01:58.810 --> 00:02:04.310 and a half hours long. The night before, we gathered 00:02:04.310 --> 00:02:07.510 for vespers. There was a temporary altar table 00:02:07.510 --> 00:02:11.689 set up here. And on it were put, if I recall, 00:02:12.090 --> 00:02:15.830 the relics of St. Elizabeth, the new martyr, 00:02:15.990 --> 00:02:19.110 the nun Barbara, her cell attendant, and the 00:02:19.110 --> 00:02:23.949 Hierodican Anastasia of Kiev. I still don't know 00:02:23.949 --> 00:02:26.759 anything about him. And we served. what I would 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:30.219 say was a brief vespers right here. And then 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:34.039 we had a dinner in the hall. And then the then 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:37.300 chancellor of the OCA was here, along with the 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:41.919 archdeacon from Washington. And the chancellor 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:46.360 said to his grace, Bishop Deacon, your grace, 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:52.139 when you go back to your hotel room, he said 00:02:52.139 --> 00:02:56.669 this with a smile, ask the Lord, to put it on 00:02:56.669 --> 00:03:00.349 your heart. It's not the way we stalk in the 00:03:00.349 --> 00:03:03.009 Orthodox Church. Ask the Lord to put it on your 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:06.530 heart that we could use multiple chalices at 00:03:06.530 --> 00:03:10.270 the liturgy tomorrow. And the bishop smiled. 00:03:12.050 --> 00:03:14.969 Our choir director, Nicholas, was his choir director 00:03:14.969 --> 00:03:18.169 for some time, and so he knows. Bishop Ticon's 00:03:18.169 --> 00:03:22.550 rule was one chalice. For many reasons, you come 00:03:22.550 --> 00:03:25.810 to that priest, You maybe don't like to come 00:03:25.810 --> 00:03:27.889 to that priest, so you pick another priest. He 00:03:27.889 --> 00:03:30.169 said, that's not right. It's the body and blood 00:03:30.169 --> 00:03:32.430 of Christ. It's the hand of Christ giving it 00:03:32.430 --> 00:03:35.569 to you. It doesn't matter. Besides, it's one 00:03:35.569 --> 00:03:38.949 cup and one bread. So it was five and a half 00:03:38.949 --> 00:03:41.330 hours because communion was over an hour long. 00:03:41.650 --> 00:03:46.150 There being 16 priests that day and maybe 300 00:03:46.150 --> 00:03:50.990 faithful were here. So we began the service. 00:03:51.169 --> 00:03:53.879 The priests gathered in. the protection church 00:03:53.879 --> 00:04:00.120 to be vested. And then we met the bishop there. 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:03.979 We escorted him here. We did the vesting, as 00:04:03.979 --> 00:04:05.919 you know how that works. You've seen it many 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:09.680 times. And then the bishop came into the altar 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:11.719 with the other priests and we proceeded with 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:16.680 the rite, the ceremony of consecration. For that, 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:20.350 the priest put on this... sort of a white apron 00:04:20.350 --> 00:04:23.050 to protect themselves from what's going to happen. 00:04:24.009 --> 00:04:26.709 This altar table, which had been constructed 00:04:26.709 --> 00:04:29.810 by Serge Anderson, did not have a top on it. 00:04:29.870 --> 00:04:34.990 It was lying over here in the corner. And it 00:04:34.990 --> 00:04:39.329 was just the frame of an altar. And in the middle, 00:04:39.329 --> 00:04:42.009 at the bottom, there's a box with a little cross 00:04:42.009 --> 00:04:45.110 on the top, with the top that comes on and off. 00:04:45.750 --> 00:04:50.420 And during that ceremony, The priest took the 00:04:50.420 --> 00:04:54.600 top, we put it on, we used pegs, wooden pegs 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:59.279 rather than nails, and wax was poured into the 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:02.199 holes. This is why you have to wear an apron, 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:04.800 because you get those river stones, which we 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:10.199 had, and we start pounding those pegs into the 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:14.550 holes. Wax is splattering on everyone. which 00:05:14.550 --> 00:05:17.009 is, I guess, the way it's meant to be. You know, 00:05:17.029 --> 00:05:18.910 in the Orthodox Church, we don't do things all 00:05:18.910 --> 00:05:23.350 neat and tidy, do we? There's wax, there's oil, 00:05:23.670 --> 00:05:27.050 there's sand, there's wine after communion, there's 00:05:27.050 --> 00:05:30.990 breadcrumbs. It all takes attention, and that's 00:05:30.990 --> 00:05:33.810 part of what we're doing here. And then the top 00:05:33.810 --> 00:05:38.610 of the table was washed with holy water and wine, 00:05:38.790 --> 00:05:43.040 and then it was chrismated. It was chrismated. 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:49.259 So, what comes after that? We dressed it. We 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:51.920 dressed it in a white robe. It's under this. 00:05:53.639 --> 00:06:00.759 Under this green. And the white robe is wrapped 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:08.720 around with this robe. And at that point, we 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:12.569 came in to the nave. and we chrismated and washed 00:06:12.569 --> 00:06:15.589 with holy water every spot in the church. Those 00:06:15.589 --> 00:06:19.250 marks of the holy chrism are covered now, obviously, 00:06:19.250 --> 00:06:23.490 with the frescoes. So like a person being baptized, 00:06:24.050 --> 00:06:28.009 they're washed, they're clothed, they're chrismated. 00:06:30.029 --> 00:06:33.329 And then we went to the little church where the 00:06:33.329 --> 00:06:35.829 relics of St. Elizabeth and the others were waiting 00:06:35.829 --> 00:06:39.759 on the altar. We got them. We did a procession 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:43.319 around this church. We walked in. Only after, 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:48.639 at the front door, we did these verses, which 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:50.920 sometimes you hear at Pascha, not really in our 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:53.800 tradition. Lift up your gates, O ye princes. 00:06:54.259 --> 00:06:57.000 Be ye lifted up, ye everlasting gates, and the 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.860 King of glory will enter in. And the choir is 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:02.540 inside the church. There's a curtain on the front 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:05.540 door. They sing, Who is the King of glory? The 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:09.060 Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory. And then 00:07:09.060 --> 00:07:11.680 we enter into the church in great solemnity and 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:15.480 singing and rejoicing. You know, I was at a consecration 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:19.220 two weeks ago on the island of Mull at the monastery 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:23.740 of St. Ninian. And actually, that had been my 00:07:23.740 --> 00:07:27.379 seventh consecration, which is an incredible 00:07:27.379 --> 00:07:30.370 blessing. You hear, oh, it's a once -in -a -lifetime 00:07:30.370 --> 00:07:33.449 experience. It is. Each one is that once -in 00:07:33.449 --> 00:07:35.209 -a -lifetime experience, even if you've gone 00:07:35.209 --> 00:07:39.050 to ten. And the relics are brought in to the 00:07:39.050 --> 00:07:44.189 altar. And then, awkwardly and strangely, and 00:07:44.189 --> 00:07:47.750 probably it's meant to be that way, one of the 00:07:47.750 --> 00:07:52.589 priests has to get down on his back and lift 00:07:52.589 --> 00:07:58.360 up the white cover and reach in. and put in the 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:02.019 holy relics into that box in the middle to the 00:08:02.019 --> 00:08:05.620 altar that's already been dressed. You hear this 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:11.000 prayer. Listen. O Master, Lord, our God, the 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.600 hope of all the ends of the earth, hear us sinners 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:17.300 who make our supplications unto thee. Send down 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:20.800 thine all -holy, adorable, and almighty Spirit 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:26.740 and sanctify this temple and this altar. Fill 00:08:26.740 --> 00:08:29.720 it with the light everlasting. Elect it for thy 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:32.840 dwelling place. Make it the abode of thy glory. 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:36.320 Adorn it with thy divine and supernal gifts. 00:08:36.860 --> 00:08:39.200 Appoint it for a haven of the tempest house, 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:42.200 for a healing of passions, for a refuge of the 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:47.059 weak, for an expelling of evil spirits. Let thine 00:08:47.059 --> 00:08:50.519 eyes be open upon it day and night. Let thine 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:53.840 ears be heedful of the prayer of those who shall 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:59.750 enter herein. in thy fear and devoutness, and 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:01.870 shall call upon thine all -honorable and adorable 00:09:01.870 --> 00:09:04.470 name, that whatsoever they shall ask of thee 00:09:04.470 --> 00:09:07.529 in thy name, thou wilt hear it in the heaven 00:09:07.529 --> 00:09:11.669 above, and wilt show mercy and be gracious unto 00:09:11.669 --> 00:09:15.110 them, and preserve it indestructible even to 00:09:15.110 --> 00:09:20.809 the end of the ages. That last part's left up 00:09:20.809 --> 00:09:27.529 to us. I tell you about this consecration because 00:09:27.529 --> 00:09:31.429 it's exactly what happens to us, but in a different 00:09:31.429 --> 00:09:34.809 form. When we are baptized, we become catechumens. 00:09:36.350 --> 00:09:40.190 We renounce the devil and all his angels, all 00:09:40.190 --> 00:09:42.509 his works, all his service, and all his pride. 00:09:42.789 --> 00:09:45.750 We spit on the devil. We turn our back on him 00:09:45.750 --> 00:09:49.470 without fear because we know we're going to say 00:09:49.470 --> 00:09:53.169 those... essential words without which we should 00:09:53.169 --> 00:09:58.830 be very fearful. I unite myself to Christ. And 00:09:58.830 --> 00:10:02.330 even so, the Lord lets us deal with spiritual 00:10:02.330 --> 00:10:06.970 warfare because we are his representatives. We 00:10:06.970 --> 00:10:10.549 are the continuation of the incarnation. We are 00:10:10.549 --> 00:10:15.330 those disciples of the apostles and the apostles 00:10:15.330 --> 00:10:18.330 heard, and you didn't hear it today, but a little 00:10:18.330 --> 00:10:21.720 later in the gospel, the Lord appoints them to 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:26.679 go out to preach the good news, to heal the sick, 00:10:26.820 --> 00:10:31.700 and to cast out demons. We're their disciples. 00:10:32.940 --> 00:10:38.100 The church does that. When we're baptized, what 00:10:38.100 --> 00:10:40.980 happens to us is what happened here on that day. 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:47.559 Now, I was in Scotland, and I was talking, actually 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:50.740 it was last night, but to somebody about this. 00:10:50.940 --> 00:10:54.759 But when I was there, one of the priests told 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:58.279 me, oh, there's many, many churches, old Anglican, 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:01.639 beautiful Anglican churches, hundreds of years 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:04.820 old, some of them, that have fallen into disrepair 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:10.179 or that are now apartments or nightclubs or restaurants 00:11:10.179 --> 00:11:19.649 or shops. How does that happen? Think about it. 00:11:21.750 --> 00:11:26.789 The church is the place where the divine sacrifice 00:11:26.789 --> 00:11:31.330 of the Eucharist takes place, where the thanksgiving 00:11:31.330 --> 00:11:35.649 prayers, where we offer the bread and wine, and 00:11:35.649 --> 00:11:39.330 we ask the Lord, our Father in heaven, to send 00:11:39.330 --> 00:11:43.230 down his Holy Spirit and change this bread and 00:11:43.230 --> 00:11:46.909 to change this wine into the body and blood of 00:11:46.909 --> 00:11:50.179 his precious Son. by whose blood we are saved. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:57.059 The Eucharistic sacrifice, this great service 00:11:57.059 --> 00:12:00.559 of thanksgiving, takes place on this altar. That's 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:03.919 one thing, one of many, the main thing that makes 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:08.899 it a church. It's also the one thing which makes 00:12:08.899 --> 00:12:12.659 you a Christian, that you receive that body and 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:17.039 blood, and you become a church also. All this... 00:12:17.990 --> 00:12:20.250 Archbishop Benjamin said at that consecration 00:12:20.250 --> 00:12:24.110 in Scotland, all this beauty, all the joy of 00:12:24.110 --> 00:12:28.070 the singing, all the hymns are to be a reflection 00:12:28.070 --> 00:12:31.289 of the soul and the heart of the human being 00:12:31.289 --> 00:12:35.169 who has been sanctified and consecrated in baptism 00:12:35.169 --> 00:12:38.029 and chrismation to our Lord and God and Savior. 00:12:38.529 --> 00:12:44.549 You become the church too. If we don't continually 00:12:44.549 --> 00:12:48.500 renew that connection with the Eucharist within 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:53.639 our own soul, then it begins to fall into disrepair. 00:12:54.220 --> 00:13:00.620 If we don't allow repentance and contrition to 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:03.740 flow into us as a gift of God, like when we come 00:13:03.740 --> 00:13:08.399 to confession, then our soul begins to become 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:14.509 distant and fragmented and lose its savor. of 00:13:14.509 --> 00:13:19.529 holiness that St. Paul speaks about. If we don't 00:13:19.529 --> 00:13:22.950 take care of the grounds here, the weeds will 00:13:22.950 --> 00:13:26.429 take over, just like in the parable of the seed. 00:13:26.970 --> 00:13:30.309 Oh, the man receives a seed and he's joyful, 00:13:30.529 --> 00:13:33.129 but very soon the cares of this world and the 00:13:33.129 --> 00:13:36.710 troubles of this world, legitimate cares, mind 00:13:36.710 --> 00:13:40.529 you, but things have got put first rather than 00:13:40.529 --> 00:13:45.250 in their proper place. they start to squeeze 00:13:45.250 --> 00:13:51.129 and the weeds and the thorns take over. And there's 00:13:51.129 --> 00:13:55.129 no spiritual life left anymore. If we don't clean 00:13:55.129 --> 00:13:58.029 the inside of our church, fill the lamps, take 00:13:58.029 --> 00:14:02.269 care of the candles, wash the walls every now 00:14:02.269 --> 00:14:06.330 and then, they get smoky, and pray in here continually, 00:14:06.830 --> 00:14:11.389 then our church, it will be the same as those... 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:15.500 500 -year beautiful Anglican churches that are 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:18.179 empty or not just empty, but are filled with 00:14:18.179 --> 00:14:21.840 things that don't belong in church. The Soviets 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:25.000 tried this, of course, but, you know, lacking 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.399 any sense of fun or entertainment, they just 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:33.179 made them into garages and storehouses. We have 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:35.980 to be careful, brothers and sisters, that we 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:41.940 care not just for the physical here. But think 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:46.759 about your commitment to the Lord. Is there a 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:50.960 liturgy going on in your heart and soul? This 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:56.620 is a choice we can make. Without God, people 00:14:56.620 --> 00:15:01.720 say, life is easier. Because God brings into 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:05.419 our life something that must inevitably change. 00:15:06.570 --> 00:15:08.769 Sometimes you hear that change from your spouse, 00:15:08.990 --> 00:15:11.490 sometimes from your friend, sometimes from your 00:15:11.490 --> 00:15:13.970 priest, sometimes in your heart and your conscience 00:15:13.970 --> 00:15:16.210 you know it, sometimes from the lives of the 00:15:16.210 --> 00:15:19.470 saints. But once we accept God in our life, once 00:15:19.470 --> 00:15:22.649 we become dedicated and consecrated to him, and 00:15:22.649 --> 00:15:25.830 we become churches and adorned in the inside 00:15:25.830 --> 00:15:30.450 with the icons and the prayers and the beauty 00:15:30.450 --> 00:15:34.090 and the gift of the Holy Spirit in the heart. 00:15:35.529 --> 00:15:39.750 then we have a responsibility to care for that 00:15:39.750 --> 00:15:45.870 more than any other responsibility we have. I'll 00:15:45.870 --> 00:15:49.990 close with this thought, which is a strange thought 00:15:49.990 --> 00:15:56.070 from the gospel today. They saw an amazing miracle, 00:15:56.289 --> 00:16:00.909 the Lord's power over sin and evil and darkness. 00:16:01.169 --> 00:16:03.830 And God came to this man. He didn't call out 00:16:03.830 --> 00:16:07.779 to God. God came to save him. You know, when 00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:10.259 we say we're saved, we're being saved, we have 00:16:10.259 --> 00:16:12.759 been saved, it's as radical a thing as that. 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:17.019 Maybe not so dramatic. But we have life where 00:16:17.019 --> 00:16:22.440 we did not have it. But the people there gave 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:26.960 no thanks to God. Jesus says to the man, go tell 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:29.980 everyone the great things God has done for you. 00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:34.340 But the people there... wanted Christ to leave. 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:38.600 We have a choice. Let your heart, your soul, 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:42.899 your body be the continual dwelling place of 00:16:42.899 --> 00:16:45.639 the Holy Spirit, the joy and the worship of the 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:50.600 liturgy, even as you leave today. Care for it 00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:56.100 better than we care for this place. Because now 00:16:56.100 --> 00:16:59.539 you're responsible. You've been given a great 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:03.820 gift. Don't let it fall into disrepair and disuse. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.819 Don't let the liturgy and the Eucharist ever 00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:10.200 be absent from this church, neither from your 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:14.099 heart and soul either. The Lord gives us such 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:17.960 a tremendous gift. We give thanks to him on this 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:20.720 day of the anniversary of our church. May the 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:25.779 Lord continue to bless us. Amen.