WEBVTT 00:00:03.339 --> 00:00:07.960 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:14.539 of the Holy Spirit. Amen. On the second Sunday 00:00:14.539 --> 00:00:19.660 of Lent, we celebrate, we commemorate, we remember 00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:23.559 the great bishop of Thessalonica, the great monastic 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:27.379 elder, St. Gregory Palamas, whose icon is here 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:29.579 in the center of the church. And that second 00:00:29.579 --> 00:00:33.960 gospel reading was read. Because that describes 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:36.979 what kind of bishop he was, a true shepherd. 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:44.780 There is a really good and dense article by the 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:48.579 late monk Maximus in your handout. So I won't 00:00:48.579 --> 00:00:51.859 speak about St. Gregory. I'll let Father Maximus, 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:57.240 in his inimitable way, tell you about that. So 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:00.600 I recommend you read that. As I say, it's dense. 00:01:00.700 --> 00:01:04.670 Give yourself some time. Instead, I'd like to 00:01:04.670 --> 00:01:10.090 speak about that first gospel, chapter 2 from 00:01:10.090 --> 00:01:17.629 Mark. In there, I see three spiritual laws, let's 00:01:17.629 --> 00:01:22.549 say, from which we can draw forth from that account. 00:01:23.890 --> 00:01:27.049 Our Protestant brothers and sisters might have 00:01:27.049 --> 00:01:31.959 heard of the four spiritual laws. I think they 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:34.819 lack a little protein now that we're in Lent. 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:37.840 We need a little bit more. So let's look at, 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:42.000 from this account, these three very powerful 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:44.439 spiritual laws and realities of our Christian 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:47.879 life here. They would be, first, spiritual friendship. 00:01:49.620 --> 00:01:52.260 Secondly, the spiritual hospital of the church. 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.700 And third, spiritual healing that takes place 00:01:56.700 --> 00:02:00.319 in that hospital and because of that friendship. 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:04.379 Today we'll only speak about, put your mind to 00:02:04.379 --> 00:02:08.740 ease, the first one. Next week and the following 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:12.379 week we'll speak about the other two. What we 00:02:12.379 --> 00:02:15.879 heard was that Jesus was preaching in a house, 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:20.580 having just previously healed the possessed man, 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:25.620 healed Peter's mother -in -law, healed many, 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:29.750 many others with various diseases, and demonic 00:02:29.750 --> 00:02:34.469 possession, healed a man with leprosy, and so 00:02:34.469 --> 00:02:37.689 on. That's just chapter two. St. Mark writes 00:02:37.689 --> 00:02:39.650 that the man who had been healed of leprosy was 00:02:39.650 --> 00:02:43.849 told by Jesus sternly, say nothing to anyone 00:02:43.849 --> 00:02:48.409 about this. Well, change in his condition was 00:02:48.409 --> 00:02:53.490 obviously going to be noticed, but so this man 00:02:53.490 --> 00:02:56.949 went out and told everyone. About the wonderful 00:02:56.949 --> 00:03:00.449 things that Jesus had done for him. Absolutely 00:03:00.449 --> 00:03:05.770 changed, foundationally changed his life. That's 00:03:05.770 --> 00:03:07.389 what it's supposed to be like for a Christian. 00:03:08.189 --> 00:03:11.770 The change from one to the other. That radical, 00:03:12.169 --> 00:03:17.229 that much. We should do what this man did. Tell 00:03:17.229 --> 00:03:20.530 others about the great things that the Lord has 00:03:20.530 --> 00:03:25.900 done for us too. Life eternal. Healing beginning 00:03:25.900 --> 00:03:31.780 here, now. Jesus went after the healing of that 00:03:31.780 --> 00:03:34.819 paralyzed man. He escaped. Went into the desert 00:03:34.819 --> 00:03:38.139 to pray. And people followed him. People came, 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:42.259 says St. Mark, from every direction for help, 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:46.300 for healing, for consolations, for words of truth. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:52.400 That's Lent, isn't it? That we should go out 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:55.789 with Jesus. Not into the desert. Well, if you 00:03:55.789 --> 00:04:01.389 can, by all means, do so. But to pull away a 00:04:01.389 --> 00:04:05.210 little bit from the normal life. To be with Jesus. 00:04:06.930 --> 00:04:09.789 Jesus was preaching the words there in that house, 00:04:09.949 --> 00:04:15.750 says St. Mark. And it was completely filled. 00:04:17.029 --> 00:04:20.129 That should be true for us too. And it is true. 00:04:20.209 --> 00:04:23.350 We commune with Jesus. Why do we come here? It's 00:04:23.350 --> 00:04:25.529 for Jesus. It's not so you can hear a 10 -minute, 00:04:25.649 --> 00:04:29.149 a 12 -minute, 15 -minute sermon. It's so you 00:04:29.149 --> 00:04:33.730 can be with the Lord and with each other. That's 00:04:33.730 --> 00:04:37.870 liturgy. What they were doing is what we're doing. 00:04:38.329 --> 00:04:42.970 Except us, much, much more because Christ is 00:04:42.970 --> 00:04:47.189 in our midst even now. The house was packed. 00:04:48.110 --> 00:04:52.730 People were outside trying to listen. You heard 00:04:52.730 --> 00:04:55.569 then that four men were carrying their paralyzed 00:04:55.569 --> 00:05:01.269 friend up to the roof of this house. Now imagine, 00:05:01.329 --> 00:05:03.970 not an easy task, keeping the guy on his bed, 00:05:04.110 --> 00:05:09.810 going up the roof, breaking it open. That's work. 00:05:10.610 --> 00:05:14.350 And that's resolve. And there's resistance against 00:05:14.350 --> 00:05:19.389 it. They would not let anything stop them from 00:05:19.389 --> 00:05:22.810 being in front of Jesus Christ. Imagine also 00:05:22.810 --> 00:05:26.310 the racket going on down below and pieces of 00:05:26.310 --> 00:05:28.829 ceiling coming down on the people. Like, what's 00:05:28.829 --> 00:05:34.029 going on up there? And they come down. This man 00:05:34.029 --> 00:05:40.189 is lowered somehow. Right before Jesus. Jesus, 00:05:40.290 --> 00:05:46.589 it says, seeing their faith. The four men said 00:05:46.589 --> 00:05:49.569 to the paralyzed man, who knows what kind of 00:05:49.569 --> 00:05:53.089 faith he had, doesn't say. Seeing their faith, 00:05:53.170 --> 00:05:57.290 said to the paralyzed man, son, incredible to 00:05:57.290 --> 00:06:01.370 be called son by the Lord. Son, your sins are 00:06:01.370 --> 00:06:05.389 forgiven you. The Pharisees spoke the truth. 00:06:05.589 --> 00:06:10.509 Who can forgive sins but God only? Well, there's 00:06:10.509 --> 00:06:14.279 two things that we could draw out here. First, 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:18.699 very briefly, this is not a class, but very briefly, 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:21.660 what is sin? Lots of possible answers, but let 00:06:21.660 --> 00:06:24.459 me put this thought out there for you. Sin is 00:06:24.459 --> 00:06:29.220 that which we do which separates us from God, 00:06:29.379 --> 00:06:33.500 from intimacy with God, from knowledge of his 00:06:33.500 --> 00:06:37.300 presence, from closeness and love and thanksgiving 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:44.959 for all things to God. Knowledge of his providence. 00:06:45.100 --> 00:06:49.079 Joy in prayer and worship. Love of our neighbor. 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:55.100 Vision of his presence in everything around us. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:58.879 In nature, in the world, in other people. Sin 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:03.620 is not just, I didn't fast enough last week. 00:07:04.060 --> 00:07:08.500 Sin is not, I had an argument with my spouse. 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:11.819 Yes, those are sins. But what's behind that? 00:07:13.259 --> 00:07:17.319 It's that separation from God that happened in 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:23.019 the garden. And we still carry on with the same 00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:29.300 thing. We anticipate, we look for the resurrection 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:31.839 of the dead and the life of the age to come. 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:35.740 Amen. That glorious day which we will soon have 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:41.519 a taste of at Pascha in which no sin, no suffering. 00:07:42.189 --> 00:07:47.889 No death. But in this world, this is what we 00:07:47.889 --> 00:07:50.069 deal with. This is why we fast. This is why we 00:07:50.069 --> 00:07:52.509 pray. This is why we worship. This is why we 00:07:52.509 --> 00:07:57.069 confess so that our hearts will also be cleansed. 00:07:57.089 --> 00:07:59.829 We will hear the words of the Lord at the confessional. 00:08:00.470 --> 00:08:05.750 Son, daughter, your sins are forgiven. That's 00:08:05.750 --> 00:08:09.959 monumental. Because sin, the grip of sin and 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:13.579 the consequences and the madness of sin in this 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:19.939 world, I don't have to spell it out. We are released 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:25.620 from that power. Tell your friends, this is the 00:08:25.620 --> 00:08:32.019 good news. Secondly, seeing their faith, Jesus 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:36.429 says, should be seeing their faithfulness. Not 00:08:36.429 --> 00:08:40.789 just what they believed, but what they did. Faith 00:08:40.789 --> 00:08:46.710 is what we do, not what we think. Seeing their 00:08:46.710 --> 00:08:50.389 faithfulness, this healing came about because 00:08:50.389 --> 00:08:53.750 of the care of spiritual friendship. Let's say, 00:08:53.850 --> 00:08:58.070 brethren, which means men and women and children, 00:08:58.190 --> 00:09:01.629 brethren. At the time of the early church, pagan 00:09:01.629 --> 00:09:05.049 Romans... Thought it foolish that Christians 00:09:05.049 --> 00:09:08.769 would call each other brethren since they were 00:09:08.769 --> 00:09:12.230 not related. Because calling someone a brother 00:09:12.230 --> 00:09:15.850 or a sister, brethren, implies to those Romans 00:09:15.850 --> 00:09:22.029 something that you would never do. Share. Take 00:09:22.029 --> 00:09:25.610 responsibility for the other. Feed the hungry 00:09:25.610 --> 00:09:29.210 person. Shelter the homeless person. Care for 00:09:29.210 --> 00:09:35.390 the person who's sick. Bury the dead. Family. 00:09:35.390 --> 00:09:39.809 How do we measure up to that? Or are we fragmented 00:09:39.809 --> 00:09:49.029 and separated and afraid? We need each other 00:09:49.029 --> 00:09:53.169 very much. We need each other's prayer very much. 00:09:53.190 --> 00:09:55.669 We need each other's faithfulness before God. 00:09:55.830 --> 00:10:00.230 We carry one another. We all have someone. Think 00:10:00.230 --> 00:10:02.940 about it. Every single one of us has someone 00:10:02.940 --> 00:10:06.639 who brought us to Jesus, the physician of souls 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:11.120 and bodies. Even St. Paul, he was told to go 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:16.700 see so -and -so in the city. Let the Lord see 00:10:16.700 --> 00:10:19.700 your faithfulness and your resolve and action 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:26.480 to bring others to Christ by your prayers, by 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:29.820 your good works, by your almsgiving, by your 00:10:29.820 --> 00:10:35.659 fasting. By your love. And let each other, as 00:10:35.659 --> 00:10:40.360 we say, let us commend all our life and one another 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:44.059 to Christ our God. We're united, brothers and 00:10:44.059 --> 00:10:50.500 sisters. We are responsible for each other. Let's 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:53.039 not be afraid of what that responsibility will 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:57.580 entail. God will equip us and supply us. Believe 00:10:57.580 --> 00:11:05.279 it. This is the image of the church. Others pray 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:08.799 for us. Others teach us. Others carry us. Others 00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:12.240 impart the holy mysteries to us. Far more than 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:16.100 we realize. And others say those words. Your 00:11:16.100 --> 00:11:19.500 sins are forgiven. Repent and be baptized, every 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:21.860 one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the 00:11:21.860 --> 00:11:26.659 forgiveness of your sins. I'm speaking to catechumens 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:29.220 now. And you will receive the gift of the Holy 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:32.460 Spirit. Forgiveness of sins and the gift of the 00:11:32.460 --> 00:11:35.759 Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:39.539 your children and for all who are far off. Everyone 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:42.620 whom the Lord our God calls to himself. This 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:47.220 is the image of the church. You and I are like 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:51.240 the paralyzed man. We're brought to Christ. Maybe 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:54.360 as a baby and we're baptized. Maybe as an adult 00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:58.759 after a life. of not knowing him. We're brought 00:11:58.759 --> 00:12:02.960 to Jesus Christ. We need to be brought. And Jesus 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:06.639 can heal us from that madness of sin and the 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:10.299 consequences of the craziness that it causes 00:12:10.299 --> 00:12:14.419 in our world. We call Jesus Christ the physician 00:12:14.419 --> 00:12:17.460 of souls and bodies. He opens the hospital to 00:12:17.460 --> 00:12:23.139 us. We gain health because we are given the holy 00:12:23.139 --> 00:12:31.570 mysteries. So we see in the account today that 00:12:31.570 --> 00:12:39.129 there's many of us maybe have too many prerequisites 00:12:39.129 --> 00:12:45.230 for God, requirements that he should follow through 00:12:45.230 --> 00:12:52.230 on, expectations of what he can do. No doubt 00:12:52.230 --> 00:12:54.899 the four friends were surprised. by what Christ 00:12:54.899 --> 00:12:58.960 said. Because he didn't say, son, you're healed 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:02.899 of your paralyzation. He said, son, your sins 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:06.779 are forgiven you. This is the first thing we 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:09.700 need. Hopefully this will lead us to next week 00:13:09.700 --> 00:13:14.039 and the weeks to come. This tells me that we 00:13:14.039 --> 00:13:17.639 should strive to come as the paralytics. Let 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:21.539 our spiritual guides hear, brothers and sisters, 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:26.679 and the saints. Help us recognize our helplessness 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:29.860 in the face of our sins. Don't be proud. And 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:32.279 be inspired when we look at the saints and what 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:35.720 magnificent health is given to them and freely 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:39.799 to us. To our Lord, who is our life, be glory 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:44.200 and honor now and ever to ages of ages. Amen.