WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:01.870 In the name of the Father and of the Son and 00:00:01.870 --> 00:00:04.889 of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Don't be frightened 00:00:04.889 --> 00:00:08.890 by my three books. I promise I'm not going to 00:00:08.890 --> 00:00:12.210 give a class. I just need a little bit of reminder 00:00:12.210 --> 00:00:17.969 sometimes of what things say. So have no fear. 00:00:21.710 --> 00:00:25.629 If you've been on a wonderful trip, a journey, 00:00:25.710 --> 00:00:31.350 you want to relive some of those moments to talk 00:00:31.350 --> 00:00:35.630 about them, to bring to your mind what was so 00:00:35.630 --> 00:00:38.469 wonderful and enjoyable about that trip. Well, 00:00:38.490 --> 00:00:40.770 let me do that a little bit for where we've been. 00:00:42.630 --> 00:00:45.770 Today's the 13th day after Christmas. Yesterday 00:00:45.770 --> 00:00:48.929 was the 12th day, just like in this song, the 00:00:48.929 --> 00:00:51.890 12 days of Christmas. It's a very Christian understanding. 00:00:52.409 --> 00:00:55.869 It's a festal period which goes on for 12 days. 00:00:55.909 --> 00:00:58.969 Actually, It's just leaking out and continuing 00:00:58.969 --> 00:01:06.250 as we go. So today is very festive as well. We 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:09.689 did a vigil for Christmas. Actually, we had days 00:01:09.689 --> 00:01:12.590 of preparation, pre -feast days, which we had 00:01:12.590 --> 00:01:16.870 matins in the morning and vespers in the evening. 00:01:17.409 --> 00:01:20.430 As I said to the congregation yesterday at the 00:01:20.430 --> 00:01:22.450 end of the service, please come back for vespers 00:01:22.450 --> 00:01:25.510 yesterday. In the Orthodox Church, we have at 00:01:25.510 --> 00:01:28.930 least two services a day. Not that we always 00:01:28.930 --> 00:01:33.450 do them, but we have them. We're preparing for 00:01:33.450 --> 00:01:38.329 this great celebration of what happened there 00:01:38.329 --> 00:01:43.030 in Bethlehem, what led to it, and what happens 00:01:43.030 --> 00:01:46.730 in the Bethlehem of our heart, how we meet the 00:01:46.730 --> 00:01:50.879 Savior of the world. That God is with us. We 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:53.420 don't sing, God is with us, understand all ye 00:01:53.420 --> 00:01:56.640 nations, and submit yourself in a triumphalistic, 00:01:56.700 --> 00:02:00.659 worldly way. We sing that because God has become 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:06.799 man and he is with us. He's with us today. Where 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:09.340 two or three are gathered, where a multitude 00:02:09.340 --> 00:02:16.719 have come together, not just informally, not 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:23.030 just casually, but as those who live according 00:02:23.030 --> 00:02:28.930 to his name. You carry his name. That means when 00:02:28.930 --> 00:02:32.509 you come together, you are united in Christ and 00:02:32.509 --> 00:02:36.189 he is there in the midst. God is with us. That's 00:02:36.189 --> 00:02:39.090 why we sing this. And we celebrated and we sang 00:02:39.090 --> 00:02:41.629 and we sang Christmas carols and we had wonderful 00:02:41.629 --> 00:02:47.060 food. I hope you had all that. And then... Some 00:02:47.060 --> 00:02:51.840 days went by, and we came to New Year's Eve, 00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:56.000 and we had Vespers for St. Basil and the Feast 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:58.199 of the Circumcision of Christ. Well, remember 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:01.840 that his parents took him, Jesus, in accordance 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:06.120 to the law of Moses, to what was given to Abraham, 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.919 to be a sign of the covenant that he himself 00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:14.620 humbled himself to be, because he is one of us. 00:03:15.949 --> 00:03:19.509 God is so humble. You know, he pretty much will 00:03:19.509 --> 00:03:23.189 take anything we can give him. You don't feel 00:03:23.189 --> 00:03:28.150 like praying in the evening? Do one bow, say 00:03:28.150 --> 00:03:31.090 the Lord's Prayer. God is humble, and he receives 00:03:31.090 --> 00:03:35.210 that because he loves you. And then you feel, 00:03:35.289 --> 00:03:37.949 maybe I can do a little bit more. And God's Spirit 00:03:37.949 --> 00:03:41.550 then is activated in your heart, and you begin 00:03:41.550 --> 00:03:44.860 to pray a little bit more. But it all starts 00:03:44.860 --> 00:03:49.979 with humility. His humility. His whole life was 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:53.180 one of humility. And the shedding of blood from 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:56.080 the beginning to the very end. And I'm coming 00:03:56.080 --> 00:04:00.319 back to that point in a moment. And we celebrated 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:05.080 the faithful and good and amazing servant, the 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:09.360 Bishop of Caesarea Basil. You can see right there 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:13.050 in the altar, Basil the Great. There's not many 00:04:13.050 --> 00:04:16.110 saints we call the great. He was only a bishop 00:04:16.110 --> 00:04:19.209 for nine years, and in that time established 00:04:19.209 --> 00:04:26.689 hospitals, orphanages, schools, miracles in abundance. 00:04:29.089 --> 00:04:31.449 And then we celebrated New Year's Day. We had 00:04:31.449 --> 00:04:33.949 a liturgy here, which was wonderful. And in the 00:04:33.949 --> 00:04:37.050 evening, we gathered again. Yes, it was tiring 00:04:37.050 --> 00:04:41.339 physically. It was tiring. Who comes back on 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:47.579 New Year's Day? There's bowl games on. But we 00:04:47.579 --> 00:04:51.160 came back to sing the Vespers, just brief, it 00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:53.899 was about 40 minutes, of our venerable Father 00:04:53.899 --> 00:04:57.040 Seraphim, wonder worker of sorrow. That's the 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:01.199 January 2nd is the day of his repose. So of course 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:03.420 we're going to gather because that's the day 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:07.819 he entered in to what you can call The council 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:10.800 of the saints. God is glorified in his wondrous 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:14.819 ones. That he is with the Lord. Interceding for 00:05:14.819 --> 00:05:19.240 us. And this parish is named after him. So you 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:23.040 carry a bit of St. Seraphim. Wherever you go. 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.839 Because you are a member of the parish of St. 00:05:27.019 --> 00:05:30.779 Seraphim. And he prays for you. Each one of you. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:36.000 Individually. I can say that boldly. And then. 00:05:36.699 --> 00:05:40.040 The next morning, we were expecting our archbishop 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:43.079 to come, but he was ill. But many priests came, 00:05:43.259 --> 00:05:46.519 and we celebrated his feast day. This means when 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:49.060 we celebrate a divine liturgy in honor of a saint 00:05:49.060 --> 00:05:52.579 or any feast day, that means we are lifted up 00:05:52.579 --> 00:05:57.199 to be with them at the throne of God, at his 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:00.579 divine banquet table, to feast with the saint. 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:07.699 We're with them. It's not... Some ethereal thing. 00:06:07.860 --> 00:06:10.339 It's very practical because we eat and drink. 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:15.720 That's food. Spiritual food from heaven. And 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:19.019 then a couple days went by and we celebrated 00:06:19.019 --> 00:06:21.980 the Feast of Theophany. You see this magnificent 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:25.139 fresco and the icon is still in the middle of 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:29.100 the church because we are just the day after 00:06:29.100 --> 00:06:33.139 Theophany. And it was as if we gathered at the 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:38.889 shore of the Jordan River. We had gallons and 00:06:38.889 --> 00:06:42.870 gallons of water. And we prayed that the Holy 00:06:42.870 --> 00:06:46.970 Spirit would come and change that water to be 00:06:46.970 --> 00:06:50.449 the water, the true water of life, the water 00:06:50.449 --> 00:06:53.449 of the Garden of Paradise, where we were standing 00:06:53.449 --> 00:06:58.110 with Adam and Eve. And creation is being renewed, 00:06:58.250 --> 00:07:02.449 starting with that most basic thing, water. Isn't 00:07:02.449 --> 00:07:04.430 that an amazing thing that your church gives 00:07:04.430 --> 00:07:10.879 us? I'm saying all this, and I'm recounting all 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:14.079 this, not to make anybody feel bad because you 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:19.600 missed some of this, but to tell you and to remind 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:23.879 you about the riches of the church, the riches 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:29.639 of liturgical life, and to also inoculate you 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:37.139 a little bit. I read an article last week. It 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:41.019 was by a young man who had gone to Yale Divinity 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:45.160 School for one semester. And he said, the one 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:48.540 semester at Yale Divinity cured me of my Christianity. 00:07:50.459 --> 00:07:53.860 And he goes on to explain what kind of Christianity 00:07:53.860 --> 00:07:58.779 he kind of had and what they were teaching him. 00:07:59.959 --> 00:08:03.139 It was a Christianity in which he was being taught 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:07.660 at Yale that the verse, God so loved the world 00:08:07.660 --> 00:08:10.439 that he gave his only begotten son is simply 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:13.699 child abuse. That you would give your son to 00:08:13.699 --> 00:08:19.600 be brutally treated by godless and wicked people, 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:24.600 the Romans, to be crucified? What kind of father 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:28.519 would do that to his son? And then it goes on 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:30.839 and on and on, of course, because there's imperialism 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:35.240 and all that stuff wrapped up in that. But that's 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:39.220 not... the faith we have. Listen to one of the 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:42.399 prayers from yesterday. Let this inoculate you. 00:08:44.679 --> 00:08:50.340 Let's see. O Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten 00:08:50.340 --> 00:08:53.100 Son, who art in the bosom of the Father, true 00:08:53.100 --> 00:08:56.360 God, the fountain of life and immortality, light 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:59.519 of light, who came as to the world to enlighten 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:05.279 it. Are we enlightened? Illumine our mind with 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:08.779 the Holy Spirit. Receive us who offer thee magnification. 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:12.740 For thou hast clothed thyself, O Lord, in our 00:09:12.740 --> 00:09:16.860 weak and poor nature, and hast condescended to 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:20.799 the stature of a servant, thou who art king of 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:23.580 all, and yet to stand to be baptized in the Jordan 00:09:23.580 --> 00:09:25.980 at the hands of a servant, having sanctified 00:09:25.980 --> 00:09:29.889 the nature of water. O sinless one, Thou mightest 00:09:29.889 --> 00:09:32.350 lead us into a new birth through water and the 00:09:32.350 --> 00:09:36.590 Spirit and restore us again to true and first 00:09:36.590 --> 00:09:42.309 freedom. God is not an angry God dangling us 00:09:42.309 --> 00:09:47.029 over a pit. If we don't confess his name, he 00:09:47.029 --> 00:09:50.590 will just destroy us. That's the God that this 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:53.289 kid believed. That's the God that they were teaching. 00:09:53.389 --> 00:09:55.649 We don't believe him. But then they would strip 00:09:55.649 --> 00:09:58.769 away everything, all the miracles, the resurrection, 00:09:59.169 --> 00:10:02.809 the baptism, the dove, the hand of John, the 00:10:02.809 --> 00:10:06.049 angels, the shepherds, the wise men, the healings, 00:10:06.049 --> 00:10:09.909 all that gone. What are they left with? Jesus 00:10:09.909 --> 00:10:15.429 of Nazareth, they say, with the Beatitudes. But 00:10:15.429 --> 00:10:20.289 the problem there is, The Beatitudes, you can't 00:10:20.289 --> 00:10:23.929 acquire any of those things. Peace, meekness, 00:10:24.090 --> 00:10:28.590 truth, humility, being persecuted without the 00:10:28.590 --> 00:10:31.990 gift of the Spirit. You can't have a spiritual 00:10:31.990 --> 00:10:39.710 life without the Holy Spirit. And today, today 00:10:39.710 --> 00:10:43.690 we celebrate this incredible forerunner in Baptist 00:10:43.690 --> 00:10:48.169 John. who gives us a clue about what might not 00:10:48.169 --> 00:10:51.950 seem obvious. This is what the Synoxarian says. 00:10:52.289 --> 00:10:54.470 The church honors the forerunner and the Baptist, 00:10:54.750 --> 00:10:57.809 extolling him as the greatest of prophets, most 00:10:57.809 --> 00:11:01.309 noble of those born of women, voice of the word, 00:11:01.490 --> 00:11:05.529 herald of grace, swallow, presaging the spiritual 00:11:05.529 --> 00:11:09.159 spring. torch and beacon of the divine light, 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:12.600 spiritual dawn announcing the sun of righteousness, 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:17.399 and terrestrial angel and heavenly man stationed 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:21.419 at the border of heaven and earth, uniting the 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:24.200 Old and New Testaments sent by God as a voice 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:27.620 in the wilderness in order to announce and to 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:32.600 prepare for the coming of Christ. You've heard 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:36.649 this from Isaiah, and St. John quotes it. Prepare 00:11:36.649 --> 00:11:39.750 the way of the Lord. Make straight the paths 00:11:39.750 --> 00:11:43.549 of our God. Every valley shall be filled. Every 00:11:43.549 --> 00:11:46.929 mountain and hill humbled. The crooked ways shall 00:11:46.929 --> 00:11:50.649 be made straight. And the rough places, plains. 00:11:52.110 --> 00:11:57.649 And this is what St. John brings to us through 00:11:57.649 --> 00:12:01.870 Christ. This is what it means when he says, repent 00:12:01.870 --> 00:12:04.210 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is 00:12:04.210 --> 00:12:06.690 what it means when Jesus says, repent for the 00:12:06.690 --> 00:12:09.509 kingdom of heaven is at hand. It doesn't mean 00:12:09.509 --> 00:12:12.970 you should be miserable and not have any fun. 00:12:14.029 --> 00:12:17.690 That's what people think. The society is very 00:12:17.690 --> 00:12:22.789 Calvinistic and Puritan. Repent has a very negative 00:12:22.789 --> 00:12:25.830 tone, but this is what repent means. The glory 00:12:25.830 --> 00:12:30.830 of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh 00:12:30.830 --> 00:12:35.570 shall see the salvation of God. The Lord has 00:12:35.570 --> 00:12:39.470 spoken. This leads us, brothers and sisters, 00:12:39.769 --> 00:12:48.309 directly to what St. Paul says to do. The Holy 00:12:48.309 --> 00:12:50.750 Spirit has been given to us. You've been baptized 00:12:50.750 --> 00:12:54.659 by water and the Spirit. You've been immersed 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:58.980 in the Holy Spirit. Immersed in him. So that 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:03.500 you bear him. For what? For yourself? No. Not 00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:08.179 for yourself. Some to be apostles. Some to be 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:12.559 prophets. We have prophets. Some evangelists. 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:15.740 Some pastors. Some teachers. For what reason? 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.679 For the equipping of the saints. For the work 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:21.539 of ministry. For the edifying and the building 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:26.059 up. of the body of Christ, till we all come to 00:13:26.059 --> 00:13:28.379 the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the 00:13:28.379 --> 00:13:31.399 Son of God, to the perfect man, to the measure 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:33.840 of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We're 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:37.139 being called to be like Christ, his representatives 00:13:37.139 --> 00:13:40.279 in this world. You have been given the gift of 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:43.360 the Holy Spirit. Live according to it. Build 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.559 up the body of the church. Don't just come to 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:54.320 church. Be the church. Live the church. Do everything 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:57.220 you can to adorn the church with your virtues, 00:13:57.299 --> 00:13:59.379 your life, your work, your blood, your sweat, 00:13:59.539 --> 00:14:03.940 because the glory of the Lord will be revealed 00:14:03.940 --> 00:14:08.440 to all. Beg God that you may dwell in that glory. 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:12.399 To him be glory, now and ever, to ages of ages.