WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:04.389 And returned. The sight that St. Luke refers 00:00:04.389 --> 00:00:09.810 to is this, what they beheld. We behold. We behold 00:00:09.810 --> 00:00:14.550 it in a different way. Moses asked to see the 00:00:14.550 --> 00:00:16.710 glory of God, and God says, well, I will pass 00:00:16.710 --> 00:00:19.190 by you, my glory will pass by you, but you can't 00:00:19.190 --> 00:00:28.039 see it. This is the glory of God. cross that's 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:30.320 why it says the king of glory it's the one who 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:33.539 is on it that's glorious because of what he's 00:00:33.539 --> 00:00:36.859 done and the fruit it says in Isaiah the fruit 00:00:36.859 --> 00:00:40.460 of his travail he will see and rejoice and that's 00:00:40.460 --> 00:00:45.119 us we are the fruit of this agony and travail 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:49.140 the sight that we behold now the profound meaning 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:52.060 of what happened that day hidden from the eyes 00:00:52.060 --> 00:00:58.170 of those that were there mocking him Hopefully 00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:04.750 we see now a little bit more by faith. And by 00:01:04.750 --> 00:01:08.849 over 2 ,000 years of witnesses, that is the saints, 00:01:08.930 --> 00:01:12.209 the martyrs, who bore testimony by their own 00:01:12.209 --> 00:01:14.689 death to the death and the resurrection of Christ, 00:01:14.909 --> 00:01:20.150 that death is overcome. St. Joseph the Hesychast 00:01:20.150 --> 00:01:22.969 says we need to not be afraid of death, but actually 00:01:22.969 --> 00:01:25.430 chase it a little bit because it starts to run 00:01:25.430 --> 00:01:28.280 away from us. It's afraid of us because we're 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:30.840 Christians and we've been given the Holy Spirit. 00:01:31.819 --> 00:01:34.239 Last night we heard about St. Peter's denial. 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:41.299 Multiple times. The early church put that in 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:45.579 there while St. Peter was still alive. Imagine 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:50.219 every year he bore that shame. He bore that shame. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:56.200 Multiple times it was emphasized. emphasize to 00:01:56.200 --> 00:02:00.659 us how easy it is to deny the faith, whether 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:05.019 it's by words or our deeds or by laziness or 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:08.680 by our sloppiness in the faith or by our apathy 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:11.699 about the faith or because our fear or shame 00:02:11.699 --> 00:02:17.620 that someone may cause to us. And yet, although 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:20.800 Christ had done so many miracles before them, 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:23.810 says, one of the evangelists. Still they did 00:02:23.810 --> 00:02:28.409 not believe. And here we are, contemplating and 00:02:28.409 --> 00:02:33.449 pondering what it meant to the few people, the 00:02:33.449 --> 00:02:35.789 few people that took the Lord down from the cross 00:02:35.789 --> 00:02:39.270 that day. Just a few of them. Two men and some 00:02:39.270 --> 00:02:45.430 women. One disciple only. The old spiritual hymn 00:02:45.430 --> 00:02:50.289 asks, were you there when they crucified my Lord? 00:02:50.990 --> 00:02:53.689 Were you there when they nailed him to the cross? 00:02:54.689 --> 00:02:58.090 Yes, that's what we're doing here. We're there. 00:02:58.210 --> 00:03:00.490 How many times do we have to hear the word today? 00:03:02.030 --> 00:03:04.889 Today, the Lord of glory is crucified. Today, 00:03:05.110 --> 00:03:07.610 the most pure virgin stands and beats her breast 00:03:07.610 --> 00:03:10.090 and tears her hair. Today, over and over and 00:03:10.090 --> 00:03:15.370 over again. This means that we are there when 00:03:15.370 --> 00:03:18.090 they crucified our Lord. And sometimes it is 00:03:18.090 --> 00:03:23.120 not they who crucified. the Lord, but as we by 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:27.400 our lukewarm response to him and our sins. But 00:03:27.400 --> 00:03:31.639 today is no day for a lukewarm response. Today 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:36.740 it's all or nothing from us because he gave all 00:03:36.740 --> 00:03:43.360 because we were nothing, returning to the dust 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:47.400 from nothingness that we were created. Today 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:50.419 is not about a lukewarm response. Yesterday, 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:55.659 last night, this morning, today, over and over 00:03:55.659 --> 00:03:58.539 again, we read gospel accounts of the trial. 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:01.300 The beating, the spitting, the whipping, the 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:04.020 crucifixion, the mockery. Twelve selections last 00:04:04.020 --> 00:04:06.699 night. A long reading at the liturgy yesterday. 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.879 Another long reading that the deacon did so beautifully 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:16.959 today. Why? Why this repetition? In order to 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:21.459 invite us to the today of the earth -shattering 00:04:21.459 --> 00:04:25.160 event that happened today over and over and over 00:04:25.160 --> 00:04:29.699 again, the repetitions saturate us in that. They 00:04:29.699 --> 00:04:33.360 penetrate into our hearts, our understanding 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:36.339 and our feeling. It takes a while, my brothers 00:04:36.339 --> 00:04:39.399 and sisters, for us to get it. So the church 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:41.939 says over and over again this same story. You 00:04:41.939 --> 00:04:46.620 heard it. Multiple times, it's the gospel in 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:52.899 its power. It's not information. It's the truth, 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:56.600 and it convicts us, and it embraces us. Because 00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:58.779 the Lord, as I was telling the deacon the other 00:04:58.779 --> 00:05:01.680 day, he asked me a question. I said, he is not 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:04.439 only our judge, but he is our defense attorney. 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:10.759 Father Andrew Morby, dear friend, former rector 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:15.720 here back in the 80s, says that this is all somewhat 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:20.740 problematic for us. Holy Friday is not easily 00:05:20.740 --> 00:05:25.939 approached and understood. He says this, in our 00:05:25.939 --> 00:05:28.339 daily life we can put up with a lot of things 00:05:28.339 --> 00:05:34.120 if we know the outcome is going to be good. Surgery, 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:40.399 chemo, medication, losing money, family issues. 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:43.600 Those are representative of the many moments 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.899 and transactions in our life that we know if 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:51.040 we're patient and we work hard, we will get through 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:53.879 them. And there'll be a good outcome, a positive 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:58.040 outcome. But in this case here today in the church, 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:02.420 in this service, what's problematic is that we 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:07.639 actually know the gospel story. And we know what's 00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:11.620 going to happen over the next three days. It's 00:06:11.620 --> 00:06:14.600 quite possible that the real gravity and horror 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:20.439 of that day, the crucifixion of the Lord, the 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:24.339 sorrow, the anguish of it, remains a story, yes, 00:06:24.339 --> 00:06:29.920 a moving and deep and profound story. But knowing 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:34.240 the end as we do, maybe our minds are already 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:37.790 thinking about the celebration to come. Breaking 00:06:37.790 --> 00:06:40.810 our fast, the cheese and the meads and the beverage 00:06:40.810 --> 00:06:44.389 and the enjoyable time. But today the church 00:06:44.389 --> 00:06:48.170 wants us to be disciples like they were. The 00:06:48.170 --> 00:06:53.889 women and Nicodemus and Joseph. Perhaps fearful 00:06:53.889 --> 00:06:57.509 disciples have run away, of course. Why does 00:06:57.509 --> 00:06:59.730 the church want us to be disciples with the women 00:06:59.730 --> 00:07:05.509 and Joseph and Nicodemus? Because for them, they 00:07:05.509 --> 00:07:10.370 knew. They knew that the crucifixion was the 00:07:10.370 --> 00:07:15.129 absolute end. It was the end of the story. It 00:07:15.129 --> 00:07:18.449 was utter defeat. They were crushed. They weren't 00:07:18.449 --> 00:07:21.269 just dismayed and sad. They were completely confused, 00:07:21.569 --> 00:07:24.449 anguished, grieved. We thought it would be he 00:07:24.449 --> 00:07:26.910 that would be the consolation and the savior 00:07:26.910 --> 00:07:30.750 of Israel. The apostles say to Jesus on the road 00:07:30.750 --> 00:07:36.629 to Emmaus, Broken hearted, the pain and pains 00:07:36.629 --> 00:07:39.550 that all throw their shadow across our life. 00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:44.569 This is what we experienced too. This was the 00:07:44.569 --> 00:07:48.949 death of the one they loved the most. Imagine 00:07:48.949 --> 00:07:53.509 for a moment in a spiritual way that today is, 00:07:53.509 --> 00:07:58.649 this is it. Crucifixion's the end of the story. 00:07:58.850 --> 00:08:04.629 There's nothing more. Are we brokenhearted? We 00:08:04.629 --> 00:08:07.790 have to put ourselves in their place if we are 00:08:07.790 --> 00:08:12.050 going to rejoice in their place too. The suffering 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:15.550 of the Lord, his anguish, his pain, it embraces 00:08:15.550 --> 00:08:20.329 all of us and all our anxiety and all our suffering 00:08:20.329 --> 00:08:25.209 and brokenheartedness. His love, his death embraces 00:08:25.209 --> 00:08:28.810 everything. And so this way, says Father Andrew, 00:08:28.930 --> 00:08:30.970 the way in which to approach the tomb of the 00:08:30.970 --> 00:08:34.149 Lord is to come and venerate the Plaschnitza 00:08:34.149 --> 00:08:38.850 and the cross and to allow full measure of your 00:08:38.850 --> 00:08:45.110 grief. All the memories of hurts, offenses, hard 00:08:45.110 --> 00:08:50.429 -heartedness, brokenness, betrayal, sorrow, a 00:08:50.429 --> 00:08:53.350 way in which we've had so many dead ends in our 00:08:53.350 --> 00:08:56.620 life. and thought there was no hope and no escape 00:08:56.620 --> 00:09:00.039 and no solution. Forget about breaking the fast 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:04.120 and sausages and shots of vodka. Bracket off 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:07.039 the glorious cry, Christ is risen. Leave it aside. 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:11.659 Let us experience today this moment as the end, 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:14.419 how the apostles saw it in their bewilderment 00:09:14.419 --> 00:09:19.960 and fear. As a priest, I can tell you, when people 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:23.860 are suffering, that's how they see it. They don't 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:28.320 see what's coming. We forget about it. So this 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:33.299 is where today we bring all our sorrow to the 00:09:33.299 --> 00:09:37.159 man of sorrows, to the mother of sorrows who 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:43.639 love us. Can we spiritually enter into the great 00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:48.120 today of this service and realize that our Savior 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:55.620 experienced a real genuine death, that he was 00:09:55.620 --> 00:09:59.919 afraid in his human nature, that he sweated, 00:09:59.960 --> 00:10:03.720 as it were, great drops of blood, that he was 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:08.600 sorrowful and grieving, says the evangelist, 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:13.840 even to death. You see, that's the whole problem 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:17.570 of knowing the outcome. We don't always grasp 00:10:17.570 --> 00:10:20.190 that it's a very real death. It's not a pretend 00:10:20.190 --> 00:10:23.409 death. It's not acting. It's not an appearance. 00:10:23.690 --> 00:10:28.049 It's a reality. And as real as this fallen and 00:10:28.049 --> 00:10:32.070 broken and devastated world, that's what God 00:10:32.070 --> 00:10:36.429 entered into for our sake. Why? So that he could 00:10:36.429 --> 00:10:39.929 go into that dark realm of death and transform 00:10:39.929 --> 00:10:43.330 it from the inside. And we will celebrate that 00:10:43.330 --> 00:10:48.980 tonight and tomorrow. Love gets crushed. Betrayals 00:10:48.980 --> 00:10:53.600 happen. Wickedness happens. The same stupid violence 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:58.039 that the Lord experienced, we experience, we, 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:03.960 us, now. Since he also experiences it because 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:10.039 he is our head and we are his body. He knows 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:13.500 it. This is what we need to bring to the Lord 00:11:13.500 --> 00:11:17.200 this great today of Holy Friday, with tears in 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:20.960 our eyes, with love like the women and Joseph 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.960 and Nicodemus. This is our story too. Amen.