WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.000 Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory to God. It seems 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:20.339 to me that the theme that the church puts before 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:28.199 us on this day is ministry being a service. You 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:31.309 heard in the epistle, the words of St. Paul written 00:00:31.309 --> 00:00:35.530 to the Romans. He said, you were servants of 00:00:35.530 --> 00:00:38.170 sin and unrighteousness. Well, we know the Romans 00:00:38.170 --> 00:00:41.969 had servants, but they mostly had slaves. The 00:00:41.969 --> 00:00:44.469 word is fraught, and so we don't like it that 00:00:44.469 --> 00:00:47.850 much because it brings back terrible things in 00:00:47.850 --> 00:00:50.609 our history. But that's exactly what it says. 00:00:51.149 --> 00:00:55.270 He says, you were slaves of sin. You had no freedom. 00:00:55.850 --> 00:01:00.770 You did get a wage, but it was death. He says, 00:01:00.829 --> 00:01:03.210 but now, because of baptism, and he had just 00:01:03.210 --> 00:01:07.049 explained in the previous chapter, that we become 00:01:07.049 --> 00:01:12.129 free in Christ. We die to sin. It has no power 00:01:12.129 --> 00:01:15.989 over us in our repentance, in our confession, 00:01:16.349 --> 00:01:19.730 in the washing away of our sin, in our baptism, 00:01:20.010 --> 00:01:23.109 in receiving holy communion, in the life of the 00:01:23.109 --> 00:01:26.670 church. God's love has overcome all of that. 00:01:26.750 --> 00:01:28.569 He says, now you are slaves to righteousness. 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:34.939 but were free in Christ. And then in the Gospel, 00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:37.680 we heard about a servant of the Roman soldier, 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:41.739 the centurion, a man basically in charge of a 00:01:41.739 --> 00:01:46.780 hundred soldiers, more or less, it varied. And 00:01:46.780 --> 00:01:50.420 he had a slave. It says servant, but it was his 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:56.340 slave. And the slave was grievously ill. So to 00:01:56.340 --> 00:02:00.439 me, combined with what's going to happen here 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:02.760 by the grace of God with the laying on of hands 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:07.480 of his eminence upon Aaron to make him a deacon, 00:02:07.579 --> 00:02:13.180 which means the one who serves, diakonos. He 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:17.159 has a ministry of service in the church. The 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:19.460 theme is just calling out to us, brothers and 00:02:19.460 --> 00:02:22.219 sisters, let us think about that for a moment. 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:26.340 Since Pentecost, we've begun to read from the 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:31.860 Gospel of St. Matthew. Last week we heard the 00:02:31.860 --> 00:02:36.740 tale end of the sermon on the mount. The attitudes, 00:02:37.139 --> 00:02:40.240 what faithfulness in Christ looks like, loving 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.819 your enemies, doing good, how to fast and all 00:02:43.819 --> 00:02:47.219 that. How not to be anxious because your heavenly 00:02:47.219 --> 00:02:50.819 father knows what you need. And that we are to 00:02:50.819 --> 00:02:54.620 seek the kingdom of God first and God will provide 00:02:54.620 --> 00:03:00.379 what we need. We heard all that. Please, I invite 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:05.500 you to read those chapters again. Those are the 00:03:05.500 --> 00:03:08.240 basics of our Christian faith, the fundamentals 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:11.759 of how to be faithful. Not in an intellectual 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:15.879 way. No, you have to start with what do we do 00:03:15.879 --> 00:03:22.460 to follow Christ. And it's radical. It's a radical 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:25.860 message of dependence upon God. Make no mistake. 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.120 St. Matthew records that after Jesus had ended 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:34.800 those teachings, something remarkable happened. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.919 St. Matthew relates this, when Jesus had ended 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:42.900 these sayings, the people were astonished at 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:46.840 his teaching. For he taught them as one having 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:52.300 authority and not as the scribes. It said, if 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:55.099 we would say in today's terms, Their jaws were 00:03:55.099 --> 00:03:57.419 dropping at the words that he had said because 00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.419 it was so amazing. They were astonished. And 00:04:00.419 --> 00:04:02.439 you would think then at that moment that Jesus 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:05.099 would take someone from the crowd, someone that 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:07.159 he was teaching there and then, someone that 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:09.919 was following every word that he had said and 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:12.960 spoken on this sermon on the mount so he could 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:17.779 illustrate and prove his point. But that's not 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:22.529 what he did. It says, Immediately, when Jesus 00:04:22.529 --> 00:04:26.810 had entered into the village of Capernaum, a 00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:31.170 centurion came to him, a Roman soldier of the 00:04:31.170 --> 00:04:35.529 occupying force, asking for healing for his servant, 00:04:35.589 --> 00:04:40.769 his slave. And how did Jesus respond? Well, not 00:04:40.769 --> 00:04:44.610 like us. Social media, here's what you hear. 00:04:47.670 --> 00:04:53.250 You Romans. Are the problem here. You're unclean. 00:04:53.350 --> 00:04:56.589 You're sinners. You're violent oppressors. You're 00:04:56.589 --> 00:04:59.110 slave owners. You're pagan island worshippers. 00:04:59.250 --> 00:05:03.769 You Mr. Centurion. Should resign right now. Resign 00:05:03.769 --> 00:05:08.089 from that Roman army. Become a Jew. And oppose 00:05:08.089 --> 00:05:10.889 any of these terrible things. But is that what 00:05:10.889 --> 00:05:13.829 Jesus did? Did he speak about the oppression. 00:05:14.050 --> 00:05:16.350 That people were under. No he spoke about the 00:05:16.350 --> 00:05:19.839 freedom. That we have to achieve first. Or we 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:22.839 would never be free no matter what happens to 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:27.759 us. Our culture gives us everything we want. 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:31.120 I could go to any store. I could order anything 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:34.519 online I want any time of day or night in most 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:39.860 places in this country. That's freedom. I could 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:43.420 save pretty much whatever I want. But if I have 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:48.009 no freedom inside, I am still a slave. a slave 00:05:48.009 --> 00:05:52.509 of myself, and I'm earning wages of death. Jesus 00:05:52.509 --> 00:05:55.589 did not talk about that type of thing. He said 00:05:55.589 --> 00:06:02.110 to the man, I will come and heal your servant. 00:06:03.670 --> 00:06:07.290 And the soldier says to Jesus, I am not worthy 00:06:07.290 --> 00:06:12.019 that thou shouldst enter. To come to my house. 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:14.060 And of course we have this marvelous prayer. 00:06:14.199 --> 00:06:16.639 We say before communion. Which we should have 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.199 memorized. Lord I'm not worthy that thou shouldst 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:23.439 come beneath the house of my soul. That's the 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:28.319 words of not a Jewish man. But of the centurion. 00:06:31.339 --> 00:06:37.899 Jesus was astonished. Again. Astonished. He says 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:41.079 that this man, a Roman soldier, has greater faith 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:45.259 than anyone else he ever met in Israel and more. 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:47.660 And I say to you that many will come from the 00:06:47.660 --> 00:06:50.379 east and the west and sit down with Abraham and 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:54.620 Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Here 00:06:54.620 --> 00:06:58.180 we are sitting down from the east and the west, 00:06:58.180 --> 00:07:01.759 the north and the south. We're in the banquet 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:06.339 room of the Lord with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:09.660 And all the saints. We have come from all parts. 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:13.040 From all places. From all kinds of walks of life. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:18.800 But the sons of the kingdom. That are not faithful. 00:07:20.420 --> 00:07:23.800 That's his point. The sons of the kingdom. Will 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:28.920 be cast out into outer darkness. And then. At 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:31.420 the end of the gospel. When the deacon brings 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:35.579 the gospel to the priest. He says. Blessed are 00:07:35.579 --> 00:07:40.860 you. said the good news. The last thing you hear 00:07:40.860 --> 00:07:44.259 is there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:48.720 That's anger and hatred, weeping and gnashing. 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:52.019 This must have been a terribly shocking statement 00:07:52.019 --> 00:07:55.720 that the apostles and others, the scribes, the 00:07:55.720 --> 00:08:01.399 Pharisees heard. Very offensive to them. It should 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.040 give us pause. You know, we Orthodox Christians 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:07.750 pride ourselves on our orthodoxy. We pride ourselves 00:08:07.750 --> 00:08:11.790 at being the inheritors of original, authentic, 00:08:12.069 --> 00:08:15.069 unadulterated faith from the apostles. And it 00:08:15.069 --> 00:08:20.529 is that. It's one because it's of God. It's holy 00:08:20.529 --> 00:08:23.509 because it's of the Holy Spirit. It's Catholic 00:08:23.509 --> 00:08:26.449 because it's not missing anything. It's full 00:08:26.449 --> 00:08:33.190 and it's for everyone in every place. But inheritors... 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:40.399 need to use their inheritance. Or else there's 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:45.919 no transformation. More than half of you in this 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:49.820 room have embraced orthodoxy as adults. Some 00:08:49.820 --> 00:08:52.899 of us grew up in the orthodox faith, yes. And 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:55.500 the question is, are we living up to what we 00:08:55.500 --> 00:09:05.049 are called to be? Today, I would say, We should 00:09:05.049 --> 00:09:08.750 focus on being servants. And can Christ point 00:09:08.750 --> 00:09:14.070 to us and say, you and you and you, yes. You 00:09:14.070 --> 00:09:17.830 go with those about whom I have just said, I 00:09:17.830 --> 00:09:21.909 have never seen such great faith. Can we astonish 00:09:21.909 --> 00:09:27.389 Christ with our love and our faithfulness? This 00:09:27.389 --> 00:09:30.450 is a line of demarcation for us. Jesus is saying, 00:09:30.549 --> 00:09:33.980 this is what it is to be faithful. This is all 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:37.679 of the things Jesus has been teaching, embodied 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:41.399 in this man, everything about the Sermon on the 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:46.139 Mount. Here it is. And so we have to look, we 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:50.059 have to say, do I have these qualities? Do I 00:09:50.059 --> 00:09:54.299 have the discipline of the centurion? Do I understand 00:09:54.299 --> 00:09:57.679 my place? Do I have the freedom? Yes, he's a 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:01.500 man under authority, but he has authority. Am 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:05.600 I reliable? Am I honest? Do I intercede for others 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:08.440 and care for them and do what is necessary to 00:10:08.440 --> 00:10:11.519 help them? On this day of the ordination, on 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:14.399 this day of hearing about slaves of sin being 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:17.960 slaves now of righteousness and having the fruit 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:20.440 of the Spirit, says St. Paul, the fruit of the 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:25.820 Spirit because we are followers of Christ. On 00:10:25.820 --> 00:10:30.639 this day, we have an example given to us in the 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:36.940 Gospel, not just of and honesty and reliability 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:43.139 and discipleship, but of humility of one, this 00:10:43.139 --> 00:10:49.220 centurion, who is master over many, himself becoming 00:10:49.220 --> 00:10:52.820 the servant of his slave. And here Jesus can 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:59.240 recognize his very mission, where he said, I 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:03.870 came not to be served, But I came to be the servant 00:11:03.870 --> 00:11:08.590 of all. I came not to be served, Jesus says, 00:11:08.769 --> 00:11:11.149 but to be the servant of all. Here is what is 00:11:11.149 --> 00:11:14.529 necessary for us who serve at the altar. If we're 00:11:14.529 --> 00:11:18.269 an archbishop or a bishop or a priest, what is 00:11:18.269 --> 00:11:23.149 our responsibility? If we're a parent, if we're 00:11:23.149 --> 00:11:27.649 a brother or sister, if we're a caretaker, if 00:11:27.649 --> 00:11:31.559 we have some ministry in the church. Whatever 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:35.840 it might be, what is our first and bounden duty? 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:44.279 To pray. That's first. To be the servant of righteousness. 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:49.279 To show forth the fruit of the Spirit. And especially 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:52.600 high on the list of prayer is to do what this 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:55.200 man, this centurion did. There are two miracles 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:59.080 here, of course. The servant is cured. Jesus 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:01.659 doesn't even have to go because all power is 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:04.480 given to him in heaven and on earth. But the 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:08.259 real miracle of the story is this centurion's 00:12:08.259 --> 00:12:14.179 servanthood, his humility before God, his intercession. 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:22.139 This is what happens in the church. I want to 00:12:22.139 --> 00:12:28.929 end with this word from St. Maria of Paris. Because 00:12:28.929 --> 00:12:31.629 our service is first in the church and to each 00:12:31.629 --> 00:12:37.690 other. We become servants of one another. Knowing 00:12:37.690 --> 00:12:42.929 that the other person is greater. Offering whatever 00:12:42.929 --> 00:12:46.190 we can in whatever time and place that's appropriate. 00:12:46.730 --> 00:12:50.429 And that God can inspire you. And when we do 00:12:50.429 --> 00:12:53.210 this, it's God's spirit that's guiding us and 00:12:53.210 --> 00:12:55.870 we're becoming transformed. We are becoming like 00:12:55.870 --> 00:12:59.559 Christ. This is God's grace in us. This happens 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:03.139 in the church. But beware. Here's what St. Mary 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:07.200 of Paris says. It would be a great lie to tell 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:11.200 searching souls, go to church, because there 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:19.759 you will find peace. The opposite is true. The 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:22.639 church tells us, those who are at peace and asleep, 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:26.960 go to church, because there you will feel anguish 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:31.100 for your sins. There you will feel perdition 00:13:31.100 --> 00:13:36.919 for the world's sins. And there you will feel 00:13:36.919 --> 00:13:41.639 an unappeasable hunger for Jesus Christ's truth 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:45.679 in you, to serve him, to be his servant. There, 00:13:45.740 --> 00:13:48.120 instead of becoming lukewarm, you will be set 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:51.860 on fire. Instead of being pacified, you will 00:13:51.860 --> 00:13:56.779 become alarmed at the state of your soul. at 00:13:56.779 --> 00:13:59.179 the suffering of the world. Instead of learning 00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:02.419 the wisdom of this world, you will become fools 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:06.740 for Christ. Let us be numbered among those whom 00:14:06.740 --> 00:14:10.440 Jesus calls exemplars of the faith. Whether we 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:13.659 look foolish or wise, it doesn't matter. Faithfulness 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:17.419 of discipline, of intercession, and of love towards 00:14:17.419 --> 00:14:20.559 one another. To our Lord be glory, now and ever, 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:21.700 to ages and ages.