WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.800 Christ is risen. It's a joy to greet you with 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.380 that timeless phrase, that timeless confession 00:00:12.380 --> 00:00:21.260 of faith, that timeless cry of victory. On Pascha, 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:26.390 of course we celebrated, we heard about, and 00:00:26.390 --> 00:00:28.710 we sang about the resurrection over and over 00:00:28.710 --> 00:00:32.750 and over again. Then that whole bright week that 00:00:32.750 --> 00:00:35.990 was very much in our hearts and minds and in 00:00:35.990 --> 00:00:40.170 our celebrations here at church. We get to St. 00:00:40.270 --> 00:00:44.030 Thomas Sunday, and we heard Fresco up there to 00:00:44.030 --> 00:00:47.289 remind you. We heard about Thomas and the apostles, 00:00:47.530 --> 00:00:50.509 Thomas not being there, Thomas coming to faith. 00:00:50.729 --> 00:00:54.810 Again, the church is giving us models, models 00:00:54.810 --> 00:00:58.000 of belief. Models of celebration. And then last 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:01.939 week, we celebrated the holy Myrrh -bearing women 00:01:01.939 --> 00:01:06.439 who came to the tomb at deep dawn. We remember 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:10.700 Joseph and Nicodemus who took care of Christ. 00:01:12.420 --> 00:01:17.359 But this week, the church turns our focus away 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:25.319 from those events around the resurrection. John 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:29.400 highlights events that took place before the 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:33.340 resurrection from the Gospel of John in order 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:38.900 to teach us what it means to be in Christ, to 00:01:38.900 --> 00:01:43.640 have been baptized, to be members of the Church. 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:46.159 If I were a Protestant, I'd say, what it means 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:49.700 to be saved. But of course, we have salvation 00:01:49.700 --> 00:01:53.299 in three tenses. Christ has saved us by becoming 00:01:53.299 --> 00:02:00.340 man. Dying on the cross and rising. Ascending 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:04.439 into heaven. Sending the Holy Spirit to us. We 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:08.219 are being saved because we live the life of the 00:02:08.219 --> 00:02:10.539 resurrection. We receive communion. We receive 00:02:10.539 --> 00:02:14.560 the Holy Spirit. And we will be saved on the 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:18.800 last day when we are raised up again and healed 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:22.780 and there is no more death. We've started that. 00:02:22.860 --> 00:02:26.629 And now that's what these Gospels The paralytic. 00:02:26.669 --> 00:02:29.849 There's the fresco back there, right by St. Vladimir 00:02:29.849 --> 00:02:32.969 and Olga. You see the five porches and the pool 00:02:32.969 --> 00:02:35.569 and the man carrying his bed. You see Christ. 00:02:35.909 --> 00:02:38.949 And then next week is going to be the woman at 00:02:38.949 --> 00:02:41.330 the well, the Samaritan woman. Guess what that 00:02:41.330 --> 00:02:46.710 well looks like? Baptismal font. Week after that, 00:02:46.849 --> 00:02:53.050 over here by Constantine and Helen. The man born 00:02:53.050 --> 00:02:58.129 blind. And that crazy and insane conversation 00:02:58.129 --> 00:03:03.469 that ensues with the Pharisees and the man who 00:03:03.469 --> 00:03:05.830 ends up confessing Christ and worshiping him. 00:03:06.189 --> 00:03:09.129 So these are scenes that happen. These are events 00:03:09.129 --> 00:03:11.810 that happen before the resurrection. But they 00:03:11.810 --> 00:03:14.949 tell us what baptism means. They tell us who 00:03:14.949 --> 00:03:20.289 Jesus is. Both readings today, that of Acts and 00:03:20.289 --> 00:03:23.009 that from the Gospel of John. Again, we're reading 00:03:23.009 --> 00:03:26.120 Acts and John. all through this time until we 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:29.500 get to Pentecost. The readings are about being 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:33.460 raised from paralysis. What kind of paralysis 00:03:33.460 --> 00:03:38.740 is very important? They are about being given 00:03:38.740 --> 00:03:42.740 grace, about power, about faith, and the miracle 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:47.759 to walk in faith. The man took up his bed and 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:51.879 walked. Aeneas got up. Jesus said, and make your 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:57.259 bed. And walked. The woman, Tabitha, and I want 00:03:57.259 --> 00:04:00.699 to greet especially today the nun Tabitha, Mother 00:04:00.699 --> 00:04:04.139 Tabitha, on this occasion of this great miracle 00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:08.439 which took place there in Lydda. And congratulate 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:13.680 her and ask God to bless her. So we hear in this 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.860 gospel that Jesus had come to his disciples, 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:19.839 with his disciples to Jerusalem to celebrate 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:22.790 the feast day. The gospel doesn't tell us what 00:04:22.790 --> 00:04:25.910 feast day, but St. John Chrysostom, so you will 00:04:25.910 --> 00:04:30.810 understand, says it's probably Pentecost. And 00:04:30.810 --> 00:04:35.790 Jesus and his disciples are there. When we read 00:04:35.790 --> 00:04:41.410 that, to me, one thing that tells us is that 00:04:41.410 --> 00:04:45.470 demonstrates to all of us how important it is, 00:04:45.670 --> 00:04:49.029 the Lord models it, to celebrate the feast days. 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:53.360 To participate in the feast days. These are our 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.339 patrimony. This is the gift from the thousands 00:04:56.339 --> 00:04:59.079 of years of the church and before that the Jewish 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:03.839 covenant with God. The glory of the feast days. 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:07.939 Each one has its own grace, its own power to 00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:12.040 heal. As the paralytic would discover, you don't 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:16.810 know what might happen. Stick around as... My 00:05:16.810 --> 00:05:19.529 friend John Galuli tells me, Father Stefan Mahalik 00:05:19.529 --> 00:05:23.930 says, stick around for the miracle. As Jesus 00:05:23.930 --> 00:05:26.329 and his disciples are walking toward the temple, 00:05:26.550 --> 00:05:32.529 they pass what our translators have called a 00:05:32.529 --> 00:05:38.550 pool of water. You can see it there in that fresco. 00:05:38.569 --> 00:05:41.230 I've been to Jerusalem, where that pool is supposed 00:05:41.230 --> 00:05:44.170 to have been. This word in a form of ancient 00:05:44.170 --> 00:05:48.389 Greek means a cleansing and healing bath, like 00:05:48.389 --> 00:05:53.870 a warm mineral spring. We look at that fresco 00:05:53.870 --> 00:05:56.350 and we read this gospel to see what this healing 00:05:56.350 --> 00:06:02.509 is all about. Number one, when Jesus meets this 00:06:02.509 --> 00:06:08.730 paralyzed man, he meets him in Jerusalem, in 00:06:08.730 --> 00:06:12.370 the old covenant. Mount Zion, the holy temple, 00:06:12.410 --> 00:06:16.290 established by God by his command. That was the 00:06:16.290 --> 00:06:20.629 only place to meet God. That's where God chosen 00:06:20.629 --> 00:06:23.569 people would gather to worship. And worship is 00:06:23.569 --> 00:06:26.370 what? The offering of sacrifice there in the 00:06:26.370 --> 00:06:30.990 temple. Every day. Every day. The morning sacrifice, 00:06:31.230 --> 00:06:33.850 the evening incense. That's why we have vespers. 00:06:34.769 --> 00:06:38.529 Right? The incense. The gladsome light, we light 00:06:38.529 --> 00:06:41.170 the candle in the evening as the world is getting 00:06:41.170 --> 00:06:44.730 dark. And here, in this place, in this temple, 00:06:44.810 --> 00:06:47.589 this paralyzed man, having been there for 38 00:06:47.589 --> 00:06:53.230 years, he represents all of us, doesn't he? All 00:06:53.230 --> 00:06:58.689 of humanity. All the broken, the dying, the suffering, 00:06:58.970 --> 00:07:02.810 the paralyzed. Not because of circumstances in 00:07:02.810 --> 00:07:08.939 this case, but because of sins. All of us are 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:12.639 sick. All of us need healing. We all die. We're 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:16.060 cut off from life. Wasn't that the meaning of 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:18.519 death before Jesus Christ? Being cut off from 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:22.519 life. In the grave, says the psalm, who can say 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:25.959 alleluia? Will physicians come to raise you up? 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:30.759 No. The psalm is telling us it's the end of the 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:34.519 relationships. It's over. The paralytic was there 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:37.699 for 38 years. Remember what Jesus says, which 00:07:37.699 --> 00:07:41.899 might sound interesting to us. This sentence, 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:45.819 he comes up to him and says, do you want to be 00:07:45.819 --> 00:07:51.040 healed? Does a man say yes? Lord, please. No. 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:56.519 He plays the victim. At least that's my opinion 00:07:56.519 --> 00:08:01.519 and some other interpreters. Lord, I don't have 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:05.490 anyone. To put me into the water. Angel comes 00:08:05.490 --> 00:08:08.810 to his water. I can just sit here. 38 years this 00:08:08.810 --> 00:08:11.370 is going on. Someone's feeding him. Or else he'd 00:08:11.370 --> 00:08:15.490 be dead. Someone's taking care of him. Just hoping 00:08:15.490 --> 00:08:19.170 that someday this is going to happen. But the 00:08:19.170 --> 00:08:24.649 question rings out to us too. Do we want to be 00:08:24.649 --> 00:08:27.310 healed? Or we just want a little bit of what 00:08:27.310 --> 00:08:30.430 the church has to offer us? Or are we willing 00:08:30.430 --> 00:08:38.830 to go? all the way in the walk with Jesus. This 00:08:38.830 --> 00:08:42.889 38, well, this number is significant. St. John 00:08:42.889 --> 00:08:45.009 in his gospel gives us numbers all the time. 00:08:45.169 --> 00:08:47.850 It means something. He's not just throwing out 00:08:47.850 --> 00:08:53.830 a number, you know, to remember it. No, we know 00:08:53.830 --> 00:08:57.429 that the number 40 is a holy number. 40 years 00:08:57.429 --> 00:09:00.590 in the wilderness, right? Jesus fasted for 40 00:09:00.590 --> 00:09:04.029 days. Jesus, after his resurrection, was with 00:09:04.029 --> 00:09:07.789 the apostles for 40 days. We have lent for 40 00:09:07.789 --> 00:09:11.409 days. 40 is his time of preparation for a fulfillment, 00:09:11.570 --> 00:09:16.850 for another time, for another gift, for something 00:09:16.850 --> 00:09:22.129 else for us to be ready for and to do. 40 days. 00:09:22.210 --> 00:09:27.720 But this man is two numbers short. 38 was the 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:31.200 number of years that Israel spent wandering in 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:36.620 the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt. Do 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:40.899 you remember why they were wandering? Because 00:09:40.899 --> 00:09:44.320 of their faithlessness, because of their complaining, 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:50.519 because of their sin, constantly. So 38 tells 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:54.299 us that number is the rebellion against God. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:00.620 I learned this recently. The number 38 is associated 00:10:00.620 --> 00:10:03.600 with the Egyptian jackal -headed god of death, 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:08.919 Anubis. So 38 signifies not only rebellion against 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:13.460 God, but death. And what was Adam's sin in the 00:10:13.460 --> 00:10:18.039 garden? Rebellion against God. And what was the 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:21.639 result of that sin? Not God saying, I'm going 00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:26.070 to kill you. But when you... disengage from life, 00:10:26.210 --> 00:10:30.649 you die. Because God is the only life giver. 00:10:31.990 --> 00:10:36.370 This man's trial can't be completed without those 00:10:36.370 --> 00:10:39.450 other two. He can't even be healed without the 00:10:39.450 --> 00:10:44.549 two. And what are those two? Theanthropos. God 00:10:44.549 --> 00:10:49.470 -man. Jesus Christ. Perfect God and perfect man. 00:10:49.889 --> 00:10:58.870 And Jesus comes to the pool. Look at that fresco 00:10:58.870 --> 00:11:05.110 again. Read that gospel when you get home. It 00:11:05.110 --> 00:11:09.730 starts with these words. Jesus sees. He beholds 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:13.549 this man. He's looking for us all the time. This 00:11:13.549 --> 00:11:15.970 is not about man's search for God. That man is 00:11:15.970 --> 00:11:18.309 stuck at the pool for 38 years. He can't do a 00:11:18.309 --> 00:11:23.289 thing. Jesus is searching. God is searching far 00:11:23.289 --> 00:11:26.669 more for us than we can ever search for him. 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:35.059 He is always there. We began to believe in Jesus 00:11:35.059 --> 00:11:40.120 Christ. Speaking of the newly baptized. We saw 00:11:40.120 --> 00:11:43.700 something in him. We saw there was a way of life 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:46.200 that was different than the world around us. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:50.700 We began to believe, not in an idea, but in a 00:11:50.700 --> 00:11:54.820 person. Not a philosophy, which got us nowhere. 00:11:55.450 --> 00:11:59.370 except into lots of arguments, but in Christ. 00:11:59.370 --> 00:12:02.850 And we gained the eyes of faith. And then we 00:12:02.850 --> 00:12:06.769 were healed in the pool of baptism. We were sanctified. 00:12:06.830 --> 00:12:09.649 We were given the opportunity, everything we 00:12:09.649 --> 00:12:13.950 need to be transformed, to have a change of life 00:12:13.950 --> 00:12:18.649 as radical as that man, from 38 years to getting 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:23.669 up and walking. And then we live with the eyes 00:12:23.669 --> 00:12:27.299 of faith. Brothers and sisters, what happened 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:31.039 to the paralytic after he was healed? He was 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:34.600 questioned. He was hounded. He was persecuted. 00:12:34.940 --> 00:12:40.159 He was belittled and tempted not to trust Jesus 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:43.519 Christ, the same Christ who just healed him, 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:46.720 that he had experience of. Isn't that what the 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:49.419 fallen world is always doing to us? The prince 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:52.620 of this fallen world, the evil one, always giving 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:58.870 us these... Logis me these thoughts. Like Adam 00:12:58.870 --> 00:13:01.149 and Eve, we just relive it over and over again. 00:13:01.490 --> 00:13:04.830 Oh no, this is good. God is not telling you everything. 00:13:05.330 --> 00:13:10.610 God is not fair. The church is backward. The 00:13:10.610 --> 00:13:13.649 church is wrong. Don't put your trust in Jesus. 00:13:14.309 --> 00:13:17.629 Don't believe what the church says. We're behind 00:13:17.629 --> 00:13:20.129 the times. We're phobic about these people and 00:13:20.129 --> 00:13:24.799 these people. Don't be confused, dear brothers 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:31.120 and sisters. Don't be derailed. It's a deep sorrow 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:37.399 to me when someone who is in the church feels 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:42.720 Christ is not enough. Christ and what the church 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:47.679 teaches and the wisdom that has made saints of 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:52.220 men, women, and children. For over 2 ,000 years, 00:13:52.340 --> 00:13:57.259 it's not enough. It's a deep sorrow. Don't be 00:13:57.259 --> 00:14:00.460 derailed. Don't be tempted by such voices. St. 00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:04.460 Paul says, let God be true. And every man a liar. 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:07.639 Don't rely on the men of this world, the wisdom 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:10.980 of this world, of this age, to guide you, to 00:14:10.980 --> 00:14:13.159 help you, to lift you, to heal you, to save you. 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:17.720 It won't. As Solomon says, trust in the Lord 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:22.940 with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, 00:14:23.220 --> 00:14:25.419 your thoughts. Don't believe everything you think. 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:29.000 In all your ways, submit that to him, and he 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:31.879 will make your path straight, and you will walk 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:36.720 upright with the Spirit of God. To our Lord, 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:39.440 who is risen from the dead, be glory and honor 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.240 now and ever to ages of ages. Christ is risen.