WEBVTT 00:00:09.299 --> 00:00:14.580 Today is what the church calls Thomas Sunday. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:18.500 If you need a visual reminder, well there's an 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:22.120 icon here, but the magnificent fresco at the 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:25.899 top of this triangle shows the disciples, the 00:00:25.899 --> 00:00:29.859 apostles gathered together and Thomas is has 00:00:29.859 --> 00:00:33.159 been invited to touch the Savior, to reach him. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:37.560 The other apostles are anxiously looking on. 00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:44.520 The Savior has come through closed doors. Wasn't 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:52.840 last week just amazing? All those commemorations 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:55.920 and services and hymns and readings on Thursday 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:00.490 night brought us... to the reality of what it 00:01:00.490 --> 00:01:03.609 means that our Lord and Savior, so humble, our 00:01:03.609 --> 00:01:07.510 humble God, gave himself in that way and was 00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:14.650 so violently mistreated. But that pain, that 00:01:14.650 --> 00:01:18.870 sorrow, that betrayal, everything transformed 00:01:18.870 --> 00:01:23.010 to joy. Everything transformed to joy on Holy 00:01:23.010 --> 00:01:26.069 Saturday. And in the evening, we come together 00:01:26.069 --> 00:01:30.219 when it's dark. like the women going to the tomb, 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:32.459 but not like the women, because we had all these 00:01:32.459 --> 00:01:35.599 newly baptized people with us to proclaim that 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:39.299 the light overcomes the darkness. And we went 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:46.099 out into the night with our candles, and we proclaimed 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:51.599 that message that shakes the entire world, that 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:55.620 has changed everything about every culture, about 00:01:55.620 --> 00:01:59.040 every life. About the direction of everything 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:03.340 and abolishes, if we can truly enter into it, 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:08.099 abolishes the fear of death. And takes away sin. 00:02:09.300 --> 00:02:12.280 And lets us be with Christ. We hear that Christ 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:15.099 is risen message and we're singing it over and 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:18.460 over again. It's the pinnacle of our life to 00:02:18.460 --> 00:02:21.199 be at Pascha. It's the service where even those 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:23.699 people who don't hardly ever come to church, 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:27.430 come to church. Because... they have this sort 00:02:27.430 --> 00:02:30.650 of inkling awareness, like, they've got to be 00:02:30.650 --> 00:02:33.509 there. This is what it's all about. Everything 00:02:33.509 --> 00:02:36.909 flows, like from the Garden of Paradise on the 00:02:36.909 --> 00:02:39.789 mountain in the beginning, and the river is flowing 00:02:39.789 --> 00:02:44.849 down. Everything flows from Pascha. So we're 00:02:44.849 --> 00:02:50.590 not done. We have just begun Pascha. And the 00:02:50.590 --> 00:02:55.680 church puts before us this... Pretty amazing 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:58.159 scene. Out of all the things that the church 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:00.500 could say, look, the week after Pascha, this 00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:04.120 is what we should meditate upon. But we're given 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:08.439 Thomas, which the church doesn't call doubting 00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:12.319 Thomas, by the way. That fresco up there is called, 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:15.539 it's kind of high, so it's called The Belief 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:20.060 of Thomas, or The Touching of Thomas. The hymns 00:03:20.060 --> 00:03:26.099 from last night, all... Focus on not his doubt, 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:29.680 some kind of, you know, looking for the facts. 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:32.719 I just want the facts. I mean, they didn't think 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:35.840 that way back then, right? Looking for the truth. 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:39.580 You can read the paper, get lots of facts, but 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:43.780 did you get the truth? And that's what this day 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:47.719 is about. The faith that brings the truth to 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:58.490 us. So the Lord comes. My feeble mind, you know, 00:03:58.569 --> 00:04:02.229 and the life of the age to come, if I'm blessed 00:04:02.229 --> 00:04:06.710 to enter paradise, I'm going to want to ask Thomas, 00:04:06.990 --> 00:04:11.229 not those deep philosophical questions, but like, 00:04:11.289 --> 00:04:14.169 where were you that whole week? What were you 00:04:14.169 --> 00:04:16.949 doing that you weren't there with the others? 00:04:17.870 --> 00:04:21.600 Well, Thomas was a practical man. He said, I'm 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:25.579 done with this. This is over, obviously. It failed. 00:04:26.139 --> 00:04:30.160 We gave it a good run. We thought he would be 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:34.279 the one to redeem Israel, said the other two 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:37.399 on the road to Emmaus. Well, Thomas wasn't there, 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:41.680 but today, today we commemorate that he was eight 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:45.259 days later, just like today. So brothers and 00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:48.339 sisters, you don't want to miss. It's like Thomas 00:04:48.339 --> 00:04:52.170 missed. That first appearance of Christ and that 00:04:52.170 --> 00:04:58.029 soul -changing, that soul -changing greeting 00:04:58.029 --> 00:05:01.730 from he who is the peace, the wisdom, and the 00:05:01.730 --> 00:05:05.370 word of God, who came to those scared, those 00:05:05.370 --> 00:05:09.269 frightened men and said, peace be to you, shalom. 00:05:09.410 --> 00:05:15.230 Peace be to you from he who is peace. We don't 00:05:15.230 --> 00:05:17.889 want to miss, and when we miss services, this 00:05:17.889 --> 00:05:23.220 is what happens. We miss something so rich that 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:28.680 will change and transform our souls. Be consistent 00:05:28.680 --> 00:05:35.639 in your church life. Coming to church, praying 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:41.180 at home, all of that. Be consistent. So you can 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:44.160 mature in the faith. Otherwise, we stay at Sunday 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:46.560 school level. Sunday school is great for little 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:49.670 kids. But we're adults now. We need to be fed 00:05:49.670 --> 00:05:53.769 not milk, but the meat of the gospel. So be consistent. 00:05:54.829 --> 00:06:02.490 Know what you're missing. Thomas is in that room 00:06:02.490 --> 00:06:05.509 and Christ comes right up to him. Doesn't have 00:06:05.509 --> 00:06:10.790 to say anything about Thomas' doubts. He knows 00:06:10.790 --> 00:06:14.740 what he's thinking. If you want to verify my 00:06:14.740 --> 00:06:18.100 resurrection by poking a finger into my wounds, 00:06:18.420 --> 00:06:23.899 then do it, but that is not the right way. Blessed 00:06:23.899 --> 00:06:28.779 are those blessed. This is a blessing. This is 00:06:28.779 --> 00:06:32.420 not a vague hope that it might happen. This is 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:35.120 a blessing. Blessed are those who have not yet 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:42.089 seen, yet believed. Someone once said, is the 00:06:42.089 --> 00:06:46.110 willingness, I think it was Alan Watts, someone 00:06:46.110 --> 00:06:48.649 once said, faith is the willingness to embrace 00:06:48.649 --> 00:06:54.110 whatever the truth turns out to be. Faith is 00:06:54.110 --> 00:06:58.029 not blind acceptance. It's not wishful thinking. 00:06:59.029 --> 00:07:02.589 Faith is trust in a messenger and the messengers 00:07:02.589 --> 00:07:07.089 because they were changed. They spoke the words 00:07:07.089 --> 00:07:10.189 of life. This is what the angel told the apostles 00:07:10.189 --> 00:07:12.110 when they were in the jail. You heard that in 00:07:12.110 --> 00:07:15.209 Acts. Read Acts. It's so wonderful. It's so dramatic. 00:07:15.430 --> 00:07:19.370 It's such a great story. The apostles were ministering 00:07:19.370 --> 00:07:22.509 to all these people on the street, healing them. 00:07:22.589 --> 00:07:25.089 They weren't just preaching at them. They weren't 00:07:25.089 --> 00:07:27.209 hitting them with, you know, these days what 00:07:27.209 --> 00:07:31.550 we would call the Jesus stick. They were healing 00:07:31.550 --> 00:07:35.860 them. And they were arrested because the Sadducees 00:07:35.860 --> 00:07:40.939 saw this messing up their whole operation at 00:07:40.939 --> 00:07:44.180 the temple. And the angel comes and says, preach 00:07:44.180 --> 00:07:46.879 to the people all the words of this life, the 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:49.720 life of the age to come, the life of the resurrection. 00:07:53.180 --> 00:07:57.660 You can trust those messengers. Faith, trust 00:07:57.660 --> 00:08:00.120 in Jesus Christ as the risen Lord to whom all 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:03.879 power is given. he says, both in heaven and on 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:10.079 earth. It doesn't come in a limited way, limited 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:13.000 to the physical dimensions of space and time 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:16.000 or what we see or what we can touch. No, faith 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:19.540 comes by the illumination of the Father to us. 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:24.100 And Christ is to us and claimed it for himself, 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:28.519 the truth, the way leading to the door, and he 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:31.540 comes through that door. Nothing can stop him 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:34.080 from coming through any door except ourselves 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:38.500 if we keep it locked from the inside. You remember, 00:08:38.659 --> 00:08:44.720 on Thursday night, we heard those Gospels, and 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:47.299 one of them, well, more than one, had Christ 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:51.200 before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, who 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:58.559 really didn't want to get involved. And he has 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:02.269 this conversation. with Jesus, he cynically asked 00:09:02.269 --> 00:09:08.669 Jesus, what is truth? It's not what, obviously, 00:09:08.909 --> 00:09:12.549 it's who. You know, the word truth in Greek, 00:09:12.649 --> 00:09:17.450 aletheia, aletheia, it means that which reveals 00:09:17.450 --> 00:09:23.629 itself, unconceals itself, it's not hidden. St. 00:09:23.710 --> 00:09:28.330 John tells us the same this way, all things were 00:09:28.330 --> 00:09:32.330 made by him, And without him was not anything 00:09:32.330 --> 00:09:36.870 made that was made. In him was life, and that 00:09:36.870 --> 00:09:39.570 life was the light of men. And that light shineth 00:09:39.570 --> 00:09:41.789 in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome 00:09:41.789 --> 00:09:45.490 it. So the Lord presented himself to the apostles. 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:49.309 And when we come to church, this is the miracle. 00:09:49.470 --> 00:09:56.169 He presents himself to us. Blessed are those 00:09:56.169 --> 00:10:03.929 who have not seen. yet believed. Again, that's 00:10:03.929 --> 00:10:09.549 not hopeful merely, but a blessing that we will 00:10:09.549 --> 00:10:13.470 be given grace to have spiritual eyes to see. 00:10:13.610 --> 00:10:16.090 It's as if Christ is saying, today I present 00:10:16.090 --> 00:10:23.429 myself to you as living. But from now on, he 00:10:23.429 --> 00:10:28.059 says to the apostles, from now on, It will be 00:10:28.059 --> 00:10:32.019 the kingdom itself that you will preach. The 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:36.519 church itself that will make me present. From 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:39.529 now on... Whenever you gather together, Christ 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:42.750 is saying to his apostles, as it were, you will 00:10:42.750 --> 00:10:46.649 be my living person and my image. This is why, 00:10:46.690 --> 00:10:48.990 brothers and sisters, we need to mature in our 00:10:48.990 --> 00:10:52.289 faith so that we have the words of life in us, 00:10:52.389 --> 00:10:54.929 so that we are not alive when we stand before 00:10:54.929 --> 00:10:59.009 someone and say, I'm an Orthodox Christian. You 00:10:59.009 --> 00:11:01.049 don't have to say more than that, because the 00:11:01.049 --> 00:11:05.559 love in your face. The conviction that Christ 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:07.940 is risen and that you are sharing in that risen 00:11:07.940 --> 00:11:11.519 life here now in the church by receiving communion, 00:11:11.700 --> 00:11:14.500 by worshiping together, by praying together. 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:19.100 That will be obvious without any words to those 00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:21.659 who are thirsty. To those like the Sadducees 00:11:21.659 --> 00:11:25.519 who find it, that truth to be something they 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:28.740 don't want. You know, alternate facts and so 00:11:28.740 --> 00:11:35.440 on. They will reject you. From now on, it's as 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:38.740 if Jesus is saying, whenever you come together, 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:45.559 you will be my living witness and person. How 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:51.840 did Thomas know it was Christ? By the wounds. 00:11:53.179 --> 00:11:57.080 By the wounds. The real Christ presents himself 00:11:57.080 --> 00:12:01.500 to Thomas by his wounds, his side, his hands, 00:12:01.620 --> 00:12:07.179 his feet. The church. You won't find the perfect 00:12:07.179 --> 00:12:11.139 church on this earth. You will find us all with 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:16.159 wounds. And that's how you know it's true. Not 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:20.039 wounds of the sort that our theology is deficient. 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:24.679 That our worship is not proper. But the wounds 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:28.340 that we each bear. And we're looking for healing 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:33.450 from the Lord. Of course. When we say church, 00:12:33.730 --> 00:12:40.429 that people will know Christ by the church. This 00:12:40.429 --> 00:12:43.870 means much more than what the word church means 00:12:43.870 --> 00:12:49.250 to most people, right? When we say church, as 00:12:49.250 --> 00:12:53.629 in the creed, I believe in one holy Catholic, 00:12:53.909 --> 00:12:57.429 not Roman Catholic, but Catholic, full, complete, 00:12:57.549 --> 00:13:00.809 perfect, one holy Catholic and apostolic church. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:06.500 We mean the living, glorified body of Christ 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:10.519 where sins are forgiven, where divine food is 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:15.299 offered, where worship is true, where we have 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:19.139 fellowship with the saints and the apostles and 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:23.559 the mother of God, where we are in the kingdom 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:27.820 and the kingdom is in God. And that's the body 00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:32.970 of Christ. even with its wounds. It's as if Christ 00:13:32.970 --> 00:13:39.169 is saying, I found a way to keep you from falling 00:13:39.169 --> 00:13:42.389 away from me. Unless, of course, that is what 00:13:42.389 --> 00:13:45.669 you deliberately choose. Or absent yourself. 00:13:46.549 --> 00:13:49.789 In my wisdom, it's as if Christ is saying, these 00:13:49.789 --> 00:13:52.509 are words of Elder Emilio Nos of Mount Athos, 00:13:52.669 --> 00:13:56.230 in my wisdom, in my infinite love, I have found 00:13:56.230 --> 00:13:59.840 the perfect way. which is also the most human 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:03.980 way and the easiest way for you to love and possess 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:07.860 me, says Christ. When you gather in my name, 00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:11.139 when you join together for worship in the life 00:14:11.139 --> 00:14:16.299 -giving assembly, I live in you. I become you. 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:20.139 In other words, because you cling so closely 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:24.200 to the earth and are not willing to be raised 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:27.690 up from there. You are not capable of becoming 00:14:27.690 --> 00:14:31.450 living revelations of God, and that is why I 00:14:31.450 --> 00:14:36.330 stoop down and humble myself and become as you 00:14:36.330 --> 00:14:40.190 are. There I am in the midst of you. Tell me 00:14:40.190 --> 00:14:43.669 then, what more can I do for you? How low shall 00:14:43.669 --> 00:14:48.070 I bend? How close shall I come to you? How deeply 00:14:48.070 --> 00:14:50.870 shall I enter into your life, into your being? 00:14:50.970 --> 00:14:55.840 Tell me. Tell me. In order to touch me, you don't 00:14:55.840 --> 00:15:01.620 even have to stretch out your hand. Isn't it 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:05.139 amazing that we read at the very beginning of 00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:09.860 the Gospel of John, as we did on Pascha, In the 00:15:09.860 --> 00:15:12.100 beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:14.860 God, and the Word was God. And all things that 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:17.580 were made were made by him. Nothing that was 00:15:17.580 --> 00:15:20.690 made was made without him. and he was the light 00:15:20.690 --> 00:15:23.769 of men, and the darkness could not overcome it. 00:15:23.870 --> 00:15:28.210 And then we spend the whole Gospel of John reading 00:15:28.210 --> 00:15:32.490 about the confusion of everybody, the apostles. 00:15:33.789 --> 00:15:37.549 We see the Samaritan woman, of course. She's 00:15:37.549 --> 00:15:42.330 an exception. And it takes to chapter 20 for 00:15:42.330 --> 00:15:46.889 anyone to say, my Lord and my God. That's the 00:15:46.889 --> 00:15:49.610 way we are. That's why it's that way. So let 00:15:49.610 --> 00:15:52.269 us, brothers and sisters, look into our souls 00:15:52.269 --> 00:15:56.350 today and give glory to God and thanksgiving 00:15:56.350 --> 00:16:00.649 for he is our Lord and our God. And to him we 00:16:00.649 --> 00:16:04.409 offer glory now and ever to ages of ages. Christ 00:16:04.409 --> 00:16:06.389 is risen. He is risen.