WEBVTT 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:07.519 Glory be to thee, Jesus Christ. Glory be to thee. 00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:15.480 This morning we heard two Gospels and two Epistle 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:24.420 readings. One was for the Sunday regular scriptural 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:30.059 reading and the second was for the dedicated 00:00:30.059 --> 00:00:35.009 to commemorating the Holy Fathers of the Seventh 00:00:35.009 --> 00:00:45.390 Ecumenical Council. This morning, my sermon is 00:00:45.390 --> 00:00:54.350 based on the first epistle, which is taken from 00:00:54.350 --> 00:00:57.670 part of the 11th chapter and the 12th chapter 00:00:57.670 --> 00:01:07.200 of St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians. The 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:13.599 topic might have escaped you because it was so 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:20.599 filled with information about Paul. He spoke 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:29.849 of pain and he spoke of what he referred to as 00:01:29.849 --> 00:01:37.849 a thorn in the flesh. It's not a pleasant subject. 00:01:38.549 --> 00:01:46.290 However, it is something that we inevitably encounter 00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:57.209 during our pilgrimage through life. Sometimes, 00:01:59.530 --> 00:02:06.950 we forget that everything that comes to us is 00:02:06.950 --> 00:02:16.349 from God. And sometimes we realize that the pain 00:02:16.349 --> 00:02:21.650 and suffering which we inevitably have to endure 00:02:21.650 --> 00:02:31.669 also comes from God. This is true. even for us 00:02:31.669 --> 00:02:35.849 faithful Christians, even for those who have 00:02:35.849 --> 00:02:40.430 confessed their sins. It's true also for the 00:02:40.430 --> 00:02:46.270 saints, for as we know their history, they too 00:02:46.270 --> 00:02:55.229 endured great suffering, pain, and rejection. 00:02:59.469 --> 00:03:06.389 All scholars agree that St. Paul was unquestionably 00:03:06.389 --> 00:03:13.750 the greatest Christian, the greatest influential 00:03:13.750 --> 00:03:21.389 Christian that ever lived. He was a man of unparalleled 00:03:21.389 --> 00:03:31.509 faith. A man of intelligence. And a great courage. 00:03:33.710 --> 00:03:42.409 Yet, in that 12th chapter, Paul talks about what 00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:49.469 he called a thorn in the flesh. It was a kind 00:03:49.469 --> 00:03:55.449 of a serious physical illness. A chronic problem 00:03:55.449 --> 00:04:05.180 that caused him discomfort. He asked God to remove 00:04:05.180 --> 00:04:08.180 this thorn, whatever it was, we do not know. 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:14.599 He searched for a reason and wondered why God 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:29.839 gave him this ailment. But if you read that passage, 00:04:31.310 --> 00:04:34.509 In the 11th and 12th chapter of the 2nd Corinthians, 00:04:34.629 --> 00:04:39.129 you'll find that God gave him a thorn in the 00:04:39.129 --> 00:04:48.170 flesh to remind him who he was and who God is. 00:04:49.649 --> 00:04:55.730 It was a reminder for him and it is for us to 00:04:55.730 --> 00:05:06.769 this very day. That we are mortals. That we are 00:05:06.769 --> 00:05:16.649 subject to pain and suffering. We are individuals, 00:05:16.870 --> 00:05:24.689 although created in the image of God, must continually 00:05:24.689 --> 00:05:35.230 remind ourselves. That we are dependent upon 00:05:35.230 --> 00:05:45.470 God. And when St. Paul gradually came to the 00:05:45.470 --> 00:05:51.110 realization that this thorn was given to him, 00:05:51.230 --> 00:06:00.800 he said something which was most unusual. He 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:08.160 said that God gave me this thorn that I might 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:18.839 not be conceited. And then he went on to say, 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:24.500 I will boast of my weakness that the power of 00:06:24.500 --> 00:06:35.930 Christ may be upon me. You know, suffering in 00:06:35.930 --> 00:06:43.350 and of itself has no value. It could lead to 00:06:43.350 --> 00:06:50.110 despair and even tragedy. From a biblical point 00:06:50.110 --> 00:06:57.089 of view, the purpose of pain is not to break 00:06:57.089 --> 00:07:03.250 or destroy us, but to incline our hearts. And 00:07:03.250 --> 00:07:07.250 bend our knees toward the cross. For the cross 00:07:07.250 --> 00:07:11.370 is something to tell us. About our mortality. 00:07:11.769 --> 00:07:23.029 About our weakness. About our fragility. Pain 00:07:23.029 --> 00:07:35.100 directs us. To God. Instead of resorting to a 00:07:35.100 --> 00:07:39.860 self -pity party and feeling hopeless and helpless, 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:50.500 Paul used his thorn, his weakness, his illness, 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:57.519 his ailment in a positive way as a stepping stone 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:11.610 to God's throne. He prayed, as we all do, for 00:08:11.610 --> 00:08:19.850 strength. And when you read the whole chapter, 00:08:20.110 --> 00:08:25.370 you read Paul's life. It reminds us of one of 00:08:25.370 --> 00:08:29.370 those great heroes that are found in the 11th 00:08:29.370 --> 00:08:38.159 chapter. Hebrews who through faith out of weakness 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:48.899 was made strong who through faith out of weakness 00:08:48.899 --> 00:08:57.799 was made strong as I mentioned earlier suffering 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:06.240 is not without Because God himself, and this 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:11.799 is what goes against the very grain of our society. 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:18.639 God himself suffered. He entered into the person 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:26.500 of Jesus Christ who took on flesh, experienced 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:35.429 grief, rejection. loneliness and pain. Indeed, 00:09:35.629 --> 00:09:41.889 God is a suffering God. The fact that he suffered 00:09:41.889 --> 00:09:46.309 and died in such an excruciating way on the cross 00:09:46.309 --> 00:09:55.909 reveals that the God of love, the God we call 00:09:55.909 --> 00:10:05.190 our Father, is not indifferent to our suffering. 00:10:10.190 --> 00:10:23.210 To say that we are helpless is to say that God 00:10:23.210 --> 00:10:27.429 doesn't know our spiritual trials. And that's 00:10:27.429 --> 00:10:37.549 nonsense. To say that we are helpless is to say 00:10:37.549 --> 00:10:41.730 that God is powerless. And that is utter nonsense. 00:10:46.470 --> 00:10:52.970 At every vigil, at every matins, there's a hymn. 00:10:53.409 --> 00:10:57.409 And in this hymn we find these words. Through 00:10:57.409 --> 00:11:06.830 the cross, joy has come into the world. It's 00:11:06.830 --> 00:11:11.809 something that we can't grasp by reason. Because 00:11:11.809 --> 00:11:19.610 reason fails us. It fails us because the intensity 00:11:19.610 --> 00:11:31.439 of God's love for us is beyond description. God 00:11:31.439 --> 00:11:40.960 is indeed a suffering God. On the cross, he cried 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:46.659 out, not in a despairing way. My God, my God, 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:49.779 why hast thou forsaken me? Because those were 00:11:49.779 --> 00:11:54.720 not his last words. His last words is, into thy 00:11:54.720 --> 00:12:01.639 hands I commit my spirit, Lord. And we usually 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:05.480 hear in some of the scriptures, it's finished. 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:14.200 No, it's consummated. Out of sheer, inexplicable 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:21.360 love, God became one with us, identified with 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:28.100 us in every sense of the word, so that he too 00:12:28.100 --> 00:12:43.559 suffered. Pascha is always the last word. To 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:48.480 every broken heart then, wracked by some illness, 00:12:48.580 --> 00:13:01.879 know that the Lord is with you. He does not stand 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:08.440 by as an observer. But he shares your pain and 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:12.620 my pain. And like the righteous Job, the Old 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:17.779 Testament, when he went through all and was sitting 00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:23.200 on a pile of ash, he said, when he tried me, 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:32.360 I came forth as gold. There was merit. There 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:35.840 was reason. There was value in that suffering. 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:43.559 Like Paul locked up in the dungeon, sitting on 00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:50.379 death's road, to use contemporary language. Paul 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:58.299 said, I consider that the sufferings of the present 00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:04.169 time are not worthy to be compared with the glory 00:14:04.169 --> 00:14:10.009 which shall be revealed. And it will be revealed. 00:14:13.789 --> 00:14:20.649 Like Peter the Apostle, who also was waiting 00:14:20.649 --> 00:14:27.049 his martyrdom, wrote, Rejoice to the extent that 00:14:27.049 --> 00:14:30.879 you partake of Christ's suffering. That when 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:36.379 his glory shall be revealed. You should be glad. 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:43.899 Exceedingly glad. The gospel message does not 00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:50.759 deliver us. From misfortunes. Rather it enables 00:14:50.759 --> 00:15:00.909 us. As followers of Christ. Our Redeemer. We 00:15:00.909 --> 00:15:07.490 find in this thorn that Paul spoke of not a curse 00:15:07.490 --> 00:15:16.850 but ultimately a blessing. Sickness has a ministry. 00:15:18.129 --> 00:15:24.750 Pain has a purpose. Suffering has a service. 00:15:27.809 --> 00:15:32.539 If we will Look at it from this biblical perspective. 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:39.659 Not what society thinks. But what God has declared 00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:46.940 through the Holy Scriptures. In the fifth chapter 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:52.940 of the book of Hebrews. We read this rather interesting 00:15:52.940 --> 00:16:04.669 statement. That Christ learned. by the things 00:16:04.669 --> 00:16:12.750 he suffered. He learned obedience by the things 00:16:12.750 --> 00:16:17.990 he suffered. And the blind man in the ninth chapter 00:16:17.990 --> 00:16:27.889 of St. John's Gospel was not... was not a man 00:16:27.889 --> 00:16:34.750 of sin, but as Jesus said, that the works of 00:16:34.750 --> 00:16:40.029 God should be revealed. That's interesting, isn't 00:16:40.029 --> 00:16:43.110 it? That the works of God should be revealed 00:16:43.110 --> 00:16:46.230 through you and through me and through our suffering, 00:16:46.289 --> 00:16:48.970 through our pain, through our love, through our 00:16:48.970 --> 00:16:55.049 life. Whatever the circumstances may be in your 00:16:55.049 --> 00:17:00.710 life, Dear people, let me leave you with these 00:17:00.710 --> 00:17:05.670 words of St. Paul. Hold on to them very deeply. 00:17:08.950 --> 00:17:13.230 Because the time will come when we will need 00:17:13.230 --> 00:17:20.450 to hear this. We know that God causes all things 00:17:20.450 --> 00:17:29.440 to work together. for good who love him. Glory 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:30.920 be to Jesus Christ.