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Last night we heard the following from the wisdom

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of Solomon. But the souls of the righteous are

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in the hand of God in no torment. shall ever

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touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seem

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to have died, and their departure was thought

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to be affliction, and their going from us to

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be their destruction. But they are at peace.

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For though in the sight of man they were punished,

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their hope is full of immortality. Each time

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I hear these words read at vigil, I'm reminded

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of the words of Christ in the Gospel of John.

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If the world hates you, know that it has hated

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me before it hated you. If you were of the world,

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the world would love its own. But because you

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are not of the world, but I chose you out of

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the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember

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the word that I said to you. A servant is not

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greater in honor than his master. If they persecuted

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me, they will persecute you. Both these passages

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touch upon an aspect of saintliness, of the character

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of those who are so in tune with the kingdom

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of God, they are, one might say, out of phase

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with this present world. The saints walk about

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in this sinful and fallen world as strangers,

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the aspect and focus of their existence being

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Christ. He and he alone is the reference point

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of their lives. And as such, they do not fit

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well into human society. The world and its corruption

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cannot touch them. They appear to be foolish,

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strange, and different because that which human

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society considers to be important is of no importance

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to them. what an odd man St. Seraphim was. He

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left the company of other human beings to live

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alone in the forest for five years. He abandoned

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the path that other youths of his day followed

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and entered a monastery at the age of 19. What

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were you doing at 19? He stood for hours in prayer,

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sometimes seeing angels. and even addressed others

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in an odd manner, calling them, my joy, and greeting

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those who encountered him all year long with

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the possible greeting, Christ is risen. It was

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as though he was out of sync with the culture

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around him. We heard last Sunday, the lamp of

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the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is

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good, your whole body will be full of light.

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But if your eye is bad, your whole body will

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be full of darkness. If therefore the light that

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is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.

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I remember when I was about 32 living in Detroit.

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I heard a commercial on the radio offering a

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free eye exam. And even though my sight seemed

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to be fine, I decided to go in and have a checkup

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anyway. The optometrist did what optometrists

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do with lenses and questions, trying this and

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trying that. And at the end, I was presented

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with a temporary pair of glasses. And to my astonishment,

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I saw things more clearly. To be honest, I saw

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things in focus and with clarity for the first

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time in a long time. I had gradually lost the

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vision in my eyes. but was totally unaware of

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it. Those of us who live in the modern world

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run the risk of allowing our inner vision to

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become clouded and out of focus as well. Our

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spiritual senses become dulled by the assaults

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of the world around us. We fail to comprehend

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the brokenness around us. We fail to detect the

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distortion of God's created world by sin. Like

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the rich man in the parable, we leave our homes

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not even seeing our own personal Lazarus lying

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at our door, covered in sores. We live our lives

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as though poverty did not exist, as if children

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in other parts of the world or even our own cities

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did not go hungry. We become dulled with the

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images around us. accustomed to things on television

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that 20 years ago would not have even been allowed

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on the air. Like a favorite kitchen knife is

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dulled and gradually by youth, our senses too

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become blunted, slowly and imperceptibly, by

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our daily lives. The lamp of our bodies, our

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spiritual eyes become blinded, and so our entire

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being is darkened. And then, suddenly, we encounter

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a gift from God in the person of someone like

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St. Seraphim. Someone who, despite the darkness

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of this world, nevertheless sees the light in

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it and much more than that, radiates the light

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like a beacon on a hill. This is the essential

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truth of the famous encounter with Modavila.

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The goal of St. Seraphim's asceticism was realized

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not by obtaining a gold medal in the fasting

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or vigil Olympics, but in becoming a lens through

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which God could project himself into this world.

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And such an encounter with God through the medium

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of a holy person can be transforming and bring

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healing to others. Do you remember the conversation

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Madhavila said? I don't quite understand how

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it is possible to be absolutely sure of living

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in God's Spirit. How can this be proved? St.

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Seraphim reiterated, Friend of God, I've already

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told you that it's very easy. I've told you that

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some men found themselves filled with the Holy

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Spirit and were able to be convinced of His presence.

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What more do you want? How long to understand

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completely? Then Father Seraphim gripped me firmly

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by the shoulders and said, My friend, both of

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us at this moment are in the Holy Spirit, you

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and I. Why don't you look at me? I can't look

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at you, Father, because the light flashing from

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your eyes and face is brighter than the sun and

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I am dazzled. Don't be afraid, friend of God.

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You, yourself, are shining just like I am. You

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too are now in the fullness of the grace of the

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Holy Spirit. Otherwise, you would not be able

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to see me as you do. And leaning towards me,

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Father Seraphim said quietly, Thank the Lord

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for his ineffable goodness. You may have noticed

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that I didn't even make the sign of the cross.

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Only in my heart I said this prayer to the Lord.

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of seeing clearly with the eyes of the flesh

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that outpouring of your spirit which you vouchsafed

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to your servants when you condescended to reveal

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yourself to them in the revelation of your glory.

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My friend, the Lord granted it instantly. Come,

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look, friend, do not be afraid, for the Lord

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is with us. The encounter ended with these words

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of St. Therop. This is the peace, friend of God,

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which the Lord promised to his disciples when

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he said, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give

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to you, not as the world gives do I give you.

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It is that peace which the apostle calls the

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peace which passes all understanding. It was

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by the world's criteria an odd encounter with

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a very odd man. But what the world considered

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to be strange or foolish was really wise in God's

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sight. To become such a beacon in this dark world

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requires discipleship, discipline, and testing.

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As Solomon said, God tested them, the righteous,

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and found them worthy of himself. Like gold in

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the furnace, he tried them. a sacrificial burnt

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offering, he accepted them. In the time of their

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visitation, they will shine forth and will run

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like sparks through the stubble. And sparks running

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through stubble, through sawdust, ignites it.

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And a greater fire and a greater light results.

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So it was with St. Seraphim. So it can be with

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you and with me. In the eyes of the foolish,

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they, the righteous ones like Seraphim, seem

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to have died, and their departure was thought

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to be an affliction, and their going from us

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to be their destruction. This is how the world

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regards them. That's nothing special. But Solomon

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continues, but they are at peace. God tested

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them and found them worthy of himself.