WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:04.230 Glory to Jesus Christ, in the name of the Father, 00:00:04.370 --> 00:00:10.949 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We've 00:00:10.949 --> 00:00:17.230 had a week that changes everything for us, this 00:00:17.230 --> 00:00:21.170 last week, clean week. Our schedule's different, 00:00:21.550 --> 00:00:24.309 our prayers are different, our diets are different. 00:00:25.589 --> 00:00:30.370 It's been a week of spiritual therapy. In whatever 00:00:30.370 --> 00:00:33.810 way you could do here or at home, the grace of 00:00:33.810 --> 00:00:42.549 God is not limited by geography. And that effort 00:00:42.549 --> 00:00:45.369 and that grace that has led us through these 00:00:45.369 --> 00:00:48.670 last days has now brought us to a feast day, 00:00:48.789 --> 00:00:52.909 made even more bright and more joyful by the 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:56.810 baptism of three precious people, three precious 00:00:56.810 --> 00:01:01.340 catechumens. reminding us what this is all about. 00:01:02.219 --> 00:01:05.739 That is the life of Christ, being clothed with 00:01:05.739 --> 00:01:10.819 Christ, living the new life of the kingdom. This 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:14.879 feast day brings with us some interesting history 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:19.780 as well. You're all holding icons, church is 00:01:19.780 --> 00:01:27.489 full of icons, because of an event. and a terrible 00:01:27.489 --> 00:01:31.489 disturbance that the church suffered for actually 00:01:31.489 --> 00:01:35.409 just a little over 100 years in the 8th and 9th 00:01:35.409 --> 00:01:39.530 centuries. I don't want to talk about that, except 00:01:39.530 --> 00:01:43.469 to say that the feast we have today, the Sunday 00:01:43.469 --> 00:01:48.450 of Orthodoxy, the restoration of the icons, is 00:01:48.450 --> 00:01:50.450 from a proclamation that dates from the year 00:01:50.450 --> 00:01:56.359 843. And we can thank the wonderful Empress Theodora 00:01:56.359 --> 00:02:00.680 for making sure that the church was victorious, 00:02:00.859 --> 00:02:03.980 that faith was victorious. Not over other people, 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:07.780 not as an institution, but in the hearts of the 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:11.340 faithful. And I see my granddaughter Thea somewhere, 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:16.900 dressed very accurately as Saint Theodora. And 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:19.780 it's a lovely sight. Thea, you're here somewhere, 00:02:19.900 --> 00:02:26.379 yes? But before, you know, that's something new 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:31.960 in the church history. This feast day. Because 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:33.580 before that, it was the feast day of the holy 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:37.539 prophets. And the martyrs. And the hymnography, 00:02:37.659 --> 00:02:39.819 you could tell. And the two readings you just 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:43.539 have, what were they about? Moses, it starts 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:46.560 with. When he was in Pharaoh's house. And then 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:48.659 the list of all these prophets and the travails 00:02:48.659 --> 00:02:51.539 that they suffered. This is very much about the 00:02:51.539 --> 00:02:56.539 prophets. And then the gospel itself, Philip 00:02:56.539 --> 00:03:02.099 finds Nathanael. We have found him that is the 00:03:02.099 --> 00:03:04.240 Messiah, the one that Moses and the prophets 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:07.039 spoke about. So today, my brothers and sisters, 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:11.699 this is a feast that spans the entire history 00:03:11.699 --> 00:03:17.360 of God's salvation history. So there's so much 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:21.770 to rejoice about, so much to celebrate. I have 00:03:21.770 --> 00:03:31.169 to leave my remarks very concise. You heard how 00:03:31.169 --> 00:03:36.990 St. Paul ends that passage in Hebrews that we 00:03:36.990 --> 00:03:40.090 heard about the prophets. He brings this whole 00:03:40.090 --> 00:03:42.389 thing to a conclusion that they subdued kingdoms, 00:03:42.550 --> 00:03:44.870 they worked righteousness, they obtained promises. 00:03:45.629 --> 00:03:47.729 Women received their dead back. They stopped 00:03:47.729 --> 00:03:50.650 the mouths of lions. They stopped the strength 00:03:50.650 --> 00:03:53.830 of the fire. And then St. Paul is brought to 00:03:53.830 --> 00:03:57.490 the conclusion, he says, that because of that, 00:03:57.629 --> 00:04:01.050 we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. 00:04:03.009 --> 00:04:06.530 He says then, now see if you make sense of this. 00:04:06.689 --> 00:04:11.789 Because of that, let us lay aside every weight. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:17.879 And the sin that so easily ensnares us. Is because 00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:22.680 we have the intercession. Of all of these righteous 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:27.060 men and women. Do you avail yourself of their 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:31.439 prayers? I come into the church. This hit me 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:34.839 very strongly last week. First thing in the morning 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:39.100 about 730. I come in. I pray to the Lord. Pray 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:42.819 to the Theotokos. I go over to St. Nicholas, 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:46.980 I go over to St. Vladimir and St. Panteleimon 00:04:46.980 --> 00:04:51.540 and I'm praying and then I realize, dear holy 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:55.240 ones, forgive me because I only talk to you once 00:04:55.240 --> 00:04:58.959 a week for two minutes. How is that offering 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:03.699 any kind of prayer between beloved members of 00:05:03.699 --> 00:05:07.639 the Church of Christ? And I thought, this Lent, 00:05:07.639 --> 00:05:12.519 I will make a pledge to begin a more fruitful, 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:17.660 constant, and loving and dedicated conversation 00:05:17.660 --> 00:05:20.980 with the saints. Not just to walk up to an icon 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:25.720 and put in my prayer like I'm putting in a quarter, 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:28.740 hoping that I'm going to get some kind of answer. 00:05:28.899 --> 00:05:32.060 What kind of relationship is that? These are 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:35.879 living people, living and glorified, and they 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:41.509 dwell as the counsel of God. So, of course, St. 00:05:41.569 --> 00:05:44.810 Paul says, let us lay aside every weight and 00:05:44.810 --> 00:05:47.410 the sin which so easily ensnares us. Because 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:51.310 then we can run the race of our life that is 00:05:51.310 --> 00:05:56.490 set before us with endurance, looking to Jesus, 00:05:56.569 --> 00:05:59.589 the author, he says, and finisher, the completer, 00:05:59.610 --> 00:06:03.290 the perfecter of our faith. That race, for our 00:06:03.290 --> 00:06:08.089 purposes today, is Lent. Yes. Sure, striving 00:06:08.089 --> 00:06:11.329 to have a part of Christ's resurrection active, 00:06:11.629 --> 00:06:15.250 inspiring, working, and sanctifying us. It's 00:06:15.250 --> 00:06:19.509 also, let us run the race with endurance, the 00:06:19.509 --> 00:06:22.810 message to the catechumens, that it will not 00:06:22.810 --> 00:06:26.589 be easy. You will need endurance. If you do not 00:06:26.589 --> 00:06:31.610 have Christ in your vision, you will fail. Willpower 00:06:31.610 --> 00:06:35.889 is not enough. Willpower is not going to do it. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.899 Since his feast is also one of, and especially 00:06:43.899 --> 00:06:48.759 the prophets, as I said, predating the 9th century 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:53.379 Sunday of Orthodoxy, the race set before us to 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:57.040 be faithful is to not settle for counterfeit 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:00.959 Christianity in the way we live. We may adhere 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:04.920 intellectually to Orthodoxy, but we may live 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:11.339 in a counterfeit way. Let's have no plan B. Let's 00:07:11.339 --> 00:07:15.579 have only Jesus Christ. And that means that like 00:07:15.579 --> 00:07:18.220 it says in that epistle, like Moses raised in 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:20.459 Pharaoh's house, we may have to choose rather 00:07:20.459 --> 00:07:23.740 to suffer affliction with the people of God than 00:07:23.740 --> 00:07:28.319 to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. He says, 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:33.839 esteeming the reproach of Christ, the reproach 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:37.579 that was put on Christ, his crucifixion. greater 00:07:37.579 --> 00:07:41.180 riches than the treasures in Egypt. For he looked 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:45.800 to the reward, to Christ, the completer and finisher 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:51.240 of our faith. The Old Testament speaks about 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:55.019 the love of God for us. And it speaks in a way 00:07:55.019 --> 00:08:01.720 that it sounds like he is foolish. He's continually 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:06.689 chasing humanity. His love is so zealous, so 00:08:06.689 --> 00:08:10.850 full of divine eros. And we're so fickle, yet 00:08:10.850 --> 00:08:15.410 he continues to pursue us. In a way, let me speak 00:08:15.410 --> 00:08:18.649 how St. Basil says the same, whose prayers we 00:08:18.649 --> 00:08:21.449 will recite in a few moments. He says that God 00:08:21.449 --> 00:08:25.269 was unable, he could not bear to endure the loss 00:08:25.269 --> 00:08:28.730 of his creation, and he set aside his unspeakable 00:08:28.730 --> 00:08:32.470 glory and humbled himself, becoming as we are. 00:08:34.679 --> 00:08:39.720 Orthodox Christians really believe, and they 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:42.980 live according to that belief, that Jesus is 00:08:42.980 --> 00:08:46.779 fully divine. He is fully human in one person. 00:08:47.559 --> 00:08:50.860 Orthodox Christians really believe in the incarnation. 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:54.379 Orthodox Christians really believe that the Son 00:08:54.379 --> 00:08:56.919 of God, who is divine, with the same divinity 00:08:56.919 --> 00:08:59.879 as God the Father, really became a human being. 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:04.200 A man just like us without ceasing to be God. 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:09.100 And the gospel today wants to affirm that message 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:13.299 to us. That he is not merely a man, but he is, 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:17.059 as it says in the gospel from John, the son of 00:09:17.059 --> 00:09:22.620 God. He's confessed as the king of Israel, that 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:27.179 is the king of all. He is confessed as the son 00:09:27.179 --> 00:09:31.269 of man. He has confessed as Jacob's ladder the 00:09:31.269 --> 00:09:34.490 way we ascend to the Father. And that means, 00:09:34.909 --> 00:09:39.289 coming to my point, that if we keep the faith 00:09:39.289 --> 00:09:45.210 faithfully, like Moses and the prophets, whatever 00:09:45.210 --> 00:09:49.409 it is we need to endure, that Orthodox Christians 00:09:49.409 --> 00:09:55.490 believe that his image can be painted. Those 00:09:55.490 --> 00:09:58.309 who say, that icons or graven images shouldn't 00:09:58.309 --> 00:10:01.289 even have a picture in their house. They shouldn't 00:10:01.289 --> 00:10:03.610 watch television and they shouldn't look at any 00:10:03.610 --> 00:10:07.169 cartoons because it says don't have any graven 00:10:07.169 --> 00:10:11.529 images. So obviously that's foolishness, right? 00:10:11.970 --> 00:10:14.870 Orthodox Christians believe that by painting 00:10:14.870 --> 00:10:19.649 this, we are painting the gospel in an icon. 00:10:19.730 --> 00:10:22.830 We're proclaiming the salvation of Jesus Christ 00:10:22.830 --> 00:10:29.850 our Lord. One famous elder said this about the 00:10:29.850 --> 00:10:35.730 Lord coming to us, leaving this unspeakable glory. 00:10:35.909 --> 00:10:41.190 He says, when the highest, that is God, entered 00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:45.409 the lowest, when God himself entered the realm 00:10:45.409 --> 00:10:49.330 of Hades and death, everything there was turned 00:10:49.330 --> 00:10:54.070 upside down. The devil was defeated. Death yielded 00:10:54.070 --> 00:10:56.929 to life. Darkness was swallowed up by light. 00:10:57.070 --> 00:11:00.950 Fallen man ascended to heaven. In union with 00:11:00.950 --> 00:11:04.629 Christ, human nature now sits on the throne of 00:11:04.629 --> 00:11:08.909 God, being filled with the Holy Spirit. God has 00:11:08.909 --> 00:11:12.389 descended and reduced himself for our sake. He 00:11:12.389 --> 00:11:17.230 continues to pursue us and to chase us. These 00:11:17.230 --> 00:11:20.110 are the words of Elder Emilio Nos of Mount Athos, 00:11:20.110 --> 00:11:24.070 reposed in 2019. Our faith, this day that we 00:11:24.070 --> 00:11:26.289 celebrate, is rooted in that strange defeat, 00:11:26.610 --> 00:11:30.450 said Father Alexander Schmemann, of the cross. 00:11:31.210 --> 00:11:34.610 That strange defeat of the cross is rooted in 00:11:34.610 --> 00:11:36.929 that strange defeat, which became the most glorious 00:11:36.929 --> 00:11:41.070 victory. The defeat of the man nailed on the 00:11:41.070 --> 00:11:44.129 cross on Golgotha, who rose from the dead, who 00:11:44.129 --> 00:11:49.590 is the Lord and Master of this world and of all 00:11:49.590 --> 00:11:54.110 worlds. He is not just the king of Israel. He 00:11:54.110 --> 00:11:58.570 is not just the son of God. He is the son of 00:11:58.570 --> 00:12:02.129 the highest. He is the king of the world. This 00:12:02.129 --> 00:12:05.029 is the triumph of orthodoxy. This is why we can 00:12:05.029 --> 00:12:09.409 paint icons. But it has to do with the image 00:12:09.409 --> 00:12:13.110 of God being restored in us. Because Jesus assures 00:12:13.110 --> 00:12:19.350 us that the living icon, you and me, can have, 00:12:19.350 --> 00:12:25.389 as that hymn said, That choir just sang, the 00:12:25.389 --> 00:12:31.850 corrupted image, sin healed, suffused with divine 00:12:31.850 --> 00:12:36.429 beauty. This is our path during Lent. Look to 00:12:36.429 --> 00:12:39.490 Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 00:12:39.649 --> 00:12:42.610 Look to all the prophets and saints who surround 00:12:42.610 --> 00:12:46.710 us, who pray for us, who encourage us. Look to 00:12:46.710 --> 00:12:54.009 Jesus and his beauty. That's everything. That's 00:12:54.009 --> 00:12:56.490 everything. What else needs to be said today? 00:12:56.730 --> 00:12:59.409 That's why we celebrate, to our Lord be glory, 00:12:59.669 --> 00:13:02.769 now and ever, to ages of ages. Amen.