WEBVTT

00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:07.099
I greet you with the joy of this wonderful holiday.

00:00:08.019 --> 00:00:14.720
Lent is over. The fast is over. Put behind you

00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:21.420
now any of those things which were ugly, whatever

00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:26.739
failures you had, anger, resentment, whatever

00:00:26.739 --> 00:00:31.660
it might be. That you've gripped your heart and

00:00:31.660 --> 00:00:37.740
your feelings. Be at peace. For now, we have

00:00:37.740 --> 00:00:40.039
to turn our attention to Christ and his steps.

00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:43.039
Six days before the Passover. That's where we

00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:45.100
are. That's what it said in the gospel today.

00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:48.659
And six days before the Passover, what happens?

00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:51.140
Well, this incredible event. You have the fresco

00:00:51.140 --> 00:00:53.140
up there and the icon in the middle of the church.

00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:56.439
You see Christ on the donkey. Actually, the foal

00:00:56.439 --> 00:01:00.850
of an ass. There's so much that we could say

00:01:00.850 --> 00:01:04.030
just about that donkey that the fathers and the

00:01:04.030 --> 00:01:06.010
hymns speak about, but I'm going to leave that

00:01:06.010 --> 00:01:11.370
for another time. Sacred history records in the

00:01:11.370 --> 00:01:14.430
scriptures that the last time anyone of significance,

00:01:14.849 --> 00:01:20.370
a king, rode a donkey into Jerusalem, it was

00:01:20.370 --> 00:01:23.790
the coronation day for King Solomon, the son

00:01:23.790 --> 00:01:28.709
of the righteous King David. On that day that

00:01:28.709 --> 00:01:31.030
we commemorate this day, six days before the

00:01:31.030 --> 00:01:35.629
Passover, when Jesus rode on a donkey, the foal

00:01:35.629 --> 00:01:38.370
of an ass, into Jerusalem, the people, hearing

00:01:38.370 --> 00:01:42.810
about the raising of a dead man, Lazarus, knew

00:01:42.810 --> 00:01:46.510
this fact of history about Solomon. They were

00:01:46.510 --> 00:01:50.209
eager to praise Jesus and to see in him the king,

00:01:50.349 --> 00:01:56.319
the conquering hero. I can't even imagine. The

00:01:56.319 --> 00:02:01.400
sense of wonder and jubilation and pride of those

00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:04.319
who welcome Jesus to the holy city, the city

00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:09.259
of peace. Shouting, exclaiming, and proclaiming,

00:02:09.259 --> 00:02:11.740
Hosanna, blessed is he that comes in the name

00:02:11.740 --> 00:02:14.759
of the Lord, the King of Israel. And those up

00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:19.319
there on the Temple Mount, the leaders, plotting

00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:24.659
to kill him. The people below welcoming, a king.

00:02:25.370 --> 00:02:30.289
Who can raise the dead? What enemy could stand

00:02:30.289 --> 00:02:32.590
against such a king? You have to think this is

00:02:32.590 --> 00:02:36.050
what's going on. What enemy? And indeed that

00:02:36.050 --> 00:02:43.150
is true. Wrong enemy. The leaders of the people

00:02:43.150 --> 00:02:47.610
wanting to put Lazarus to death also, says St.

00:02:47.669 --> 00:02:51.509
John, want to hide the evidence of what this

00:02:51.509 --> 00:02:55.849
king can do. They did not welcome the hero, the

00:02:55.849 --> 00:03:00.750
king, because of their envy, their pride, their

00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:06.250
greed, their lust for power. Jesus was not anointed

00:03:06.250 --> 00:03:10.930
by a prophet, seated on a throne in Jerusalem,

00:03:11.110 --> 00:03:16.430
as other kings were anointed and seated. But

00:03:16.430 --> 00:03:19.969
he was anointed by she who would be a prophetess,

00:03:20.030 --> 00:03:23.650
Mary, the sister of Martha. who anointed Jesus

00:03:23.650 --> 00:03:29.469
for his burial. Because in his burial, his death,

00:03:29.590 --> 00:03:32.669
his rising, that's where he is truly the king.

00:03:32.849 --> 00:03:36.189
Look at that cross. What does it say at the top?

00:03:36.909 --> 00:03:43.370
The king of glory. Because his glory is his love

00:03:43.370 --> 00:03:48.430
for us. He was not invited to an enthronement

00:03:48.430 --> 00:03:53.219
by the powers that be. but willingly chose that

00:03:53.219 --> 00:03:57.020
throne, the throne on Golgotha, where we see

00:03:57.020 --> 00:04:00.800
that inscription, the king of glory. Jesus, of

00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:03.800
course, knew that all this would transpire after

00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:07.300
his entry in Jerusalem, and so St. Luke, in his

00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:10.560
account of this event, he's writing, when Jesus

00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:15.159
drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,

00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:20.120
saying, would that you... Even you had known

00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:23.720
on this day the things that make for peace. Two

00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:26.439
days in a row, yesterday and today, we see Jesus

00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:31.959
weeping. And it is no wonder. We have a lot we

00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:36.240
could weep about as well. We know the story.

00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:40.839
Step by step. The betrayal, the duplicity, the

00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:45.259
fake trial, the terrible mocking. Horrible mocking.

00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:49.379
The violence against Jesus. And because we know

00:04:49.379 --> 00:04:53.279
the story, we can and we must actually today

00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:57.220
rejoice, not weep. We can raise our branches

00:04:57.220 --> 00:05:04.720
of palms. What a privilege to identify ourselves

00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:11.459
as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King,

00:05:11.699 --> 00:05:17.529
the one who saves. The one who desires to save.

00:05:18.529 --> 00:05:23.029
We should not be ashamed to say to other people,

00:05:23.189 --> 00:05:28.089
I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. I believe

00:05:28.089 --> 00:05:30.889
in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the church.

00:05:31.149 --> 00:05:34.230
I'm an Orthodox Christian. We should not shrink

00:05:34.230 --> 00:05:37.629
away from that. Of course, we don't have to be

00:05:37.629 --> 00:05:41.709
obnoxious, waving our palms in front of somebody

00:05:41.709 --> 00:05:45.329
else's face. We wear a cross. That's our identification.

00:05:45.670 --> 00:05:48.829
We respect other people for their belief, but

00:05:48.829 --> 00:05:51.990
we don't shrink back from ours. And the epistle

00:05:51.990 --> 00:05:55.069
that you heard today, it seems to me, is a kind

00:05:55.069 --> 00:05:58.870
of statement to us, believers in Christ, what

00:05:58.870 --> 00:06:03.529
our life ought to look like if we truly consider

00:06:03.529 --> 00:06:10.470
Jesus as our king. Enthroned where? In our heart?

00:06:10.750 --> 00:06:15.360
In our mind? In our house? Not just an icon corner,

00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:18.699
not just a Bible on a shelf getting kind of dusty,

00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:24.240
but really truly in our actions. The epistle

00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:27.579
tells us what our life ought to look like as

00:06:27.579 --> 00:06:30.060
we sing, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes, the

00:06:30.060 --> 00:06:34.939
son of David. St. Paul says rejoice. Rejoice

00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:40.600
always, and he's writing from prison. There's

00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.310
no bathroom breaks, mind you. He's chained to

00:06:43.310 --> 00:06:46.329
a wall, probably. I imagine. I could be wrong.

00:06:46.430 --> 00:06:48.810
Father Daniel could correct me as the biblical

00:06:48.810 --> 00:06:54.149
scholar. But a Roman prison cannot be a healthy

00:06:54.149 --> 00:06:57.329
and pleasant place. Rejoice in the Lord. Again,

00:06:57.529 --> 00:07:00.189
I say rejoice. That's what St. Paul tells us

00:07:00.189 --> 00:07:03.709
today. Because if Christ is our king, we rejoice.

00:07:04.069 --> 00:07:07.430
And I alluded to this yesterday. Let all people,

00:07:07.569 --> 00:07:11.910
he says, know your moderation, your forbearance.

00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:15.300
Your patient endurance. Your suffering. Your

00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:18.560
long suffering. Because the Lord, he says, is

00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:22.459
at hand. And he is at hand. Always present for

00:07:22.459 --> 00:07:25.800
each one of us. That dares to make the effort

00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:29.360
to pray to him. To enter into that space. The

00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:34.860
time to pray. Then it says this. Have no anxiety

00:07:34.860 --> 00:07:40.810
about anything. It doesn't say don't plan. Don't

00:07:40.810 --> 00:07:43.410
be good stewards of your life. Don't set aside

00:07:43.410 --> 00:07:47.290
something. Deal with your responsibilities. Anxiety

00:07:47.290 --> 00:07:51.389
is the thing that grips the heart and fragments

00:07:51.389 --> 00:07:55.069
the noose so that our soul doesn't know what

00:07:55.069 --> 00:07:58.129
goal we're going for. Have no anxiety about anything

00:07:58.129 --> 00:08:01.250
but in everything by prayer and supplication

00:08:01.250 --> 00:08:06.250
with thanksgiving. Let your petitions, your requests

00:08:06.250 --> 00:08:10.680
be known to God and the peace of God. will dwell

00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:16.339
with you. Christians here, according to St. Paul,

00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:19.360
are characterized as people devoid of anxiety.

00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:24.639
No anxiety about anything because we trust that

00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:31.920
he has, that he is, and that he will save us.

00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:37.200
Save us from what? Save us from the terrible

00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:42.580
ignorance of not knowing why we even exist, from

00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:46.120
the ignorance of not knowing what our destiny

00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:50.759
is, to be as he is. Save us from the ignorance

00:08:50.759 --> 00:08:58.039
that we are enslaved to sin, the poison of sin,

00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:01.379
which leads us to be enslaved to the devil, whom

00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:06.049
Christ came to destroy. St. Paul says, He came

00:09:06.049 --> 00:09:08.610
to destroy him who held the might of death, that

00:09:08.610 --> 00:09:12.950
is the devil. He came to save us from annihilation,

00:09:13.029 --> 00:09:18.730
extinction, and non -existence. He came to save

00:09:18.730 --> 00:09:25.769
us from fear. He didn't come. Well, imagine a

00:09:25.769 --> 00:09:29.789
man in a burning house shouting, save me, with

00:09:29.789 --> 00:09:34.559
no way out. He's not looking. for his life to

00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:41.259
be improved. He's not looking for monetary, economic

00:09:41.259 --> 00:09:46.059
comfort. That's our job for others, by the way.

00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:50.879
Christ didn't come to make our life easier. He

00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:53.820
gives us the ministry and the task to minister

00:09:53.820 --> 00:09:57.559
to others, to help them, to make their life easier.

00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:00.639
Because he has saved us. He has saved us from

00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:03.559
that inferno, from that fire. He has saved us

00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:05.960
from nonexistence. He has saved us from certain

00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:11.019
and complete and utter death. And so we rejoice

00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:15.620
today. St. Photius, the great, the 9th century

00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:17.720
saint, one of the most brilliant people who ever

00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:20.120
lived, he gave this sermon on the feast day.

00:10:20.299 --> 00:10:25.049
He said this, Blessed is he, Hosanna. that comes

00:10:25.049 --> 00:10:27.750
to reach out his arms on the cross to gather

00:10:27.750 --> 00:10:31.870
all peoples to himself. Blessed is he, Hosanna,

00:10:32.029 --> 00:10:36.210
that comes to make Hades a prisoner, to release

00:10:36.210 --> 00:10:39.669
Adam from his bond, to raise him from his fall.

00:10:39.909 --> 00:10:44.250
Blessed is he, Hosanna, that comes to destroy

00:10:44.250 --> 00:10:46.970
the power of the tyranny and to bestow liberty

00:10:46.970 --> 00:10:50.090
on them that are sore distressed. Blessed is

00:10:50.090 --> 00:10:54.759
he that comes to empty out the storehouses of

00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:58.000
Hades, and to fill the heavenly mansions with

00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.960
the throng of the saved. Blessed is he that comes

00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:05.960
to offer himself as a sacrifice for our sake.

00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:12.019
Blessed is he to expiate all our sin to reconcile

00:11:12.019 --> 00:11:16.100
us with the Father. Blessed is he that comes

00:11:16.100 --> 00:11:20.240
to kill death. to inaugurate our resurrection,

00:11:20.620 --> 00:11:24.840
to free us from servitude, to bestow on us adoption

00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:30.379
as his blessed children, so we cry, Hosea.