WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:02.710 On this blessed feast day, may it be blessed 00:00:02.710 --> 00:00:08.710 for you. This is election season, as you cannot 00:00:08.710 --> 00:00:15.410 avoid, even in church. Let me make an extravagantly 00:00:15.410 --> 00:00:18.730 bold and sweeping statement. A true statement, 00:00:18.829 --> 00:00:24.170 unlike those that you will hear on the commercials 00:00:24.170 --> 00:00:30.160 by the candidates. It's an extravagantly bold 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:32.479 and sweeping statement, but it's absolutely true. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:35.579 And the statement is this. The entire history 00:00:35.579 --> 00:00:41.439 from the beginning, from the creation, was directed 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:46.299 towards the day on which God would pour out his 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:52.119 Holy Spirit, as the prophet says, on all flesh. 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:55.740 That day came, and that's what we're celebrating. 00:00:56.219 --> 00:00:59.500 Not history, not merely history. It came, it 00:00:59.500 --> 00:01:03.259 happened, it is in history. But all the life 00:01:03.259 --> 00:01:05.260 of the church and the saints and the faithful 00:01:05.260 --> 00:01:15.000 show that it is immediate. It is true. And it's 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:20.379 for you and me. And today is our Pentecost. The 00:01:20.379 --> 00:01:24.379 Old Testament feast of Pentecost. Occurred 50 00:01:24.379 --> 00:01:29.099 days after Passover. I said the Old Testament. 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:32.519 The commemoration, that was the commemoration 00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:35.799 of the exodus of the Israelites from captivity 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:40.180 and slavery in Egypt and in celebration of God's 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:43.739 gift of the Ten Commandments to those people 00:01:43.739 --> 00:01:47.859 in the wilderness through Moses who went onto 00:01:47.859 --> 00:01:51.780 the mountain and beheld the divine counsel. and 00:01:51.780 --> 00:01:57.480 beheld the Lord himself. We are in the new covenant. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:03.459 It carries forward from the old. We still practice 00:02:03.459 --> 00:02:07.180 so much of the Jewish life because the Orthodox 00:02:07.180 --> 00:02:11.599 Church is the continuation of the people of God. 00:02:12.419 --> 00:02:16.139 And the Passover has taken on a new meaning since 00:02:16.139 --> 00:02:20.219 the crucifixion of our Lord and his resurrection. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:24.759 That is, that we have passed over, as he has, 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:29.280 from death to life. We worry about death. We 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:32.819 grieve for those who die. But brothers and sisters, 00:02:33.060 --> 00:02:39.400 if we have followed our Lord and Savior, if we 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:42.379 have picked up the cross and denied ourselves, 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:45.240 and that's not nothing. That is truly to put 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:49.560 to death all those things within us. That are 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:52.120 opposed to God and that kill us and that kill 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:54.539 our soul. If we have done that and followed Christ 00:02:54.539 --> 00:02:59.680 and been given the Holy Spirit. Then death is 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:06.960 something we will face. But not with fear. Not 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:12.879 with anxiety. Not with regret. Because we are 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:16.300 already living by the grace of the Holy Spirit. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:20.389 The life of the resurrection. Beyond death. That's 00:03:20.389 --> 00:03:26.710 what it means to celebrate Pascha. So, Passover, 00:03:26.889 --> 00:03:29.629 Pascha, has taken on this new meaning of baptism. 00:03:29.990 --> 00:03:34.090 From earth to heaven, the exodus of God's people, 00:03:34.250 --> 00:03:37.389 us, from the sinful world to the eternal kingdom, 00:03:37.449 --> 00:03:41.849 here in this world. Everyone's invited to share. 00:03:42.229 --> 00:03:44.969 Every single person that is created is invited 00:03:44.969 --> 00:03:49.030 for this. Every single person is invited to follow 00:03:49.030 --> 00:03:53.849 the Lord Jesus Christ. But we that do, we listen 00:03:53.849 --> 00:03:58.469 to him. And what he says, his invitation, follow 00:03:58.469 --> 00:04:03.389 me. Come after me. But pick up your cross. You're 00:04:03.389 --> 00:04:06.689 going to have to deny something that you want 00:04:06.689 --> 00:04:11.009 to hold on to dearly. But it will kill you in 00:04:11.009 --> 00:04:15.840 the end. And I will save you. We have to truly 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:19.620 die to sin and to the old broken, distorted, 00:04:20.019 --> 00:04:25.379 wounded things. And here we are, asking God to 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:28.740 heal us. And I will say that extravagantly bold 00:04:28.740 --> 00:04:31.180 and sweeping statement again. The entire history 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:34.040 of mankind is directed to the day in which God 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:37.899 poured out his spirit upon all flesh. And there's 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:41.779 the wonderful fresco of that up there. That day 00:04:41.779 --> 00:04:49.560 has come. Here's what St. John says. Pardon me. 00:04:49.579 --> 00:04:53.180 Here's what St. Luke says in Acts. When the day 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:54.939 of Pentecost had come, they were all together 00:04:54.939 --> 00:04:58.939 in one place. And suddenly a sound came from 00:04:58.939 --> 00:05:02.220 heaven like the rush of a mighty wind. And it 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:04.120 filled all the house where they were sitting. 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:08.339 There appeared to them as a fire distributed 00:05:08.339 --> 00:05:12.839 as resting upon each one of them. And they were 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:16.660 all filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit 00:05:16.660 --> 00:05:21.360 that Christ promised his disciples on the day 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:26.279 of Pentecost, like living water flowing out of 00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:31.360 a person. And the apostles, who before the resurrection 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:34.660 would never be voted most likely to succeed, 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:40.720 Christ came to them on the day of the resurrection, 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:46.339 the eighth day. And it says in the Gospels, Matthew, 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:51.420 Mark, Luke, and John, how he upbraided them. 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:57.500 He was all over them for denying the witness 00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:01.720 of the women that the Lord was risen. And then 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:03.920 immediately he breathes on them and says, receive 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:07.379 the Holy Spirit, whoever sins. You forgive, they're 00:06:07.379 --> 00:06:09.319 forgiven. Whoever sins you retain, you retain. 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:12.519 And he says to them on the Mount of Ascension, 00:06:12.740 --> 00:06:16.639 go into all the world. These men who could do 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:21.519 nothing almost correct then became brave, courageous, 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:25.300 merciful, loving, full of miracles, full of the 00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:31.839 Spirit of God, full of the Word of God. This 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:34.339 is an impossible thing that's given to us in 00:06:34.339 --> 00:06:38.189 this world. Thank God, brothers and sisters, 00:06:38.389 --> 00:06:41.410 for this day and for what has been given to us. 00:06:42.250 --> 00:06:45.029 Pentecost Sunday is also called Trinity Sunday 00:06:45.029 --> 00:06:49.410 because we are given the knowledge of who God 00:06:49.410 --> 00:06:54.509 is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And Pentecost 00:06:54.509 --> 00:06:58.089 has happened to us. It happened to you when you 00:06:58.089 --> 00:07:00.769 were baptized and you were chrismated. The grace 00:07:00.769 --> 00:07:04.310 of the Holy Spirit, says St. Nicodemus of the 00:07:04.310 --> 00:07:08.660 Holy Mountain, which is given mystically to every 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:13.579 person when he is baptized and chrismated, acts, 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:18.839 acts and is manifested in proportion to our obedience 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:24.019 to the commandments of the Lord. Think about 00:07:24.019 --> 00:07:27.300 that. That is, if a Christian obeys the commandments 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:31.800 of the Lord more, grace acts more in that person. 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:37.160 Well, if he obeys them less, Grace acts less. 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:41.259 Not because God wants to take it away. No, it's 00:07:41.259 --> 00:07:43.399 because we don't have the capacity to hold on 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:46.120 to it until we practice the commandments because 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:49.759 they heal us and they give us this capacity to 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.980 hold on to the grace. What you sow, that you 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:55.959 will reap. What you spend your time doing, that's 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:59.360 what you're going to get good at. What you practice, 00:07:59.579 --> 00:08:04.420 that is what you will perfect. If it's prayer, 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:08.019 if it's the commandments, then you will be saints. 00:08:08.779 --> 00:08:13.980 And he goes on. He says, just as a spark, when 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:17.459 covered in the ashes of the fire, becomes increasingly 00:08:17.459 --> 00:08:21.240 manifest as one removes the ashes. And the more 00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:25.199 firewood you put on it, the more the fire burns. 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:27.800 So the grace that has been given to every Christian 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:31.060 through holy baptism and chrismation is hidden 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:36.750 in the heart. And yet, often covered by our sins 00:08:36.750 --> 00:08:42.090 and our passions. And he goes on. He says, however, 00:08:42.330 --> 00:08:44.669 the more a person acts in accordance with the 00:08:44.669 --> 00:08:47.629 commandments of Christ, the more he is cleansed 00:08:47.629 --> 00:08:51.149 of the passion and the more the fire of divine 00:08:51.149 --> 00:08:54.769 grace flames in his heart and illumines him and 00:08:54.769 --> 00:09:01.690 deifies him. What a miracle this is. I thought 00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:06.120 last night, that I might give a sermon to the 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:09.419 younger parishioners, the children. And what 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:13.279 I would say to them, I say to you now, what is 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:18.860 the goal of your life? If it's only limited to 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:24.419 this worldly plane, then you will miss the goal 00:09:24.419 --> 00:09:28.320 of your life, the goal of every person. because 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:30.480 we are created in the image of likeness of God 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:33.320 by the one who loves us. The goal of our life 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:37.720 is exactly what St. Nicolaus just said. Divine 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:44.679 life, to be illumined and to know the Lord. And 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:47.419 we can check on that if we are on the right path. 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:49.980 Are we just on the worldly path, or we have mixed 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:52.240 them up a little bit, or we are truly on the 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:55.740 path of repentance and the kingdom of God? How 00:09:55.740 --> 00:10:01.080 can we check? The Psalms say that we should have 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:05.100 joyfulness of heart at the presence of the Holy 00:10:05.100 --> 00:10:09.279 Spirit. If the Spirit is within us and acting 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:12.919 within us, and we are conscious, and we are taking 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:18.679 the time and praying and worshiping and trying 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:20.980 to keep the commandments, though we will fail, 00:10:21.100 --> 00:10:23.500 the Lord is not the district attorney looking 00:10:23.500 --> 00:10:27.120 for ways to condemn us. The Lord is our advocate. 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:30.700 And the Holy Spirit is our advocate. And the 00:10:30.700 --> 00:10:36.120 Father is the one who loves us. But we will have 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:39.559 that joy of heart. The kind of joy that when 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:42.820 you see somebody you love so much that you run 00:10:42.820 --> 00:10:46.519 to embrace them. That kind of joy. The kind of 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:52.120 joy that when you're in nature. I remember standing 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:57.340 on that high point at Yosemite. that you have 00:10:57.340 --> 00:10:59.759 to drive way up into. Back in the old days, they 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:02.840 would drop like fire off the edge at night. And 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:06.559 you could see Half Dome in the distance, and 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:09.539 you could see the peaks. And that kind of joy 00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:12.940 that grips your imagination and your heart so 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:16.419 much at the glory and magnificence of creation. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:21.940 Will that be with you every moment? No. But it 00:11:21.940 --> 00:11:28.120 will be with you in measure. Even if you're afflicted, 00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:32.000 it will be with you because it's the God who 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.159 is beyond all affliction that is with you. If 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:38.620 you are in joy, it will be with you because the 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:43.620 God who is king over all, you have confidence 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:50.200 and trust in him. We heard the words of the Lord. 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:53.940 If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:58.320 He that believes on me, as scripture has said, 00:11:58.460 --> 00:12:01.139 out of his belly, out of his heart, his whole 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:05.700 being, shall flow rivers of living water. St. 00:12:05.860 --> 00:12:09.179 John said, this means the Holy Spirit. So we 00:12:09.179 --> 00:12:14.820 come to him. We believe in him. These are verbs. 00:12:15.019 --> 00:12:18.100 We have to do something. We walk, we trust, we 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:20.759 follow, we're faithful in our actions. And when 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:23.950 the Lord's Prayer is said every morning, and 00:12:23.950 --> 00:12:26.509 every evening, and maybe at the third hour of 00:12:26.509 --> 00:12:28.450 the day, and the sixth hour of the day, and the 00:12:28.450 --> 00:12:31.590 ninth hour of the day, when we say the Lord's 00:12:31.590 --> 00:12:34.610 Prayer, we say, thy kingdom come. Yes, even that 00:12:34.610 --> 00:12:37.169 is God's Holy Spirit coming to us, because the 00:12:37.169 --> 00:12:41.110 kingdom is within our heart. His dominion, his 00:12:41.110 --> 00:12:45.389 glory, and his honor, within my heart, and that 00:12:45.389 --> 00:12:49.330 is the source of joy. When I recite the creed 00:12:49.330 --> 00:12:52.649 at morning prayers, I confess that Christ has 00:12:52.649 --> 00:12:54.730 ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand 00:12:54.730 --> 00:12:57.269 of the Father and reigns and has all authority 00:12:57.269 --> 00:13:04.330 in heaven and on earth and even here. Glory to 00:13:04.330 --> 00:13:07.289 God for making us his children. Glory to God 00:13:07.289 --> 00:13:09.750 for gathering us together in his holy church. 00:13:09.950 --> 00:13:12.970 Glory to God for forgiving our sins. Glory to 00:13:12.970 --> 00:13:15.889 God for sending down the Holy Spirit on us and 00:13:15.889 --> 00:13:18.850 upon these gifts which we will offer. Glory to 00:13:18.850 --> 00:13:22.679 God for having given us his Eucharist, so we 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:26.080 will be united to him and his church and all 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:29.860 the faithful. This gift of God through the gift 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:36.899 of the Spirit. Remember, this is the day. Amen.