WEBVTT 00:00:00.460 --> 00:00:03.240 In the name of the Father and of the Son and 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:08.759 of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As the entire outworking 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:14.140 of Great Lent, Pascha, the Ascension, and Pentecost, 00:00:14.339 --> 00:00:19.000 today the Church commemorates, invokes, and celebrates 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:23.780 all the saints who have ever lived, the saints 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:27.640 who are universally known to us, but also those 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:30.489 who have been known only in their respective 00:00:30.489 --> 00:00:36.770 communities, or even known only to God. Properly 00:00:36.770 --> 00:00:40.570 speaking, today is the fullness of Pentecost. 00:00:40.710 --> 00:00:44.990 The crucified, risen, ascended, and glorified 00:00:44.990 --> 00:00:49.189 Jesus Christ pouring out his Holy Spirit upon 00:00:49.189 --> 00:00:54.009 his apostles such that that same Spirit would 00:00:54.009 --> 00:00:58.450 fill and inhabit all flesh. consecrate them as 00:00:58.450 --> 00:01:02.570 his temples, and make them holy, that is, saints, 00:01:02.810 --> 00:01:08.450 holy ones. In earlier times, this day was properly 00:01:08.450 --> 00:01:11.969 marked out for the martyrs, those who witnessed 00:01:11.969 --> 00:01:15.689 to the cross and bore in their bodies the very 00:01:15.689 --> 00:01:19.930 marks of that cross as a weapon of love, Christ's 00:01:19.930 --> 00:01:25.790 suffering, death, and subsequent glory. Thus, 00:01:25.790 --> 00:01:28.109 why we heard last night from Isaiah the prophet, 00:01:28.510 --> 00:01:32.290 you are all my witnesses, that is, you are all 00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:35.709 my martyrs. Or this morning we hear from the 00:01:35.709 --> 00:01:39.569 apostle of those who by faith conquered the world 00:01:39.569 --> 00:01:43.590 by suffering graphically for Christ, of whom 00:01:43.590 --> 00:01:47.450 the world was not worthy, who by faith conformed 00:01:47.450 --> 00:01:50.810 their lives to Christ himself, who for the joy 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:55.079 set before him endured the cross. and despised 00:01:55.079 --> 00:02:01.900 its shame to perfect our faith. The call of martyrdom 00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:05.700 goes hand in hand with the call of Christ from 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:10.300 the Gospel reading this morning. Confess me before 00:02:10.300 --> 00:02:18.300 men. Love me more than father, than mother, than 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:23.120 wife, than husband, than son, than daughter. 00:02:24.169 --> 00:02:30.990 then lands, then property. It's not that you 00:02:30.990 --> 00:02:36.889 don't love them, but I, only I, can be your supreme 00:02:36.889 --> 00:02:41.210 love. Leave this world and your former life. 00:02:41.490 --> 00:02:46.090 Take up your cross. Follow me. Deny yourself. 00:02:46.530 --> 00:02:50.610 And you will receive a hundredfold. And you will 00:02:50.610 --> 00:02:55.620 receive eternal life. and I will confess you 00:02:55.620 --> 00:02:59.120 before my Father who is in heaven in the presence 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:04.879 of all the holy ones. As St. Paul puts it elsewhere, 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:09.280 this is the will of God, your sanctification, 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:14.419 that is, your sainthood, the outworking of the 00:03:14.419 --> 00:03:17.979 life of the Holy Spirit in you to conform you 00:03:17.979 --> 00:03:20.889 to the image of the Son of God. Jesus Christ, 00:03:21.090 --> 00:03:24.449 crucified, risen, incorruptible, never to die 00:03:24.449 --> 00:03:27.689 again. Through our death and martyrdom, this 00:03:27.689 --> 00:03:32.250 is how we actualize our sainthood. That incorruptibility 00:03:32.250 --> 00:03:38.569 of life and love in us. The will of God in Christ 00:03:38.569 --> 00:03:42.189 Jesus for us is this, as St. Paul fleshes out 00:03:42.189 --> 00:03:46.469 in that same letter. Rejoice always, pray without 00:03:46.469 --> 00:03:50.840 ceasing, and give thanks. That is, be Eucharistic 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:54.719 in every circumstance. It's no wonder then that 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:58.780 joy is what animates Christ as he endures the 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:01.860 cross for us. For through the cross, joy comes 00:04:01.860 --> 00:04:05.280 into all the world. We sing every Saturday night, 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:08.860 enabling us to rejoice through whatever adversity. 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:12.360 It's no wonder then that the apostle calls us 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:16.230 to fix our eyes on Christ. and confess him before 00:04:16.230 --> 00:04:20.009 the world to behold him, even as the martyrs 00:04:20.009 --> 00:04:23.209 did, as Saint Stephen the proto -martyr did, 00:04:23.329 --> 00:04:27.209 for example, because his life had become a prayer 00:04:27.209 --> 00:04:31.209 without ceasing, always in the presence of Christ, 00:04:31.350 --> 00:04:35.529 Christ ever and always before him. It's no wonder 00:04:35.529 --> 00:04:40.550 then that the texts this morning call us to give 00:04:40.550 --> 00:04:46.149 our lives away, even the world. Property, homes, 00:04:46.550 --> 00:04:50.589 lands, titles, riches, things important to us, 00:04:50.670 --> 00:04:54.089 things that we hold on to dearly and are proud 00:04:54.089 --> 00:04:57.910 of, even our families, or rather, to give them 00:04:57.910 --> 00:05:02.250 away as we offer them up and transfigure them 00:05:02.250 --> 00:05:06.649 in thanksgiving, in Eucharistic thanksgiving. 00:05:07.009 --> 00:05:11.829 Eucharistio means thanksgiving to Christ, enabling 00:05:11.829 --> 00:05:16.420 us to love him. first above all things, and only 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:20.339 then truly given the ability to be thankful for 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:23.339 what we have in this life, that it isn't something 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:28.420 we're entitled to or something that we have earned 00:05:28.420 --> 00:05:32.379 or something that we are rewarded with, a nice 00:05:32.379 --> 00:05:37.240 life, but it's been given to us to make us more 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:42.379 holy. Even though we might not bear the marks 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:46.839 of Christ graphically in our bodies, every aspect 00:05:46.839 --> 00:05:49.160 of the Christian life is a kind of martyrdom, 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:54.180 a witness to our conformity to the crucified 00:05:54.180 --> 00:05:57.920 life, enabled by the power of the resurrection 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:02.000 and actualized and perfected only in the life 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:08.019 of the Holy Spirit. When we are married, we hear 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:12.199 the martyr's song. We bear the crowns of king 00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:17.579 and queen, situating us back in Genesis, in creation, 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:21.860 when God blesses male and female and beckons 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:26.139 them to take dominion, subdue creation, subdue 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:28.699 the world, become conquerors and be fruitful. 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:34.500 But how? Through the cross. They are made in 00:06:34.500 --> 00:06:37.579 the image, the image even of the crucified one, 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:42.399 Jesus Christ, of the invisible God, through the 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:44.899 cross, through the crowns that the martyrs received, 00:06:45.220 --> 00:06:48.939 through the husband dying to his own needs or 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:52.899 perhaps what he thinks he needs, to give life 00:06:52.899 --> 00:06:58.139 to his wife, through the wife honoring, respecting, 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:01.600 and building up her husband rather than belittling 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:05.180 him and nitpicking him and criticizing him. And 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:08.399 of course, vice versa. These things go both ways. 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:13.399 to husband and to wife, back and forth. When 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:17.279 we add kids into the mix, what are we doing but 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:20.980 adding to our martyrdom, our death to this world, 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:24.259 especially now in a day and age when our society 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:27.040 would encourage us to forego having children? 00:07:27.779 --> 00:07:31.459 Even in our own county, it is weird to walk around 00:07:31.459 --> 00:07:35.519 this county with three kids. You get weird looks. 00:07:35.660 --> 00:07:39.139 Our own society would encourage us to forgo having 00:07:39.139 --> 00:07:42.100 children because they get in the way of our careers. 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:46.480 And they add stress to our lives. But that's 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:50.100 the whole point, as the Lord puts it. Let go 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:54.100 of properties, lands, titles, jobs, careers, 00:07:54.480 --> 00:08:00.839 ambitions, and die. Learn to die. And instead 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:05.000 witness to the power. Of the cross and the resurrection. 00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:11.360 Working in your life. Father Lawrence emailed 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:15.699 around that sub stack yesterday. A worthwhile 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:19.699 read on a number of levels. But it comports well 00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:24.899 with the gospel reading. That when we leave former 00:08:24.899 --> 00:08:30.560 lives behind. Or families or whatever. We are 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:36.059 united. To a new family here. It's here in this 00:08:36.059 --> 00:08:40.840 parish. Among these people. That we confess Christ 00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:46.000 before men. First. Our spiritual family in Christ. 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:52.740 A family where people might bother us. Irritate 00:08:52.740 --> 00:08:58.960 us. Annoy us. Ask too much of us. Mess up our 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:03.519 priorities. And yet this is where the Lord has 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:09.559 placed us. The people he gave to us so that we 00:09:09.559 --> 00:09:12.519 might not be orphans, so that we might not be 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:15.840 widows alone in this world, even if we're not 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:20.019 married or we don't have kids or we have had 00:09:20.019 --> 00:09:22.840 kids, but they're out of the house and it sometimes 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:28.460 feels like they've forgotten us. This is who 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:32.019 we're giving, these people. who are becoming 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:36.600 saints, who the apostle himself can call saints. 00:09:36.919 --> 00:09:39.259 Think of the letter to the Corinthians. Think 00:09:39.259 --> 00:09:42.179 of the letter to the Galatians, the Ephesians, 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:47.539 the Colossians, to the saints. They are not on 00:09:47.539 --> 00:09:49.820 the walls yet at that point. In fact, there are 00:09:49.820 --> 00:09:52.299 so many things wrong with the churches in Corinth. 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:57.779 And yet, the apostle says what? Saints, holy 00:09:57.779 --> 00:10:02.730 ones. consecrated, sanctified, the saints in 00:10:02.730 --> 00:10:06.049 Santa Rosa at St. Seraphim. This is who we're 00:10:06.049 --> 00:10:10.029 given so that we might become saints also with 00:10:10.029 --> 00:10:14.009 them, sanctified, made holy with one another 00:10:14.009 --> 00:10:16.929 through one another's lives, through one another's 00:10:16.929 --> 00:10:21.409 prayers, through all of us jagged and messed 00:10:21.409 --> 00:10:24.590 up rocks who get thrown in a rock tumbler together 00:10:24.590 --> 00:10:28.230 and the button gets turned on and over time, 00:10:28.730 --> 00:10:32.549 we get smoothed out. That is the hope of glory, 00:10:32.730 --> 00:10:42.690 Christ formed in us. Finally, all the saints 00:10:42.690 --> 00:10:48.169 are given to us as a cloud of witnesses, a nephos, 00:10:48.169 --> 00:10:55.090 martiron, a cloud of martyrs, humans like us 00:10:55.090 --> 00:10:58.370 who have borne the marks of Christ. in their 00:10:58.370 --> 00:11:03.190 own lives and bodies, and are not dead, since 00:11:03.190 --> 00:11:06.450 God isn't the God of the dead, but the God of 00:11:06.450 --> 00:11:11.210 the living. As we look to Jesus, as we fix our 00:11:11.210 --> 00:11:16.830 eyes on him, our life and our salvation, look 00:11:16.830 --> 00:11:25.049 around. Seriously, look around. Look at all these 00:11:25.049 --> 00:11:30.639 saints. Look at all these saints who surround 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:33.940 us, who through faith have conquered kingdoms, 00:11:34.059 --> 00:11:38.960 stopped the mouths of lions, were made strong 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:43.259 out of weakness, their weakness, suffered mocking, 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:48.039 were destitute, afflicted, mistreated. Some even 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:52.720 suffered brutal death. The world was not worthy 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:59.100 of them. We enter into their life. We enter into 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:01.639 their prayers, the very prayers we pray. They 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:04.399 are not our own. They are given to us, handed 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:07.419 over to us in tradition, in the life of the Holy 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:10.440 Spirit. We enter into their prayers that they 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:15.019 pray evermore in the midst of Father, Son, and 00:12:15.019 --> 00:12:18.679 Holy Spirit. The world was not worthy of them. 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:23.620 And yet the Apostle states very plainly that 00:12:23.620 --> 00:12:26.779 apart from us, they should not be made perfect. 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:32.480 Their faith that Christ completes isn't complete 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:37.620 apart from us, which means, of course, the converse 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:42.639 is also true, that apart from them, our faith 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:47.740 that Christ completes remains incomplete, that 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:52.679 our faith is and will be perfected by their prayers. 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:59.200 by their presence in our life. They are our friends, 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:05.240 our families, our mothers, our brothers, our 00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:09.019 fathers, our sisters, for some of us perhaps, 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:17.580 even our children, who are cheering us on, beckoning 00:13:17.580 --> 00:13:22.220 us forward to set our minds on the things above. 00:13:23.250 --> 00:13:29.769 To fix our eyes on Christ. So then let's ask 00:13:29.769 --> 00:13:34.250 for their prayers. Let's draw near to them as 00:13:34.250 --> 00:13:37.470 we draw near to Christ. Let's ask for their help. 00:13:38.389 --> 00:13:42.450 Let's emulate their example in the earthly way 00:13:42.450 --> 00:13:46.970 that we can. For we are not them and they are 00:13:46.970 --> 00:13:50.250 not us. But we can ask. We can ask for help. 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:53.840 Because the prayer of the righteous person, the 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:58.100 Holy One, has great power in its working. Through 00:13:58.100 --> 00:14:01.019 the prayers of all the saints known to us and 00:14:01.019 --> 00:14:04.899 only known to God, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy 00:14:04.899 --> 00:14:06.120 on us. Amen.