WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.879 Glory to Jesus Christ. We come to the third Sunday 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:12.160 after Pentecost, and it's been a, you could say, 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:17.699 a Sunday of, a litany of Sundays where we focus 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:24.559 on the saints, collective saints. Our first Sunday, 00:00:24.620 --> 00:00:27.359 of course, all saints, then all saints of North 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:33.729 America. Today, we celebrate the saints of Mount 00:00:33.729 --> 00:00:37.189 Athos and, of course, the martyrs who were under 00:00:37.189 --> 00:00:42.630 the Turkish yoke. Collectively, the resurrection 00:00:42.630 --> 00:00:47.070 gospel at that first Sunday of All Saints is 00:00:47.070 --> 00:00:51.890 the backbone of all of them and should be the 00:00:51.890 --> 00:00:55.969 backbone of us. Therefore, who confesses me before 00:00:55.969 --> 00:01:00.420 men, him... I will also confess before the Father 00:01:00.420 --> 00:01:08.359 who is in heaven. I know we worship Jesus Christ 00:01:08.359 --> 00:01:11.359 because we're here, worshiping Jesus Christ. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:14.840 And I know all of us do that, that are here, 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:20.640 and many who can't be with us. And we follow 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:24.799 him to the best of our ability. The question 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:29.480 we have to continually ask ourselves is, do we 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:34.420 confess him? And I'm not going to go into all 00:01:34.420 --> 00:01:38.180 of what that means, but remember that just as 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:42.140 much as we're called to confess Christ, we're 00:01:42.140 --> 00:01:45.519 also told that the opposite is true. If we deny 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:50.099 him before men, he will deny us before the Father. 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:54.819 So we're either confessing or denying in everything 00:01:54.819 --> 00:01:57.420 that we do and everywhere we go. And especially 00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:01.620 the way we live, it isn't so much the words that 00:02:01.620 --> 00:02:06.540 come from our mouth as it is, who are we? How 00:02:06.540 --> 00:02:08.360 do we impact the world and the people around 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:11.639 us? Is it confessing Christ or denying Christ? 00:02:11.699 --> 00:02:15.680 Thomas Hopko said, at every moment in life, everything 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:19.479 we do is either completely holy or completely 00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:26.960 evil. When not living like we should in holiness, 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:31.780 we're called to repent. If something doesn't 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:35.020 lead us to Christ, it leads us to destruction. 00:02:35.819 --> 00:02:38.659 There is no in -between this confessing and denying. 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:42.620 There's no time out, no King's X. No, I'm going 00:02:42.620 --> 00:02:47.120 to confess him next Wednesday because we did 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:49.020 a little bit here on Sunday and so I'm going 00:02:49.020 --> 00:02:52.099 to find a way. No, it's everything we do at all 00:02:52.099 --> 00:02:58.259 times. In all places. But the basis for this 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:02.479 divide. We hear in today's scripture. When was 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:24.490 read. I can find it. Oops. The light of the body 00:03:24.490 --> 00:03:27.909 is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, 00:03:28.009 --> 00:03:32.810 thy whole body shall be full of light. That's 00:03:32.810 --> 00:03:35.469 the basis for the divide between confessing him 00:03:35.469 --> 00:03:41.030 or not. Is your body full of light? And the spiritual 00:03:41.030 --> 00:03:46.370 life is about the struggle seeking the life, 00:03:46.389 --> 00:03:51.969 the love, and this light of Christ. So to fight 00:03:51.969 --> 00:03:54.620 the good fight, that we may be confessors of 00:03:54.620 --> 00:03:57.860 Christ, we have a spiritual warfare that we're 00:03:57.860 --> 00:04:00.819 called to. And we know the church teaches the 00:04:00.819 --> 00:04:03.900 fathers of all taught in a unified way that prayer, 00:04:03.900 --> 00:04:07.080 fasting, and almsgiving are the three tools we 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:11.319 have. In Ephesians, Paul names the three enemies 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:21.300 of Christians by which these, and how they're 00:04:21.300 --> 00:04:29.519 fought. Paul names them. And our whole body, 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:33.160 if it be in darkness, are darkened by these things. 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:36.319 The enemy of the devil, the enemy of the flesh, 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:44.259 and the enemy of the world. So this spiritual 00:04:44.259 --> 00:04:47.800 warfare of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:52.879 how they're fought. It's fought by prayer. This 00:04:52.879 --> 00:04:58.180 turns our mind, our noose, towards God. The enemy 00:04:58.180 --> 00:05:02.240 of the flesh is fought by fasting. Because our 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:05.899 flesh is where the appetites exist. Not just 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:10.519 fasting from food, but all the addictions and 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:16.639 the things that lead us off. You see, fasting 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:21.639 weakens the body's hold on the passions. An enemy 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:26.920 of the world, we fight by almsgiving. Almsgiving 00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:31.160 loosens the soul's grip on matter, on possessions, 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:36.399 on the illusions of self -security and self -sufficiency. 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:41.779 No one can serve two masters, this scripture 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:44.720 today goes on to say, for either he will hate 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.439 the one and love the other, or else he will be 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:51.449 loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot 00:05:51.449 --> 00:05:58.829 serve God and mammon. So without almsgiving, 00:05:58.870 --> 00:06:08.129 prayer, and fasting, we cannot do battle. And 00:06:08.129 --> 00:06:13.689 you see, prayer and fasting are incomplete without 00:06:13.689 --> 00:06:17.610 almsgiving. These three disciplines purify together. 00:06:17.930 --> 00:06:26.029 They're not separate. They aren't fully therapeutic 00:06:26.029 --> 00:06:30.189 for our hearts, minds, our soul, unless they're 00:06:30.189 --> 00:06:36.370 all done together as a whole. Remember in Luke 00:06:36.370 --> 00:06:40.410 12, 34, where your treasure is, there your heart 00:06:40.410 --> 00:06:44.649 will be. And that's not a financial principle. 00:06:45.850 --> 00:06:51.649 It's a diagnosis of the noose, where the heart 00:06:51.649 --> 00:06:56.410 is anchored. Where is your heart anchored? It's 00:06:56.410 --> 00:07:00.870 by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that we find 00:07:00.870 --> 00:07:07.870 freedom from being anchored in the world. Almsgiving 00:07:07.870 --> 00:07:12.850 is participation in God's own nature because 00:07:12.850 --> 00:07:17.430 God loves to give. God, we call him when we pray 00:07:17.430 --> 00:07:23.149 the lover of mankind. That's not a sentiment, 00:07:23.230 --> 00:07:26.689 you know, like God loves me. I love you, Jesus. 00:07:26.970 --> 00:07:31.870 It's a sentiment. It's the deepest relationship 00:07:31.870 --> 00:07:40.149 with God. And it consumes us and all eternity. 00:07:43.110 --> 00:07:48.029 It's God's very nature, this love. And when we 00:07:48.029 --> 00:07:53.189 give through almsgiving, We don't just obey. 00:07:54.470 --> 00:07:56.769 Oh yeah, what are we supposed to do? Oh yeah, 00:07:56.829 --> 00:08:04.170 I'm supposed to give something to the poor. It's 00:08:04.170 --> 00:08:09.209 not a mere obedience. Giving is how we participate 00:08:09.209 --> 00:08:15.829 in God's nature. Think about the quality of your 00:08:15.829 --> 00:08:21.740 giving. There are two modes of almsgiving that 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:23.839 sometimes are confused. They're either separated 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.660 or crushed together. They're not understood clearly, 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:28.899 but it's really important to understand them. 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:32.779 We're supposed to direct almsgiving to the poor. 00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:38.480 Very true. Nothing should confuse you about that. 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:43.399 Because remember, to give to the poor is to give 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:50.799 to Christ. Giving to Christ himself. In Matthew 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:54.779 25, 40, we hear, as you did it to one of the 00:08:54.779 --> 00:09:01.200 least of these, you did it to me. But it's mode 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:08.000 B that we get confused about. Almsgiving to the 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:11.820 church. Some will tell you that almsgiving isn't 00:09:11.820 --> 00:09:16.360 your giving to the church, but actually, if you 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:20.279 do a deeper dive, you'll find out that This mode 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:24.120 that is forgotten has been artificially separated 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:31.120 from almsgiving in general. But the fathers don't 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:34.539 separate them. They're one discipline and two 00:09:34.539 --> 00:09:37.100 expressions. I think the problem is in our modern 00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:41.240 world, we've completely lost track of the context 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:44.159 in which the fathers, the apostles first and 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:47.000 the fathers afterwards, were addressing spiritual 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:52.049 disciplines, especially almsgiving. The fathers 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:55.889 did not separate them. In the Didache, which 00:09:55.889 --> 00:09:58.210 is the first evidence we have of what the apostles 00:09:58.210 --> 00:10:03.029 were teaching, it says very plainly, I think 00:10:03.029 --> 00:10:07.730 it's in whatever they call it, chapter 13 or 00:10:07.730 --> 00:10:11.350 verse, well, it's the section that is numbered 00:10:11.350 --> 00:10:15.929 13. It says the firstfruits are to be given to 00:10:15.929 --> 00:10:18.070 the prophets and the teachers and everything 00:10:18.070 --> 00:10:21.129 else. shared with those in need. In other words, 00:10:21.129 --> 00:10:25.789 the first fruit of your labor was no longer under 00:10:25.789 --> 00:10:27.990 the Jewish law, was to be given to the prophets 00:10:27.990 --> 00:10:31.509 and the teachers and the preachers, to those 00:10:31.509 --> 00:10:37.029 who were nourishing and sustaining this new movement 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:43.450 of grace, the church that we've inherited. So 00:10:43.450 --> 00:10:48.240 supporting the ministry is the oldest form of 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:52.919 church almsgiving. Because it was through the 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:55.899 church that the poor were taken care of. And 00:10:55.899 --> 00:10:58.259 you hear Paul talk about this all the time. The 00:10:58.259 --> 00:11:01.480 poor in Jerusalem, he was pleading with the Corinthians 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:04.919 to give more of their abundance so that the church 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:08.860 could be supported. Because the church and the 00:11:08.860 --> 00:11:12.059 poor they fed and the way they ministered to 00:11:12.059 --> 00:11:14.360 people and brought the good news out was all 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:20.740 one thing. There was no false separation. John 00:11:20.740 --> 00:11:24.860 Chrysostom said, the church is the treasury of 00:11:24.860 --> 00:11:28.240 the poor. What you give to the church, you give 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:31.580 to the poor. For the church does not spend it 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:36.659 on walls, but on souls. You see, the whole purpose 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:40.399 of this, we have a building with walls. We have 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:44.059 these beautiful icons that have been By the grace 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:48.580 of givers. Been put here. So that we can feed 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:53.059 the poor in spirit for centuries to come. We 00:11:53.059 --> 00:12:00.639 feed the poor. Who are hurting for meaning. Who 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:03.720 are poor in their relationship with God. Who 00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:06.179 are poor in their ability to even understand 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:09.299 what God wants. And how do I live the Christian 00:12:09.299 --> 00:12:14.990 life. That's why. supporting the church is supporting 00:12:14.990 --> 00:12:19.169 the poor and from those who take on this nature 00:12:19.169 --> 00:12:24.950 of discipleship can go into the world and help 00:12:24.950 --> 00:12:28.450 others our almsgiving to the church should be 00:12:28.450 --> 00:12:31.429 both feeding the poor in spirit and those who 00:12:31.429 --> 00:12:37.470 have physical needs your charity and if we emulate 00:12:37.470 --> 00:12:42.059 the church we've inherited should be Freely given 00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:44.940 to the church and we could develop the programs 00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:48.259 for the abundance of your giving to help those 00:12:48.259 --> 00:12:53.559 in need rather than looking at the latest appeal 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:57.179 when you're doom scrolling on your phone because 00:12:57.179 --> 00:13:04.179 everyone's out to get your money. Make it a spiritual 00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:08.440 gift and find ways through your parish here. 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:14.019 to do the work of both educating the poor in 00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:18.120 Christianity and feeding the poor who are in 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:24.940 need. In Corinthians, I forgot here, just a minute, 00:13:24.980 --> 00:13:27.600 Cyprian, I want to read his quote. The offerings 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:30.779 of the faithful are the means by which the church 00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:34.940 is sustained and the poor are supported. It was 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:41.080 a unified... appeal for people. Now, in Corinthians, 00:13:41.259 --> 00:13:47.220 Paul is not organizing fundraising campaign when 00:13:47.220 --> 00:13:50.059 he's asking and appealing for the supporting 00:13:50.059 --> 00:13:55.759 Jerusalem. He is describing what a soul transformed 00:13:55.759 --> 00:14:01.139 by grace looks like from the outside. Are you 00:14:01.139 --> 00:14:04.360 witnessing? What do you look like? Are you witnessing? 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:07.379 What do people encounter? Paul's describing it. 00:14:08.419 --> 00:14:13.039 The soul of someone who's transformed by grace 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:18.980 is a soul that gives. And it gives first from 00:14:18.980 --> 00:14:24.179 your first fruits. And it gives willingly, no 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:29.820 obligation. It gives from what it has. Do you 00:14:29.820 --> 00:14:33.039 have a little? You should be giving what you 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:36.799 can. If you have a lot, Out of God's abundance, 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:45.980 you should give abundantly. And the measure God 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:50.179 receives is not the amount of what you give, 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:53.879 but the freedom and love from which the gift 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:57.820 rises. Because the heart that has been touched 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:01.940 by Christ cannot hold what it has been given. 00:15:03.789 --> 00:15:07.330 You feel it when you love. You feel it when you 00:15:07.330 --> 00:15:10.750 feel God's love. When you have joy, you can't 00:15:10.750 --> 00:15:15.190 hold it in. You give it away freely. The abundance 00:15:15.190 --> 00:15:21.330 of your lives needs to be given freely. So the 00:15:21.330 --> 00:15:25.409 ultimate reason that we give is not duty or obligation, 00:15:25.690 --> 00:15:29.049 and it's certainly not because someone shoved 00:15:29.049 --> 00:15:31.789 the parish budget in front of you and said, You 00:15:31.789 --> 00:15:33.590 need to give more to the church because, look, 00:15:33.669 --> 00:15:39.970 we're going underwater on our bills. That's not 00:15:39.970 --> 00:15:46.070 the measure or the reason for giving. The ultimate 00:15:46.070 --> 00:15:48.429 reason is because you've been transformed by 00:15:48.429 --> 00:15:51.129 Christ. And the measure of your transformation 00:15:51.129 --> 00:15:56.899 can be seen in how you give. Not just love. Not 00:15:56.899 --> 00:15:59.940 just your participation in divine services, your 00:15:59.940 --> 00:16:05.460 labor of worship, but also your labor out in 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:07.539 the vineyard or your labor in the church hall. 00:16:07.659 --> 00:16:14.360 And especially the labor of your lives that is 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:21.399 returned to you in financial support. You give 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:27.210 freely of that. Remember, giving changes the 00:16:27.210 --> 00:16:30.409 giver. So whether you're tithing because you 00:16:30.409 --> 00:16:35.870 can discipline yourself to tithe and not find 00:16:35.870 --> 00:16:39.149 other ways to spend your money, or whether you're 00:16:39.149 --> 00:16:43.269 trying to work up to tithing because right now 00:16:43.269 --> 00:16:46.090 things are tight and you've got so many obligations 00:16:46.090 --> 00:16:49.230 and now all of a sudden you're trying to up your 00:16:49.230 --> 00:16:52.830 participation in the parish. So you can't tithe 00:16:52.830 --> 00:16:54.970 yet, but you can start with something. Whether 00:16:54.970 --> 00:16:59.070 it's only a little bit because you have nothing 00:16:59.070 --> 00:17:06.910 extra. Examine your hearts. Ask yourself, God 00:17:06.910 --> 00:17:09.789 has blessed me. How can I return that blessing 00:17:09.789 --> 00:17:14.369 through my giving to the parish? Giving through 00:17:14.369 --> 00:17:20.750 tithing. Giving through pledging. I didn't... 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:24.880 write all of this and dig up and study stuff 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:28.480 so I could coerce you because we have an immediate 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:31.720 need. I have no idea what the needs of the parish 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:36.519 are but I can tell you that in our world today 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:40.759 we don't understand what it means to give of 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:45.019 our abundance. Very few people actually achieve 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:48.569 even a glimpse of what it is. But for those who 00:17:48.569 --> 00:17:51.329 do, those who've done it, for those, whether 00:17:51.329 --> 00:17:55.509 it's a widow's mite or you were blessed abundantly 00:17:55.509 --> 00:17:59.869 through family or business or whatever, when 00:17:59.869 --> 00:18:04.650 you give abundantly, it transforms you. It changes 00:18:04.650 --> 00:18:09.269 you. And that's what the fathers agree on, that 00:18:09.269 --> 00:18:14.670 if you give, you will be changed. If you give, 00:18:14.750 --> 00:18:21.089 your prayers, Your fasting and your almsgiving 00:18:21.089 --> 00:18:24.470 will suddenly take on a transformative power 00:18:24.470 --> 00:18:27.569 in your lives that you really need. All of us 00:18:27.569 --> 00:18:32.549 need. The heart that gives freely is a heart 00:18:32.549 --> 00:18:36.950 that's being freed of this world. The heart that's 00:18:36.950 --> 00:18:40.089 freed from worry and possessions. In other words, 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:44.200 Worry over what you have, your management, your 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:46.259 latest this and your latest that. You've got 00:18:46.259 --> 00:18:48.660 to stick money in the 401k and what are you going 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:51.140 to do about that property you inherited and on 00:18:51.140 --> 00:18:54.079 and on and on and on. The worry. Or whether you're 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:55.980 worried because you just don't have anything 00:18:55.980 --> 00:18:59.700 or you don't have much. Both anxieties and both 00:18:59.700 --> 00:19:07.140 worries bar you from encountering God in your 00:19:07.140 --> 00:19:12.529 hearts and in your life. When you're freed from 00:19:12.529 --> 00:19:15.269 that worry, you have a heart that can receive 00:19:15.269 --> 00:19:22.329 God. When your heart receives God, it's a purified 00:19:22.329 --> 00:19:24.970 heart. An eye that is single, as we heard in 00:19:24.970 --> 00:19:28.869 scriptures, where God takes up his abode in us. 00:19:30.730 --> 00:19:36.130 Actually, we give so that we may become what 00:19:36.130 --> 00:19:39.220 we are giving towards to purify our hearts. can 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:44.259 see God, and that we can become a vessel of God. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:49.279 So the whole body becomes full of light to love 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:52.579 as God loves, to receive the gift of life that 00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:55.480 God gives us. You know, it's all bound together. 00:19:56.420 --> 00:20:01.920 There's no separation. Don't neglect giving. 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:08.950 Prayer and fasting and almsgiving. They will 00:20:08.950 --> 00:20:14.430 transform you. Lay up yourselves treasures in 00:20:14.430 --> 00:20:17.190 heaven. Where your treasure is, there is your 00:20:17.190 --> 00:20:22.849 heart will be. Examine your heart and where your 00:20:22.849 --> 00:20:25.730 treasure is. Glory to Jesus Christ.