Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory to Christ. In the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen. Let me remind you about what
I said last week, that since Pentecost, the weeks
after Pentecost, the Church focuses our attention
on what it means just to be a Christian, a disciple
of Christ. How to follow Christ, what to do,
how to act. Why are we doing this, and who is
it that Jesus Christ is? All of these questions,
all of these things are addressed in these weeks.
Christ having power over nature, Christ having
power over demons, Christ having power over sin,
Christ forgiving, as you heard today, Christ
healing. And who is this Christ? Well, we're
celebrating this feast of the fathers of the
first six ecumenical councils. I debated going
through each council in detail this morning,
but I'll save you that and we'll do that at another
time at a class, perhaps. But the question was
always, who is Jesus Christ? And why are we following
him? But today we also have an epistle. that
is very, very clear on the behavior of Christians.
St. Paul says we've all been given grace according
to the measure that God wants us to have it.
We've all been given gift, a gift in that grace,
and that's what I'd like to address this morning.
During church services, during liturgy, today,
we hear the deacon intoning in whatever language
this phrase, commemorating our most holy, most
pure, most blessed and glorious Lady Theotokos
with all the saints, let us commend ourselves
and each other and all our life unto Christ God,
and we answer back, basically, yes, let's do
that. When we say to thee, O Lord, we are. offering
this. That exchange is done four times today
as we unite ourselves to the Theotokos and the
saints and a few more times in another form later
in the liturgy. Something that happens six times
during the service. Obviously the church is telling
us, pay attention, this is important. telling
us how a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus in
the Gospel from Matthew. And he was forgiven
for his sins. We don't know what they are. But
it completely offended the religious authorities,
because only God... Can forgive sins, of course.
And the man was healed of his paralysis. In telling
us about this account, St. Matthew points out
something vitally important for us that relates
to that, what the deacon says. For us as members
of a parish, for us as members of the church
itself, the body of Christ, Jesus healed the
paralyzed man because of the intercessions and
faith and the love and the common goal of the
paralyzed man's friends. Jesus says, as St. Matthew
comments, Jesus seen their faith, and his friends
commended him that is offered, entrusted, gave
their friend to Jesus. And they interceded in
a very practical way out of their love for him.
We are all bound up like that man with our own
kind of paralysis for sure. But we're more bound
up with each other by belonging to the body of
Christ. The church. Which we belong to this communion
of saints which we see all around us. And now
this new fresco here of St. Moses. the black.
In the epistle that we heard about the gifts
that God gives us and the grace that is given
to each of us, you were baptized. You were chrismated.
You've been given the Holy Spirit. We are what
Christ spoke about in the prayer to his Father
which you heard today. As many as you have given
me, I have given you, and they glorify you, O
Lord. They glorify you. That is what we're doing
today. We're trying to glorify God, not just
with words, the fruit of our lips, but with our
entire life. You have the Holy Spirit, not merely
for your own growth. You are here in the church,
not merely to continue your spiritual journey
by yourself, no. This is a body. This is a family.
And not everyone has the same gift. Obviously,
that would not work. And not everybody has the
same gifts in the same proportion. It's up to
the Lord. And let me say that St. Paul is not
mostly talking about parish members having tasks
during church services. Altar boy, deacon, choir.
a candle desk, lamps, etc. No. That happens once,
twice, whatever, a week for a few hours. No,
this is about what happens the rest of the week
in your life. What gift has God given you that
you manifest, that you act upon, that you live
for, for the building up, as St. Paul says in
another place, for the life of the church? And
here's the point I want to emphasize. We, though
many, are one body in Christ and individually
members of one another, like the friends who
took the man to the Lord. The personal, the moral,
the spiritual effort we make are not merely for
myself. In any case, the gospel is about what
God has done for us. There's no such thing as
a private Orthodox Christian with his or her
private faith. It's a shame when Pareto's law,
you know, the 20 % doing 80%, is found to apply
in the church. Because each of us has been given
a task, and I don't even mean cleaning up. I'm
talking about what the friends did for that paralyzed
man. I'm talking about prayer. I'm talking about
worship. I'm talking about sacrificial life for
those who don't have. What St. Paul is urging
in this epistle you heard today is radical. Let
love be genuine, that is, without hypocrisy.
How do you acquire that? That's the question.
Abhor and hate what is evil. Hold fast to what
is good. Love one another with brotherly affection.
Outdo one another in showing honor, he says.
Do not be slothful in zeal, but be fervent in
spirit. Serve the Lord. Persevere in prayer.
Rejoice in hope. Now, first he says, let love
be genuine, literally, unhypocritical. This is
not a matter of feelings. Well, I don't feel
like I can help, so I'm not going to do it. That's
not love. Love is stepping forward, even though
when you think you cannot and don't want. Love
is fulfilled in action. Love is love? No. That's
an empty slogan. It means nothing. Love is love.
St. Paul is exhorting us to be loving by being
unselfish. Not because we feel unselfish, but
because we can act in a given way. That's what
we can call magnanimous. It's what the Hindus
call Mahatma. In Latin, directly related to that
word, mania anima, great of soul, noble, magnanimous.
It confers respect on the person you are trying
to love. Where does this come from, this love?
How can you acquire this? That's why we're here.
St. Paul says also, to outdo one another in showing
honor, to prefer the other person. It's very
easy for me to say, I love everyone. I love everyone.
And usually what we mean by that, I love everyone,
is I don't have anything right now against anybody
that I'm willing to admit. I'm not holding any
grudges. We very easily mistake just lack of
caring and indifference for I love everyone.
The marker is not that I say I love everyone.
The marker is if you asked everyone I knew, would
they say that I love them? What would they say?
And with what kind of love? That's what the question
is. How to acquire this love. So my dear ones,
we're called today to be more than acquaintances
here in church. We're called to be more than
just co -workers in cleaning up and cooking and
doing all those wonderful things which are essential
and taking care of things in church. All this
is essential. But what I'm encouraging is what
happens when you leave the church? Before you
go to bed, when you wake up on Monday morning,
before you eat, before you go to sleep. What
charitable work are you doing? Who are your friends
that you are interceding for and bringing to
Christ? The church is more than just fellow parishioners,
more than individuals on a spiritual journey.
Not all are called to be apostles. Not all are
called to be prophets or miracle workers or teachers.
Not all are called to work miracles, but we all,
we all are called to be like friends of the paralyzed
man, to let love be genuine. When we say to thee,
O Lord, after the deacon has said, let us commend
ourselves, one another, and all our life, ask
yourself, is there something I cannot commend?
offer to God in my life, that secret that I'm
holding back because of fear or shame or because
it's sinful? Is there something I will not give
to the Lord? Because then we won't acquire genuine,
unhypocritical, magnanimous love. It is only
by being here and truly Hearing those words,
commending ourself and one another, like those
friends did for that man, and saying, to thee,
O Lord, I do that as best as I can, in every
way, in every corner. There's no dark basement
or box hidden in my soul. It is all for you.
The gift of God's grace, the restoration of communion
with him in our hearts, that's what the divine
liturgy is all about. that the fire of the love
of God would build up for him and for those around
us so we can be restored to what our true nature
is as human beings. Because it's God's grace
that we have been given as a gift to restore
us to our true self, each with his own, her own,
unique personal gifts. Liberated from the bondage
of just effort, effort, effort. No, trying harder.
No, from being better or worse than we really
are. That's our own form of hypocrisy. No, God's
gift is given to us. It's his gift. We receive
it. To our Lord be glory, now and ever, to ages
of ages.