The Myrrhbearing Women

The tireless women!  They would not give sleep to their eyes nor slumber to their eyelids (Ps 131:4) until they found their Beloved!  But the men as it were dragged their feet; they went to the tomb, saw it empty, and remained in confusion about what it could mean, because they did not see Him.  Does this mean that they had less love than the women?  No, here was a reasoning love which feared making a mistake due to the high price of this love and its Object.  When they too saw and touched Him, then each of them, not with his tongue, like Thomas, but with his heart confessed, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28), and no longer could anything separate them from the Lord.  The Myrrhbearers and the Apostles are an image of the two sides of our life: feeling and reasoning.  Without feeling, life is not life.  Without reasoning, life is blind - it offers little sound fruit, and much is wasted.  We must combine both.  Let feeling go forward and arouse; let reason determine the time, place, method, and in general, the practical arrangement of what the heart suggests for us to do.  Within, the heart comes first, but in practical application, reason comes first.  Whe the feelings become educated in discerning good and evil, then perhaps it will be possible to rely on the heart alone.  Just as shoots, flowers and fruits grow from a living tree, so then will goodness alone begin to emerge from the heart, and will be rationally merged into the course of our life.

- St. Theophan the Recluse, "Thoughts For Each Day of the Year," on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearing Women, Pages 93,94

The "Lawless" Assembly

As we follow our Lord on His path to Golgotha, to the Sanhedrin, and to His voluntary death upon the Cross, we dare not lose connection with the words of the hymnology we offer as we traverse these days.

We know of the treachery of Judas, and we hear in the words of the Bridegroom Matins of this fact.  

"Judas loves money with his mind.  The impious one moves against the Master.  He wills and plans the betrayal.  Receiving darkness, he falls from the Light.  He agrees to the price and sells the Priceless One.  As payment for his deeds the wretch gains hanging and a terrible death.  From his lot deliver us, O Christ God, granting remission of sins to those who celebrate Your immaculate Passion with love."  (Kathisma for Holy Tuesday)

But Judas is not the only evil-doer.  Inside the Gospel for Bridegroom Matins for Holy Tuesday, the Lord calls the scribes and Pharisees "hypocrites" on no less than nine occassions (Mat 22:15-46; 23:1-39), and once He calls them a "brood of vipers."  The Lord is not exactly attempting to 'make friends' amongst those who have shown themselves as evil-doers.

But what of that charge of the "lawless assembly"?  From the service of the 12 Passion Gospels we find Antiphon 5 that says:

"The disciple agrees upon the price of the Master.  He sells the Lord for thirty pieces of silver.  With a treacherous kiss he betrays Him to death at the hands of lawless men."  What exactly is this expression pointing towards?

We must study the things that the Sanhedrin DID in bringing our Lord to trial, and what these things mean with respect to our 'charge' of being this lawless assembly.  It's not pretty - bear with us.

Unlawful Act 1:  No person had formally accused Jesus of anything!  Rather, He was arrested at the discretion/command of religious leaders who hated Him.  The chief priests solicited testimony to put Him to death, but found none (Mark 14:53-55).

Unlawful Act 2:  Based on Jewish law, there had to be at least two (2) people charging a person with a crime (Deut 19:15).  Jesus was arrested before anyone made such a complaint.

Unlawful Act 3:  An 'accomplice' was used to arrest Him.  If Jesus was a criminal, then all of His disciples (including Judas) could be considered accomplices to His illegal activities.  Jewish law prohibits the use of an accomplice to convict a person.

Unlawful Act 4:  Jewish law requires investigation by the court to determine the merits of any accusations (Deut 19:16-18).  In Jewish practice, there were no 'prosecutors'.  Those who brought a charge against someone argued their case and were effectively the prosecutors.  Witnesses had to observe the crime to be found to be credible.  None of this was true for Jesus before the Sanhedrin.

Unlawful Act 5:  Jewish law forbade holding any trial at night.  Jesus was brought before the high priest at roughly 2AM.

Unlawful Act 6:  Jewish law forbade any trial to be held before the morning sacrifice at the Temple.

Unlawful Act 7:  Jewish law forbade holding any trial on the day before a Holy Day.

Unlawful Act 8:  Jewish law required that for any trial involving the death penalty, the proceedings MUST continue over the course of two days.

Unlawful Act 9:  Any who might have stood for acquittal of the Lord were not notified of 'the trial' - it was rushed to completion before any reasoned members of the Sanhedrin were called to participate.

Unlawful Act 10:  The Ninth Commandment - "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."  The Sanhedrin attempted to coerce such testimony.  "Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none." (Mat 26:60)  The penalty in any trial for bearing false witness was that judges finding such testimony should assign to the false witness the sentence sought against the accused.  Thus, false witnesses against Christ should have been subjected themselves to the death penalty.

Unlawful Act 11:  Jewish law prohibits the use of the accused's own testimony to condemn Him.  The high priest's question, "I put You under oath by the Living God: tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God." The Lord's answer, "I am," by law could not be used against Him.

Unlawful Act 12:  One cannot be convicted of a charge that is untrue.  The Sanhedrin accused Jesus of blasphemy for declaring that He is the Son of God.  For this He was condemned by them to death.  But He IS the Son of God.

Unlawful Act 13:  Jewish law required at least one advocate/defender for the accused.  Therefore at least one vote from the Sanhedrin for acquittal was REQUIRED.  "And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death." (Mark 14:63-64)  A unanimous vote makes the verdict invalid.

Unlawful Act 14:  The sentencing was held at the high priest's house (Mark 14:53). The only legal place to pronounce a death sentence was in "the chamber of hewn stones" at the Temple in Jerusalem.  

Unlawful Act 15:  The charges were changed after the trial.  The original charge was blasphemy.  The Jews knew that Pilate would not sentence to death someone on such a charge.  So they changed the charge against Him to treason, "forbidding the Jews to pay taxes," and "He has made Himself a king."

There certainly are more, such as Pilate declaring Jesus to be "not guilty" while still allowing His execution!  But the above is quite a list.  And against all of this treachery, the Lord shows us His humility by saying so very few words, and never one in defense of Himself.

Such is the God we serve.  Such is the God Who chose to take on our flesh, to live among us, to heal so very many, to forgive sins, to teach us the path to salvation, to suffer His Passion and die on the Cross to save us from our sins.

Glory to Jesus Christ!  Glory to Your Passion, O Lord!

Baptism and the Cross

Baptism (krescheniye) in Russian sounds like cross (krest).  This is a fortunate consonance, for althought the visible action of Baptism is submersion, its essence is a co-crucifixion with Christ on the inner, spiritual cross.  The Apostle Paul says, 'Our old man is crucified with Him' in baptism (Rom 6:6).  This is not some sort of mechanical acts, but a moral change, or a revolution of thoughts, goals, desires, and sympathies.  Before, all of these were stained with self-pleasing; now all are selflessly dedicated to God, in Christ Jesus, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.  If you were baptized as an infant you will say, 'I didn't understand that when I was baptized.'  Now you understand; set it in your conscience to carry out the meaning of baptism, for your baptism is indelible.  Even at the Judgment its seal will be visible either for or against you.

- St. Theophan the Recluse, 'Thoughts for Each Day of the Year,' Fourth Thursday of the Great Fast

The Midpoint of the Great Fast

People often confuse this Sunday with the Feast of 14Sep.  After all, both have as a kind of ‘focal point’ a beautifully decorated Cross placed on the tetrapod before the ambo.  Both consist of our singing, Before Your Cross we bow down in worship, O Master… as we make prostrations before the Cross.

But the Feast in September (one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Church) is exactly that—it is the day on which we commemorate St. Helena discovering the true Cross of Christ in the year 326.

Today is NOT “one of the Twelve” major Feasts.  Today, the Cross is given this place in the Church as a ‘medicine’, a salve to soothe us who have labored with the Fast.  It is present to provide strength.  It shows us by its presence, “Only a little while longer.  You’ve made it this far.  There’s only this much more to go before our Lord will begin His walk to ascend the Cross.  Take courage and endure just a little longer."

Today’s Gospel speaks to us, beginning with three instructions from our Lord on living our lives in this world.  He prefaces this instructions with a kind of “test phrase” - Whoever desires to come after Me.  The Greek word used is opiso.  It does not mean one who comes later, but rather one who desires to be a follower.  But now after this test phrase, Jesus continues with the instructions.

First—Let him deny himself.  The Greek is aparneomai, and it means to utterly disown.  Paraphrasing, to consider nothing of self.

Second — Take up your cross.  The Greek is airo, that is to lift.  One of the examples explaining the word puts it akin to saying, ‘weigh anchor’ so that you are ready to sail away.  In this sense, lifting one’s cross carries the meaning that, wherever the Lord is instructing me to go, my cross goes with me.  So in a certain sense, taking up our cross is NOT so much our lifting a heavy load, but rather assuring that the security that is ours through the Cross remains with us—at all times, and in all places.

Third—Follow Me.  The Greek here is akoloutheo, which means to accompany, like a disciple, to ‘be in the same way with’ the Lord.  The root of this Greek word is keleuthos, and it means to ‘be on the road.’

Today, we approach the Cross with the same love and reverence we give it on that Feast day in September.  But it returns to us much more that we give to it!

The Lord continues to teach us that those who seek to save their lives (translated as ‘to make safe’) will lose them (translated as ‘destroy’).  The only way to make your life ‘safe’ for eternity is to renounce the life you’ve been given in this world, and begin to live as one now living in and for the Kingdom of God.

Does standing before today’s Cross and staring into its beauty speak these words to you?  If yes, then the Fast has brought you great benefit.  If no, there’s still time before our Lord comes to ascend the Cross on Holy Thursday.

But the time indeed grows short.  If you’ve benefitted, don’t stop.  If you’ve not benefited yet from the Fast, begin now to seek the benefits that the Church has laid before us all in this season of the Fast.

 

When Jesus Saw Their Faith

In today’s Gospel (Mark 2:1-12) we find our Lord again in Capernaum.  By this time there were throngs who were seeking to hear His preaching and teaching.  St. Mark records “Many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.” 

And so we can sympathize with the four men who bring today’s paralytic to receive healing at the hand (or word) of our Lord.  They arrive carrying the unfortunate man, and the crowds are such that even one cannot enter, let alone five with one carried on a pallet.  What could they do?

There was an image we saw this past week that said, “The Lord told us that faith can move mountains.  But do not be surprised when your faith is answered by Him giving you a shovel.”

Perhaps it’s a trite saying, but it DOES accurately reflect the hearts and thoughts of the “four friends” of today’s paralytic.  A mountain of people needed to be overcome—and the faith of the four was not to be denied!

One should conclude that their faith led them “by the Spirit” to open that roof!  Their paralyzed friend needed to find his way before the Lord.  Their view of this ‘need’ was no different from the view of the woman with the issue of blood.  Her faith affirmed for her that if she simply touched the hem of the Lord’s robe, she knew that she would be healed.  These four knew that if they managed to bring their friend before the Lord, he too would be healed.

Within Holy Scripture we have such examples of faith.  The woman from Canaan begged for her daughter to be healed, and she was.  The Centurion asked that his servant might be healed, and he was.  The ruler of the synagogue asked that his daughter be healed, and she was raised from the dead.  All of these came in faith, and their faith was answered.  In many instances, our Lord responded to such faith with His words, “Go in peace.  Your faith has made you well.” (such as Lk 17:19)

But there are other times when the Lord acts without such expressions of faith.  This does not mean that faith is missing.  But it does mean that God is sovereign, and He can choose to do as He wills.  It calls to mind the man whose son was plagued by seizures, who came to Jesus for healing (indicating faith at some level), but the Lord was on Tabor with Peter, James and John, and so the man found only the nine remaining Apostles, who could not heal the boy.  In that account (Mk 9:24) the man cries to the Lord, “I believe.  Help my unbelief,” recognizing that his faith was too feeble.  And there is the account of Lazarus, where Mary and Martha do not seem to have sufficient faith, and yet Jesus raises their brother being four days dead.

St. Theophan says, We must do our part to cultivate a spirit of acceptance, a faith which confesses, ‘I am lost and can be saved only by the Lord Jesus Christ”; love which fervently strives to devote all to the Lord and Savior, sparing nothing; hope that does not hope in itself, but only in its assurance that the Lord will not abandon us and will help us in every way, both internally and externally throughout all of our life, until our hope takes us to the place where He Himself abides.

May our Lord give to us the desire to cultivate such a faith.  May He see in us a fervent hope in His unwaning love for us.  May our faith and hope and love engender within us an even more fervent longing for a truly and sincerely repentant heart.

And when He sees our faith, may He forgive us, each and every one of us, all of our sins.

Follow Me (Sunday of Orthodoxy)

Pretty much everyone knows “the shortest verse in the Bible” - Jesus wept.  The verse is from John 11:35, and describes how our Lord reacted in seeing the reality of death overcome His friend.

And while today’s words from the Gospel don’t technically meet the requirement of “shortest verse,” they nonetheless are equal in meaning, given their brevity.  Follow Me.

The first expression shows God’s love for His creation, and His sorrow over how its fallenness has changed (ruined?) what He created to be perfection.

The second is an invitation.

If someone says to you, “Come with me,” your first likely response would be, “Where are we going?”

But this is Christ making the invitation.  So, “Where are we going, Lord?”

He replies, Let’s start by going to a wedding in Cana.  You’ll enjoy the wine.  Then we’ll go to the Temple and cast out those who abuse it (Jn 2:16-170.  After this, I need to speak with Nicodemus to help him understand.  We’ll go from there to Judea and heal many.  We’ll travel through Samaria—there’s a woman there who also needs to hear our Good News.  We’ll come back to Galilee.  A little twelve your old girl there needs our help.  We’ll go back to Cana—there’s a nobleman whose son will die unless we go. (Jn 4:49-51)  Then we’ll speak to the people in Nazareth, who will reject me (Lk 4:16-30)  We’ll move to Capernaum, where we’ll heal the lame on the Sabbath, we’ll call the rest of your brother Apostles, we’ll heal the demoniac, along with throngs in the crowds who will also choose to follow, as you are doing.  We’ll heal lepers and paralytics.  We’ll attempt to teach the rulers of the people the true meaning of the Sabbath as we continue to heal many even on that day.  We’ll seal My ministry by selecting twelve who will be faithful.  We’ll heal the servant of a Centurion, and raise from the dead the only son of a widow.  We’ll teach the Pharisees again who will accuse Me of blasphemy.  We’ll teach in parables so that only those who truly seek to understand will have My mysteries revealed.  You will become fearful unto death because of a storm at sea, which I will calm by My word.  We’ll witness the execution of the Forerunner.  We’ll gather with many on a mountaintop and teach the multitudes of God’s love for them.  We’ll together feed thousands with next to nothing.  In another storm at sea I’ll come to you to calm you and the storm by walking to you on the sea. We’ll bring sight to a man born blind.  You’ll be with Me as I give this same invitation to follow to another, who will ask me to give him time first to bury his father. (Lk 9:59-60) You’ll be one of 70 whom I will send to go as well, to preach and to heal (Lk 10:1-24)  I’ll give you the blessing of understanding the Good Samaritan.  I’ll teach you to pray.  You’ll be beside Me as our friend Lazarus returns from the dead.  You’ll witness the rulers of the people conspire to kill Me.  You’ll see a brother betray Me.  You’ll witness Me being beaten, spat upon, nailed to a cross, and buried.  You’ll cower in fear that those who did this to Me are coming as well for you, but I will protect you.  And you will see Me after three days, and you will rejoice with a joy that will be eternal, and with life near to me in the Kingdom of Heaven.

How would YOU respond to the invitation?  Thing is, this invitation is now, in the present!  Are you following TODAY?  Like the man in Luke 9:60, the invitation is made “for a limited time, and a limited time ONLY.”  Tomorrow may be too late.  The call, the invitation has been extended to all of us.

Let none of us delay in responding.  The implications are eternal.

Outside of Paradise

Today’s theme is forgiveness.  To be truly forgiven requires two things: 1) Repentance on the part of the one seeking forgiveness; 2) a willingness to truly forgive on the part of the one being approached for it.

Inside of Paradise, there is no need for either of these.  For within Paradise there is no sin.  Without sin repentance has no meaning, nor does forgiveness.

Outside of Paradise sin is ubiquitous, as is the essential need for repentance.  But outside of Paradise we also find the human condition where those who FEEL as if they’ve been slighted (sinned against) are unwilling to forgive.  It’s the human condition of seeking revenge.

The concept of revenge is perhaps the single largest cause of war in the world.  “Your grandfather killed mine, and I must now avenge ‘his memory’,” whatever that means.  The same holds true even in the streets of our own country, where one gang member slays the brother of someone, and to prove that they won’t tolerate such violence, they return to murder one from the side of the first offender.  And, it never ends.

In today’s Gospel, our Lord (as He so often does) gives us a Divine view of forgiving and repenting.  He personalizes it for us.  If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  Note the absoluteness of His words.  Jesus does not say the Father may forgive you.  It is truly the ultimate quid pro quo!  Do this, the Father does that!

The word translated as trespass is the Greek word paraptoma.  Trespass is an appropriate translation, but it also carries the meanings of offence, sin, fault, and either intentional or unintentional error on the part of the offender.

About this phrase from Holy Scripture, St. Theophan writes the following:

What a simple and handy means of salvation!  Your trespasses are forgiven under the condition that you forgive your neighbor’s trespasses against you.  This means that you (your salvation) are in your own hands.  Force yourself to pass from agitated feelings toward your brother to truly peaceful feelings—and that is all.  The day of forgiveness—what a great, heavenly day of God this is!  If all of us used it as we ought, this day would make Christian societies into heavenly societies, and the earth would merge with heaven.

The earth would merge with heaven.  Heaven on earth.  Back inside of Paradise!

It IS possible, but our human hearts must be conformed to the Lord’s instruction and His will for us in our own lives.

On this day, within the upcoming Forgiveness Sunday Vespers, we’ll pray together the following:

Your grace has shown forth, O Lord, giving light to our souls.  Now is the acceptable time, now is the season of repentance.  Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, that having sailed across the great sea of the Fast, we may reach the third-day Resurrection of Christ our Lord, the Savior of our souls.

Let us live in the Light that is our Lord, freely granting forgiveness to all who seek it, and in the greatest humility offering sincere repentance to all for the many sins—known and unknown—that we have committed.

Forgive me, my brothers and sisters in Christ! 

Sermon - Sunday of the Last Judgment

 

Convenient Forgetfulness

   Today’s Gospel reading (Mat 25:31-46) is referred to by some as another of our Lord’s parables.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.  It is in fact prophecy.  What is presented is our Lord's knowledge of the scene that He has already seen on that Last Day.  He knows what lay in our future, He sees it as clearly as we can see the words on this page right now.  So this is not some kind of “story” which the Lord gives us to bring us to good conclusions.  It is a factual recounting of what we all will experience when He calls all to judgment on that Last Day.  The words of the Gospel show this when Christ begins with the words, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him…”

Because of this, today’s Gospel is one account that should remain with us every day of our lives, and it should be this way for minimally two very important reasons:

First:  In this account, Jesus, as the Just Judge, outlines the details against which all of us will be judged. 

It all seems so very simple!  The requirements are only six:  1) feed the hungry; 2) give drink to the thirsty; 3) welcome the stranger; 4) clothe the naked; 5) visit the sick; 6) care for the imprisoned. 

Our Lord then carefully crafts His instructions about these details.  He first indicates that we are to do these for Him.  But then Jesus follows this up with the connection that He is to be seen by us as the person He describes as the least of My brethren.  We must analyze these words, we must attempt to study them with great care, for within them lay our eternal salvation!

“Least”, in Greek ‘elachistos’, meaning short or little, yes, but also meaning low in dignity.  It calls to mind the words of the Apostle Paul from 1Cor 4:13 when he refers to us as being the offscouring of all things, the scum that is rejected.  It is these to whom our Lord points and for whom He instructs us to be servants!

Jesus refers to these same people as His brethren.  The Greek word is ‘adelphos’, yes brothers, but literally from the same womb, sharing in all things related to our humanity.

Second:  From the “test” of our faithfulness to meet our Lord’s instructions to us for life in this world, our eternal disposition will be determined.  This judgment will not be something arbitrary, as is often the case before worldly judges.  In this case, the judgment will be clear and unequivocal.  We will see the judgment ourselves.  It won’t require the pronouncement—it will be totally clear, to us, and to all.  Our Lord told us, I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father Who sent Me. (John 5:30)

In our world, these pesky details are allowed to be relegated to the background of the Gospels.  They’re easy to forget, or to at least relegate to a place of unimportance in our daily affairs.  But we must daily ask ourselves—How can we allow ourselves to make insignificant that which has everything to do with our eternal salvation, our place in the Kingdom of Heaven?

We can’t!  Don’t allow it!!!

Sunday of the Prodigal Son

 

The Recklessness of Youth

   We have comparatively few in our congregation who would fall into the age bracket of today’s Prodigal. 

For those of us who have crossed that threshold and been in that situation, we’ll no doubt remember some things that today we find troubling.  Then we used the word “carefree.”  Today, we’d couch the attitude to be careless!  We were “fun loving” when we should have been sober minded.  We thought we would live forever, only to find that our best friends began to perish around us, leaving us devoid of friendship in years when we perhaps need it the most.  And so today we mistakenly think we have the wisdom of the ages while we continue to live lives that remain focused on self, on wants, on consumption.

We were prodigals then, and we remain prodigals now.  Let’s again go to definitions:

prodigal: adj, rashly or wastefully extravagant.

Yes, that pretty much describes me, along with most of the generation that I grew up with, who by the grace of God remain living and breathing on this earth.

How do we (I) differ from the youth in today’s Gospel?  I dare say not by very much.  He was selfish.  So am I.  He was wed to the pleasures of the world.  So am I.  He was self-serving.  So am I.  He didn’t see the love given him by those closest to him.  Nor do I.  He recklessly squandered the good things his Father gifted to him.  So have I.  Indeed, not much separates us from one another!

Until, that is, when extreme hardship hits.  Unlike him, I am not in peril of dying from hunger.  And yet, with all the trouble and hardship we see in the world, do we not understand (yet) that it doesn’t take very much to lay waste to all the ‘good’ that surrounds us?  A year ago, Ukraine was a beautiful land, with many spiritual resources, a prosperous economy, safety in the homes and streets.  Now, much is laid waste.  Several days ago, Turkey was operating ‘normally.’  In one ‘natural disaster,’ over 25,000 are dead, families torn asunder, with poverty, homelessness, hunger, and disease now the order of the day.

The Prodigal had his world fall apart on him as well.  When it happened, there were two possible paths for him to take: 1) to continue to live in misery and want; 2) to repent and admit guilt over the way of life he’d chosen, and to go home.

Turkey is a study in how fast things around us can change.  Ukraine is a study in sin eroding the morals of a society that was once focused on love, but now on hate—a situation that can only be remedied by repentance, the repentance of fellow Orthodox Christians on both sides!

The Father in today’s parable is the single greatest example our Lord has given us on how we should view our heavenly Father.  He is the definition of love.  He loves us so much that He gives us leave to live as we choose, so that we might, like the Prodigal, “come to our senses” and return to Him, to seek Him in that same repentant state, not asking for anything more than to be a servant—the state we should have embraced as our own from the beginning.  For truly, there IS no higher calling than this!

Man's Thinking vs God's Wisdom

 We like to think of ourselves as having well-grounded intellects, as having the ability to see right from wrong, as being good and sound judges of character.

All too often we ‘pre-judge’ situations based on totally irrelevant things.  There are categories of people whom we’ve historically pre-judged as being worthy of our trust—teachers, police officers, doctors, priests.  And yet we know in our own days (and even recent days) how some outlier members of these ‘categories’ have shown themselves to be unworthy of such trust.  We live in a fallen world!  Only God truly knows the hearts of those He has created!

And this brings us to the image painted lovingly by our Lord in today’s parable (Luke 18:10-14).  From the superficial categorically based kind of pre-judgment, those of that time would have seen anyone whose profession was ‘publican’ to be completely untrustworthy.  They were seen as thieves, scoundrels.  They misused the authority given them by Rome to steal, not only from the rich, but from any whom they thought they could steal!  It’s the image of last Sunday’s Zacchaeus, as well as many others who were set in place and protected by the Roman authorities to extract a tax from the citizenry in their area.  And a corrupt government allowed thier appointed publicans to take whatever else they chose to take—as long as the government got their ‘quota’ - first!

Meanwhile, those known as Pharisees were seen as above reproach, “men of God” who would never consider a misstep or to plot anything sinful or harmful to others.  They were the ones trusted to arbitrate civil affairs.  They interpreted the Law of Moses.  They settled disputes.

When taking a superficial look at the Lord’s parable for this day, one would immediately jump to exactly the opposite conclusion from that which He shows us in the end.

What is it that makes the Pharisee ‘bad’ within the parable?  It is precisely his focus on his own belief in the aforementioned pre-judgment, actually believing it of himself.  And from the text of the parable, there is much to support such a perspective, if it is true.  He does not extort from those he is set to judge.  He keeps to his own wife.  He gives his required tithe.  In all of these, there is ‘good’ to be found.

And if we look for the good in the Pharisee by our pre-judgment, we’d look for the unjust in the publican.  But in his own words, we find no evidence of the evil.

In the words of the two men, all we truly find is the result of their own self-assessments.  For the Pharisee, there is only praise for himself for how good he judges himself to be.  For the publican, there is only one cry—for mercy from God!

A plea for mercy comes from only one source—a broken and contrite heart, in the words of the Psalmist.  The publican knows his sin.  And he brings that sin to God asking the only thing he CAN ask of the Just Judge—mercy.

As we enter the ‘vestibule’ of the Great Fast in these preparatory Sundays, let us examine our own hearts and souls, and then find ourselves to be a companion of the publican, offering our own tears, as does, with the deepest repentance.

32nd Sunday 2023

 

Zacchaeus Sunday '23

  Last week in this space we opined about those who feel the “need to be noticed”, offering the thought that too many of us seek attention in ways that are problematic at best, and destructive at worst.

But in today’s Gospel, we encounter Zacchaeus, a case study in total opposition to last week’s focus.

Zacchaeus HAS a heartfelt desire, but it is not for recognition.  If anything, we could surmise that he would like to “fade into the woodwork,” to use a contemporary euphemism.  He’s a tax collector.  The people HATE him because of this, for while being a Jew, he is become a representative of the oppressing government, the Romans.

We all know the story.  But some aspects of it bear both repetition and a greater depth of view.

First, Zacchaeus WANTED to be able just to SEE the Lord.  Yes, he was seen as “a sinner” because of his profession by other Jews in the streets.  Yes, he no doubt felt a sense of guilt over his life’s turns and the way in which he conducted his business as a tax collector (he cheated people out of money).  All that being as it may, he DESIRED to see the Lord, not unlike people who join other crowds to this very day to catch a glimpse of sports heroes, rock stars, movie stars, or showing my age, astronauts.  When people attempt to do this, they NEVER expect to be noticed by the person or persons they are attempting to see.

But here is the first place that Zacchaeus’ actions take a turn.  He can’t see the Lord because he’s too short.  So he looks, and determines that Jesus will pass a certain tree.  So he rushes there, climbs up far enough to get his view.

And Jesus arrives.  Mission accomplished.  Go home, right?

WRONG!

It is Jesus now Who calls out, not to a non-descript man in a tree, not to a nameless person in the crowd.  Jesus says plainly, specifically, “Zacchaeus, come down!  I need to stay in your home this day.”

Never having met him, Jesus calls him by name.  And in His call, there is not judgment.  There is love.  REAL love.  Agape kind of love.  The crowd has condemned him.  Jesus accepts him.

Why?

Because He knows the hearts of man, and Jesus knows that in showing love—and forgiveness—Zacchaeus’ life will be changed forever, conformed to the will of God.

What happens to Zacchaeus after this encounter in the street?  He goes home with the Lord.  He makes a vow to distribute anything he’s stolen in restoration to those he harmed.  He gives from what remains to the poor.

His entire life is changed.

What happens to Zacchaeus after this encounter in his home?

Tradition holds that he became a traveling companion with St. Peter on his missionary trips.  It further teaches that St. Zacchaeus became the bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, and office he held until he died there in peace.

This account is gifted to us before we cross the threshold into the Triodion, to show us the hope there is in a loving Lord Who is waiting to love us and to forgive us, as well!

The Need to be Noticed

 Social media has turned us into a society of exhibitionists.  We seem to think that virtually ANYTHING that we do, say, think, eat, visit will be of interest to others.  The worst part of this is that we actually believe that OUR information shared with literally the rest of the world is somehow more interesting than similar information shared by others.  We can’t wait to post things about us.  But when that computer chime goes off saying that someone else wants to share their story with us, we’re often annoyed, ignoring their posts as tedious and boring.

But there are righteous instances of seeking to be noticed.  The Psalmist records, “In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He answered me.” (Ps 120:1)  And again, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Ps 34:17)

But we need not understand our pleas before God to necessarily be shouts.  God knows the heart as well.  “And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a still small voice.” (1Kings 19:11-12)

So you see, we can be noticed by that which is forceful.  But the forcefulness of our plea is that which is necessary to gain God’s attention.

In short, prayer needs to be fervent.  What does this mean?

fer’-vent: adj   1) showing great emotion or zeal; ardent;  2) extremely hot; glowing;  3) boiling; burning.

It is true that the blind man in today’s Gospel reading (Luke 18:35-43) showed a fervent prayer in the form of his impassioned cry, which is one source of our use of the Jesus Prayer—”Son of David, have mercy on me!”  The reference to David is a clear indication of the blind man’s recognition of Jesus as King of Israel.

But I submit to you that the blind man’s prayer from today is no more fervent than the prayer of the woman with the issue of blood, whose lips uttered nothing!  What was her “prayer”?  What was her cry out for attention?  It was simply the faith that recognizes the authority in Jesus to heal, a faith so intense and focused that it need not trouble the Master even for a ‘formal’ recognition.  When her touch reached the hem of our Lord’s garment, she knew instantly that she had been noticed, her fervent prayer had been recognized, for she knew the pain and suffering that her hemorrhaging brought her, and she knew upon the instance of that touch that this pain had ceased.

In no less of a miraculous way, today’s blind man receives his sight knowing that Jesus has ‘noticed’ him, for it is Jesus Himself Who asks, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 

The sight that Jesus restores is twofold.  Jesus restores the man’s physical vision.  But He also brings to him spiritual sight, for now, he becomes a follower of Jesus.  He now moves with the Lord, giving glory to God!

What's In it for Me?

 [Homily, 31st Sunday - Luke 18:18-27]

Let’s face it.  We Americans have all been “conditioned,” trained if you will, to be capitalists.  We expect to make a profit on any ‘deals’ in which we engage.  No one puts money into a 401k expecting to come away with less after some amount of time (although many of us are seeing that very thing right now).  No one starts a business hoping to spend more than they take in.

Even our Lord’s parable of the talents speaks to God’s expectation that He looks for us to return more to Him than was given to us via the gifts He bestowed upon us.

And so, it’s not surprising that in the three verses of the 18th Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we find exactly this type of question put to our Lord by His own Apostles.

They had just witnessed the “rich young man” leave the presence of our Lord, and the young man was devastated because “the prescription” that Jesus gave to him to cure his particular spiritual illness was to sell all that you have and distribute to the poor.  It is not even clear if this poor young man heard the “good news” that was the ending to this instruction, and you will have treasure in heaven, plus the even better news, then come and follow Me.  The young man was given the blessing, the ability to become a disciple of God the Son.  But he either did not hear this great invitation, or he chose to ignore it because of his particular attachment to those earthly things that Jesus, in His understanding of every human soul, saw as his impediment to greater things in his spiritual life.

Having been witnesses to all of this, it is now the Lord's Apostles who are wondering, ‘Well, what’s in it for us?’

It is once again Peter who speaks for the whole group.  He poses the question without asking it in specific words.  He says to Jesus, See, we have left all and followed You. 

See, Lord?  Haven’t WE done what you were encouraging that young man to do?  So, You’ve laid out the terms of payment.  What will be our ‘interest’?

And our Lord is not offended by their question.  Indeed, Jesus’ answer speaks volumes to all who throughout all ages have chosen to follow the path He has defined for those who wish to be known as His followers and His disciples.

Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more…

Great!  We’ll collect interest.  But how, and when?  Jesus continues:

in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.

So here’s the promise.  You will receive more than you give.  Note that the promise does not say that you will be financially prosperous.  “More” is defined in God’s terms, not in man’s terms!  But the greatest “more” is that final one—eternal life.

For you see, there are only two destinies for every soul.  Eternal death (separation from the love of God for all eternity, the definition of ‘hell’) or eternal life (being in the presence of God’s love for eternity, the definition of heaven).

So indeed, what’s in it for any of us is what we’ve put into it.  Store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Mat 6:20-21)

 

Psalm 51

Repent...

 For the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

These are the first words of instruction that our Lord speaks to us in the Gospel of St. Matthew today (Mat 4:12-17).  Prior to this, He speaks to the Forerunner (Let it be so for now, for thus is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness), and He speaks to Satan in the desert the three rebukes for the three temptations.

But these words today are now different.  They are directed at all people—for all time.

Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

For those being taught how to communicate in the forum of public speaking, the first axiom taught is, ‘Lead with the message you are attempting to communicate.”  In other words, start with strength and set the direction.

These nine simple words from the lips of the Word are the greatest example of this.  If we as faithful followers of our Lord begin our efforts, our struggles, with the focus being on repentance, all of the other virtues will fall into place.

What are the other virtues?

FAITH: How can one fully embrace faith in God, faith in Christ, faith in the Trinity without being repentant?  God, Who IS love and Who loves all of us, both the evil and the good, shows that we cannot approach Him without sharing in that love.  And how can we love when we do not repent?  How can we separate our sins from our interactions with our fellow man?

HOPE:  Hope is that virtue that calls us to hold out for that which is good.  We expect it from God.  We have hope in others for good.  We even expect ourselves to turn from evil toward good.  But that’s the definition of repentance.  Without repentance, there is no hope!

HUMILITY  When we repent, we place ourselves into that position which we pray in each of our “Prayers before communion,” where we declare ourselves to be one of all sinners, but we declare ourselves as the first among sinners.  If I see myself as less sinful than ANY other, then I lack true humility.  And the only way to change this condition is—by repenting, proving myself to be first among sinners.

We could continue through the list of virtues, but we’d come to the same conclusion in each case—the virtues are acquired by submitting to this first of our Lord’s instructions to us.

REPENT

But Jesus continues with the words that follow.

For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The Greek word used for “at hand” is engizo.  It carries the meaning that the subject being pointed to is near, NOT at some distance.  Jesus is saying that we don’t need to look to the sky to imagine heaven in the distance.  Heaven is here, in amongst us, around us.

At the Feast of Nativity, we sang with great joy, “GOD IS WITH US!”  If He is with us, and He is in heaven, then where are we to find heaven, if not truly also here, with us?

The Lord makes it clear that God does not despise the broken and contrite heart (Ps 51:17).  This is the offering, the ‘sacrifice’ He asks us to bring to Him—our Repentance!