ON THE GRACE OF BAPTISM

According to the Gospel, the baptism of John was "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."  The Baptist himself declared that One mightier than himself--even Jesus Christ our Lord, the eternal Son of God--would come into the world in order to fulfill the mission he himself had begun.  "I indeed have baptized you with water," says the Forerunner, "but He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

This is the Baptism of the Church, by which we the Faithful have been enlightened, having become partakers of the Divine Nature and citizens of the New Jerusalem above.  The gift of the Holy Spirit given at Baptism is the source of sanctification and holiness for all those who believe God's promise and who strive by His grace to fulfill His holy commandments.

It is a spiritual law, nevertheless, that it is impossible to serve God and Mammon at one and the same time.  Nor can one straddle the fence between a worldly and passionate way of life and a life of total devotion to God and that heavenly Kingdom revealed in and through our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.  Sooner or later, a critical moment arrives for every soul when a choice must be made.  Such a moment arrives for the ruler in today's Gospel when he asks Jesus, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 

Our Lord first states the obvious: if you would inherit eternal life, keep My commandments.  And when the ruler professes that he has done so since his youth, Jesus takes it a step further, and tells him: if you desire to be perfect, sell all your possessions, distribute the proceeds to the poor... and come follow Me. For this reason, the rich young ruler was sorrowful: because his heart was set upon earthly treasures, rather than those heavenly treasures we receive so abundantly when the Holy Spirit--the "Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life"--enters into our heart.

According to St. Seraphim of Sarov, the entire aim and purpose of the Christian life is to acquire the Holy Spirit of God, in the same way that a worldly merchant acquires his  wealth--by trading.  The means by which this heavenly wealth may be gained differs from one person to another.  The martyrs trade their own blood, receiving in return eternal glory in the Age to Come.  Others acquire this Gift through ascetic self-denial, almsgiving, hospitality, selfless service to the sick and needy, or through sacrificing one's own comfort and self-centered desires in order to bear and to raise pious and God fearing children.

The means differ, but the goal is one and the same: to be transformed and enlightened by the grace we received at Baptism as a deposit, and to multiply how ever many talents God has entrusted to us by living a life of sacrificial love, that we may proclaim with St. Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ in me."  Otherwise we shall surely be condemned like that unfaithful servant who dared to bury in the ground his single talent, thereby being cast out into that "outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

PEACE ON EARTH, GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN

An angel appeared to the shepherds who were keeping watch in the field to announce "good tidings of great joy....  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."  And so, you may well ask, where is this peace and good will the Gospel proclaims?  Look around the world today, and you will find little evidence of such a felicitous state of affairs.  Is it all just a scam after all, as the atheists might suggest?

Well, we'd probably complain if we were not given a new rope to hang ourselves.  Nervertheless... the simple and obvious fact is that life in this fallen world is hard--and sometimes downright brutal.  And yet somehow we imagine: in a perfect world, things would be different.  And so it might occur to us to wonder: if God really is perfect and all-powerful as we Christians proclaim, why can He not give us such a perfect world?

In other words, if God is truly good, why does He allow all the pain, suffering, and sadness in this world?  Why can He not simply wave His magic wand and give us that "peace and good will" the angelic hosts so joyfully and triumphantly proclaim?  For surely, an omnipotent God could easily create for us a perfect world devoid of pain and suffering, banishing every trace of sickness and sorrow.

But what sort of world would this be?  A world of robots, without free will, programed either for a false, superficial happiness, or else compelled to be good... either the soulless society of Brave New World, or else the totalitarian nightmare of 1984.  In either case, it would be a nihilistic world lacking any ultimate meaning or purpose.

Truth be told, the peace that Christ promises His Church is not the mere absence of conflict between nations.  It is, rather, an inner peace that enables us to endure with patience the trials and tribulations inevitable in this earthly life on this side of the eschaton, that we may be made worthy in the end of God's eternal Kingdom.

Life is too short and the stakes too high to fritter away the time allotted to us by God in pursuit of an ephemeral "happiness" that cannot, in the end, satisfy the deepest longings of our soul.  For truly, to paraphrase St. Augustine, "our hearts are ever restless, till they find their rest in Him."

THE GREAT SUPPER

"A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: and sent his servant at supper time to say to those that were bidden, Come...."  The man in the parable is, of course, our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, and the great supper is the feast of eternal joy in God's heavenly Kingdom, to be fully revealed at the end of time--a feast to which every soul ever born into this world is invited.  For truly, God desires not the death of the sinner, but rather that he repent of his sins and return to the straight and narrow path of salvation.

Nevertheless, only those who have striven to mortify (put to death) their "members which are upon earth;  fornication, uncleanness, concupiscence, and covetousness" are bidden by God to attend.  As for the others: they have to one degree or another closed their ears to the Word of God, having of their own free will rejected the grace He so freely offers. 

Yet even among those who have been bidden, the greater number have been so caught up in the worldly affairs of this transient life that their spiritual eyes have been so blinded to the truth that they fail to discern those "good things" that God has in store for those who love Him, and desire in their deepest heart to abide by His commandments.  And so it is that these unfortunate souls (among whom, if I may be so bold, you and I are included), are forever making seemingly rational excuses concerning why it is simply impossible (at this particular moment of time) to fully forsake the false promises of this world and to enter into the ineffable joy of eternal salvation.

Make no mistake: even you and I are in grave danger of falling into this temptation, this delusion that our paltry worldly affairs bear any ultimate significance in the vast scheme of things.  It is business as usual, you see, as in the days of Noah, and meanwhile the Great Flood--the inexorable judgement of God--is imminent.  And yet the measure of the saints deemed worthy of God's Kingdom must be fulfilled before the end of this age. 

And so it is that the Master of the house (our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ) instructs His servant to "go out quickly... and bring in hither "the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind"--that is, the poor of spirit, the humble, who are deep down fully aware that they are unworthy to enter the Kingdom, and therefore they do not presume to make excuses.  It is among these--the lowliest of the low, according to the wisdom of this world--that our Lord must  compel to come in. 

This is so not in the sense that He can violate a person's free will and force him to accept a salvation he has chosen to reject.  We are all perfectly free to make whatever excuses we desire, ultimately spurning God's free gift.  But if we are willing to acknowledge our weakness, casting ourselves at the feet of God without expectation and beseeching His mercy, we shall fully experience the truth of St. Paul's words, "the power of God is made perfect in weakness."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM

The theme of today's epistle if unity.  St. Paul exhorts us to endeavor "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."  And why is this so?....  Because there is "one body, and one Spirit....  One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all."  Therefore do we confess in the Creed (the Symbol of Faith), "one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church."

As Orthodox Christians, we are united to Christ in Baptism, and thus we are bound together in the unity of the same Faith.  As the Psalmist proclaims, "how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"  Indeed, this unity is a precious treasure, a gift of grace, that we are obliged to guard and preserve--whatever the cost. 

According to the popular saying, "United we stand--divided we fall."  But this unity we the faithful are called to attain can be achieved only in and through the True Church of God, established on the day of Pentecost, when our Lord sent down upon His apostles the heavenly comforter, the Spirit of truth, that we all might become one, even as He and the Father are one.  This Church--the holy Orthodox Church--"is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth," the Faith that has established the universe.  The Church is the Body of Christ and the Ark of Salvation.  Only so long as we remain within this Ark, enduring together whatever storms and tumults of this world may come upon us, can we hope to weather the storm-tossed waves of this transitory life and to find at last a place of refuge in the harbor of salvation.  It would be foolish indeed were we to set forth on our own in a flimsy rowboat that is bound to be dashed to pieces before reaching the safe haven of God's heavenly Kingdom. 

"The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord," as Christ proclaims.  Persecutions and trials are bound to come--even from members of our own household.  And this is why we the faithful, who profess to belong to the  same household of faith, must ever strive to maintain that precious unity, that we might "love one another, that in faith and the fear of God we may confess" that True Faith once delivered to the apostles and sealed by the blood of the martyrs.

Even in the days of St. Paul, the spirit of the Antichrist had already entered into the world, but the day of reckoning is fast approaching.  Only those who are resolved to remain steadfast in the Faith, willing to remain faithful unto the end, can hope to survive amidst the deception and apostasy of this age, clinging to the sure and certain promise that the gates of hades shall not prevail against the Church of Christ.

THE RICH MAN'S FOLLY

In today's Gospel, the rich man (having received God's blessing of abundant crops) thought within himself, "What shall I do?"  And so he thought it over and decided that he would tear down the old barns and build bigger and better ones in order to store his goods, saying to his soul, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." 

Now, what is wrong with this picture?.... There are three things here I would like to point out.  First of all, the man merely "thought within himself."  Though it was clearly God Who had so blessed him, he apparently did not consider praying for guidance, seeking to  discern what God's will might be in the matter.  And I daresay we all do the same, more times than not.  Too often we rely less on God than upon our own (often defective) logic and our self-centered desires when it comes to making significant life decisions.  Then we end up wondering why our "best laid plans" so often come to naught.

Second, the rich man seems to think that the primary purpose of life is to enjoy as much ease and pleasure as possible--while at all costs avoiding pain and suffering.  This is indeed the philosophy of many in today's materialistic, consumeristic, effectively Godless society.  I've often heard people say something like, "I wish I would win the lottery, then I'd be set for life and wouldn't ever have to work another day in my life!"  Yet it precisely honest work that gives meaning and purpose to our lives.  What would we do otherwise all day, every day?  Go fishing, watch Packers games,  drink beer, and above all... have fun?  How dismal and boring!  Truth is, here we have no continuing city, but we wait with patience the revelation of the Jerusalem on high.  We are but pilgrims upon this earth: this transitory earthly life is but preparation for eternal life in God's Kingdom.

Third:  the rich man assumes he has "many years" in which to enjoy the material pleasures of this life, when in reality God could claim our soul this very night.  It was, after all, God Who created us and determined our circumstances in this world, and it is He alone Who determines the measure of our allotted years on earth.  And in the end, no amount of fame or fortune can deliver us from the consequences of a futile and pointless life lived apart from God. 

Today we celebrate the Great Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple.  From the age of three, the holy Virgin was totally dedicated to God, while her whole life was consecrated to the fulfillment of her destined role in God's plan for the salvation of the human race.  May we, too, every strive to follow her holy example, setting our sights not on the things of this earth, but rather upon those good things God has in store for those who love Him and abide by His commandments.

 

DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE!

 St. James writes in his epistle, ""Thou believeth that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"  It was on the basis of this verse that Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, excised this book from the Holy Scriptures, calling it a "straw epistle."  St. Paul does declare that we are "justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the Law."  But he also writes, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."  For while the Law of Moses is insufficient in itself to restore to us our broken communion with God, the Law of Love revealed in and through our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ demands that the faithful Christian struggle to overcome every sinful passion while acquiring those virtues by which we are made worthy of entering into God's eternal Kingdom.  As our Lord Himself declares, "from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force."

In today's Gospel, the demoniac cries out, "what have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of God most high?  I beseech Thee, torment me not!"  How remarkable!  The devil itself confesses its belief in God, and acknowledges Jesus as His Son.  The devil truly believes, and yet it trembles in fear, fully aware that God is All-Powerful--and therefore the demon's days are clearly numbered. 

It is for this reason that St. Peter cautions us in his epistle: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."  Satan and his minions know full well that their days are short, and so they are desperate to drag down into hell as many souls as they can, by whatever means, until that final day when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.  The fact is, Satan and his army of demons hate the human race with a white hot hatred far exceeding our comprehension.  Had God not set limits upon what the demons can do in their effort to draw us away from God, they would surely do unto us exactly what they did to the swine, killing us outright.  Yes, the demons truly do believe in God--and they are, therefore, dead set on destroying and perverting by whatever means God's good creation. 

And what of you and I, miserable sinners that we are?  No doubt we do believe in God, and surely our intentions are good... we are, after all, basically "good people," right?  Except it is not by "goodness" that we are saved, but rather by holiness... which is gained, as St. Seraphim of Sarov explains, through acquiring within ourselves the Holy Spirit of God.  And this means going beyond bare belief and basic human decency, striving through a martyric struggle to fulfill the Gospel commandments, that our love for God and neighbor might be made fully manifest in all of our thoughts, words and deeds, and that we might--by God's grace--gain victory over the forces of evil that seek to destroy us.

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

In today's Gospel, our Lord relates a parable concerning "a certain rich man" (no name given), and "a certain beggar named lazarus."  Now it comes to pass that "the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom,"   while  "the rich man  also died, and was buried." 

As Orthodox Christians, when we are baptized, receive Holy Communion, or partake of any other sacramental rite of the Church, we are called by name.  Likewise, when the particles are taken from the prosphora during the proskomide in order to commemorate the living and the dead, a name must be pronounced.  And not just any name, but rather the name of that saint with whom we share a sacred bond.  Thus, it is improper for a convert to use a secular name in the world, while reserving their "church name" for "religious" occasions. 

As individuals striving to achieve personhood in and through Christ, we are known to God by name.  This name signifies our inner essence and our personal connection to God.  The rich man--being totally absorbed by the "good things" of this life rather than the love of God--essentially has no name, and therefore he has set himself apart from those eternal, heavenly good things God has in store for those who love Him and abide by His commandments. 

Thus Lazarus--having patiently endured the trials and tribulations of this earthly life--finds himself worthy to ascend to a place of eternal rest, while the rich man--having been simply buried in the earth like an irrational beast--has placed himself outside the sphere of God's grace, where he experiences the fiery torment of a hell of his own making.

Yet it is neither the case that God rewards the righteous by allowing him to go to heaven, nor does He punish the  sinner by "sending" him to a place of eternal torment.  That impassible gulf that separates the one from the other is a natural consequence of those choices we have freely made in this life: either we strive by the grace of God to become partakers of the divine nature, or we choose instead to live a self-centered, worldly, and passionate life.  May we all, therefore, choose wisely while there is still time, lest we find ourselves in the end trapped eternally in a place of eternal darkness--where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.