Homily on the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Mark 8:34-9:1.
One thing that is for certain is that we live in a culture that has become increasingly irreligious. The message that is often broadcast to people is that it is stupid in this day and age to believe in the All-Holy Trinity. However, what have they replaced the Lord with? It seems that what the Lord has been replaced with is merely the sound of men’s voices saying:
“we have done it, we are supreme.”
This is truly not a message that can save as it is evident in the Holy Scriptures that we ought not to trust in men as Psalm 145 says:
“Trust you not in princes, in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.”
This is not to say that men are totally untrustworthy but rather, that without the guidance of the All-Holy Trinity man is like, ‘the blind leading the blind’ (Matthew 15:14). This is why our Lord and Saviour is clear that gaining all that the world has to offer cannot save as He states:
“For what good will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul (Mark 8: 36)?”
In life, man can have it all so to speak (materially), but in the end, man still will have to meet his Creator – what account will he give then? This is the great tragedy of our generation - man has lost his connection to the source of all love and life – the All-Holy Trinity! ‘Why bother with the Holy things of the Lord that build up the spiritual life of the holy if all that matters are the material things of this world?’ -say many – however they are the ones that are losing out and it clearly shows in their lives.
One only has to look around and see the effects of that this abandonment of the All-Holy Trinity – are people really happy in this age? It is clear that they are not as the number of people on mind-numbing anti-depressants has skyrocketed in the last few decades. The great consequence of ignoring man's spiritual nature is that men have made medical doctors and psychologists their priests. Whilst medicine is a great gift from the All-Holy Trinity - man requires the medicine (the Holy Mysteries) that soothes and heals the soul. It is all well and good to prescribe an anti-depressant, however, does prescribing an antidepressant fix the underlying issue or issues? In most cases the answer is no - for an antidepressant can only mask the symptoms of the sadness/illness being manifested from the soul. Man is comprised of both the physical and spiritual in union – his body and his soul. If one is to be truly healed than one needs to come to the Font of all healing which is our Lord and Saviour. This is why our Lord and Saviour chose to approach St Photini at the well – a symbol of Him (the All-Holy Trinity) who is the Fountain of all healing (John 4: 4-26). Furthermore, regimes that have sought to destroy man’s relationship with the All-Holy Trinity (such as the Communists) have always failed - as time and time again man’s spiritual hunger manifests itself. Why, in our society are so many people exploring all sorts of strange ‘new age’ practices which seem to still leave them hungry for something else? Moreover, why is the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist in the form of a sacred banquet? The reason is that the Holy Mysteries of the Eucharist starting off as offerings of bread and wine (once changed into the body and blood of our Saviour by the All-Holy Spirit) become both spiritual food and spiritual medicine to heal man’s physical and spiritual hunger. This is why it is so sad that there are so many Christian sects that do not have access to the Holy Mysteries - as apart from prayer they cannot offer anything else (as they have been cut off from Christ’s Body the Church).
As a priest and teacher, one thing that I am very conscious of is the messages that are being fed to our youth. It is our role as a society to protect and look after our youth as they are some of the little ones that Christ speaks of when he says, ‘bring the little children unto me’ (Matthew 19:14). One thing that is clear is that many of the messages that are being fed to them through the media and music are messages that will not help grow into good and healthy adults. One only has to turn on a popular radio station, and straight away one hears messages about drugs, gangsters, and sexuality. This amazes me – people often say that the youth have no respect and are depressed, however, they almost never look at the media that the youth are consuming. Put it this way man with good and inspirational guidance (guidance from the All-Holy Spirit) can achieve many great things as has been witnessed throughout history through the lives of the many great saints of the Orthodox Church. Nonetheless, with bad influences, man is capable of doing many evil things - look at the acts of the thugs under the various socialist movements of the twentieth century (communists, fascists, and Nazis)! This is why on issues like drug culture and gun violence societies need to look at the underlying causes. It is all well and good to try and take away all guns and all drugs but if the underlying issues are not addressed than one is merely applying a Band-Aid that at some point will burst - resulting in the same problems repeating over and over. This is why it is vital that our youth are taught the stories of great men and women that are worth emulating - the lives of the great saints! Celebrities often talk of their responsibility toward the youth but at the end of the day their only goal is to make money, and oftentimes they do just that – regardless of any responsibility they feel they might have to their audience! Let us as the Church always try and show our youth the great value of a life lived in communion with the All-Holy Trinity!
Finally, this week the Church celebrated the great Feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross this being one of the great Feasts in the Church’s calendar. This might seem to some a rather strange Feast to celebrate as the cross is essentially a symbol of death! St Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians: 18:
‘For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God.’
Well, put simply the cross being the implement upon which hung our Lord and Saviour is the symbol of Christ’s victory over the forces of death and destruction. It is by being put to death and then rising again that our Lord and Saviour healed the great rift between God and man caused by Adam’s fall (Genesis 3). This is why the veil in the temple was torn in two at the exact moment of Christ’s death (Matthew 27: 50-51) – at this moment the Old Covenant was replaced with the New Covenant (which is the All-Holy Trinity’s agreement with Christ’s Body the Orthodox Church). This means that we the Church have the ability to come into communion with our Lord and Saviour because He chose to die and rise again - fixing that which was broken and in need of repair. Christ by doing this has enabled man to by the process of theosis to have the ability to enter into perfect communion with Him. This is why we speak of the Communion of Saints for it is in this Blessed Communion that we the members of Christ’s Body can partake in His divine nature. St Peter puts it this way in 2 Peter 1: 3-4:
‘As His Divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.’
What St Peter means here is that through Christ and His promises we Christ’s Body the Church have everything that we need to live good and holy lives but also, through Christ in His incarnation, death and resurrection (becoming man) we have the opportunity to participate in the All-Holy Trinity’s energy (life) on earth and ultimately in heaven. Thus, through Christ’s death and resurrection, we too have the opportunity to participate in the All-Holy Trinity’s energy (life) as it is through the Holy Mysteries of the Church man is brought into the Mystical Communion of Saints. Thus, through this Communion man shares in the All-Holy Trinity’s energy and as a result partakes in the divine life of the All-Holy Trinity. Also, do not forget that this process is a process that begins on earth, for it is by partaking in the Holy Mysteries of the Church that one starts this process of theosis, with the final destination being Heaven. This is why what one does in life is important for if one has a loving relationship with the All-Holy Trinity in life, then that is what will continue after the Second Coming of our Lord and Saviour Christ. This is why the Holy Cross is not foolishness as it is the first milestone in man’s journey home to communion with the All-Holy Trinity. Indeed, the Holy Cross is the very sign of how much the All-Holy Trinity loves mankind for St John tells us this in his Gospel in chapter 3 verses 16 and 17:
‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.’
This is why the Holy Cross is a symbol of hope as it represents the great love of the All-Holy Trinity - a love that even chose to let His Son die for us His inheritance that we His church may have life within us!
Troparion of the Holy Cross:
“O Lord save your people and bless your inheritance. Grant victory to Orthodox Christians over their enemies saving them by your cross.”
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