Homily on the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
Ephesians 2: 4-10; Luke 8: 26-39.
In today’s Epistle Saint Paul reminds us that we have a God who is rich in mercy and love. Today there are many people who seek to paint God as a vengeful monster who delights in punishing sinners. What kind of faith are they promoting? Quite simply, what they promote is a dead faith, based solely on doing the right thing saying the right prayers lest God should punish them.
It does not work this way! If this were the perfect way to be a Christian our Lord and Saviour would have used the Pharisees and their way of life as the model for all Christians; after all the Pharisees said the right prayers and did the right thing! Yet in doing all these things their hearts were far from God for they only cared that others admired them and praised them for their supposed holiness (See Matthew 23).
Unfortunately, there are many who hide behind a veil of supposed holiness whose hearts are cold, who are so blinded by their spiritual pride that they cannot see that they are cutting themselves off from the God they claim to serve. These are the clergy and laity who make people’s lives difficult. They run around Churches pronouncing judgements against people whilst they ignore the log in their own eye (Matthew 7: 1-6).
Saint John Chrysostom puts it in this way:
“Do not judge anyone, but try to overcome your own shortcomings—otherwise, you will deserve condemnation. Anyone will fall when the Lord does not support him; we cannot stand without Divine help. By condemning your neighbor, you make yourself worse than the one who listens to you. If he is a sinner, he becomes carefree as he has found a companion; if he is righteous, he will yield to pride and arrogance because another has sinned, and thus he has a reason to admire himself.”
This is why many of the holy saints chose to escape the walls of the Churches because they saw the spiritual hypocrisy committed by these supposed holy people. For these saints’ salvation was worked out in the spiritual desert. Whilst in this spiritual desert they could focus on building their relationship with the All-Holy Trinity without being distracted by the faults and excesses of others.
Also, it was in the silence of the spiritual desert that they were forced to take stock of their own short comings spiritual or otherwise. This is why the Church fathers always warned potential hermits that the spiritual desert is a place not to be entered in lightly.
Further to this, they realised that our faith is more than a set of laws and doctrines– it is a tried and tested way to Communion with God. It is a roadmap to our spiritual liberation – liberation from all that holds us back spiritually from reaching our full potential as children of God. If we live good Christian lives, lived according to the model of Christ then we will reach the summit of all Christian hope – Communion with the All-Holy Trinity forever.
This is why Christianity is relational because at the heart of the faith is an acknowledgement that we are nothing without a connection to our God and our fellow human beings. This is why we are called to care for those around us for if we cannot love our fellow human beings how can we truly love God?
This is why the Church is often referred to as the Body of Christ; through Christ, in the Holy Mysteries we are all joined together as one family. Therefore, we are called to have a relationship with God and our fellow human beings in His Church working out our salvation by living the best Christian lives we can.
Saint Maximos the Confessor says this of loving God:
“He who loves Me, says the Lord, will keep My commandments (cf. John 14:15, 23); and 'this is My commandment, that you love one another' (John 15:12). Thus he who does not love his neighbor fails to keep the commandment, and so cannot love the Lord.”
This might seem to be a bit harsh because people can be very difficult to love at times, but this is at the heart of the Christ’s Gospel the love of others for by so doing we show our love for God.
Therefore, if people are difficult to love at times, it is enough to respect them and help them in their times of need, we are not called to be their best friends. Rather, we are called to respect their human dignity which comes from their being made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1: 26-27).
Also, it is important to acknowledge that we are imperfect and at times will miss the mark in our Christian lives and how we deal with people but if we are truly sorry God will forgive us. God is not a hard task master, after all, in the parable of The Prodigal Son, Christ shows just how loving and forgiving the Father is (Luke 15: 11-32) – forgiving what would seem to us unforgivable.
Saint Paul puts it this way:
‘God. Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us (by His incarnation, death, and resurrection), even when we were dead in sin, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-10)”.
Now this is a bone of contention for many right believing Christians who point out to those who are convinced that salvation is by faith alone. These people contend that it is by the acceptance of Christ we are saved once and for all. Yes, one needs to accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, but a faith without deeds is a dead faith – a fish out of water that has no hope of saving itself.
Additionally, salvation is the product of a well lived life in Christ where the believer perfectly conforms themselves to Christ. Salvation is not guaranteed by simply professing Christ, although this is an important part of the Christian conversion experience! Rather, salvation is the culmination of fighting the good fight and persevering to the end wining the race to paraphrase Saint Paul (2 Timothy 4: 7-8).
Saint Greogory the Diologist has this to say on faith:
"Perhaps each of you will say to himself, ‘I have believed, I shall be saved.’ He speaks what is true if by faith he joins good works. That is indeed true faith, which does not deny in work what it professes in word. For this St. Paul says of certain false faithful, ‘They profess that they know God; but in their works they do deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work (Titus 1:16)’. For John also says: ‘He who says that He knows God, and keeps not His Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2: 4)’.”
Those who believe that deeds are not necessary will point out that in verse 8 and 9
of today’s Epistle Saint Paul says:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.”
However, they have missed the point, our lord and Saviour makes it abundantly clear that we will be judged on how we have treated our fellow man. For, in Matthew 25: 31-46 Christ makes it clear that in every deed good or otherwise committed by a Christian, this deed is committed unto Him.
Christ says:
‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me…Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. (Matthew 25: 40; 45).”
Therefore, it is vital that we look for ways in which we can be of service to our fellow man for these deeds, whilst alone, not enough to save – salvation can only come from the worthy reception of the Holy Mysteries of Christ’s Church and living a life conformed to His will. However, good deeds are the sign of a healthy relationship with God for man is saved through a combination of faith, grace from the Holy Mysteries worthily received, and, deeds.
It must be noted that these are not all equal for grace is uncreated coming from God and our faith can grow or diminish, this is made evident through the parable of the Sower where the seed representing the Word of God falls into different terrestrial conditions representing the interior life of the hearer (Matthew 13: 1-23; Mark 4: 1-20; Luke 8: 4-15).
For some their faith will be a phase which will fade due to a superficial relationship with God which is transactional in nature – if I say this prayer do this act you will save me. For others their faith will be nourished through the many graces received through the frequent reception of the Mysteries of Christ’s Church principally penance and the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist.
This is not to say that Baptism, Chrismation, Holy Orders, and Holy Unction are not important grace imparting Mysteries – they are essential Mysteries in the life of the Church. However, they are apart from Holy Unction, are generally only once received.
Also, Holy Matrimony, ideally should only be once conferred onto a bride and a groom but the Church allows remarriage in a penitential wedding service out of an acknowledgement that people are flawed and can often fall short in their relationship with one another as they can with God.
Therefore, as Christ met the sinners where they were at in their spiritual journeys, so to must the Church, for it is a Spiritual Hospital where all come to be healed through the Holy Mysteries there dispensed.
Saint John Chrysostom puts it in this way:
The Church is a hospital, and not a courtroom, for souls. She does not condemn on behalf of sins, but grants remission of sins.
Nothing is so joyous in our life as the thanksgiving that we experience in the Church. In the Church, the joyful sustain their joy. In the Church, those worried acquire hapiness, and those saddened, joy. In the Church, the troubled find relief, and the heavy-burdened, rest.
“Come,” says the Lord, “near my, all of you who labor and are heavy-laiden (with trials and sins), and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
What could be more desirable than to meet this voice? What is sweeter than this invitation? The Lord is calling you to the Church for a rich banquet. He transfers you from struggles to rest, and from tortures to relief. He relieves you from the burden of your sins. He heals worries with thanksgiving, and sadness with joy.
No one is truly free or joyful besides he who lives for Christ. Such a person overcomes all evil and does not fear anything!”
Moreover, there are more than seven Holy Mysteries in the life of the Church – the distinction between sacraments and sacramentals is foreign to Orthodox theology. We profess that every blessing whether conferred by a priest or a bishop is a Holy Mystery for it confers some grace onto a person, place or thing. In a way setting these aside for service in God and supporting the faithful in their journey of faith.
This is the whole point of the Church’s existence for it is the barque which brings God’s people back to Him. This is why many churches in the Western tradition were built with ceilings with beams that deliberately emulated the interior of the hull of a ship to drive this point home to the faithful.
Without the grace of God man becomes like a parched land which cannot sustain life in much the same way a newborn is helpless and relies on its parents – without its parent’s its life cannot continue.
This is perfectly expressed in the words of Saint David in Psalm 142:6-8:
‘I spread my hands out to you; my spirit faints within me; turn not your face from me, lest I become like those who go down into the pit. Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning, for I hope in You; make me know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.’
What these verses eloquently express is the lament of a soul who is not only persecuted but is also feels far from God – without the grace of God received in the Holy Mysteries we are empty and like this poor soul in the Psalm, in a dark place. What also shines through here is the faith of the person that, although God may seem distant, He will come and through His grace, help him in his desperate situation. .
Moreover, these verses can also be interpreted as a representation of mankind before the incarnation of our Lord and Saviour. Prior to the incarnation, mankind could do nothing to help himself – his every effort to restore communion with God fell short. Yet by taking on our human nature the God-man Christ, through His incarnation, death, and resurrection lifted man’s fallen nature allowing man to again claim sonship of God (see 2 Corinthians 6:18; 1 John 3:1-2).
Christ does this by opening His arms on the Holy Cross suffering the death of criminal for those who committed the crimes. Yet by His resurrection our fallen nature is lifted up and restored to its original dignity so that now we can truly enter into a deep communion with our Creator. No more are we in the spiritual desert being chased by Pharoah’s troops the evil one’s minions – if we choose, we can have life within us (John 6: 53).
But just like the poor soul in the Psalm, Christ trusts the Father for as Saint David writes, in your righteousness You shall bring my soul out of affliction (Psalm 142: 11). This happened, for the second Person of the All-Holy Trinity rose from the dead showing that mankind now was healed of the ancient curse of Ancestral Sin brought upon mankind by Adam’s fall.
This is why we are called to be people of hope, for we have a loving God who loves us and will always help us if we ask him for help. We are not on our own, we have an advocate to the Father in Christ. Also, Christ gave us His mother Mary to become our mother to intercede to Him on our behalf.
Therefore, never hesitate to pray to Mary to intercede to her son on your behalf so that you may receive the graces you need in your life. Christ listens to pleas of His Holy Mother. It was she who caused Him to perform His first miracle at the wedding in Canna (John 2: 1-12) – this being a foreshadowing of Christ telling Saint James that Mary was his mother indicating that she can and does intercede for faithful Christians to her Son on their behalf (John 19:26-27).
The history of Holy Orthodoxy is filled with many accounts of how the All-Holy Theotokos (Mother of God) has intervened to save her beloved Christian people who have prayed for her intercession to her Son.
We do not worship the All-Holy Theotokos as many ignorant Protestants like to affirm. Rather, we honour her for the great yes, she said to the All-Holy Spirit – this yes made possible the greatest event in all of human history; the incarnation of our Lord and Saviour.
It never ceases to amaze me how people who seek to deny Mary’s important place in the history of our salvation, cherry pick bits of the Holy Scriptures to support whatever they believe, while ignoring the traditions of the Holy Church. They fail to understand that the Holy Scriptures comes out of the Church and not the other way around.
Sola scriptura cannot work because the scriptures can only be interpreted by the Church through Holy Tradition – this being the Church Fathers as much as they accord with the other parts of Holy Tradition and each other, the liturgies of the Holy Church and the Ecumenical and pan-Orthodox Councils of the Church.
Without this Holy Tradition to guide you, you will stray in your understanding of the Holy Scriptures. There can only be one truth and the Holy Church is the guardian of that truth by the grace given to her by the All-Holy Spirit when Christ breathed on His disciples (John 20:22) making them the first priests of the New Covenant and repeated again at the feast of Pentecost when the All-Holy Spirit descended on the Holy Apostles giving them the courage to begin to preach the Gospel of Christ to all nations (Acts 2: 1-31).
The Church is guided by this good and All-Holy Spirit who has never left her for when ever there has been an issue of doctrine that has needed to be clarified the Church has called an ecumenical or Pan-Orthodox council to clear this issue up via the grace and guidance of the All-Holy Spirit. We know this for Christ made it clear that the ‘gates of Hell will never prevail against the Church (Matthew 16:18).
Therefore, Holy Scripture can only be fully comprehended and explained in the Church and by the Church. Whilst it is admirable that the faithful read the Holy Scriptures daily, it is advisable that this is done under the guidance of a reading program written by a competent bishop, priest, or deacon which clearly explains the message of the Holy Scriptures so that there can be no confusion or misunderstandings.
Finally, let us pray for all the poor souls this week who are suffering in the many conflicts around the world. Let us pray for peace and the conversion of all involved so that they follow the will of the All-Holy Trinity and not the desires of their own hearts.
