Homily on 6th Sunday after Pentecost John 10: 1-9.
In today’s Gospel, our Lord and Saviour makes it clear that He is way to salvation and that anyone else making such claims is a thief and a robber. There can be no other way for Christ is clear that ‘He is the way the truth and the life (John 14: 16).’ No one can come to the Father except through Him- for as He says in today’s Gospel He is the door, and those who enter this door will have life eternal (John 10:9)!
One thing that astounds me today is in that whilst atheism seems to be the new fad, meaning that if one is going to be anything in the eyes of the secular world, one needs to make sure that one follows this creed of atheism! One only has to go online, and one can find countless websites dedicated to this new faith of atheism! For these people there can be no place for the All-Holy Trinity- to give the All-Holy Trinity a place is to admit that there is right and wrong. Also, to give the All-Holy Trinity a place - is to acknowledge that mankind needs the All-Holy Trinity. However, no matter how shrilly these individuals proclaim their new faith in ‘nothingness’- something still remains in the heart of mankind, a desire to commune with the divine! Much like the deer in psalm 42, our hearts and souls long for the sustenance that only the All-Holy Trinity can provide.
I often feel pity for these poor souls who have been led astray by the spirit of the age. They are often good people trying to make their way through the complex journey of life. Oftentimes, they report that they have had painful experiences in their lives, and these experiences have left them scarred and fearful. Yet to heal their brokenness, they search and search in vain for something that will give them what they are lacking. Something if you will to make sense of their life and heal their brokenness. Oftentimes these poor souls will turn to new age fads which whilst seeming attractive- cannot satisfy their spiritual hunger! However, all of these new-age fads and quasi-faiths cannot give them the spiritual food and drink that could quench and satiate their spiritual hunger and thirst. Indeed, if one looks into the history of this new age movement one notices that its leaders are men and women of little moral fibre - oftentimes their only goal was not healing, but the accumulation of wealth on this earth. Our Lord and Saviour is adamant that these men and women who have led people astray will pay in the age to come!
However, we have a great opportunity in this life to show people that Christ is the way the truth and the life - as did the great saints of our Church. These men and women oftentimes went into hostile territory, and through their faith, deeds and words brought many to faith in the All-Holy Trinity. It is time to shrug off the negative image that Hollywood and the secular world have of Christianity. We are not like they portray us - we are people of faith who know that the All-Holy Trinity is the truth and that His way is a way of freedom and love – unlike some other faiths! Yes, there are some Christian sects who love to preach fire and brimstone. However, have you ever wondered where this fire and brimstone attitude comes from? In many ways, it can only come from a distorted view of the All-Holy Trinity as a God who is bent on making people pay for their wrongs- a sort of legalistic understanding of the Deity. Often people who are like this are broken and feel that the only way to God is through a way of living that can be best described as ridged and joyless.
Saint Paul is adamant that our faith must be full of the joy of life that the All-Holy Trinity gives us through the Mysteries of His Holy Church! Saint Paul makes it clear that we are to:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand (Philippians 4:4).”
This is the way Christians should live their faith rejoicing in the Lord – for to rejoice in the Lord is to praise the Lord, and in so doing one shows one’s trust in the Lord.
Whilst it is clear that man is sinful- let us rejoice in the reality that the All-Holy Trinity is a ‘God who loves mankind’. The All-Holy Trinity has made it clear that through the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour the door to salvation is open to all who profess Him as Lord and enter into communion with His Holy Orthodox Church. All have the possibility of having their sins forgiven; all have the possibility of becoming a part of that Mystery, which is Christ’s Mystical Body the Church. What I am trying to make clear to you is that whilst it is important to acknowledge that sin is a reality in each of our lives; it is equally as important to acknowledge that this sin can be forgiven if one is sorry and prepared to take the steps to confess one’s sins. Once the Mystery of absolution has been accomplished, through the priest, this sin is permanently lifted and it is as if it was never committed!
Finally, let us pray that all may come to know the beauty and truth of our faith for Christ came that all may have the opportunity to be saved. Let us pray for the people who are searching for the truth that they may find Christ and His Church - for it is clear that more than ever, we live in an age where the spiritual hunger man has for the All-Holy Trinity is not being satiated. I have often wondered- if they do not believe in the All-Holy Trinity why then are there so many shows that have supernatural themes in them being made? Surely, a sign that man is made to be in communion with the All-Holy Trinity and whilst many reject Him- this subconscious desire is being expressed in the shows that the secular world is making and viewing! Let us pray that they may find their way to the source of all life for the All-Holy Trinity loves each and every one of them! Every human life is loved by the All-Holy Trinity; every human life is important to the All-Holy Trinity for we are all made in His image (Genesis 1: 27); especially exemplified by the reality of Christ’s incarnation – God became man so as to bring man back into communion with Him! What greater love can there be than this?
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