Homily on Forgiveness Sunday
Romans 13: 11-14:4; Matthew 6: 14-21.
Today, we enter the Great Fast of Lent. This is a time where we can, through the grace of God, be joined to Him who is the true vine. This is a time of growth, a time where we prune from ourselves all things that hold us back.
This is a time in which, by prayer, fasting, and charity, we let ourselves be formed into a new person. A person who, through the grace and protection of our Lord and Saviour, is brought closer to Him who is the source of our life.
It is vital that in this season, you do what you can to grow spiritually. Not all people, due to various health conditions, can fully fast or become vegan. What matters here is that you do what is possible for you.
Saint John Chrysostom makes it clear that when it comes to the Paschal feast of Easter, no matter whether you have been successful in fasting, the table will be laden. He says in his Paschal Homily:
“Are there any now weary with fasting? Let them now receive their wages! If they have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their due reward; If any have come after the third hour, let him with gratitude join in the Feast! And he that arrived after the sixth hour, let him not doubt; for he shall have sustained no loss.And if any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him not hesitate; but let him come too. And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid by reason of his delay. For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour, as well as to him who toiled from the first.To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows. He accepts the work as He greets the endeavor. The deed He honors and the intention He commends. Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord! First and last alike receive your reward; rich and poor, rejoice together!Sober and slothful, celebrate the day! You that have kept the fast, and you that have not, rejoice today for the Table is richly laden! Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one. Let no one go away hungry; partake, all, of the cup of faith. Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!”
Therefore, the goal is that we attempt to do what we can so that He who is the Light of the World may help us cut from our lives the habits and spiritual practices that do not help us grow. We have a God who loves us and wishes the best for us, and it is in this spiritual desert that He will help us overcome our bad habits and any habitual sins or failings that hold us back in our spiritual lives.
As mentioned above, He is the Light of the World, and we are called to trust Him and be examples to others.
For He says in Matthew 5:16:
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.”
Therefore, this light alludes to the graces we partake in through the worthy reception of the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments). Without worthily receiving the Holy Mysteries, we are as parched lands, trees without a hope of receiving the light we need to be spiritually healthy. This is why we have the wonderful service of the Presanctified in Lent – that we might grow more connected to Him who is the source of our life and all love.
Hence, we are called to have a great love and respect for God and all of His human family. For it is in loving God and loving Him as we love ourselves that we are brought close to Him.
Saint Ephraim the Syrian says this about having a healthy respect for God:
“The fear of God illumines the soul, annihilates evil, weakens the passions, drives darkness from the soul, and makes it pure. The fear of God is the summit of wisdom. Where it is not, you will find nothing good. Whoever does not have the fear of God is open to diabolical falls.”
Unfortunately, this is why many people are lost—because they have opted to follow their own ways and not the way that their Lord and Saviour wishes to lead them. Christ is clear that if you love Him and come to Him with the simplicity and the trust of a child, then you will have rest.
Christ says in Matthew 11:28-30:
“Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light.”
This is not to say that the challenges in life will all melt away, but rather that if we come to Christ with the innocence and trust of a child, He will help us not to be as affected by these challenges.
To trust like a child can be daunting to some, for they may have been let down by others in the past. Yet we can depend on Him who gave His life for the world that we may have the opportunity for salvation.
Saint Silouan the Athonite puts it this way:
“Pride does not allow the soul to set out on the path of faith. Here is my advice to the unbeliever: let him say, ‘Lord, if You exist, then illumine me, and I will serve You with all my heart and soul.’ And for this humble thought and readiness to serve God, the Lord will immediately illumine him... and then your soul will sense the Lord; she will sense that the Lord has forgiven her, and loves her, and you will know this from experience, and the grace of the Holy Spirit will be a witness in your soul of your salvation, and you will want to cry out to the whole world: ‘The Lord loves us so much!’” (Writings III, 6)
This is the key—the knowledge that the Lord loves us so much, more than all of His creation, for He so loved the world that He gave us His only Son that we might have life in us and life to the full (John 3:16, John 10:10).
He came not to test us or put us on trial—a trial we would surely fail. He came that we may know that He is love, a love beyond all our understanding. This is to say, He loves us so much that He opened His arms on the wood of the Holy Cross that our fallen nature might be resurrected with Him to be restored to our former state before the fall of Saint Adam and Saint Eve.
Too often, so-called evangelists paint God as a monster whose sole delight is to torment His creation. This is not how God is, for if this were the case, then why did Christ paint the Father as a loving father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)?
This is not to say that we can commit any sin and then act as if we can make it all good with God without true repentance—which, unfortunately, many evangelical sects tend to believe. Rather, we must accept that we will sin—this is a reality that stems from our human nature.
However, if we are like the prodigal son and the publican, then we will be forgiven our sins (Luke 18:9-14).
Finally, don’t ever think that God will withhold His forgiveness, for He is a loving God who seeks, like a loving parent, to help you grow. Yes, we are human, and part of that is falling short of the mark.
Saint John of Kronstadt wrote in My Life in Christ, Part 1:
“Often during the day I have been a great sinner, and at night, after prayer, I have gone to rest, justified and whiter than snow by the grace of the Holy Ghost, with the deepest peace and joy in my heart!”
Accordingly, let us be people of hope in this time of the Great Fast and trust in the guidance of the All-Holy Trinity.
O come upon us All-Holy Spirit that in this time of trial -lent- we may be made anew in the image of He who is the source of all hope, love, and eternal life.
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