Homily on the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent
Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 10: 32-45.
This Sunday we enter the 5th week of the Lent which ultimately leads to Calvary and the holiest day in the Church’s calendar Pascha. This final part of Great Lent is a wonderful time which we, faithful Christians, can use to mould ourselves to be more like our Lord and Saviour.
Today Christ tells His Apostles that He will be crucified, die, and rise on the third day. He also makes it clear to them, if they follow Him, they will also taste the bitter taste of death for their Faith. Yet, as we know, these men went onto become the great founding Fathers of Christ’s Church and some of the very first Saints of the Church.
As Christians we are called to follow Christ in all things. This is not easy at times because we are human with all the frailty which this entails.
What are we to do? It is simple, we are look to Christ who by His incarnation, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension, teaches us the way to the Father. As I mentioned before we are human and will miss the mark from time to time. Not to worry, if we are like the prodigal son, then we will be forgiven our sins.
There are far too many people who take a negative image of the All-Holy Trinity ,the streets are full of them with their signs proclaiming that all will go to Hell if they do not repent. Yes, Hell is a reality for a life turned away from God, but God is not a loveless, angry monster waiting for us to put one foot wrong so he can turn us away.
No, this is not the character of the Lord of all – God is the God who loves mankind; there are no others. He is the one so loved the world that He gave the life of His only son for the many who would accept Him (John 3: 16).
Never listen to anyone who focuses only on sin no one is without sin. Sin is not what defines us it is simply missing the mark. If we miss the mark, we have the Holy Mystery of Confession to help us make things right with the All-Holy Trinity. Once the sin is forgiven that is it, it is wiped from the slate and forgotten. We do not believe in Purgatory in the Orthodox Church there is no further payment for sins needed.
Saint John Cassian of says this on the forgiveness of God:
For if we recall that thief who was by reason of a single confession admitted into paradise, we shall feel that he did not acquire such bliss by the merits of his life, but obtained it by the gift of a merciful God. Or if we bear in mind those two grievous and heinous sins of King David, blotted out by one word of penitence, we shall see that neither here were the merits of his works sufficient to obtain pardon for so great a sin, but that the grace of God superabounded, as, when the opportunity for true penitence was taken, He removed the whole weight of sins through the full confession of but one word…
St John Cassian, Institutes, Book 12, Chapter 11.
What this means then is that forgiveness is granted to those who confess with a pure heart and in the case of the righteous thief Saint Dismas, his faith was all the Lord needed to heal Him and forgive his sins.
This is why it is important to never forget that God loves us and if we are truly sorry then why would he not forgive us our sins?
Did Jesus tell the woman caught in adultery that they she still owed Him something after he forgave her sins? No, he simply said, ‘go and sin no more’ (John 8: 11). Thus, it is with us, once the sin is forgiven, it is forgiven we do not owe anything more to God other than our love, trust and hearts.
Moreover, Saint John Chrysostom makes it clear that this act of forgiveness is a private matter between the penitent and God for he says:
Also, not only is this the wonderful thing that he remits our sins, but that he not even reveals them nor makes them manifest and clear, nor forces us to come forward into the midst, and to tell out our errors, but bids us make our defence to him alone, and to confess ourselves to him. And yet among secular judges, if any tell any of the robbers or grave-robbers, when they are arrested, to tell their errors and be quit of their punishment, they would accede to this with all readiness, despising the shame through desire of safety. But in this case, there is nothing of this kind, but he both remits the sins, nor compels us to marshal them in array before any spectators. But one thing alone he seeks, that he who enjoys this remission should learn the greatness of the gift. John Chrysostom, Baptismal instruction 2, chapter 4.
Therefore, it is clear to us what a loving God we have who only wishes that we come to Him in prayer, and love.
However, as we are soon to celebrate the Feast of Feasts let us not forget to forgive those who have wronged us. Christ tells us that we are to forgive our brother or sister seventy seven times seven times (Matthew 18: 21-22).
The significance of this number here is that when Christ uses the number seventy-seven times seven, He is referring back to the use of the number in Genesis 4:24 where it is used to indicate an almost indescribable number – in short infinity!
It follows then if our brother, sister, father, brother, friend comes to us seeking forgiveness, and are sincere, we are to forgive them. If we do not, then we are not to offer our offering at the Holy Altar of God (Matthew 5:24-26).
What good does it do to partake in the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist and have hate in one’s heart? For the offering of the Eucharist is about love; for love opened His arms on the Cross so that His beloved might have life and live it to the full (John 10:10).
Hate does not sustain a person. How many people have died terrible deaths because of the hate in their hearts? Hate slowly kills that which is loving, good, and healthy in a person.
Saint Maximos the Confessor in his Chapters on love says this on a heart filled with hate:
A soul that is nurtured by hatred of man cannot be at peace with God, Who has said: if you do not forgive men their sins your Heavenly father does not forgive you your sins (Matthew 6: 15). If a man does not want to be reconciled, you must at least guard yourself from hating, praying to God with a pure heart for him, and speaking no evil of him.
Saint Maximos the Confessor, Chapter on love, 4.35.
Therefore, let us use what is left of the Great Fast to make things right with God and others for we are soon to stand joyfully at the empty tomb.
Comentários