Rom. 2: 10-16
Matt. 4: 18-23

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Fred went into a bar and seated himself on a stool. The bartender came up to him and asked, “What’ll it be, bud?” Fred replied, “Set me up with seven whiskey shots and make them all doubles.” The bartender was surprised by the request, but it wasn’t the strangest one he’d had, so he set the seven shots in front of Fred. Before the bartender could even back away, Fred slugged down one shot, then the next, and all the others. Staring in disbelief, the bartender blurted out, “What’s wrong with you?! Why did you drink them so fast?” Fred replied, “You’d drink them fast, too, if you had what I have.” In a voice softened by compassion, the bartender said, “Oh, I’m sorry. What do you have?” Practically falling off his stool by this time, Fred replied, “Only a dollar!”

At some time or another, everyone is tempted to try and get away with something. Trying to get away with something is not the right mindset to have in one’s discipleship to Jesus Christ. Those whom we commemorate this morning didn’t try to get away with something; in fact, they went beyond what was required of them in their relationship with Christ, and gave all that they had, which is why the Church holds them up to us this morning as examples for us to follow.

Each year, on the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church offers us examples of Christian sanctity, since holiness, being the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s presence, is the fruit of Pentecost. In accordance with this custom, this morning the Orthodox Church in America remembers the saints of All-America.

In this morning’s Gospel reading, we heard Christ invite the disciples with the words “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They became his disciples…not only because they heard the invitation, but because they got up, left their old life behind, and actually followed Christ, as did this morning’s Saints. And in this morning’s Epistle reading, St. Paul warns us: “…it is not the hearers of the law who are just before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”

Christ’s call to discipleship is always “right now,” which usually turns out to be the most inconvenient moment. Jesus Christ does not wait to call us until our schedule is cleared, or until we have gotten our act together, or until we have gotten used to the idea of following him. He passes by and simply says, “Follow me.” And hearing that call, the Gospel reading this morning says that the Disciples “immediately left their nets and followed him.”

What about us? This morning’s readings, and the example of those whom we commemorate, present us with a question for ourselves: Am I REALLY Christ’s disciple just because I call myself a Christian?

Fred phoned home from his office and breathlessly told Lucinda, “Pack my clothes, my fishing equipment, and especially my blue silk pajamas. I suddenly have the chance of a lifetime: To go fishing in Michigan with the CEO of my company!” Fred hurried home, got everything, jumped into the car, and roared away. A week later he returned. Lucinda asked, “Did you have a good time, dear?” Fred replied, “Oh yeah, it was great. But you forgot to pack my blue silk pajamas.” “No, I didn’t, dear” Lucinda said, smiling, “I put them in your tacklebox.”

Trying to get away with something is not the right mindset to have in one’s discipleship to Jesus Christ. Neither is assuming that we are the “exception to the rule” to Christ’s call to follow him by leaving our old nets and ways of living and thinking behind. Without giving it much thought, we seem to assume that the sacrifice central to being a Christian is not really required of us. Too often we opt for the mediocrity of being arm-chair Christians. Christ had a word for such people: It is “hypocrite”, and not “disciple”.
Just as last Sunday’s All Saints was a call addressed to us, so too this morning’s Saints of All-America call to us and ask us about our discipleship to Jesus Christ. For most of us, there is no sudden leap into spiritual maturity, but rather, it is a step-by-step journey through the small crucifixions of the self that each day affords, and it is how one lives the life that one has been given that determines one’s sanctity. Step by step, denial-of-the-self by small denial-of-the-self, we become Saints through the “opportunities of little things” in each day.
Fred was staggering through the desert, absolutely parched, when he stumbled upon a man with a small stand under the palms, selling ties. Fred asked, “Do you have some water?” The man replied, “No, no water. But would you like to buy a tie, only $75?” Fred yelled, “You idiot! I’m dying of thirst and you want to sell me an over-priced tie!” The tie-seller responded, “It does not matter that you do not want to buy one of my ties; I will show you that I do not have any hard feelings towards you. If you continue over that hill to the east and then go another two miles, you will find a lovely restaurant. I am sure they have water and can help you.” Disgusted, Fred turned away without a word and continued his trudge east, up, and over the hill. Several hours later, Fred staggered back, went up to the tie-sellers stand and said, “I hate you! Your brother wouldn’t let me in without a tie!”
Christ’s call to discipleship can demand the most of us in our relationships with others; sometimes, we are tempted to act with others as if we are not obligated to love them, or to even be civil with them. It is no accident that in order for us to truly be Orthodox Christians we must be members of a parish, for it is in relationships with other parishioners that our own discipleship is tested. Christ’s call to follow him is shown in his call for us to be members of this parish, so that in attending to the parish’s needs and life we might have a venue in which to become Orthodox Saints. Let us reflect upon the sacrifices that our parish members make for our parish, just as we reflect upon the sacrifices that made this morning’s Saints of All-America holy. And then, after reflecting, let us follow Christ by emulating these people, both Saints and parishioners alike.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

The Second Sunday after Pentecost,
The one known as the Sunday of
All Saints of America

On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates all the saints, known and unknown, who have shone forth in its territory. Accordingly, the Orthodox Church in America remembers the saints of North America on this day.

Saints of all times, and in every country are seen as the fulfillment of God's promise to redeem fallen humanity. Their example encourages us to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us" and to "run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). The saints of North America also teach us how we should live, and what we must expect to endure as Christians

Although it is a relatively young church, the Orthodox Church in America has produced saints in nearly all of the six major categories of saints: Apostles (and Equals of the Apostles); Martyrs (and Confessors); Prophets; Hierarchs; Monastic Saints; and the Righteous. Prophets, of course, lived in Old Testament times and predicted the coming of Christ.

The first Divine Liturgy in what is now American territory (northern latitude 58 degrees, 14 minutes, western longitude 141 degrees) was celebrated on July 20, 1741, the Feast of the Prophet Elias, aboard the ship Peter under the command of Vitus Bering. Hieromonk Hilarion Trusov and the priest Ignatius Kozirevsky served together on that occasion. Several years later, the Russian merchant Gregory I. Shelikov visited Valaam monastery, suggesting to the abbot that it would be desirable to send missionaries to Russian America.

On September 24, 1794, after a journey of 7,327 miles (the longest missionary journey in Orthodox history) and 293 days, a group of monks from Valaam arrived on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The mission was headed by Archimandrite Joasaph, and included Hieromonks Juvenal, Macarius, and Athanasius, the Hierodeacons Nectarius and Stephen, and the monks Herman and Joasaph. St. Herman of Alaska (December 13, August 9), the last surviving member of the mission, fell asleep in the Lord in 1837.

Throughout the Church's history, the seeds of faith have always been watered by the blood of the martyrs. The Protomartyr Juvenal was killed near Lake Iliamna by natives in 1799, thus becoming the first Orthodox Christian to shed his blood for Christ in the New World. In 1816, St. Peter the Aleut was put to death by Spanish missionaries in California when he refused to convert to Roman Catholicism.

Missionary efforts continued in the nineteenth century, with outreach to the native peoples of Alaska. Two of the most prominent laborers in Christ's Vineyard were St. Innocent Veniaminov (March 31 and October 6) and St. Jacob Netsvetov (July 26), who translated Orthodox services and books into the native languages. Father Jacob Netsvetev died in Sitka in 1864 after a life of devoted service to the Church. Father John Veniaminov, after his wife's death, received monastic tonsure with the name Innocent. He died in 1879 as the Metropolitan of Moscow.

As the nineteenth century was drawing to a close, an event of enormous significance for the North American Church took place. On March 25, 1891, Bishop Vladimir went to Minneapolis to receive St. Alexis Toth (May 7) and 361 of his parishioners into the Orthodox Church. This was the beginning of the return of many Uniates to Orthodoxy.

St. Tikhon (Belavin), the future Patriarch of Moscow (April 7, October 9), came to America as bishop of the diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska in September 1898. As the only Orthodox bishop on the continent, St. Tikhon traveled extensively throughout North America in order to minister to his widely scattered and diverse flock. He realized that the local church here could not be a permanent extension of the Russian Church. Therefore, he focused his efforts on giving the American Church a diocesan and parish structure which would help it mature and grow.

St. Tikhon returned to Russian in 1907, and was elected as Patriarch of Moscow ten years later. He died in 1925, and for many years his exact burial place remained unknown. St. Tikhon's grave was discovered on February 22, 1992 in the smaller cathedral of Our Lady of the Don in the Don Monastery when a fire made renovation of the church necessary.

St. Raphael of Brooklyn (February 27) was the first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated in North America. Archimandrite Raphael Hawaweeny was consecrated by Bishop Tikhon and Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) at St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York on March 13, 1904. As Bishop of Brooklyn, St. Raphael was a trusted and capable assistant to St. Tikhon in his archpastoral ministry. St. Raphael on February 27, 1915.

The first All American Council took place March 5-7, 1907 at Mayfield, PA, and the main topic was "How to expand the mission." Guidelines and directions for missionary activity, and statutes for the administrative structure of parishes were also set forth.

In the twentieth century, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, countless men, women, and children received the crown of martyrdom rather than renounce Christ. SS. John Kochurov (October 31) and Alexander Hotovitzky (December 4 and August 7) both served the Church in North America before going back to Russia. St. John became the first clergyman to be martyred in Russia on October 31, 1917 in St. Petersburg. St. Alexander Hotovitzky, who served in America until 1914, was killed in 1937.

In addition to the saints listed above, we also honor those saints who are known only to God, and have not been recognized officially by the Church. As we contemplate the lives of these saints, let us remember that we are also called by God to a life of holiness.

Heb. 11: 33-12:2
Matt. 10: 32-33, 37-38, 19: 27-30

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

As he attempted to land the plane, the pilot hammered the ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and thank them for flying with them that day. In light of the terrible landing, the pilot had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye as he said goodbye, just waiting for someone to make a smart comment. Finally, when everyone had gotten off the plane except a little, old lady with a cane, the pilot watched as she slowly made her way to the door. When she reached the pilot, she asked, “Young man, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why no Ma'am," responded the pilot, “What is it?" The little old lady then asked, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"

Needless to say, the pilot knew that he would not be receiving any special awards for that landing. We all want to be honored, but not all of us are willing to pay the price required for being regarded with distinction. Not so those whom we honor this morning. The Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated to All Saints, both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God, those who were faithful, in large and in small ways, to their discipleship to Jesus Christ. This feast originated at an early date, perhaps as a celebration of all martyrs, but then it was broadened to include not only martyrs, but also all those men and women who had borne witness to Christ by their virtuous lives, even if they did not shed their blood for Him.

In this morning’s reading from Hebrews, we have just heard: “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” Those Saints whom we commemorate this morning are all those who have heard Christ speak in their hearts, whose hearts and minds have been set afire, and who went out into the world to bring to the whole world the good news: the news that God has so loved the world, that He has entered into it never to leave it, and that in His Resurrection He has taken all that is the world and brought it home to Himself.

In preparation for his trip to Rome, Fred went to his barber for a haircut. While cutting Fred’s hair, the barber asked where Fred was going. “Rome,” Fred replied, to which his barber replied, "Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It's dirty and full of Italians. How are you getting there?” Fred said, “By Delta.” “Delta?!” the barber exclaimed; “Good Lord, they’re awful. They’re never on time, their seats are uncomfortable, and their flight attendants are ugly. Where are you staying in Rome?" Fred replied, “I’ll be at the downtown International Marriott." “What a dump!” the barber opined. “That right there is the worst hotel in the city. So, what are you going to do while you are there?” Fred replied, “I’m going to go see the Vatican and hope I get a chance to see the Pope." “That’ll be the day,” the barber replied, “You and the millions of others there. Good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it."

A month later, Fred again came in for his regular haircut. “So, how was the trip to Rome?” the barber asked. Fred replied, "It was wonderful! On the flights over and coming back they bumped me up to first class. And the hotel had just finished a $25 million remodeling job, and since they had overbooked they put me in the Presidential suite at no extra charge!" "Well," grumbled the barber, "I know you didn't get to see the Pope." “Oh,” Fred said, “But I did! While I was touring the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder and explained that the pope likes to personally meet some of the visitors, and if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and wait the pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, five minutes later the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down as he spoke a few words to me." The barber was flabbergasted. "Really!?" he exclaimed. "What did he say?" Fred replied, “He asked me, ‘Where'd you get that lousy haircut?’”

At one time or another most of us are tempted to think that we are good at everything and that we know everything. We’d all like to think that we are special. In this morning’s Gospel reading we heard Peter ask a question which, upon first hearing, might have struck us as crass; basically, he was asking what was in it for them if they followed Christ? The question, however, might be better understood as Peter’s seeking reassurance that in their following of Christ he and the other Disciples had made the right choice. They had, in fact, left everything to follow Jesus. While they had not always understood what he said and did, nor had they always selected the proper course of action, nonetheless, they had still sacrificed everything to follow Him. What Peter were really asking Christ was: Were we right to do this, or was it just foolishness on our part?

Just as the Apostles did, so too a serious follower of Jesus Christ gives all that he can to that discipleship. I am sure that all of us have, at one time or another, asked the same question of God: “See, we have left all and followed you. Therefore, what shall we have?” To this question Christ gave a definitive answer: “He who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”
Do we here this morning think that we are not called to the same level of holiness and commitment as were those whom we commemorate today? What the Church stresses in today’s commemoration of All Saints is that this feast is a call to each of us, a call to personal discipleship to Christ. As Christ makes clear in this morning’s Gospel reading, there can be no Christian discipleship without the cross! Are we willing to obey Christ’s command, and embrace the crosses that come to us in the ordinariness of our days, the crosses sometimes great, but mostly small?
Completely soused, Fred staggered into a bar, plopped himself onto a stool, and demanded a drink. The bartender replied, “Sorry buddy, but you’ve already had enough. But I’ll call you a cab, if you want.” Disgusted, Fred climbed off the stool and staggered back out the front door. Ten minutes later, Fred staggered in through the side door, climbed onto a stool and demanded a drink. The bartender patiently replied, “You’ve had enough; let me call you a cab.” Disgusted, Fred climbed down and staggered back out the side door. Five minutes later Fred staggered in through the backdoor, climbed up onto a stool, and demanded a drink. Fed up by now, the bartender snapped, “Look buddy, you’re not getting any drinks. I can either call for a cab or call for the police: You decide!” Looking around, Fred replied, “Man… how many bars do you work at?!”
Even when we’re sober, we’re not so smart as we think we are. Even when it comes to discipleship to Jesus Christ, we are sometimes tempted to believe that that discipleship should not inconvenience us. The fact is that the taking up of one’s cross is not a matter of convenience or of having nothing better to do. At the heart of the cross is kenosis, or what we might call “self-emptying”. There is no way that self-emptying can be comfortable; it must cost us something. This morning’s Saints knew this, and yet embraced this.
And yet, the holiness to which we are called needn’t be accompanied by the shedding of our blood; in fact, the Church’s own understanding about holiness is what caused her to extend the commemoration of All Saints from only martyrs to all those who have followed Christ at some kind of expense to themselves.

Miracles needn’t be performed by us in order for us to be holy. When a fellow office-worker makes a joke at our expense, how do we react? When our spouse dismisses something as irrelevant that we think is important, how do we react? When someone frustrates us on the road while driving, how do we react?

Sometimes, our discipleship to Jesus Christ can feel like death by a thousand paper-cuts. Instead of focusing, like Peter in this morning’s Gospel reading, on what we might get by our striving for holiness, this week let us follow the example of the Saints whom we commemorate today and embrace our discipleship in the many small things, the many small paper-cuts, the many small opportunities which constitute our days. Instead of thinking about a reward, let us focus this week on finding those small opportunities for holiness.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

The Sunday following Pentecost,
The one known as
“The Sunday of All Saints”

The Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated to All Saints, both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God. There have been saints at all times, and they have come from every corner of the earth. Some were martyrs, some were ascetics, yet all were perfected by the same Holy Spirit.

The Descent of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to rise above our fallen state and to attain sainthood, thereby fulfilling God's directive to "be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16, etc.). Therefore, it is fitting to commemorate All Saints on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

This feast may have originated at an early date, perhaps as a celebration of all martyrs, then it was broadened to include all men and women who had borne witness to Christ by their virtuous lives, even if they did not shed their blood for Him.

St. Peter of Damascus, in his "Fourth Stage of Contemplation," mentions five categories of saints: Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, and Monastic Saints (PHILOKALIA [in English] Vol. 3, p.131). He is actually quoting from the OCTOECHOS, Tone 2 for Saturday Matins, kathisma after the first stichology.

St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (July 14) adds the Righteous to St. Peter's five categories. The list of St.Nicodemus is found in his book THE FOURTEEN EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL (Venice, 1819, p. 384) in his discussion of I Corinthians 12:28.

The hymnology for the feast of All Saints also lists six categories: "Rejoice, assembly of the Apostles, Prophets of the Lord, loyal choirs of the Martyrs, divine Hierarchs, Monastic Fathers, and the Righteous…."

Some of the saints are described as Confessors, a category which does not appear in the above lists. Since they are similar in spirit to the martyrs, they are regarded as belonging to the category of Martyrs. They were not put to death as the Martyrs were, but they boldly confessed Christ and came close to being executed for their faith. St. Maximus the Confessor (January 21) is such a saint.

The order of these six types of saints seems to be based on their importance to the Church. The Apostles are listed first, because they were the first to spread the Gospel throughout the world.

The Martyrs come next because of their example of courage in professing their faith before the enemies and persecutors of the Church, which encouraged other Christians to remain faithful to Christ even unto death.

Although they come first chronologically, the Prophets are listed after the Apostles and Martyrs. This is because the Old Testament Prophets saw only the shadows of things to come, whereas the Apostles and Martyrs experienced them firsthand. The New Testament also takes precedence over the Old Testament.

The holy Hierarchs comprise the fourth category. They are the leaders of their flocks, teaching them by their word and their example.

The Monastic Saints are those who withdrew from this world to live in monasteries, or in seclusion. They did not do this out of hatred for the world, but in order to devote themselves to unceasing prayer, and to do battle against the power of the demons. Although some people erroneously believe that monks and nuns are useless and unproductive, St. John Climacus had a high regard for them: "Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all men" (LADDER, Step 26:31).

The last category, the Righteous, are those who attained holiness of life while living "in the world." Examples include Abraham and his wife Sarah, Job, Sts. Joachim and Anna, St. Joseph the Betrothed, St. Juliana of Lazarevo, and others.

The feast of All Saints achieved great prominence in the ninth century, in the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-911). His wife, the Holy Empress Theophano (December 16) lived in the world, but was not attached to worldly things. She was a great benefactor to the poor, and was generous to the monasteries. She was a true mother to her subjects, caring for widows and orphans, and consoling the sorrowful.

Even before the death of St.Theophano in 893 or 894, her husband started to build a church, intending to dedicate it to Theophano, but she forbade him to do so. It was this emperor who decreed that the Sunday after Pentecost be dedicated to All Saints. Believing that his wife was one of the righteous, he knew that she would also be honored whenever the Feast of All Saints was celebrated.

Acts 2: 1-11
John 7: 37-52, 8:2

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Fred was traveling by train, and when the ticket collector came along Fred asked what time the train would be stopping in Rincon. The ticket collector replied, “Oh sir, this train is an express and won’t be stopping in Rincon.” At that, Fred panicked. “But it HAS to stop in Rincon,” he said, “I have an important meeting!” "Sorry sir,” the ticket collector replied, “The Express doesn’t stop in Rincon.” Fred pleaded, “Please! There must be something that you can do." The ticket collector thought, and said, "Well there is one thing." "What?” Fred begged. “Anything! I’ll do anything! I need to make that meeting!”

"Well,” the ticket collector said, “I could get the driver to slow down and then I could try dangling you out the door and lower you, already running, onto the platform." “Yes, please!” Fred replied. So as the train approached the platform at 30 mph the ticket collector hung Fred in mid-air out the door. Fred started running in mid-air. As his feet just touched the platform smoke rose from his shoes and a heel flew off, but Fred kept running for his life! At that, the ticket collector let go and Fred touched down, running like a madman, at 30 mph. Fred started to slow down as the train continued past him, and as the last carriage went by a hand grabbed Fred by the shirt collar and yanked him backed onto the train, a voice saying, "You made it! You're lucky I was here to help because this train doesn’t usually stop in Rincon.”

Just because we think that we’re helping doesn’t mean that we are. Just because we think that God approves of how we live doesn’t mean that he does. Just because we think that we are filled with the Holy Spirit, doesn’t mean that we are. If we are the same on this Pentecost day of 2011 as we were last Pentecost day, with the same old problems and the same old gripes, then chances are we are not letting the Holy Spirit change us into who God knows we need to become.

In the Church's annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is "the last and greatest day." It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the achievement and fulfillment of the entire history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the celebration of a beginning: it is the "birthday" of the Church as the presence among us of the Holy Spirit, and of our new life in Christ.

In the Gospel reading for Pentecost Matins, Christ breathes upon his disciples, bestowing the gift of the Holy Spirit upon them by saying, “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” And in the reading from Acts this morning we also heard, “And there appeared upon them cloven tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The presence of the Holy Spirit changes us, burning away our impurities, allowing God to see his reflection in us. Our following of Jesus is about much more than attending church services or holding ethnic festivals; it is about allowing the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts just as the Holy Spirit entered that upper room and descended upon the Disciples. In short, Pentecost is about our allowing the Holy Spirit to make our hearts his abode. But before he can move in, we have to get some of our stuff out of the way.

An Australian travel writer was touring Canada and decided to stay at the Spokane Hilton. The next morning, as he was checking out and paying his bill, he asked the clerk, "By the way, what's with the Indian chief sitting in the lobby? He was there last night when I checked in and he’s still there this morning.” "Oh, that's 'Big Chief Forget-me-not'," replied the clerk. "The hotel is built on an Indian reservation, and part of the agreement is to allow the Chief free use of the premises for the rest of his life. He is known as 'Big Chief Forget-me-not' because of his phenomenal memory. He is 92 and can remember the slightest detail of his whole life." On the way out, the Australian decided to test the Chief’s memory. He went up to the Indian and said, “’Ello, mate! What did you have for breakfast on your 21st birthday?" "Eggs," was the chief's instant reply, and the Aussie was impressed.

While traveling on his writing itinerary he related his interchange with the Chief to a friend, who advised him that “’Ello mate” was not the appropriate greeting when meeting an Indian. “Well,” the Aussie asked, “What should I have said?” The friend replied that when one met a real Indian the proper greeting was, “How.” On the way back from his trip the writer decided to stay at the Spokane Hilton again. As he crossed the lobby he was surprised to see 'Big Chief Forget-me-not' still sitting in the lobby, so the writer went up to him and said, “How.” The Chief replied succinctly, "Scrambled.”

We might envy the Chief his phenomenal memory, but then, many of us also have phenomenal memories: We can remember almost every hurt and slight done to us by others, no matter how long ago, whether or not done to us accidentally or with real malice. As a result of our hanging onto these memories, we do not change, we do not love others in the way that Jesus Christ commands us. On this feast of Pentecost, we should ask ourselves: Do we truly desire the changing, purifying presence of the Holy Spirit? When we say, “Come, Holy Spirit”… are we asking to be changed, or for the Holy Spirit to come and confirm what we have, for so long now, suspected: That we are just fine the way that we are?

Fred and Lucinda were traveling by car from Atlanta to New York. After almost twenty-four hours on the road, they were too tired to continue so they decided to stop for a rest at an inexpensive Motel 7. When they went to check out the next morning and the clerk handed Fred the bill, Fred was startled to see that it was for $350. “What?!” He exploded. “We were only here for one night. And this is a Motel 7, not the Ritz!” “Sir,” the clerk replied, “There’s nothing I can do about it, that is our standard rate at this Motel 7. We have an
Olympic sized pool that you could have used while here. We also have a huge conference center of which you could have availed yourself.” “But we didn’t use them,” Fred objected. “Sorry, sir” the clerk replied, “Whether, or not, you availed yourself of our amenities, you could have, and $350 is our standard rate.”

Fuming, Fred wrote out a check and handed it to the clerk. "But sir," the clerk objected, "this check is only made out for $100." "That's right," Fred replied. “I charged you $250 for sleeping with my wife and deducted it from our bill." "But I didn't do that” the clerk said. Fred replied, "Well, she was here and you could have. I can’t do anything about the fact that you did not avail yourself of the opportunity"

How will we feel when we finally stand before the Lord and he says to us, “Well, you could have”? We could have changed, but we didn’t. We could have refused to retaliate, but we did. We could have finally determined that on this Pentecost morning of 2011 we are going to do something about the junk in our interior house which needs to be thrown out.

Perhaps, on this Pentecost of 2011 we should face the fact that we are hoarders of hurts, and just like real-life hoarders, we need a specialist to come in and help us to let go of all of our junk. In today’s feast of Pentecost, the church offers us the incomparable revelation that the Godhead…the Holy Trinity…even while being the Totally Transcendent One…is imminently present with us. It is no accident that back at Christmas the church referred to Jesus as Emmanuel…God-With-Us. In today’s descent of the Holy Spirit, God tells us, yet again, that he is “with us”: Will we, this morning, open our hearts to him and let him show us what needs to go?

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Pentecost Sunday

In the Church's annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is "the last and great day." It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the end - the achievement and fulfillment - of the entire history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the celebration of the beginning: it is the "birthday" of the Church as the presence among us of the Holy Spirit, of the new life in Christ, of grace, knowledge, adoption to God and holiness.

This double meaning and double joy is revealed to us, first of all, in the very name of the feast. Pentecost in Greek means fifty, and in the sacred biblical symbolism of numbers, the number fifty symbolizes both the fullness of time and that which is beyond time: the Kingdom of God itself.

It symbolizes the fullness of time by its first component: 49, which is the fullness of seven (7 x 7): the number of time. And, it symbolizes that which is beyond time by its second component: 49 + 1, this one being the new day, the "day without evening" of God's eternal Kingdom.

With the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples, the time of salvation, the Divine work of redemption has been completed, the fullness revealed, all gifts bestowed: it belongs to us now to "appropriate" these gifts, to be that which we have become in Christ: participants and citizens of His Kingdom.

Acts 20: 16-18, 28-36
John 17: 1-13

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

A pastor, looking over his large congregation one Pascha, startled them with this announcement: "My friends, realizing that I will not see some of you again until next Pascha, may I take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!"

It is amazing how, through ignorance, we do not value things passed on to us… be it our church, or the beliefs bequeathed to us by the Apostles. In this morning’s Gospel passage we heard Jesus Christ say: “I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world… For I have given to them the words which you have given me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from you; and they have believed that you sent me.”

These words, in a nutshell, explain why we are commemorating the Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council this morning. Jesus taught the Apostles with words; with those same words the apostles taught those who followed them. Words matter, as this morning’s Fathers knew when the presbyter Arius started changing the words through which the Apostles and the early church had understood Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

The Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council has been celebrated by the Church of Christ from ancient times. It was out of their faithfulness to the teachings of the Apostles that the 318 bishops whom we commemorate this morning assembled in 325 for the 1st Ecumenical Council, in Nicaea. One of the major problems needing to be dealt with was the teachings of an Alexandrian presbyter by the name of Arius, who contended that Jesus Christ was not equal to the Father, that Jesus Christ was not fully God and therefore not co-eternal with the Father. After much discussion, the Fathers came to the conclusion that Arius was misinterpreting what the apostles had taught about Christ.

In this morning’s Epistle reading, St. Paul could have been speaking of Arius and his teachings which departed from those taught by the Apostles:
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the Church of God which he purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also men will rise up from among yourselves, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”

Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away. Horrified, his mother reprimanded him with, "Johnny, wait until we say our prayer!" She was even more horrified when he replied, "I don't have to." Not wanting to give Grandma the impression that her son was being raised incorrectly, Johnny’s mother said, "Of course you do; we always say a prayer before eating at our house." Johnny replied, "That's at our house, but this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!"

It is amazing how people can pit others against one another, sometimes without even intending to do so. This morning’s Gospel makes the point that Jesus Christ prayed that we might be one; that being the case, our unity is not optional. Sometimes, however, things happen which can disrupt that unity; sometimes, life just has a way of slipping out of our control.

A rather well-dressed man called on a Pastor and told him a distressing story of poverty and misery in the neighborhood. "This poor widow," the man began, "with four starving children to feed, is sick in bed, has no money for the doctor, and besides that, she owes $1500 for three months rent and is about to be evicted. I'm out trying to help raise the rent money. I wondered if you can help?" The Pastor was genuinely moved by the man’s concern. "I certainly can," replied the Pastor. "If you can give your time to this cause, then so can I. By the way, who are you?" The man replied, "I'm her landlord."

We pursue what we value. Values demonstrate our convictions and priorities. Values are confirmed by our actions. What do we, here this morning, value and hold on to? Do we value unity, or do we think that it is optional? When we are threatened by another Christian, what do we do? At such times, do we lose sight of Christ’s command that we love one another and break our unity?

Unity is crucial for our witnessing to a society defined by conflict, broken relationships, dysfunctional families, and fractured communities. Our unity is a sign, a manifestation, that God is at work among us, and that what unity requires is a costly love, a sacrificial love wherein people are willing to lay down their lives for one another… or, at least, pray with one another.

Praying together, as we do in our services, is one of the best ways to build relationships between Christians and one of the surest ways of ensuring the unity in the church that this morning’s Father’s were trying to safeguard. It is pretty hard for division to exist and take hold when people are praying together.

The local post office received a letter addressed "To God." Not knowing where to deliver it, they forwarded it to one of the nearby churches. The pastor read it at the next charity committee meeting. "Dear God," began the writer. "I hate to bother you, but my family is having it tough right now. The rent is two month's due, my wife is expecting, and my car broke down. Plus I just lost my job. Please send us $1,000 and I won't bother you again."

The pastor read the name and one of the committee members recognized it. "He lives right down the street from the church," she said. "This might be a good way to witness to him and show him we care." The others agreed, but as the church funds were extremely low, they were only able to come up with $500; nonetheless, they wrote out a church check for that amount and sent it to the man down the block.

Months passed with no word of thanks or even an acknowledgement. Some time later they received another letter forwarded to them by the Post Office, again addressed to God. It was from the same fellow. "Dear God," it read. "I hate to bother you again, but I lost my new job at the shoe store, my car is wrecked, and my wife is in the hospital again. Please send me $1,000 to get these creditors off our backs. Thanks again. P.S. Please send it to me directly this time. Last time you sent it through the church down the block and those dirty crooks kept half of it."
We are made one and unified by prayer so that we can continue Jesus’ work in the world… whether or not the world understands that work. Jesus didn’t ask the Father to preserve us so that we could meekly wait until Jesus comes again. Jesus explained it himself: “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” We are in the world even if we are not of the world, and while we are here there is work for us to do.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

The Sunday after the Ascension
Known as the Sunday
Of the Fathers
Of the 1st Ecumenical Council

On the seventh Sunday of Pascha, we commemorate the holy God-bearing Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.

The Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council has been celebrated by the Church of Christ from ancient times. The Lord Jesus Christ left the Church a great promise, "I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mt. 16:18). Although the Church of Christ on earth will pass through difficult struggles with the Enemy of salvation, it will emerge victorious. The holy martyrs bore witness to the truth of the Savior's words, enduring suffering and death for confessing Christ, but the persecutor's sword is shattered by the Cross of Christ.

Persecution of Christians ceased during the fourth century, but heresies arose within the Church itself. One of the most pernicious of these heresies was Arianism. Arius, a priest of Alexandria, was a man of immense pride and ambition. In denying the divine nature of Jesus Christ and His equality with God the Father, Arius falsely taught that the Son of God is not consubstantial with the Father, but was only a created being.

A local Council, convened with Patriarch Alexander of Alexandria presiding, condemned the false teachings of Arius. But Arius would not submit to the authority of the Church. He wrote a letter denouncing the decrees of the local Council to many bishops. He spread his false teaching throughout the East, receiving support from certain Eastern bishops.

Investigating these dissentions, the holy emperor Constantine (May 21) consulted Bishop Hosius of Cordova (Aug. 27), who assured him that the heresy of Arius was directed against the most fundamental dogma of Christ's Church, and so he decided to convene an Ecumenical Council. In 325, 318 bishops representing Christian Churches from various lands gathered together at Nicea.

Among the bishops present were many confessors who had suffered during the persecutions, and who bore the marks of torture upon their bodies. Among the participants of the Council were several great luminaries of the Church: St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia (December 6 and May 9), St. Spyridon, Bishop of Tremithos (December 12), and others venerated by the Church as holy Fathers.

With Patriarch Alexander of Alexandria came his deacon, Athanasius (who later became Patriarch of Alexandria, May 2). He is called "the Great," for he was a zealous champion for the purity of Orthodoxy. In the Sixth Ode of the Canon for today's Feast, he is referred to as "the thirteenth Apostle."

The emperor Constantine presided over the sessions of the Council. In his speech, given in reply to the welcome by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, he said, "God has helped me cast down the impious might of the persecutors, but more distressful for me than any blood spilled in battle is for a soldier, is the internal strife in the Church of God, for it is more ruinous."

Arius, having seventeen bishops among his supporters, remained arrogant, but his teaching was repudiated and he was excommunicated from the Church. In his speech, the holy deacon Athanasius conclusively refuted the blasphemous opinions of Arius. The heresiarch Arius is depicted in iconography sitting on Satan's knees, or in the mouth of the Beast of the Deep (Rev. 13).

The Fathers of the Council declined to accept a Symbol of Faith (Creed) proposed by the Arians. Instead, they affirmed the Orthodox Symbol of Faith. St. Constantine asked the Council to insert into the text of the Symbol of Faith the word "consubstantial," which he had heard in the speeches of the bishops. The Fathers of the Council unanimously accepted this suggestion.

In the Nicean Creed, the holy Fathers set forth and confirmed the Apostolic teachings about Christ's divine nature. The heresy of Arius was exposed and repudiated as an error of haughty reason. After resolving this chief dogmatic question, the Council also issued Twelve Canons on questions of churchly administration and discipline. Also decided was the date for the celebration of Holy Pascha. By decision of the Council, Holy Pascha ought to be celebrated by Christians not on the same day with the Jewish Passover, but on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox (which occured on March 22 in 325).