Orthodox Christian Sermons

Sermon #17 - 6th Sunday after Pentecost -

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the first 6 Ecumenical Councils and St. Vladimir of Rus

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3
This one verse describes Orthodoxy, and particularly, the Divine Liturgy, in a nutshell. For the Liturgy is that true worship in Spirit and in truth by which we come to know the one true God and experience eternal life through partaking of the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
But what is eternal life? Eternal life is not life as we know it that goes on forever. It is the very life of God--Zoe--"the God-kind of life"-- which exists outside of time in eternity. It is life that does not pass away. It is immortal life. It is not subject to death, as it was not possible for Christ to remain in the grave. And this eternal life God offers to us as a gift.
From God's perspective, the course of human events, indeed all of natural and human history -past present and future-- streams by like a movie, though it is one in which he knows all the details and is intimately involved with, while still remaining apart from it. We mortals, on the other hand, see only that which is temporal and fleeting. And we get all caught up in the cares and pleasures of this "life" which is quickly passing away. Think about people who lived 100 years ago. They had the same joys and sorrows, worries, and cares as we do today. That mortgage payment that was behind. That new suit or new dress they wanted to buy. None of that matters to them anymore or to anyone else for that matter. All the players on their life's stage have exited and the curtain is drawn--forever. And it will be the same with us sooner or later. All the things that consume our day to day lives will be past as will life itself.
So to us who are on this hamster wheel we call "life", God bursts on the scene offering us a whole new kind of life, life literally "out of this world", life that does not pass away, life that is free from worries and cares, life full of joy and peace unending--Zoe--eternal life. And Jesus tells us in this passage what this life consists of: knowing the true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Not merely knowing about the true God, but knowing him on a first hand, experiential basis. There is a big difference between head knowledge and personal experience. I may know all about President Trump. I could even research and write a biography--all without ever meeting him in person. Many people know all about God. They've read their Bibles, they go to Church and hear sermons about God every week. But they do not know him personally. This may come as a rude awakening for some, but this is NOT the eternal life God offers us, but only that "knowledge which shall vanish away".
So how can we come to know God and experience his free gift of eternal life? The Psalmist tells us the answer: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 45:10 )
When we become still, we become God-like. We lay aside all the cares and pleasures of this fleeting earthly life and enter into communion with the eternal life of Him who exists outside of time and the vicissitudes of our daily lives. And like a father takes his son on his knee on a clear night and points out all the stars and constellations, so the Lord lifts us up to his throne in the heavens and grants us to sit with him there in the stillness of the bosom of the Son of his love. And there he reveals to us the mysteries of his heavenly kingdom--things that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of the natural man with his natural, earthly, sensual mind, to which such things are foolishness. And from that perspective, we begin to see things as God sees them and come to recognize the vanity of the things of this passing world on which mankind expends all their energies to acquire.
And so it becomes our passion to live in such a way that we might preserve that communion with God in stillness. We seek to keep our hearts with all diligence, guarding our inner peace by not letting them be troubled, neither afraid, as the Saviour COMMANDS us. As St. Isaac the Syrian said, "preserve your inner peace at all costs, and do not trade it for anything in this world." And so we refuse to allow ourselves to be mastered by anything temporal. We seek to minimize all our attachments to earthly things, and if we use this world, we do not abuse it, nor allow it to abuse us.
But, you say, that is all fine and good for the monks on Mt Athos, but not for people like me who have to work our fingers to the bone to eke out a living in this cruel world. I just don't have time. I'm just too busy! But as someone famously said, "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer." We either come apart for prayer or we come apart for want of it. Actually, the goal of life is uninterrupted communion with God—it's called praying without ceasing in the Scriptures. Others call it the practice of the presence of God or contemplation. It is maintaining God-like inner stillness in every circumstance. THIS is life eternal!
Glory to Jesus Christ!

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Some remarks after Divine Liturgy regarding the passing of a dear friend, Archpriest John.

"We have not lost a priest, we have gained an intercessor!

In this sermon which he preached just last Sunday-- which only God knew would be his final words to us-- Fr. John was optimistic about his health: not for his own sake, but so that he might regain his strength in order to serve us again. That reveals the heart of a true priest. God granted his request, but in a way no one expected, by enrolling him in the ranks of the great army of intercessors--"saviours" as Obadiah calls them--on the heavenly Mount Sion (Obadiah 21; cf. Heb. 12:22-23).

For over a year Father John took time every week to hear our family's confessions. I'm sure that placed quite a burden on his already busy life as a priest and husband and father, but he never complained. He was always full of mercy and compassion and had just the right words to encourage us to press on. But about a year ago, Fr John announced that he would no longer be able to hear confessions, due to his health issues. That greatly saddened us, but we understood. I only spoke with him on the phone a couple times after that, though I did interact with him some on Facebook. I wanted to respect his privacy and need to retire from active ministry so that he could recover his health. I didn't want to burden him with my burdens.

But now we can talk to Fr. John anytime, day or night. We don't have to worry about calling at an inopportune time. He has now laid aside all those earthly constraints which beset him and can focus on serving God--and us--without distraction. And there's no risk of miscommunication or misunderstanding as when we on earth converse with one another in words of human language. We can talk to Father John in the same heart to heart, spirit to spirit, communication as we do with God himself, for now he is in God. And we can feel him in the depths of our souls and he can feel us in the bond of love in Christ Jesus which can never be severed, for "love is stronger than death". As St Seraphim of Sarov said,

"When I am dead, come to me at my grave, and the more often the better. Whatever is in your soul, whatever may have happened to you, come to me as when I was alive and kneeling on the ground, cast all your bitterness upon my grave. Tell me everything and I shall listen to you, and all the bitterness will fly away from you. And as you spoke to me when I was alive, do so now. For I am living and I shall be forever."

Dearly beloved, we should not despair if we cannot visit our Batiushka's grave. We can visit him and speak with him and share our burdens with him where he lives forever--in our very hearts."