Fr.Vladimir's Sermon Delivered on the 9th Sunday after Pentecost, August 17th, 2008:

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Dear brothers and sisters, today's Gospel reading about the apostles who are inside the Boat caught by the storm, gives me an opportunity to say few words on how is it possible for the boat with the apostles to be struck by the storm. Or, to clarify the question, let me put it in the words of the holy fathers of the Church: how can the Church be overtaken by the fierce black storm, enveloping all things in darkness of a night without a moon, threatening to bring forth disastrous shipwrecks and increasing the ruin of the world? Or, as St. John Chrysostom addressing the problems in the Church, in one of his sermons, explains it even more vividly saying: "I know this as well as you; none shall gainsay it, and if you like I will form an image of the things now taking place so as to present the tragedy yet more distinctly to thee. We behold a sea upheaved from the very lowest depths, some sailors floating dead upon the waves, others engulfed by them, the planks of the ships breaking up, the sails torn to tatters, the masts sprung, the oars dashed out of the sailors' hands, the pilots seated on the deck, clasping their knees with their hands instead of grasping the rudder, bewailing the hopelessness of their situation with sharp cries and bitter lamentations, neither sky nor sea clearly visible, but all one deep and impenetrable darkness, so that no one can see his neighbour, whilst mighty is the roaring of the billows, and monsters of the sea attack the crews on every side."

However, today's gospel is primarily about the faith and hope. Even when we ourselves look back at these calamities we must not abandon the hope of better things, considering who the pilot is in all this, that is, our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, and only Him. But if He does not calm the storm of life as fast as we would like, that is His choice-at the beginning He does not put down these terrible evils, but when they have increased, and come to the extreme, and most people are reduced to despair, then He works wondrously, and beyond all expectation, thus manifesting his own power, and training the patience of those who undergo these calamities. Here, let me remind you of the Word of God given to us through the Prophet Isaiah: 8 I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me.
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
11 Then I said: Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

After hearing this, let us never be cast down. For there is only one thing, my dearly beloved brothers and sisters, which is really terrible, only one real trial, and that is sin; and I have never ceased continually speaking about this theme; and as for all other things, plots, slandering, enmities, frauds, insults, accusations, confiscation, exile, warfare of the whole world, or anything else you like to name, they are but idle tales.

For whatever may be the nature of these things they are transitory and perishable, and operate in a mortal body without doing any injury to the vigilant soul. Those of you who ask how can we live in this world and yet become saints, this is the answer: have a vigilant soul! Keep your fasting seasons and days! Train yourself to a virtuous life! Come to Church! Train your children the same way, and you will not lack sanctity.

The blessed Apostle Paul, desiring to prove the insignificance both of the pleasures and sorrows relating to this life, expressed the whole truth in one sentence when he said-"For the things which are seen are temporal."910910 2 Cor. iv. 18. Why should we then be afraid of the temporal things which pass away like the stream of a river? For indeed similar is the nature of present things whether they be pleasant or painful. And another prophet compared all human prosperity not to grass, but to something even more flimsy, describing the whole of it "as the flower of grass." For he did not single out a particular one, as wealth alone, or luxury alone, or power, or honor; but instead, implying all the things which are esteemed splendid among people under the one designation of glory he said "all the glory of man is as the flower of grass." Today it is, tomorrow it is not. Or to put it in the words of Scripture: "Vanity of Vanities, all is Vanity."

However, someone may say, adversity is a terrible thing and unpleasant to go through. Yet look at it again compared with another image and then also let us learn to despise it. For the slandering, and insults, and reproaches, and any other evil inflicted by enemies, and their plots are compared to a worn-out garment, and moth-eaten wool when God says "Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings, for they shall wax old as doth a garment, and like moth-eaten wool so shall they be consumed."912912 Is. l. 7, 8.

For this reason, let none of these things which are happening trouble us, but ceasing to seek the aid from this or that person, and as St. Chrysostom says: "to run after shadows (for such are human alliances)", let us persistently call upon Jesus, whom alone we should serve, to reach out to us His hand, just as He did to the apostle Peter when he cried out as he was sinking, and all the evils around us will be dissolved. Here we must distinguish between the faith in Jesus Christ, His ordinances, and His promise, and faith in human goals, accomplishments and promises. The faith in Jesus Christ, his ordinances and His promise is the solid Rock upon which He has built His Church, but faith in human goals, human promises and human accomplishments are the smoke that vanishes and soon leaves us disappointed in life.

But, what if we have already called upon Him, and yet the evils have not been dissolved? Once again I should repeat the argument, it is God's way of dealing with evil; He does not put down evils at once, but when they have grown to the full extent, when almost any form of the enemy's evil remains unpunished, then He suddenly converts all things to a state of tranquility and conducts them to an unexpected settlement, and in the Bible He does it in the least expected ways and through the least expected people. For He is not only able to turn as many things as we expect and hope, to good, but many more; infinitely more. For this reason Apostle Paul also says: "now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think."

Dear brothers and sisters, knowing all these things, let us keep in mind the verses from today's Gospel reading which carry another great and permanent truth, and that is, when Jesus got into the boat, the wind sank. Let us have faith and hope in our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ and in Him alone. The great truth is that, wherever Jesus Christ is, the wildest storm becomes calm. Dear brothers and sisters, let us keep our Lord in our midst as He is sacrificed for us and is offering Himself to us, for us. Let us accept His offer and cry to Him as Apostle Peter did: "Lord, save us" for we may sink. When we do that, when we have Christ in our midst, when we call upon Him for help all together as the Church, than any storm will become calm, thus bringing the calm and true happiness into our own lives, showing us to be the followers of the One True Almighty God, who is able to calm even the greatest storms.

And at the end, I would like share with you a story about a seventeenth-century bishop who had noticed a custom of the country districts in which he lived. He had often noticed a farm servant going across a farmyard to draw water at the well; he also noticed that, before she lifted the brimming pail, the girl always put a piece of wood into it. One day he went out to the girl and asked her: "Why do you do that?" She looked surprised and answered, as if it were a matter of course: "Why? To keep the water from spilling… to keep it steady!" Writing to a friend later on, the bishop told this story and added: "So when your heart is distressed and agitated, put the Cross into its centre to keep it steady!" In every time of storm and stress, the presence of Jesus and the love which flows from the Cross bring peace and serenity and calm." Dear brothers and sisters, let us not run away from our own Crosses when we face them in our lives, for that will not calm our hearts. Instead, let us put the Cross into our hearts, so that we may keep our heart and mind steady, when the storms of temptations come, and always be able to bring the right decision for us, for our neighbor and our Church, and by doing so may we be exulted unto the heavenly heights through the mercy and love for mankind of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be the Glory, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

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