Fr.Vladimir's Sermon Delivered on the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, November 2nd, 2008:

My dearly beloved brothers and sisters, here at St. Basil's, we take the biggest pride in the number of children we have in our community. It certainly is very commendable that we have such a great number of children attending the liturgies and receiving communion on the regular basis. Now, I would just like to ask you all to think for a moment, how beautiful it would be if all of our boys would participate and help in the altar on the regular basis; and if all of our students would help with reading, chanting and singing? I believe, that would be a wonderful opportunity first for them to experience the Church from a different perspective, and secondly, it is that segment of the parish life that would enliven the missionary work in our parish. Dedicated parents and responsible students are the carriers of life in the parish. Namely "If the family is a small church, than the Church is a big family."

And how much each one of you, my dearly beloved brothers and sisters, can actually contribute to your St. Basil community, even without having to say a single word, or having to do a single thing, is nicely expressed in the following conversation I had recently with a priest, that has made much impact on me. Namely, a few days ago, at a beautiful Slava lunch I was invited to, I spoke with another priest, who is a wonderful person and a great Duhovnik (spiritual father), and he said to all who were present: "You see, when I was at the seminary, what has made the greatest impact on me was the fact that in the seminary church, there was always great number of children attending the services, and as they would be standing close to the icons I would see in them little saints." And with a big smile filled with genuine joy he also added: "The children in the church are indeed walking icons." Surely, this beautiful site will always follow that, at that time young seminarian, but today a wonderful priest and indeed, a wonderful Duhovnik. The children, without saying a single word, and without doing a single thing have left an indelible mark on this priest's life, who now teaches and preaches and advises many children, parents and families.

In that respect St. Apostle Peter invites all people to be a Royal Priesthood; and he clarified the statement by adding a holy nation. Thus, a Royal Priesthood implies a holy life. And for that reason our Lord says: "Unless you are like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of God." The Lord reminds us that we are holy only when we are innocent like children. What, or who is more innocent than a child? That is why the children are permitted to receive communion every Sunday, just like ordained priests. But remember, my dearly brothers and sisters, you are all invited to be a Royal Priesthood and partake of the Body and Blood of God every time when the Divine Liturgy is served, but you must also be a Holy Nation, that is, to become an icon for others, just as in the seminary chapel those children were for that young seminarian.

The reason why I am sharing this with you today is because I am convinced that the future of St. Basil, just like of every other Christian community, lies in hands of the people in the community itself. It is never one or two or three people who can carry the entire community. It is impossible for only few people to carry the responsibility of the entire community. Where that is the case, that cannot be considered a healthy community. And that is not a community in the first place. Not only that that would be impossible, but also why would one or two people take the entire responsibility on behalf of the entire community? Rather, all of us are invited to participate in the Divine Mystery given to us freely through the Church, and take an active part in the life of our community, by dedicating ourselves to helping our community in every way we can; my dearly brothers and sisters, I would like you to know that you who are here today and the parents who bring their children, just with your presence, you are doing a great missionary work for the people around you. And God knows whose life could be impacted today just by your silent presence in this temple? I am firmly convinced that we are making best impact on people by our own dedication to Christ and His Church. Our dedication and love for God and our life in Christ through the Church is the best mission for others. We are all invited to make a difference for each other, or as I hear on a TV commercial, to be a difference (the TV commercial says be the difference, and our Lord says: "You are the salt of the world, you are the light of the world…" How can you be the salt, or light to someone unless you are positively different, or better; of course, we are talking about a difference in our community as a step forward where we can benefit from each other as each one of us comes to offer whatever we are able to, and try to avoid any misunderstanding, or quarrels, as St. Apostle Paul urges us.

Now, in today's Gospel reading we have heard the story about the resurrection of the only Son of the widow from the city of Nain. At first, it sounds just like another story about Jesus' miracle. But, listen carefully how the Scripture masterfully describes all the ageless sorrow of the world in the austere and simple sentence saying: "He was his mother's only son, and she was a widow." How can you remain cold blooded when you hear this statement? And it continues: "When the Lord saw her, he was moved to the depths of his heart for her…" AND THEN, HE RAISED HER SON FROM THE DEAD. AND HE DID IT WITHOUT A SINGLE REASON!

He raised the widow's son only out of compassion. He knows the pain of the people, and that is why he took the form of a servant (he became man). He, who is God, came to raise not only some people, but he came to raise His entire creation; and He did it by raising Himself from the dead, thus trampling down death by death. Death is destroyed and you and I, and the entire creation is raised and made new. As much as through the Old man people were dying because of the sin, and death had full power over them, today with Christ, who Himself is Life, and our own source of life, today we have life, and life eternal. That is the mystery that is given, or rather granted to us today, and every other day. And all that, our whole life, our health, our children, our job, our friends, relatives, beautiful world around us, and on the top of all of that the life eternal was granted to us by God FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON, my dearly beloved brothers and sisters, FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON.

And, let's be honest. We are always asking something form God. We are always expecting something from God, as though God is there only for us when we need Him. Sometimes we behave as though we believe in a God who works on a push of a button; When you are in need of something, you push the button and God is there to do something about your problems. But the problem with us Christians actually begins when there are no real problems. And, let me share with you a beautiful story of an anonymous God-seeking person, with hope that you can get an idea of how easily we can be misled. And the story was told as follows:

"One day, I woke early in the morning to watch the sunrise. Ah, the beauty of God's creation is beyond description. As I watched, I praised God for His beautiful work. As I sat there, I felt the Lord's presence with me.

He asked me, "Do you love me?"

I answered, "Of course, God! You are my Lord and Savior!"

Then He asked, "If you were physically handicapped, would you still love me?"

I was perplexed. I looked down upon my arms, legs and the rest of my body and wondered how many things I wouldn't be able to do -- the things that I took for granted?

And I answered, "It would be tough Lord, but I would still love You."

Then the Lord said, "If you were blind, would you still love my creation?" How could I love something without being able to see it? Then I thought of all the blind people in the world and how many of them still loved God and His creation.

So I answered, "It's hard to think of it, but I would still love you."

The Lord then asked me, "If you were deaf, would you still listen to my word?" How could I listen to anything being deaf?

Then I understood. Listening to God's Word is not merely using our ears, but our hearts.

I answered, "It would be tough, but I would still listen to Your word."

The Lord then asked, "If you were mute, would you still praise My Name?"

How could I praise without a voice? Then it occurred to me: God wants us to sing from our very heart and soul. And praising God is not always with a song, but when we are persecuted, or slandered or anything else in that manner, we give God praise with our thanksgiving for everything-Divine Liturgy.

So I answered, "Though I could not physically sing, I would still praise Your Name in my heart."

And the Lord once again asked, "Do you really love Me?"

With courage and a strong conviction, I answered boldly, "Yes Lord! I love You because You are the one and true God!"

I thought I had answered well, but God asked, "THEN WHY DO YOU SIN?"

I answered, "Because I am only human. I am not perfect."

"THEN WHY IN TIMES OF PEACE DO YOU STRAY THE FURTHEST? WHY ONLY IN TIMES OF TROUBLE DO YOU PRAY IN EARNEST?"

{ No answers -- only tears. }

The Lord continued: "Why seek Me with much eager only in times of tribulation? Why ask things so selfishly? Why ask things so unfaithfully? "

The tears continued to roll down my cheeks.

"Why are you neglecting Me even in my house? Why are you not embracing and spreading the good news of the life eternal? Why are you avoiding me? Why my Word has become concealed to others because of your unfaithfulness to me? Tell me, what is more important to you then me? Is it your job? Or is it you hobby? Is it your fame? Position in the society maybe? Are your friends more important than me? Tell me, what created thing in the world is more important and of more value then its Creator? Why in times of persecution, you cry to others when I offer My shoulder to cry on? Why make excuses when I give you opportunities to serve Me and My Church? Why put your hope in the things of this world? Why do you worship created things? Why you do all these things?"

I tried to answer, but there was no answer to give.

"You are blessed with life. I made you not to throw this gift away on idle things. I have blessed you with talents to serve Me in my house, but you continue to turn away. I have revealed My Word to you, but you do not gain in knowledge. I have spoken to you but your ears were closed. I have shown My blessings to you, but your eyes were turned away. I have sent you servants, but you sat idly by, waiting for them to finish their "usual" talk. I have heard your prayers and I have answered them all."

DO YOU TRULY LOVE ME ?"

I could not answer. How could I? I was embarrassed beyond belief. I had no excuse. What could I say to this? My heart had cried out and the tears had flowed, I said, Please forgive me Lord. I am unworthy to be Your child."

The Lord answered, " That is My Grace, My child."

I asked, " Then why do you continue to forgive me? Why do You love me so?"

The Lord answered, "Because you are My creation. You are my child. I will never abandon you. When you cry, I will have compassion and cry with you. When you shout with joy, I will laugh with you. When you are down, I will encourage you. When you fall, I will raise you up. When you are tired, I will carry you. I will be with you till the end of days, and I will love you forever. But also, when you turn away from me, I will strike you and bring you back, because you are my creation."

Never had I cried so hard before. How could I have been so cold? How could I have hurt God as I had done?

I asked God, "How much do You love me?"

The Lord stretched out His arms, and I saw His nail-pierced hands, and immediately I bowed down at the feet of Christ, my Savior. And for the first time, I truly prayed."

Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, let us also bow down to this love of God, who loves us to the point of a death on the Cross, again, FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON. And that is why let us not simply sit back and hesitate to get involved in the life of our Church, especially when you see that your Church needs your help. Let's not turn our back when we sense that our help is needed. Let's not be like those disinterested spectators at the time of our Lord's nailing on the Cross, waiting to see whether God will help Him and take Him down from the Cross. Because, if we wait for too long as they did, we may easily find ourselves beating ourselves saying: "Indeed, He WAS the Son of God." And the only difference between us today and those back then would be that they did not know much about the Mystery of God's Church as we know it today. And what is OUR excuse? We know everything about Lord's sacrifice, we have His Church, we know His Resurrection. Indeed, what will be excuse for our mistakes and our omissions?

Thus, let us love one another, and let us use our gifts and talents to make our community a living Word of the God of Love, so that we may enjoy all the future Gifts that are set aside for those who love God by fulfilling His Word, to whom be the glory always, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

For other sermons click here.

Click here to return to home page.