Sunday of the Forefathers 2024 Fr Nicholas Andruchow

and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God has given

us the good news. And in this, with the gospel,

let us share it. So that through love and compassion,

we do good works. I come to you from Tijuana,

Mexico. I come to you from the Orthodox orphanage

in a foreign country where we care for little

boys and girls, where we bring hope, and how

we're called to affirm the celebration that the

hope has arrived. We affirm the celebration that

God came as a child and was laying in a manger.

For our salvation. And this is beautiful. So

let's share it. Glorifying the Lord's name. In

everything we do. Knowing that we are different.

From the rest of creation. And therefore we have

the responsibility. To respond appropriately.

With this we. Reflect on the gospel today. With

this we. Responsibly look at. How it is calling

us. To not make excuses. No. Everyone's busy.

We have so many belongings. But the Lord's day

is here and we participate. We take advantage

of the feast and share this blessing with the

world. No matter if we have a piece of land we

need to check on or even sometimes our relationships

in our family. Might be complicated. That's no

excuse. If you just got married. Okay. No. God

is the most important. And as brothers and sisters

in Christ. We live this truth. By participating.

In the beauty of the church. And also. Possibly

we might have. Some livestock. Maybe even some

chickens. Okay. But just because you need to

take care of your animals. doesn't mean you can't

come to church and worship, okay? Because remember,

yes, we have animals down in Tijuana, Mexico,

on the 16 -acre ranch. We have pigs. We have

troughs, food troughs. And do you know what the

other name for a food trough is, by the way?

Manger, okay? That's actually what a manger is,

if you didn't know. If you look, it's not this

nice little... Figure set. No, it's a food trough

for animals. And how quickly we forget that Jesus

transformed this basic vehicle for animals into

the vessel that carried the bread of life. The

manger. The food trough. So no excuses. No. We

come and we celebrate. We open our eyes. We go

out and share this. We go into the streets with

zeal. We see opportunities. Lovingly we share

the message of Jesus. Even if we can dream about

it sometimes. We dream about sharing the beauty

of God becoming man. And so man can be deified

and truly approach The godliness we were meant

to be. And in this, yeah, we do. We hit the pavement.

It says go into the neighborhoods. You can go

into maybe the streets that have not been entered

into recently. As it says in the Greek, the odos.

Which actually in many talks about the odos.

It's a Greek word. Odos in the book of Acts.

It's the way. The way. Go off the well -trodden

path and share this news with everyone. And ask

people, hey, are you going to celebrate Christmas?

Why don't? Okay, well, happy holidays. And remember,

holidays is a good thing because those are the

holy days. The holidays are the holy days, and

these days are holy. Do not let the world reclaim

the word holiday. No, holidays are the holy days.

And in this, we affirm what makes the days holy?

Jesus Christ. And we do this by our actions.

We do this by sharing this message. Zealously,

it says actually, go out and compel the people

to come in. That means you have to be a little

ambitious, maybe a little assertive, and get

out there. Talk about Jesus. Share it in a loving

way. Be that great salesman or woman because

you have the greatest thing to share. You do.

It's Jesus Christ incarnate. And through this,

we realize that the comfort that God has given

us because he saves us no matter what happens.

We just need to repent and turn to him. And knowing

this, in faith, we are free. This isn't the...

Chapter 5 of Galatians. Very clearly. We receive

freedom. In this gift. There's so many rules.

We do. We have fasting times. We have how to

cross ourselves. When to cross ourselves. When

to come to church. We do all these things in

obedience. But this does not save us. It's very

clear. We are saved through Jesus. Sacrifice.

So that we can do all these things. So that we

can fast with love. So that we can worship Him.

So that we can help those in need. This is what

we're called to do. And in this we're liberated

to share this great message. We're liberated

so that we can receive God into our hearts. Receive

Jesus. Receive the one who sent the Lord, the

Father. And we receive him when we receive the

little ones. It says in chapter 9 of Mark, we

are transfigured and we partake in this miracle

by receiving the children. And through this,

We are encouraged. Through this, we see that

now is the time to live our faith. Even though

it's difficult. Even though the days can be challenging.

And when it is challenging, we give thanks to

God. It says in James chapter 1, give thanks

James 1 · chapter mention

to Him. Give thanks to Him when we have these

roadblocks. Because our faith grows. We can shine.

Put away the malice. Put away the evil words.

It says in chapter 1 of James. And so, we can

live our Orthodox faith truly and shine. Be undefiled.

Be pure. And the one way it says in chapter 1

of James to do this is to care for orphans and

widows that come to you. I've lived over 14 years

in Tijuana, Mexico with my family. Caring for

little children. Living the faith, God willing.

And through this, I come to you with the hope

that all of us will continue to follow the Lord.

Knowing that many of you have sacrificed so much.

And I'm so grateful for that. Vladica, Archbishop

Benjamin, being on the board for almost a decade

of Project Mexico, sacrificing, coming to almost

every board meeting when he was an active member.

Your spiritual leader led us to serve. And in

this we continue. We realize that, okay, the

world is full of confusion sometimes. It is.

Especially In this atmosphere of different messages.

But we are given. We are given clarity. It says

in the Old Testament. Okay. Deuteronomy chapter

Deuteronomy 27 · chapter mention

27. It says sit and listen. Be silent and listen.

It says in chapter 27 of Deuteronomy. Listen.

In your abundance. It's a great chapter. We have

so much in America. And so through this, we share

what we have and live the truth. And it says

there, okay, a family is a husband and wife.

It's beautiful. Mother and father, beautiful.

Respect and honor your mother and father. The

law guides us, tells us how we're supposed to

live. Also, it tells us who we're supposed to

marry, too, by the way. Okay? You cannot marry

a sibling. Why? Because it says it in Deuteronomy.

Okay? Which chapter? Which chapter? What's that?

Exactly. There you go. 27. I just said it three

times. I always quiz the little orphan boys because

sometimes they're distracted. So it's a common

practice I utilize. Chapter 27. Honor your mother

and father. Also it says, okay, you cannot marry

your siblings, you cannot marry your mother -in

-law, you cannot marry your stepmom, and you

cannot marry your pets. All right. Pretty clear,

isn't it? I know. And if you were confused, read

which chapter? Of what book? Excellent. And it's

great. It leads us. And all those who receive

the blessings of the Lord reject the curse of

Satan. It proclaims care and treat appropriately

in a godly manner orphans and widows. In chapter

27 of Deuteronomy. We see this and we raise up

our voices to him. Knowing that Christ came.

St. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus. And we

see this fulfillment in the Old Testament in

the book of Malachi chapter 3. And Jesus will

Malachi 3 · chapter mention

come back. He will come back and he'll purify

the church. He will come back and he will give

us the opportunity to shine in our Orthodox faith.

He will reject the maladies of the world. He

will reject those who are filled with lies. He

will reject those who are captured by adultery

and fornication and don't repent. He will come

and judge. Those who practice witchcraft, by

the way. It says, no sorcery for Orthodox Christians.

No bueno. Okay? It isn't. Why? Because it says

it. In Malachi chapter 3. And we know this. And

Malachi 3 · chapter mention

also he says he will come back. And judge those

who do not. Care. For orphans and widows. And

there will be consequences. For our actions.

This is. What we lift up our eyes to. To the

powerful God. The powerful God. Who comes in

love. And through his love. We are saved. And

through this, we are encouraged that we can arise

to the occasion and fulfill the message of hope,

knowing that we, as it says in Psalm 82, we are

children of the Most High. Oftentimes we forget

this. Our Father, who are in heaven. We say that

all the time. But it's our Father, okay? Really.

Don't forget it. Psalm 82, your children are

the most high. It says clearly. And it's beautiful.

It speaks in this Paschal Psalm, by the way.

It's only seven verses in this Psalm. There's

seven verses. This Paschal Psalm, it proclaims

in the assembly of God. Small G, okay? God, big

G, speaks. Speaks to us. He says, you are gods.

Small g. Says in the Greek and Hebrew, use gods.

You are gods. But you die. You're supposed to

live forever. You're so consumed with the things

of the world and the sins of the world. And we

are here to bring hope. And in this, we chant

this hymn during Holy Week every year. In this

beautiful time. Arise, O God, and judge the earth,

for you shall take all nations to your inheritance.

In the Byzantine tradition, melody. It's sung

the same verse in the Slavonic tradition. When

is that sung, by the way? Holy, when? Holy Saturday.

Okay, this Psalm 82 proclaiming that we are called

to receive the divinity of God and shine. That's

why we were made. And we proclaim a rise above

the craziness. And in the same Psalm, Care for

orphans and widows. Help the poor. There's only

seven verses in the Psalms, and they choose one

of the verses to emphasize our need to stretch

out our hands and help. And that's what we're

doing. We're helping the little kids. Little

kids who don't have moms. Like these brothers

who came, and they were left at their house for

two weeks by themselves. Their mom never came

back. Just left. And they got found by the authorities.

And they brought them to us. But imagine that.

Wake up every morning, waiting for your parent

to come. Sounds horrible. This is what we do.

We reach out to these children. We give them

hope. No, you'll be loved. You can have a place

to grow up. A secure place. And have a healthy

family one day yourself. Isn't this? Like that

young boy said to me, my mom was so bad, I never

want to go back to her. Never. Even if she comes

looking for me. No, I'm not going. And God is

working through Orthodox Christians at the Orthodox

orphanage in Tijuana. Like that boy who I mentioned

last night to the group of people in this hall

right here who was raised at the orphanage. Came

when he was five. Has no memory. Remembrance

of his parents. And he. Went to school. In Tijuana.

Graduated from high school. Then went to college.

In Brookline. Massachusetts. At the Orthodox

College. Helena College. Yeah. For four years.

He actually graduated. Met a girl. And just got

married. Beautiful. Now. He works and lives.

At the orphanage. Helping. new boys who come.

He's a leader. It's a beautiful thing. Well,

this other boy, it's a sex story. He came and

he says, hey, Father Nick, just the other day,

he's older now, he says, you actually saved me

from prison. I was like, how did I do that? You

came to me when you were five years old. He said,

well, my mom was bad and she got put in jail.

But in the 90s, if your mom was a criminal, she

could take her kids to jail with her. So she

brought her son and daughter to the prisons of

Tijuana with the drug addicts, the thieves, the

murderers, the rapists. And that's where they

were running and growing up until the St. Innocent

Orthodox Orphanage rescued the orphans from prison.

It's incredible. And this is what we do. I share

this with all of you because we are compelled

to share the hope with the world. We are encouraged

to come to Tijuana. Come for a week. Help build

a home. We'll take care of you. And you'll have

the best tacos on the planet. They're delicious.

And through this, help. Come down and hold our

little babies. They need to be held and loved.

We have long -term missionaries who are serving

there right now that we need your help. Collect

food. If you collect 20 cases of food here, it's

called Pantry Partners. That's the program with

Project Mexico. We will come pick it up. An Orthodox

man will bring his shipping company here for

free. All you have to do is collect the 20 cases.

That's all you do, and we need the food. We'll

bring it down to the orphanage for free. All

you have to do is collect the food. Help us do

a food drive for the Orthodox orphanage. And

we need your financial help, too. Last night

we had a great dinner. We raised over $10 ,000

just in that one night. It was beautiful, really

beautiful. But our budget's big, by the way.

It is. I have about another dozen young boys

who need their education sponsored between the

$3 ,000 to $4 ,000 a person. I need to raise

money. I need to beg for collecting funds. Please

consider. I know in the back there's information.

I've got the poster right there. You could just

put in projectmexico .org and donate right online.

Or send a check -in to the address that's there.

I need your help financially. Please consider

giving. And most importantly, I need your prayers.

I need your petitions through the Theotokos to

petition her son to have mercy on us and give

us strength. And in this, I need your... Dialogue

with the Lord to give strength to the missionaries.

Give strength to the boys that they can heal.

Give strength to the Mexicans who work with those

boys. Give strength to Father Nicholas and his

presbytera, his matushka, that we continue year

after year. And so through this, maintaining

the good news, we share it with the world and

glorify the name of God. of the Father, and the

Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.