3rd Sunday after Pentecost 2023

Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory to God. Yes, you

can come closer. This is not the forbidden zone.

The moat around the altar which no one can approach.

You've heard me say before since Pentecost that

June is Holiness Month. The gift of the Holy

Spirit, the sanctification on Pentecost, the

Feast of All Saints, Feast of All Saints of America.

You see, it's all about holiness this month.

The world may be celebrating something else,

but here in the church, we're focused very clearly

on sanctification, becoming like Christ. Tomorrow

is... feast of St. David of Thessalonica. Kids,

he lived at a tree. He had a tree house. No kidding.

See, he's up there in the corner, sitting in

that tree. His tree was much bigger, but that's

an icon. There's not room for a large tree. We

just celebrated the feast of the Nativity of

St. John the Baptist, which is why his icon is

out before us. We'll celebrate Saints Peter and

Paul. It's all about holiness this month. Nobility

in God. Today, we're also celebrating these saints.

This is just a paper print of a very nice thing

that I found. A paper print of Saints Peter and

Padronia of Boron, the intercessors and protectors

of marriage. So I'll let you on your own discover

them and read about them. I'd like to focus on

what the Lord said and what St. Paul wrote. With

the words of the Lord still ringing in your ears

about the eye being, how light is given to the

body. Of course he means this metaphorically,

speaking about the soul and the heart being illumined.

With those words ringing in your ears about how

God knows what you need, that he is a loving

father, about seeking first the kingdom of God,

about avoiding anxiety. Let me read something

to you. There's a common way of approaching a

relationship with God, if you can even call it

a relationship, that goes something like this.

Five points. First, if God exists, who created

and ordered the world, steps back and watches

human life on earth. Not entirely wrong, but

certainly not right. Number two, God wants people

to be nice. I want people to be nice, to be good,

to be fair to each other, as taught in the Bible

and by most world religions. Three, the central

goal of life is to be happy and to feel good

about yourself. Four, God does not need to be

particularly involved in a person's life except

when we need him. Five, good people go to heaven.

Who is the Lord in these five points? I'm Lord

because I'm seeking what? Happiness first. So

I get to decide what that is. As opposed to what

you heard Jesus say. Who is Lord? God our Father

is our Lord. And what are we seeking? The kingdom

of God and its righteousness. Next week, we're

going to talk about that a little bit more. This

modern God, these five points, has no resemblance

at all to the God of the Bible, although point

number two references the Bible. We know we are

enlightened because of Pentecost. That we worship

a God who values what? Not happiness first. He

values the sick, the poor, the sinner. This is

the God that set Moses on a course that he didn't

want to go on at the burning bush. This is the

God whom Isaiah saw high and lifted up, whose

glory filled the temple. This is the God of judgment

and election, who sends Israel into captivity

in Babylon because of their infidelity. This

is the God, the Son of the Father. who doesn't

watch over human life, but entered into human

life and was put on trial on Golgotha for our

salvation. What are the qualities then of the

Christian man and woman and child? Since Pentecost,

we had the lesson being called by Christ. And

what does that mean? What is the goal? We have

all saints. Today is lesson number two on the

basics of being a Christian. St. Paul claims

this. Maybe you've heard it in the epistle. He

says, we have peace with God. Think about what

that phrase means, peace with God. Does it mean

anything to you? Do you have it? You should have

it. It's a real thing. It's a quality of the

heart. Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit

within you and your relationship to the God and

man. St. Paul says, in addition, that we stand.

We stand. We are firm. We're resolute. We're

upheld by the grace of God. Do we feel that?

Or do we feel... Full of anxiety and worry, dread,

fear, maybe apathy. St. Paul says, not only that,

we hope for glory. Not happiness. Happiness is

good. That's the simple thing. We hope for glory,

for holiness, for God's presence. for the righteousness

of the kingdom. These are some of the qualities

of a Christian, according to St. Paul. And he

says, not only are these things does a Christian

have, but he says this too. And this takes us

by surprise. He says, we. So let's include ourselves.

We glory. We remain joyful and trusting in God's

promises in our tribulations. We glory in our

tribulations. It's important that we try to digest

that sentence. That we glory, we are grateful

whatever God allows us to go through. It's important

we digest it because otherwise we will complain

to God about everything and about everyone. And

it will always be somebody else's fault. We need

to ask the Lord for help. When we are struggling.

To ask him. To beg him. To be with us. In our

struggle. In our anxiety. In our temptations.

Not to take them away. But to allow us to mature.

Through the experience of them. He goes on. He

says. Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance.

Perseverance produces character. The Christian.

Quality of gratitude. Thankfulness to God. Love

of the neighbor. Character. Perseverance produces

character. And character produces hope. Now hope

is not hope that tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow

will be a better day. No. That's a Broadway musical.

Tomorrow might not be a better day for you or

me. But we have hope. That in whatever circumstances,

the Lord who rose from the dead will give us

the grace, the knowledge, his presence in those

circumstances. The hope, says St. Paul, hope

does not disappoint because the love of God has

been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit

who was given to us. Wow! Wow! How does this

happen? It's all true. These aren't just pious

religious sentiments. This is our faith. The

Savior is speaking to the faithful today. How

to have these things. He lays it out in three

easy steps. He says, the eye is the way the light

comes into the soul. That is. The eye full of

light, understanding, and purity. It's not distorted.

It's not out of focus. That person doesn't suffer

from the second thing he lists. All the anxieties

and worries of this world. Mind you, listen with

discernment. He's not saying, take it easy. God's

going to send a taxi to heaven. Everything's

taken care of. You don't have to work. No, brothers

and sisters, labor. For your family, for your

church, for your community, for your salvation.

But without anxiety. The light of understanding.

God is faithful. And in the third part, the Lord

just says it easily for us. How to avoid these

things? How to have peace with Jesus Christ?

How to glory in tribulations? How to dwell and

abide in that peace? I'll read you the very end.

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

What does it mean to seek first? It means to

be his servant, to live under God's dominion

in everything you do, in everything you think,

because if you don't, brothers and sisters, Your

faith is going to be washed away in the tidal

wave of this society. But if you seek first God's

kingdom, knowing that these other things will

fall away, the unimportant things, then you will

have the clear eye, the soul that sees God, that

loves God. You'll be seeking first God's kingdom

and all the other things will be added to you.

to our Lord who is faithful in his promises.

Be glory now and ever to ages of ages.