Repose of Ven. Sergius Fr. Nicholas Carr

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ.

Glory forever. How we perceive the world around

us affects how we live. How we view life and

reality impacts our thoughts and our actions.

When we have the right facts, we can make right

decisions. There is one central fact that brings

all of us here together today, and that is that

God exists. Many people don't believe that. They

somehow have believed an untruth that God does

not exist, and so they make wrong choices. God

exists, and a second fact is that God created

everything else that does exist. including you

and me. Today's epistle reading said, For it

is God who commanded light to shine out of the

darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give

the light of knowledge of the glory of God in

the face of Jesus Christ. God exists, Father,

Son, and Holy Spirit, and created the world we

live in, and created each one of us. And here

is a third fact. God loves us, everyone, and

wants what is best for us. Properly understood,

knowing these three facts helps us to make right

decisions. We actually will trust God, and we

will do things that are good for our souls, for

our souls and for our bodies. God exists. God

created everything else that exists. God loves

us, everyone, and wants what is best for us.

And yet, even knowing these three facts, and

even acknowledging that we know them right now,

somehow we still make mistakes. Why? Because

of the simple, selfish pride that each one of

us has. Even when we acknowledge these three

facts, knowing and believing God is the creator

and that we are the created, we think we know

better than God. We justify our pride in our

minds and make a wrong choice and we sin. And

the vice of pride has tricked us. But every vice

has a corresponding virtue. And for pride, the

corresponding virtue is humility. And fortunately

for me and for you, we can learn to be humble

and to have that humility that God wants us to

have. Fact three, God loves us, everyone, and

wants what is best for us, means that God desires

to teach us humility if we would only learn.

In today's gospel reading, St. Peter gives an

example of this faith and this humility. For

Peter was a fisherman by trade. He knew fishing.

He knew that he'd been out in a boat. He knew

that no fish had been caught all night. His knowledge

and experience told him to set out again was

foolishness. And yet, Christ called him to do

it. And he said one word that each one of us

needs to learn. Nevertheless. He knew he was

right, but he listened to the Lord Jesus and

said, Nevertheless, I will do as you say. May

we learn that lesson. Peter said, Master, we

have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless,

at your word, I will let down the net. He humbled

himself, not giving in to his pride as a fisherman,

and he was obedient to Christ our Lord. And because

of that, a miracle happened. We know that the

fishing nets were filled to the point of breaking.

and Peter's humility is demonstrated in his words

after experiencing this miracle. He said, Depart

from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Sometimes

we think we know better than God about a given

situation, like Peter, who was an expert at fishing.

But what if Peter had said no? The miracle would

not have happened. So let us say yes to God and

watch God work miracles in our lives. And let

us diminish our self -focused pride and grow

in our humility because of who God is and his

love for us. Archbishop Andre of Novo de Vivo

says, Only take the gospel in your hands. Only

try to apply it to your life. Take everything

which the Holy Church gives us. Then a miracle

will happen to you too, a greater miracle than

the wonderful catch. Christ himself will be revealed

to you as he was revealed to Peter. Then you

too will say deep in your heart, I am a sinful

man, O Lord. And if you are a sinner, it means

that you are sick and need a physician. And if

a physician, then who is the physician of the

heart? Christ alone. And we would come in humility

before him. God exists. God created everything

else that exists. God loves us, everyone, and

wants what is best for us. Let us learn humility

following God's commandments and expecting miracles

to follow. Glory to Jesus Christ.