Golden Rule Fr. Nicholas Carr

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

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

Glory to Christ. Perhaps, like me, as you were

young and growing up, and you went to the movies,

or you watched certain television shows, you

developed certain heroes. People that you kind

of held up as above the rest. They weren't saints.

They weren't what the church would hold up, but

somehow they kind of hit you, and you made them

your hero. And one of those, for me, as I was

growing up, was Clint Eastwood. Now, I don't

think that the characters he portrayed in some

of those westerns where he was a police officer,

Clannahan. I don't recommend that you follow

them as a role model. But I did love them at

the time. And thinking back, why? Why did I like

that so much? Well, if people messed with him,

he messed back harder. If someone disrespected

him and did him wrong, they got what they deserved.

This was a form of justice. And you and I and

all of us know when something is unjust, we have

this sense that something is wrong. And we like

in the world for there to be bad guys who get

what they deserve. But sometimes we look around

and we see bad guys who seem to be winning. And

they seem to be getting away with sin. And we

can see good guys who seem to be suffering. And

we kind of wonder. And so how could this be?

And so when we see the movies and we see what

we think of as justice, sometimes it gives us

a gratifying feeling. So whether it be Clint

Eastwood in Westerns or even Keanu Reeves in

the John Wick films that have just been out.

We like to see this justice done. But as Orthodox

Christians, we have to be very careful not to

take justice into our own hands. God is the judge,

not us. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. There

is justice, and it is a godly justice. for me

and you to try to mete out justice, it becomes

something different. Often, it becomes something

called vengeance or revenge. And this is a very

dangerous course to be on. Jesus knows this and

calls us to a different path. In the Gospel of

Luke, in the section just before today's Gospel

reading, Jesus says, Love your enemies. Do good

to those who hate you. Bless those who curse

you. Pray for those who spitefully use you. To

him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the

other also. And from him who takes away your

cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. And

St. Paul in Romans 12 says, repay no one evil

for evil. Have regard for good things in the

sight of all men. If it is possible, as much

as it depends on you, live peaceably with all

men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather

give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance

is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Do not

be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Perhaps you've heard in our services the mention

of the weapon of peace. What a strange thing

to have a weapon, and yet it is peace. We often

think of weapons as things that will hurt or

harm or protect in some way that is physical.

But the weapon of peace is something that comes

from our soul. It is spiritual in nature, and

it depends on us turning to God. And how can

we wield this weapon of peace? The answer is

in today's gospel, the last verse. Be merciful,

just as your Father also is merciful. The prodigal

son is an example of God's mercy to us. Did the

prodigal son deserve to be brought back into

the good, into the household as he was with the

fatted calf killed? Certainly not. And we need

to give thanks to God that we don't get what

we deserve either. And so out of that grace,

that mercy that we see that God gives us, it

will help us to give it to others. And so we

have a choice. Be merciful as God is merciful,

or make ourselves judge and jury and seek out

revenge. When someone does us wrong, it is easy

to become angry. This is a warning sign. Listen

to the words of St. Tikhon of Zidonsk. is the

feeling of pain in the heart caused by another's

offense, which can be by word or deed. The heart

that is filled with anger is like a boiling cauldron,

and it erupts. Anger turns into malice and the

remembrance of wrongs if it is held and fed in

the heart too long. Therefore, we are bidden

to cut it off quickly. so that it may not grow

into hatred and malice. It all comes down to

this. Do we put ourselves first in all that we

think and do, or do we put God first in all that

we think and do? When we get harmed by an enemy

and we put ourselves first, it can result in

anger, which can lead to malice, which can lead

to revenge. which is more evil. You can't fight

evil with evil. But when we put God first, and

we seek to do the Lord's will, and someone harms

us and does us wrong, and we have a tinge, we

do, of anger that may start, but we say, Lord,

help me to close that down. And we find love

for our neighbor and forgiveness for our neighbor.

and we have the mercy that God has for us, for

our neighbor, then we have the weapon of peace.

Psalm 102 that we've heard this morning says,

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and everything within

me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my

soul, and forget not all his rewards, who is

merciful to all your transgressions, who heals

all your diseases, who redeems your life from

corruption, who crowns you with mercy and compassion.

May we strive to have that same mercy and compassion

for those around us, to become a light shining

in a dark world, and to shine that mercy and

compassion on all those around us, even those

who do us wrong. Glory to Jesus Christ.