10th Sunday after Pentecost

Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory forever. Perhaps

you recall last week that I said that the gospel

readings that were given each week are not only

didactic, week by week by week, they're teaching

us to grow more in faith, to be more mature as

Christians. But they're also our encounter with

the living Christ, the Lord. And when we hear

those words, he's speaking to us, he's speaking

to me, he's speaking to you. His hand is upon

you. And what transpired there is important for

us to know. We were talking about faith this

whole last period. this whole month, and we're

talking about faith. The gospel's teaching us

about faith. A few weeks ago, it's faith that

is given to us so we can see with our hearts.

Because it's the blind men who actually know

it's the Lord. So we need that kind of vision

with our heart. And Christ heals his sight. And

then there was Christ coming to the midst of

the people in their hunger, like the fresco right

over there shows. Yes, feeding them with food,

multiplying the five loaves and the two fish.

I imagine it was like five pieces of pita bread

and some sardines. But that was enough for the

Lord to multiply. But he feeds us today here

upon his throne where he prepares himself for

our lives in the Eucharist. And last week it

was Christ in the storm teaching Peter, why did

you doubt a view of little faith? Yes, this is

the kind, sweet Jesus giving a stern word of

rebuke. But the Lord in the storm, he is there

with us. And today, it's an unusual scene, which

Matthew describes, but Mark describes even more

detail. His account is twice as long. He says,

this is Jesus coming down with Peter, James,

and John from the Mount of Tabor, where they

have just, the disciples have seen the glory

of God on the earth. This teaches us, brothers

and sisters, that's what we will see. and the

life of the age to come. Christ in his glory.

And more than that, we will participate in that

and be like him. This is salvation. They've just

come from that. And St. Mark, along with St.

Luke and St. Matthew, describe a scene. The scribes

are questioning the disciples. They're casting

doubt. upon Jesus' ministry because his disciples

have failed to do what Jesus himself had given

them to do some chapters earlier. And what do

they see? This crowd of people comes up and they

see a man with his young boy and he's flailing

around. There's confusion. There's allegations.

There's desperation, there's fear, there's sorrow,

there's fatherly love, there's demonic oppression.

The man says, my son, he's a lunatic. What he

means is moon crazy. Of course, he was wrong.

The boy had a demon. Here's a scene of God's

good creation. gone terribly wrong. So I want

to have a little catechism here today. I promise,

well, no, I won't promise. Briefly, I ask your

attention for the words of the Holy Fathers about

this creation. Gregory Palamas says this, God

created neither death nor illness. nor infirmities.

Now I'm asked about this frequently. God created

neither death, nor illness, nor infirmities.

Do you have that in your mind? Is that clear?

God created neither the death of the soul, nor

the death of the body. Are you following me?

Or rather, St. Gregory, this death of the body

was not given by God. He neither made it, nor

did he ordain that it should be. Nor is God the

author of bodily illnesses. The author of the

book of Wisdom had already affirmed that God,

quote, did not make death, and he does not delight

in the death of the living, for he created all

things that they might exist, and the creatures

of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive

poison in them. It's wisdom. First chapter, verse

13. God created the world good. But it's man's

responsibility, say the saints, to preserve it

that way. Do you? Do I preserve it? God created

man as a microcosm. within the macrocosm, so

that man might in himself bring paradise to the

whole creation. God established man as king of

the creation, granting him the power over all

things within it. He made him mediator, to stand

between himself and his creatures, giving man

the task. of leading created beings to their

perfection. This is high. This is lofty. Stay

with me. This is truth. By uniting them with

God through participation in the grace which

he received from the Spirit. And St. Maximus

says our primary mission was to unite paradise

with the rest of the earth and to enable every,

other creature to participate in the life of

paradise. Adam was to enable all other creatures

to participate in the order, the harmony, the

beauty of which his own nature benefited because

of its union with God. But once Adam turned away

from God, now don't blame Adam. Look at yourself.

Once Adam turned away from God, nature was no

longer subject to him. Think of St. Herman stopping

the tidal wave, stopping the forest fire. Think

of St. Seraphim with his friends, the bear and

other animals. Think of St. Paisios on Mount

Athos with his friend, the snake. that he just

said, go away, go away, our visitors, and it

would go away. They had paradise within them.

Following Adam's sin, and then especially with

Cain, disorder establishes itself between all

creation and within ourself. Cursed is the ground

because of you, God declares to man, thus announcing,

not condemning, but announcing what happened.

the cosmic catastrophe which Adam's sin had provoked,

the separation that happened, deprived of the

grace of God, and evil spread through the devil

and through the acceptance of the devil's temptation.

Man was no longer king of creation, but the devil

was, the prince of this world. and illness multiply,

grew, spread, reinforced itself. These are the

words of the Holy Fathers about that scene. But

Christ comes, and what does he say? He says,

how long do I have to bear with you? And he rebukes.

The people, not just the disciples, not just

the man, not just the scribes, but us too. Because

we don't follow God's way. The Lord says, what

is the beginning of the path towards the restoration

of that kind of paradise that's in the beginning

with Adam and Eve and garden? What's the first

steps he gives us? It's so simple, we just miss

it. And we think we have to grasp on to some

kind of... deep and profound truths and doctrines

of the faith, which are true and the teachings

of the church, but this is about faith, not about

dogma. And the faith is in the one who cures

the blind, feeds the hungry, pulls those who

are drowning out of disaster, and cures demonic

oppression and reestablishes true life. What

does he say? Simple. Prayer and fasting. That's

what we start with. It's the beginning of the

restoration of his life in us. Because our problem

is not political parties. Now, if you watch the

news all day, that's what you're going to think.

Our problem is not enemies of the state, people

we don't like, people that are different from

us. No, that's just hatred. Our problem is against

principalities, against powers, against the rulers

of the darkness of this age, against spiritual

hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Those

of you that don't read the Bible, I didn't make

up those words. That's from St. Paul. There's

another way of saying what St. Paul just... I

just quoted, that Christ came to destroy him

that held the power of death, that is the devil,

and deliver them who through fear of death were

all their lifetime subject to bondage. Christ

promises, and see, this is about faith in Christ.

This is about reliance in him, not on our strength

to believe doctrines. And teachings which are

important and essential, but we only come to

them when we know Jesus Christ. And once we know

him, then we share in his victory over all that

corruption and evil and sin and suffering. Because

Christ has given us baptism in which we become

children of the Father. We've been given the

seal of the Holy Spirit in which we become like

Christ himself, having the Spirit of God. And

we have the whole armor of God that we may be

able to withstand in the evil day. And having

done all, to stand. And here we are today. The

liturgy is the celebration of that victory. And

we receive Christ the King within ourself in

holy communion. Our faith is not moralistic,

it's therapeutic. It's about becoming holy, not

just good. It's about acquiring divine love to

elevate our human love. Fasting teaches us, I'll

be brief, body and soul to oppose temptation,

to oppose egotism, hypocrisy, addiction, self

-will, sinful impulses and compulsions. It teaches

us gratitude. Fasting will remind us that we

are dust and ashes. And out of that, we learn

compassion for those who are in need. The Lord

mentioned prayer too. Prayer brings us to the

Holy Trinity, the Theotokos, and the saints,

and teaches us again that without it being dust

and ashes, we have no existence without God.

So in prayer, we enter in not just a supplication,

Lord, I need this, I need that, please help me

with this, please help her with that. No, we

enter into gratitude and joy for giving us life,

and after that, we can supplicate. We start with

prayer and fasting in order to gain faith, which

is a gift from God. He tells the apostles, your

faith isn't even as big as a mustard seed. No

wonder you couldn't do anything. If you have

faith that big, it's enough to move a mountain.

Now, we don't need to move any mountain. Not

a physical mountain. But with the widow's two

mites, you know that story. Faith is not about

quantity. It's about quality. That's what's important.

What I mean by that is it's simple. It's pure.

It's sincere. It's childlike. It depends on one

who is stronger than us. It's like this. Jesus

says, I thank thee, Father, that thou hast hid

these things from the wise and the prudent and

the mighty and hast revealed them. unto babes

let us be children of the father walk the road

that jesus has for us and have faith in him and

not in ourself and we shall restore a little

bit of paradise in the heart and around us let's

be joyful brothers and sisters because here we

are in this church and we see these icons and

their reflection their manifestation of that

paradise at life Let's rise up to that with the

help of the Holy Spirit and rejoice with each

other. Amen.