Forgiveness Sunday 2021

Remember when we used to hear things like that,

the clothes make a man. Don't hear that so much

anymore, which is fine, but it's true, isn't

it? It's true in the Christian sense. When we're

baptized, what do we sing? As many as have been

baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Christ

is not your average polyester suit. He is the

restoration of what it means to be a human being.

And this we have put on. We call ourselves Christian,

not because we agree, we adhere in an intellectual

way to the tenets, the doctrines, dogmas, the

teachings of the church. We do that, I hope.

Although I know many Christians that seem to

think a lot of that is optional and certain things

they don't like, so they're not going to even

investigate or struggle with those things, which

we should do. We can't answer everything. We're

Christians because we have put on Christ. We

are members of his body. St. John tells us, God

is love. We can love lots of things. Jesus himself

says, men love the darkness more than they love

the light. This is a frightening and horrible

statement that our Savior made. And should tell

us exactly why it's so hard for us to remember

that we have put on Christ. That we are members

of his body. That God is love, so God's love

should be coursing through our veins. So the

most natural thing we could ever do and be is

loving, Christ -like human beings. The transfiguration

is there to show us what we're to be like. In

the life of the kingdom, which is yet to come.

Some saints achieve that through God's grace.

The baptism is there to show us that we are continually

dying to ourself so that we will find our true

self. And the cross is there because we bear

one another's burdens. We carry the cross so

that we can learn God's love, not our love. So

that we can learn that the core of that love,

God's love for us, the core of it, is forgiveness.

It's justification. It's putting us all back

together. So a Christian, an Orthodox Christian,

lives that way. It's hard. And the theme of this

Sunday, is the expulsion of Adam and Eve from

paradise, and that tells us we're not living

in paradise. That's why it's so hard. But when

we enter into the realm of the church, that is

the prayer that we do at home, the divine liturgy,

when we cross ourself, when we come to church

for the liturgy to pray, to confess our sins,

then a little bit of paradise is rebuilt within

us. It's restored. It's cleansed. But it can't

happen unless we forgive and continually forgive.

Peter says, Lord, how often do I have to forgive

these people? Peter's looking for accountability.

Like, they should know they did the wrong thing.

And I should tell them. They should be accountable

to me and fix it. But that's not what forgiveness

is. You see, we want things to be right because

we want paradise. We're not in it, and that's

normal. But that's not going to happen in this

world. We forgive as a statement, a confession,

a commitment that we are Christians. We bear

Christ. We have put him on. This is not a matter

of how we feel. Nothing in the New Testament

talks about our feelings. It hurts to forgive

sometimes. It hurts to be wounded when we're

misused or abused. But you don't want to keep

that poison in you. You want the spiritual dialysis

of forgiveness. We put on Christ, we forgive,

and we become. like God. Because only God truly

can be the forgiver. And if we have trouble with

all that, and we're going to, that's normal in

this fallen world. It's not paradise. Don't get

used to this. No, we don't get used to it. Then

we pray, and we fast, and God finds A place within

our hearts and our souls and minds to impart

his grace to us. And we start to bear that grace.

And it cleanses us. And then we forgive with

the love and the forgiveness that God has. I

want to ask personally for forgiveness. This

has been... Who can say what this year has been

like? But as I look out at the congregation today,

I see members of one another that have kept their

love for one another because they have kept the

true confession of the faith. You have remembered

that God is love. You have remembered you want

to always have peace in your soul. And so while...

Around us, locally, in the county, in the state,

in the country. Things have spun out of control

with relationships and love among others has

grown cold as Jesus said it would be at the last

time. You have remained warm and loving with

one another. This is no thanks to me. And this

is what I want to ask forgiveness for. The many

things I should have done, which you don't even

know about. But if I had done them, things would

be better. Things would be different. But you

have kept the boat afloat. You didn't even need

me. We're bailing out the water and we kept going

through this whole last year by your consistent

love for one another. So I bowed down before

that and I asked that you keep forgiving me and

you keep loving one another. With God's love.

And always remember, we bear the name of Christ.

We bear the name of Christ. This would crush

us, as a philosopher said recently. Someone who

was not ready to accept Christ. He said, this

would crush me if I took it on. But it won't

crush us. The Lord's burden is easy. It's light.

He carries us. Always remember that you bear

the name of Christ. What honor, what nobility

there is. What glory there is to come to us in

humility. So, it's going to be a little odd today.

We usually have the spiral of forgiveness Sunday.

We won't have that spiral today. But I ask that

you would come forward so I can ask your forgiveness.

And then the next person. a little ways over,

then the next person a little ways over, and

the next person out the door and around the corner

and out the front. And as we contemplate the

Lord's forgiveness in asking each other, the

choir will sing the hymns of the destination

that we are starting on now, and that's Pascha.