St. Vladimir’s Day 2020 Fr. James Jorgenson

But we should pray, St. Vladimir, through your

intercession, please look upon your spiritual

children today in the Ukraine and in Russia.

St. Vladimir is also the patron of the seminary

that I attended and that Father Lawrence attended.

So, Strasnikum, Father, happy feast day. The

first time at St. Vladimir's, when I heard that

troparion to St. Vladimir, which we have just

heard a few moments ago, referring to the merchant

in search of fine pearls and finding Christ,

St. Vladimir, you were like that merchant, you

found Christ, the priceless pearl. I wrote down

that topar in its fullness because nowadays I

don't rely on my memory all the time. So here

it is once again. O holy Prince Vladimir, you

were like a merchant in search of fine pearls.

By sending servants to Constantinople, you found

Christ, the priceless pearl. He appointed you

to be another Paul. washing away in baptism your

physical and spiritual blindness. We celebrate

your memory asking you to pray for Orthodox Christians

in Russia and for all Orthodox Christians and

for us, your spiritual children. That was especially

moving because at St. Vladimir's We were, in

a special way, in a seminary dedicated to him,

his spiritual children. And actually, each and

every one of us, you, all of you, and even I,

I don't have an ounce of Russian or Slavic blood

in me that I'm aware of. Never did my genealogy.

But we're all inheritors of the Russian church

because this parish, one way or another, of course,

was the Russian Orthodox Church in the United

States, which was planted here. So we are, all

of us, spiritual children of St. Vladimir. I

thought also to look at, I was curious about

pearls, where they're mentioned in the Bible.

The first time they're mentioned in the Bible,

is in the book of Job, which I'll get to in a

moment. And then the last time, this is one you're

probably familiar with, the imagery in the last

chapter of the book of Revelation, where the

new Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem, is St.

John the author of the book of Revelation. He's

trying to describe what is undescribable. and

uses the imagery of precious stones and streets

of glass, etc. But he refers to the gates of

the kingdom as made of fine pearl. So that's

where we get that expression. Open to me those

pearly gates, Lord. So when we pass on, please,

Lord, open to us those pearly gates. But the

book of Job, In chapter 38 says, where shall

wisdom, notice this, where shall wisdom be found?

It cannot be gotten with gold or silver or precious

onyx or sapphire. No mention can be made of coral

or crystal. The price of wisdom is above pearls.

And it's interesting that pearls, my matushka

and I were talking about this just recently,

well, preparation for my sermon, that she mentioned,

yes, pearl is the only precious thing that comes

from a living animal. The rest are stones or

metals, but pearl, as you well know, It comes

from oysters, so it comes from a living thing.

This is in chapter 13 of Matthew's Gospel, and

this is what we're reading now, as you probably

noticed in the lectionary, the Gospels, during

the sixth week after Pentecost. Jesus is speaking

about the parables about the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is like a sower who sowed

good seed, like a grain of mustard seed, like

a treasure hidden in a field, like a net cast

into the sea and gathering every kind of fish.

And then in verse 45, again, the kingdom of heaven

is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.

who finding one pearl of great price, went out,

sold all that he had, and bought it. This pearl

of great price, of course, is our Lord Jesus

Christ and our faith in him in the Orthodox faith,

Christ and our Orthodox faith. We did not have

to go out and sell everything we have to acquire

this. Jesus gave us this as a free gift, the

gift of faith, faith in him and faith in his

church. This faith is found in Christ and nourished

in the church. Notice in conclusion when we are

gathered at the divine liturgy, which is par

excellence the church at prayer. the eucharistic

service when we were gathered at the divine liturgy

how does it begin blessed is the kingdom of the

father southern holy spirit so the kingdom of

heaven which is in the future is made present

and inaugurated and the grace of this is given

to us here and now every time we celebrate the

divine liturgy and receive holy communion This

pearl of great price, the Lord Jesus himself,

our Orthodox Christian faith in him, is given

to us and nourished. Let us ask the Lord, please

thank him for this priceless gift and ask him

to nourish that here and forever until we go

through those pearly gates. and see the most

blessed Trinity, to whom we ascribe glory, thanksgiving,

and worship, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now

and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.