All Saints of Britain and Ireland 2020 Fr. Lawrence Margitich

Glory to Jesus Christ. I'm sorry we've had some

technical network difficulties. Anytime high

tech is involved, it's more unreliable than anything

else. The Savior has a radical message. Message

of God's love and care and providence and help.

It's a hard saying for many of us who trust in

many other things besides the Heavenly Father.

It's a hard saying and one over time perhaps

we can learn, we can become proficient and competent

at following. The heart saint I'm talking about

is the gospel you heard today. A monk once came

to St. Basil of Caesarea and said, Father, give

me a word. And St. Basil replied, Thou shalt

love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. And

the monk went away at once. Twenty years later,

he came back and said, Father, I have struggled

to keep your word. Now speak another word to

me. And he said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor

as thyself. And the monk returned in obedience

to his cell to keep that also. Such is today's

lesson. That perhaps it's going to take us twenty

years of conscious, intentional struggle. to

keep this word of Christ. Hearing about the words

of Jesus today about anxiety, do not be anxious

about what you're going to wear, what you're

going to eat, what you're going to drink, this,

that, or the other thing. Anxiety has a certain

quality. We're talking about the anxiety that

comes from pursuing something you can never completely

have. to your satisfaction. And when we pursue

that thing, it becomes for us our slave master.

The Lord has another way for us. Here in the

words about anxiety, we might laugh today. Do

not be anxious about this other thing, especially

now during this time of COVID -19. Social problems,

economic problems, health problems, all resulting

from the mess we're already in, probably. These

things loom very large and scare us, and all

the other things in our lives that concern us,

our families, our children, the homes, what are

we going to eat, our jobs, these all bubble up

before us and present an invitation to live in

a tornado of anxiety. It can be a terrible distraction

and burden. The life of this world is like that.

Sometimes better, sometimes worse. The Lord invites

us to something else. Sometimes we have anxiety

so much we can't actually see the real problems

that we have that we should be anxious about

to deal with. It's like someone once said, my

life has been full of terrible misfortunes. most

of which never happened. Christ's words today

are the cure for us, but we are hesitant. We're

hesitant. The Savior was speaking these words

about life, about food, about what's our master.

Created things or God? And speaking about not

being anxious about the basic necessities of

life. Was he speaking to the rich and powerful?

It seems like that's who we direct this to. We

wouldn't include ourselves in this conversation.

It's like that other person should think about

this. The people he was speaking to lived on

the edge of starvation. The brink of sickness

which would end their lives. Subsistent living.

Some with no complete solid covering over their

heads. Some with just one set of clothes. Food

not easily available. The Palestinian Jewish

peasants, crushed by the Roman occupiers. Not

considered human by them, but considered property

by them. With barely a roof over their head.

No stores to shop in. No running waters. No light

switches you can turn on at night when it gets

dark. Some that were listening had nothing to

eat that day. The Lord is not telling us not

to eat, not to dress, not to live, not to be

responsible. He's asking us, who is our master?

If Christ then peace, then anxiety goes away,

and the peace reigns in the heart. We're gifted,

humans are, with vision. If I say to you, do

you see what I mean? It's not about the eyes,

is it? People have pets, and they try to train

their pets, unless you have cats, and forget

about that. They train their pets to follow,

to sit, to repeat, if you have a parrot. Animals

that are not trained are driven by their senses,

what they see and smell, hear. And they go for

that thing. If it's something that they can eat,

they go for it. If it's a male in heat, he finds

the female. Their senses give them information.

They react according to their nature. If you

put a treat on the floor, the dog will probably

go for it. Humans are gifted with vision, not

just to see what's in front of them and react.

Not just eyesight, not just instinct, but understanding.

The light of the body is the eye, says the Lord.

If therefore the eye be single, you know what

that means? Not like mine. I have trifocals.

If your vision is clear. Not fragmented, not

disjointed, not in threes. If your vision is

clear, your whole body will be full of light.

Your body, your eye, your heart. If we look at,

follow, pursue, and desire that which is light

and good, honest, true, godly, what's coming

into our senses, not just our physical senses,

but our spiritual senses, then we will be changed.

We will be transformed. This is a hard saying.

Because we don't trust Christ. Metropolitan Anthony

Bloom says this, the gospel is a harsh document.

It's an amazing thing to say. We usually think

of the gospel as inviting and the good news.

And that it is for those who are in need, for

those who feel oppressed, to those who are sick,

to those in sorrow, to those fearful of death,

to those overcome by sin. And it is the best

of news. But some of us, for some of us, the

gospel is a harsh document. He says the gospel

is ruthless and specific in what it says. The

gospel is not meant to be reworded, watered down,

brought to the level. of our understanding or

our taste. The gospel is proclaiming something

which is beyond us and which is there to stretch

our mind, to widen our heart beyond the bearable

at times, to recondition our life, to give us

a worldview which is simply the world upside

down, and this we are not keen to accept. Seek

first the kingdom of God and all that you need

will be given to you. How to do that? I'll give

you two ways. There are many more. The kingdom

of God is Christ. Not something or a philosophy

or a story. You know when he is there and you

know when he is not there. You know what he is

like from the gospel. You know what he is not

like. If you have a hard time discerning the

presence of Jesus Christ in your life, then look

around. First, everyone bears the image of Christ.

We are created in the image and likeness of God.

Each person is worthy of honor and respect. If

you can't see Christ in your life, look at some

other people. the homeless people under the Fifth

Street Bridge. When a beautiful icon is covered

with soot and wax and gunk and lipstick, we don't

throw it away. It's cleansed. Those of us that

have disfigured the image of God in ourselves

can't see the image of God in other people because

we only see what we are. See Christ in others

and honor that and you will see Christ in your

life. Secondly, to seek the kingdom of God and

his righteousness, trust in what you heard today

in the gospel. This source of information, Jesus

Christ, doesn't give you fake news or alternate

facts. He gives you the truth, the light. of

the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be

single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

This is faith. This is how we acquire faith.

Saint Isaac the Syrian said this, We call faith

that light which dawns in the soul by grace.

It's a gift. And which by the testimony of the

mind, the understanding, establishes the heart

in freedom. from doubt and anxiety, through the

full assurance of hope because of what God has

done for us. This faith, he says, shows itself,

demonstrates itself, not in our words and our

arguments and in our external actions only, but

with the spiritual eyes. It beholds the mystery,

the mysteries concealed in the soul. and the

secret and divine riches that are hidden away

from the eyes of the world. Let your light, let

your body have the light that can come in through

the spiritual eye. If your eye is single, your

whole body shall be full of light. This is knowledge.

This is trust. This is faith in God. It's found

in the heart. Not just in the mind. So guard

your hearts, guard your eyes, guard your understanding,

and let your body be full of light. Amen.