July 19th, 2013: St Seraphim Day - Abp Benjamin

Last night we heard the following from the wisdom

of Solomon. But the souls of the righteous are

in the hand of God in no torment. shall ever

touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seem

to have died, and their departure was thought

to be affliction, and their going from us to

be their destruction. But they are at peace.

For though in the sight of man they were punished,

their hope is full of immortality. Each time

I hear these words read at vigil, I'm reminded

of the words of Christ in the Gospel of John.

If the world hates you, know that it has hated

me before it hated you. If you were of the world,

the world would love its own. But because you

are not of the world, but I chose you out of

the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember

the word that I said to you. A servant is not

greater in honor than his master. If they persecuted

me, they will persecute you. Both these passages

touch upon an aspect of saintliness, of the character

of those who are so in tune with the kingdom

of God, they are, one might say, out of phase

with this present world. The saints walk about

in this sinful and fallen world as strangers,

the aspect and focus of their existence being

Christ. He and he alone is the reference point

of their lives. And as such, they do not fit

well into human society. The world and its corruption

cannot touch them. They appear to be foolish,

strange, and different because that which human

society considers to be important is of no importance

to them. what an odd man St. Seraphim was. He

left the company of other human beings to live

alone in the forest for five years. He abandoned

the path that other youths of his day followed

and entered a monastery at the age of 19. What

were you doing at 19? He stood for hours in prayer,

sometimes seeing angels. and even addressed others

in an odd manner, calling them, my joy, and greeting

those who encountered him all year long with

the possible greeting, Christ is risen. It was

as though he was out of sync with the culture

around him. We heard last Sunday, the lamp of

the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is

good, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is bad, your whole body will

be full of darkness. If therefore the light that

is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.

I remember when I was about 32 living in Detroit.

I heard a commercial on the radio offering a

free eye exam. And even though my sight seemed

to be fine, I decided to go in and have a checkup

anyway. The optometrist did what optometrists

do with lenses and questions, trying this and

trying that. And at the end, I was presented

with a temporary pair of glasses. And to my astonishment,

I saw things more clearly. To be honest, I saw

things in focus and with clarity for the first

time in a long time. I had gradually lost the

vision in my eyes. but was totally unaware of

it. Those of us who live in the modern world

run the risk of allowing our inner vision to

become clouded and out of focus as well. Our

spiritual senses become dulled by the assaults

of the world around us. We fail to comprehend

the brokenness around us. We fail to detect the

distortion of God's created world by sin. Like

the rich man in the parable, we leave our homes

not even seeing our own personal Lazarus lying

at our door, covered in sores. We live our lives

as though poverty did not exist, as if children

in other parts of the world or even our own cities

did not go hungry. We become dulled with the

images around us. accustomed to things on television

that 20 years ago would not have even been allowed

on the air. Like a favorite kitchen knife is

dulled and gradually by youth, our senses too

become blunted, slowly and imperceptibly, by

our daily lives. The lamp of our bodies, our

spiritual eyes become blinded, and so our entire

being is darkened. And then, suddenly, we encounter

a gift from God in the person of someone like

St. Seraphim. Someone who, despite the darkness

of this world, nevertheless sees the light in

it and much more than that, radiates the light

like a beacon on a hill. This is the essential

truth of the famous encounter with Modavila.

The goal of St. Seraphim's asceticism was realized

not by obtaining a gold medal in the fasting

or vigil Olympics, but in becoming a lens through

which God could project himself into this world.

And such an encounter with God through the medium

of a holy person can be transforming and bring

healing to others. Do you remember the conversation

Madhavila said? I don't quite understand how

it is possible to be absolutely sure of living

in God's Spirit. How can this be proved? St.

Seraphim reiterated, Friend of God, I've already

told you that it's very easy. I've told you that

some men found themselves filled with the Holy

Spirit and were able to be convinced of His presence.

What more do you want? How long to understand

completely? Then Father Seraphim gripped me firmly

by the shoulders and said, My friend, both of

us at this moment are in the Holy Spirit, you

and I. Why don't you look at me? I can't look

at you, Father, because the light flashing from

your eyes and face is brighter than the sun and

I am dazzled. Don't be afraid, friend of God.

You, yourself, are shining just like I am. You

too are now in the fullness of the grace of the

Holy Spirit. Otherwise, you would not be able

to see me as you do. And leaning towards me,

Father Seraphim said quietly, Thank the Lord

for his ineffable goodness. You may have noticed

that I didn't even make the sign of the cross.

Only in my heart I said this prayer to the Lord.

of seeing clearly with the eyes of the flesh

that outpouring of your spirit which you vouchsafed

to your servants when you condescended to reveal

yourself to them in the revelation of your glory.

My friend, the Lord granted it instantly. Come,

look, friend, do not be afraid, for the Lord

is with us. The encounter ended with these words

of St. Therop. This is the peace, friend of God,

which the Lord promised to his disciples when

he said, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give

to you, not as the world gives do I give you.

It is that peace which the apostle calls the

peace which passes all understanding. It was

by the world's criteria an odd encounter with

a very odd man. But what the world considered

to be strange or foolish was really wise in God's

sight. To become such a beacon in this dark world

requires discipleship, discipline, and testing.

As Solomon said, God tested them, the righteous,

and found them worthy of himself. Like gold in

the furnace, he tried them. a sacrificial burnt

offering, he accepted them. In the time of their

visitation, they will shine forth and will run

like sparks through the stubble. And sparks running

through stubble, through sawdust, ignites it.

And a greater fire and a greater light results.

So it was with St. Seraphim. So it can be with

you and with me. In the eyes of the foolish,

they, the righteous ones like Seraphim, seem

to have died, and their departure was thought

to be an affliction, and their going from us

to be their destruction. This is how the world

regards them. That's nothing special. But Solomon

continues, but they are at peace. God tested

them and found them worthy of himself.