The Way

Have you ever seen a Geode Rock? On the outside, it is a certain color but if you cut it in half various colors are formed into crystals on the inside, including completely hollow areas. The rock looks different from the inside than it does from the outside. We as humans are the same, figuratively speaking. On the outside, we are a certain color with distinct physical features, but we look different on the inside; I am not speaking in biological terms but rather in spiritual terms. That is, on the inside, we can find what we call: our personality, our spiritual life, our needs, and our desires. They are an outworking of various circumstances and situations that we have experienced in our life. Our mental, physical and emotional conditions all play a vital role in the condition of our “inside” being.

The book of Galatians says, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16) Paul makes the point that the promise of God to the Jewish people is not only for them but also for all humanity through “the one Seed” Jesus Christ. Through the Seed, Jesus Christ, all of humanity will have an opportunity to be redeemed and saved. Since he is the Seed, he is planted and bears fruit; and we, as believers are his fruit. The plan of salvation by God for humanity can be seen in this way.

Jesus was a great preacher and teacher and his miracles were something the world had never seen before. He was also a great debater, so neither the Pharisees nor Scribes were able to stump him with any of their questions. His popularity was increasing and so he became a threat to the Jewish establishment of his time. 

In the Gospel reading, taken from Mark 3: 20-30, Jesus was accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan—Beelzebub. This was an absurd suggestion because this implies that Satan was casting out Satan. In reply, Jesus said, “How can Satan cast out Satan. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.” (Mark 3: 23) The Pharisees were resorting to this type of accusation because they had tried everything else and nothing worked. Calling Jesus Satan was a tactic of desperation.

During these uncharted times, we may encounter financial hardships caused by the loss of a job, salary furlough, or salary reduction. The price of groceries and other goods has increased causing our budgets to shrink. We are hesitant to spend money as easily as before the COVID-19 outbreak because we are unsure what the future holds. Due to business closures, the economy has taken untold damage and it may take years to recover. Additionally, the unrest that our nation is experiencing has also brought on a sense of unease and worry. Life in this country does not look or feel like it did in 2019. Though life in our nation (and our world) has changed, God has not! God has not left this world to fend for itself. God has not abdicated his throne. He is still on the throne and ruler of all that is visible and invisible. Though we may face financial hardship now, and though there is unrest in the nation, God is still in charge. This should give us a sense of hope in these scary times. Hope – that God will provide. Hope – that God will not abandon us. It might seem that there is not enough but God will always provide. God will never leave us nor forsake us.

“You give them something to eat.” This command seems reasonable enough, right? I don’t know about you all, but I know how to make a mean PB and J sandwich. To feed another person is not a big issue. However, it's the number of people that trips us up. 5,000 people? That is more than 4,999 people that I am able to afford to feed. Why does Christ tell his 12 disciples to do this impossible job? Is it merely to show them His own power to provide for those in need? I do not think that this is the case. Looking at the General Epistle reading for today as well, we see another seemingly impossible task. A Christian, Ananias, having to go to the greatest persecutor of Christians at that time, Saul. Not only that but to heal Saul and baptize him and to bring Saul into the Christian fold.

Jesus is typically seen and thought of as the peaceful and gentle Messiah, Lord, and Savior. However, the Gospels also record a Jesus who is confrontational and harsh. For example, Jesus overturned the tables of the merchants in the outer court of the Temple. (Matthew 21, Mark 11) He also directly confronted the Pharisees regarding their pride and hypocrisy. (Matthew 23: 1-12) He cursed the fig tree that had no figs. (Matthew 11: 12-25) After all, Jesus was not really the “nice guy” we thought he was.

Read more: https://stlukemission.org/sermons/take-responsibility-for-your-faith

Racism, prejudice, and hatred: as a nation and global community, we have been speaking, posting, and protesting against such evils because the knee of a police officer murdered a black man. We all witnessed this horrifying incident on the news and social media. We were rightfully angry and disgusted. Many went to the streets in protest and others went to social media and expressed their feelings and emotions. We most likely sat down with our children and explained to them what was happening in the world and answered the question: “Who is George Floyd?” As a parish, we addressed the incident through our “Morning of Hope” and “Evening of Hope.” We continue to address the topic of racism, prejudice, and hatred through this homily. And will continue to address it in our parish through a Christ-centered focus. Addressing what has happened is very important. It is necessary! Being silent is not an option. How can we as Orthodox Christians, who participate in parish life and are active in the church, address these racial issues?

In the Gospel reading today we hear the words of Christ, “No one comes to me, unless the One who sent me, the Father draws him.” (St. John 6: 44) What does Christ mean by this? First, we must examine what it means to “draw.” There are a few synonyms for draw, such as: attract, captivate, and pull. These are but a few. I like the term “push.” More robustly “push us toward.” In the context of the Gospels, this means that it is God the Father who “pushes us toward” his Son. Therefore, outside of the power of God, we would not know Christ. This simply means that it is in and through God that we know God the Son. Of our power, of our own doing, of our strength, we would not know Christ. Here, when I say knowing Christ, I mean: to have a “conviction” in the core of our being that he is God, Savior, and Lord and to live this out in the life of the Church.

My family immigrated to America in 1986. From 1986 to 1992 (est.) my maternal grandfather would write letters because at that time in India, house phones were not available to everyone. At the very top of those letters my grandfather would always write three words: GOD IS LOVE.

In today’s Gospel portion, Christ calls us all to be ready and tells us two qualities of what it means to be ready. He says that we are to be faithful and wise in order to do the good that he asks us to do. But how do we learn to be faithful and wise? Are these innate qualities or characteristics that we all have? The answer is no, these are all things we learn. But the next question is from whom do we learn this? Is it possible to merely read the Bible and expect to know everything that is needed from us? If reading and understanding Scripture were that simple then there would be one Orthodox Church instead of many reform churches. In other words, the interpretation of Sacred Scriptures would be uniform if it were that easy.