By Fr. Andrew Lemeshonok
It is
painful to live in this ephemeral world because everything is built on sand —
on sins like selfishness, vainglory, and self-promotion. People who live in
this world unwittingly begin to play this game, and it is really difficult to
stop doing it and begin to live a thoughtful and God-seeking life, where God is
the cornerstone, unlike in the lives of ordinary people. No one in this world
needs Christ because the whole world lieth in wickedness (1 John 5: 19). That’s
why if we genuinely want to become Christians, we will have to struggle against
ourselves and this world. There is sin inside us. Given favourable conditions,
it may surface out. At the same time, we have already witnessed God’s love, and
we can no longer survive without it. This ambiguity and this suffering, in
which a Christian is born, can sometimes be very hard to endure. And yet, we
have to move on.
***
Sin
literally killed us humans. If we want to resurrect, we have to ascend to the
cross voluntarily and go through a great deal of suffering of our souls and our
consciences. Only then will we be restored. Sure, you can adapt all things in
the Church and Her worship to please this fugacious life. Is it reasonable? It
isn’t. Jesus tells every person: Follow Me (Matthew 8: 22). We reply, “Wait, we
have things to do, we have too little time and too little energy to follow you.
We want to keep running.” No matter how fast you run, sooner or later you will
find yourself in the grave. On the other hand, we keep talking about eternity,
the soul’s ascent and progress, and its transformation… The Church nurtures us
and teaches us to be able to say, “No, that’s wrong. I don’t mind losing
everything if my soul remains with God.” May God grant you courage and
patience! (Sermon before the Confession on August 12,
2017)
By Fr. Sergius Faley
Remember
the Gospel story about the paralytic who was carried to Jesus on his bed by his
friends? The house was filled with people who had come to hear the word of the
Lord and to be healed. It was impossible to get inside. They disassembled the
roof and suspended the bed with the paralytic right in front of Jesus. When
Jesus saw their faith, He told the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” (cf.
Matthew 9: 2).
This is
similar to what happens when we pray for the deceased. A deceased person is
like a paralytic because his or her agency is frozen: they cannot help
themselves. Our private prayers, and especially prayers of the Church and her
members are a meaningful way to help them. We pray that the Lord would forgive
their sins. Those deceased who have already had their sins forgiven, pray for
us, and God helps us thanks to their prayers. May we all have such people among
our ancestors. However, if we don’t have such people, the Lord has brought us
to his Church and given us the chance to pray for our deceased relatives with
faith. (Sermon after the All-Night Vigil on October
27, 2017)
By Fr. Valery Zakharov
Trusting
God means staying in full submission to his will. God acts only to the extent
that we open our hearts to him. God does not address our minds. He addresses
our hearts. (Sermon after the Divine Liturgy in the
Boarding Home for Children with Special Needs on August 5, 2017)
Having
received a blessing in the church, we return to the turbulent world. Our task
is to make it peaceful. It must not infect us with its turbulence but instead
it should receive the peace of Christ from us so that our family members
wouldn’t hide away from us but on the contrary, seek our company to receive
some light of God’s grace, which we must radiate by carrying it inside our
hearts and never losing it. (Sermon after the Divine Liturgy in the
Boarding Home for Children with Special Needs on November 11, 2017)
By Fr Sergius Nezhbort
People
are afraid of evil spells or black cats. In fact, they themselves are the
people that they should in all honesty be afraid of. This is why we need
sanctification and purification. The Lord keeps sanctifying and purifying us
all the time. This is the mercy of God that we cannot accept without humbling
down.
I had a
conversation with one of our sisters lately. She complained that she could not
take communion. I asked, “What’s wrong?” — “I cannot get ready: sometimes I
don’t read all required texts, sometimes I don’t fast for the required time,
sometimes I’m late…” I asked another question to clarify, “How long ago did you
take communion for the last time?” — “Oh, it’s been a while, I don’t even
recall it, and I am afraid I won’t take it again.” Here is a person who attends
church regularly, and still cannot take communion…
We all
sometimes want to bargain with God: you do your part of the deal, and I’ll do
mine. I read canons for your sake, and you reward me for my feats. Sometimes
you have to get used to the fact that right now, you are totally unworthy, your
spiritual life is the worst of the worst, but regardless of all that, you come
to God and ask him to accept you in his Kingdom, like the good thief on the
cross. That is the moment when one feels God’s grace most often. (Sermon
after the Divine Liturgy on August 14, 2017)
Let me
tell you a story. There were two brothers, and the older brother found a
seashell. Normally, he would just grab things and keep them. This time, he gave
the seashell to the other brother, which was unusual. I said, “The Lord will
comfort you now that you’ve committed such a heroic act!” And we continued
walking. Hardly did he walk ten feet that he asked, “Well, when will the Lord
comfort me?” I replied, “Just keep walking; the Lord will certainly comfort
you.” Ten feet later, he said, “Why?! I gave up all I had, so to say, but God
does not comfort me…” The Lord comforted him eventually, of course. It seems to
me that it is typical of us. Sometimes we give up something. It may be even
less significant than a seashell. And we sit there waiting for God’s grace to
fall upon us. If it doesn’t come in a couple of days, we feel indignant: why,
what’s wrong, where’s God, why doesn’t He stay true to his promises?
Nonetheless, we must remember that the Lord will definitely comfort us, and it
may happen when we don’t expect it. (Sermon after the Divine Liturgy on August 13,
2017)
January 22, 2018
St.
Elisabeth Convent
CONVERSATION