From the pastor
My dear children in Christ,
The season of bright sadness, the Great Fast, is almost upon us. Already the themes of Zaccheus, the publican and the Pharisee, and the prodigal son have begun “working” the soil of our hearts and preparing us to embark upon the path of repentance.
These lessons are all sign posts of the “Journey to the empty tomb by way of the cross.” To keep from losing our way it is important that we not miss any signs: that we be here for each service to be guided by the church on this spiritual journey.
The hymns of vespers on Saturday night and matins on Sunday morning are the most comprehensive and illuminating sermons that can be offered to teach us what we need to know.
Great Vespers is one of the shortest services of the liturgical cycle and is the service that begins the new liturgical day. The theme of the resurrection and the theme of the week are both addressed in the lamplighting hymns of the vespers service. They set the tone for the spiritual experience we will be having in the matins and Divine Liturgy which take place on Sunday.
Matins is one of the longer services of the liturgical cycle and is richly adorned with hymns explaining the meaning of the resurrection, the Holy Trinity, the beauty of the Holy Virgin, and the specific theme of the feast being celebrated.
If we want to truly know what our Orthodox faith is all about the best way is by entering into the full experience of these divine services.
This week’s theme is the last judgment. This is the third of three parables told by Christ to instruct us on the way to the kingdom of God. The first parable warns us of the pride of the Pharisee and exhorts us to imitate the humility of the sinful tax collector. The second steers us away from the despondency of the prodigal son and reminds us that our heavenly Father is always looking and waiting to receive us back when we come to our true selves in repentance.
The first two parables address our relationship with God and the proper attitude we should have towards Him. The Last Judgment adds a new dimension by addressing our relationship to other people. In fact, the story explains that we cannot separate our relationship with Jesus Christ from our relationships with each other.
To sum up the account of the Last Judgment, Christ stated that we will be judged according to how we treated Him in the form of the human beings around us who are in need. In fact, we encounter Christ in every person we meet and we will be judged according to what we do with these encounters, “When I was hungry you fed me, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, when I was sick and in prison you visited me.”
The French philosopher Nietzsche said, “hell is other people.” Actually the opposite is true; Hell is alienation from other people. Hell is the inability to love and to reach beyond your self.
The story of the Last Judgment is very sobering. It tells us that salvation is a mystery that can’t be summed up by some simple formula like confessing our faith in Christ or being baptized in the name of the Trinity.
The message of the Last Judgment is very direct. Are there people around us who are hungry? Let us feed them. Thirsty? Let us give them a drink of water? Naked? Let us clothe them. Sick, lonely or in prison? Let us visit them.
Especially this last one all of us can do. There are elderly people who are shut in, there are people in the hospital and nursing homes, and their are prisoners in our county jail. May each of us be found to be included with the humble sheep of God’s Kingdom.
It is a great blessing for each of us that we can be here today to hear this lesson and to experience God’s love in the Divine Liturgy. May each of us treat each other with the understanding that when we encounter each other, we are meeting Christ. In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Freely Ye Have Received Freely Give