Sermons & Homilies
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost,” (Lk 19:10). We find throughout the Gospels Christ coming as the good shepherd to rescue His scattered flock. He comes to enlighten the ignorant, to raise up the fallen, to heal the diseased, to redeem from hell. Today’s Gospel gives us another episode in Christ’s search for His lost sheep.
Could it be that all of this was the result of the neglect shown to an Icon of the Mother of God? What historian could ever make such a claim and find his work published, taken seriously by the academic community. And yet it’s just such a conclusion that today’s feast invites us to draw. It forces us to look at the fate of nations not with the eyes of the historian but with the eyes of faith.
Could it be that we have all that we need to attain salvation? That we need no further comfort in food, drink, or housing? That we do not need more sleep, better health, or fewer worries? Perhaps, but what if my health has improved a bit, I’ve been able to make more money, I am sleeping better, eating healthier, am more attentive, praying with compunction, then am I more peaceful, am I more thankful, do I complain less, do I pray more or say the Jesus prayer more and use my time and energy to overcome laziness, despondency and sin within me? What is more, if in any way God has eased our suffering or quelled our intrusive thoughts or subdued our passions, have we become more of the Christian that we would like to be, committed ourselves more to ascetic disciplines and attendance at the Divine Services, or are we glad our life has become a bit easier but have not decided to live more fully for Him? Such are the questions that are addressed in our Gospel reading today.
What do we do when all seems lost? Where do we turn when there’s no one to turn to? All of the hopes and dreams, all the desires and aspirations of the disciples lay lifeless in a stone cold tomb. We trusted that it had been [Jesus] which should have redeemed Israel (Lk. 24:21). Though the Lord had foretold to them numerous times that He would be betrayed, scourged, mocked, and crucified, the calamity still over took them by surprise.
Today we go to the beginning. The Fall of our first parents is presented to us to remind us of the Paradise we lost. From breaking seemingly “the least of these commandments” Adam and Eve wrought unspeakable destruction upon themselves and all their posterity. In their own life they witnessed envy, fratricide and apostasy. The cancer of sin has only metastasized since then into every form of evil unimaginable and unspeakable.
