Sermons & Homilies
Today’s Gospel is about thirst. The thirst of God for man. The thirst of man for God. Let us always ask ourselves: Am I seeking the love of God with my whole heart? Do I thirst for salvation? Or do I thirst for worldly things, pleasures, status, human honor? This is a very simple question, but one of the most important questions in life.
Forty men were being martyred in a freezing lake. One forsook Christ, seeking the warmth of an earthly fire. He died immediately in his fall. The other 39 died soon in their struggle. A pagan soldier saw the apostate’s crown and joined the 39. He died soon in his struggle.
It is through the Theotokos that we come to know Christ. The Invisible One became visible through her alone. The Unknowable became knowable through her alone. The Intangible became touchable through her alone. The Silent became audible through her alone. This is how He desired it. This is how He designed it. This is how He has loved to make it be.
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.
