Sermons & Homilies
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.
Today is the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, whereon we commemorate St. Gregory as the defender of the Christian’s experience of God. St. Gregory became involved in a confrontation wherein his opponent claimed that Christians (specifically, hesychast monks) did not experience God directly. St. Gregory defended the opposite position and affirmed that this is how the Orthodox Church’s theology came to be - by direct revelation from God to holy men and women in the Church, whom the grace of God had transformed.
We must take an example from St. Symeon who waited so long in faith. This was an active waiting. It was a daily trial. He had plenty of time to doubt the prophecy. He had plenty of time to give up. He had plenty of time to forget what he was still living for. He had plenty of time to bury himself in mindless worldly consolations, distractions, and preoccupations. However, he kept faith. This was not easy. This was not automatic. There is so much hidden within one line of the Scripture which simply states that he would not die until he saw the Lord’s Christ.
There’s a story from the ancient Church, either in the era of the Desert Fathers or perhaps shortly after of a woman who was the only survivor of a shipwreck. Marooned on an island alone for decades, she lived a life of asceticism, a life of prayer dedicated to God. Finally, however, she was discovered, she was rescued and brought back to civilization. Once back, she sought out a God-bearing elder to inquire about her life and her accomplishments, to see what she attained to.
