Sermons & Homilies
“One who is affected by pride is not even safe in heaven,” says St. John Climacus, because Lucifer was in heaven, yet because of his mad pride he fell therefrom. On the other hand St. John calls humility a “heavenly siphon, which from the abyss of sins can raise the soul to heaven.” He adds, “If the pride of some of the angels made them demons, no doubt humility can make angels out of demons. Therefore, let those who have fallen take courage!”
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Today’s feast is a call to repentance. As many of us know, with the coming of Zacchaeus Sunday Great Lent is right around the corner. There are many of us who are tempted to think that Great Lent is the Great Season of Repentance. We hear about Zacchaeus Sunday and think to ourselves, “It’s almost time for Great Lent; I’ll just postpone this whole repentance thing for a little while longer.” This, however, is not what we see represented in today’s feast. When Zacchaeus is confronted with Christ he immediately sets out on the path of repentance. There was no season that he waited for; he acted here, now, and today. The expediency of the need to repent is a resounding testament for us because of the other great feast that we celebrate today, that of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
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Today we commemorate the wondrous Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of our Lord Jesus Christ, John, son of the righteous High Priest Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth. Who is this prophet, who is called “more than a prophet” by the Christ Himself? Who is this man, who is called “the greatest of those born of women” by the God-Man Himself? Who is this saint, who is a saint of saints, whose memory the Church honors several times a year?
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The first instance where we learn of the Trinity is in Genesis at the creation of man. On the sixth day of creation, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” and so it was done. “In the image of God He created man; male and female He created them,” writes the Prophet Moses. (Cf. Gen. 1:26-27). Today, at the baptism of Christ, we see the Trinity revealed again.
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Today we are brought to the cusp of the fast which tomorrow will spill over into the celebration of the birth of the Messiah of the human race, Jesus Christ. In this brimming up, today we also commemorate all of the righteous who have lived up until the birth of Christ, not only His holy ancestors but all the righteous in whose lives the coming of the Son of God is announced by word and by deed. Moreover, for us, the eleventh hour has come, and soon we will participate in the incarnation of Christ, reaping the fruits of our labors in the fast and desiring God to be born in our hearts on this day.
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