Sunday Sermon

Our Lord both forgives the sins of a paralyitic man and then heals him of his paralysis, in the sight of all. The scribes, predictably, murmured against the Lord for daring to forgive sin, believing Him to be merely man and not also God. We, who are daily the witnesses of God's great workings, can also easily fall into the mindset of the scribes when we refuse to acknowledge the action and the grace which also surround us, and which can heal us of our physical and spiritual infirmities.

When we say we trust in someone's word, what does that mean? What does a person's word signify?

Many times prayer comes easy. We can recite the Lord's prayer with ease. We can take time to spend with God and good thoughts flow like a river. But then there are those times when we cannot have a thought. We have no good thoughts. We aren't even able to have a bad thought, we have nothing to bring to God.

The Bible teaches that our old self was crucified by God on the cross. We cannot crucify our old man. The old man (the mind that wants to sin) was crucified with Christ on the cross. It was God who did that. But there is something else that we have to crucify - our flesh (the storehouse of desires).

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” (St. Luke 6:36) We like to be so focused on other people's wrong-doing, if for no other reason, it takes the focus off of our wrong doing. If I focus on someone else and focus where they are wrong in their life, it means that I have less time to focus on what is wrong in my own life.

Our Lord delivers two men from demonic possession, allowing the demons to enter into a herd of swine. The swine swiftly run themselves into the sea and drown. Those who had kept the swine were understandably alarmed at this. But instead of rejoicing at the wondrous works of the Lord, the swineherds and the local populace besought the Lord to depart, as they feared they might lose even more material possessions after the manner of the swine. How often do we cling to material things, and attempt to close out the presence of the Lord for fear that we might lose some trifle?

“Behold they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat.”— St. Mark 8: 2. How these poor people put us Christians to shame! They followed Christ everywhere, over mountain and valley, in order to hear his doctrine and preaching, so that they forgot to eat and drink; for three whole days they remained with him, in spite of the hunger they suffered, until Christ, taking pity on them, relieved them by a miracle. How do we act, who profess to be followers of Christ? How often do we not depart from him and from the teaching of his Gospel for the sake of eating and drinking? Nay, how many are there who give up his friendship and the salvation of their souls, that they may eat what is forbidden at certain times, or else gratify their gluttony by excessive eating and drinking? And why do they act thus? What is the object of their eating and drinking? Is it not that they may be happy, that they may live long and enjoy themselves? Now, the very contrary of this follows on gluttony and immoderate eating

We have gotten the false notion that our bodies are our own, and yet they are not, and even the world knows this is part. And so, who actually owns are bodies?

I want to warn you...I want you to understand... that if you have not forgiven even one person anywhere in the world, no matter how long you may have considered yourself to be a "believer") that you will certainly not enter the kingdom of God.

When a centurion's servant lay sick and near death, the centurion sought out the Lord. Our Lord, moved with compassion, offered to go to the house of the centurion to heal the servant. The centurion moved with great humility and faith confessed his own unworthiness that the Lord even enter under his roof. He besought that the Lord simply "say the word," and the centurion was certain that by the simple word of the Lord that his servant would be healed. And so it came to pass: by the word of the Lord the servant was healed. The humble faith of the centurion is a challenge to us today: do we truly believe that our Lord can heal us by His divine word as well?

From the First Epistle of St. Peter we hear: ". . . for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." (I St. Peter 5:5) Not only did St. Peter learn this truth from Holy Scripture but he learned it even more importantly by witnessing Our Blessed Saviour humble Himself in the service of those around Him.

“We have labored all the night, and have taken nothing.” – St. Luke 5: 5. No wonder that the fishermen brought their nets and boats to land in sheer vexation. Why should they give themselves further trouble? They had labored all the night and had taken nothing. They were tired of this useless toil. How many there are nowadays who also labor in vain!

Theologians speak of an act of the will, guiding the heart, soul and spirit, to do something. In this case, we make an Act in regard to one of the Theological Virtues, Faith, Hope or Charity, or an Act of Contrition, when repenting of our sins. This act is a decision to devote our self to this virtue and in doing so, we usually use words to express the intention of our heart.

Everybody who calls themselves a Christian has a story that includes pain and suffering. Behind each smiling face you will discover a tale of pain, difficulty, heartache, and many unanswered questions. Not that we aren’t happy–we are–or at least most of us are, but no one gets a free ride through life. Into each life some rain must fall. No one lives in the sunshine forever.

“And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners. “— St. Luke 15: 2. “Now the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him.” Certainly their intention was a good one, and who could find fault with it? Christ receives sinners; he goes in search of them; he goes into their houses; he eats and drinks with them, so as to win their hearts and convert them to God. A most holy work, indeed, and who could have anything to say against it? And yet there were false and wicked tongues that spat out poison, murmured and complained, and cried down our Lord as a public sinner on account of that holy work.

Many confuse Conversion and repentance. Conversion is an event, whereas repentance is a way of life, a life of penance.

Our Lord also warns us: "But if thine eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!" If instead of turning our eyes towards Him Who is our ultimate good, by avarice we turn them towards the passing goods of this world, seeking after them inordinately, indeed serving them as if they were our masters, we invite darkness into all that we do, and we comport ourselves as if blinded.

God wants His "house" to be filled. He has invited each one of us to His supper and wants us to attend. And yet how often do we come up with excuses? How often do we respond in the negative to the God's request?

A little over a century ago a book was written, The Comparative Number of the Saved and the Lost. (1899 by Father Nicholas Walsh) It puts forth the proposition that the majority of mankind are saved. We must consider whether this view is true or false.

Our Lord began His very first sermon in Galilee with a call to repentance. He said: "The time is accomplished, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel." Repentance is the great means which can bring us closer to the Kingdom of God. Daily life in this fallen world is a struggle - but for the Christian it is a struggle that he or she never has to face alone. Through genuine abandonment and entrusting oneself unto our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, one finds that the power of His grace can even make suffering sweet when embraced for His sake. Let us today embrace all the more the sweet yoke of Christ, and work in His grace.