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3rd Sunday in Luke, Ocala 10/10/04 1 In today's Gospel lesson we heard of our Lord's stopping a funeral procession to bring to pass one of his many Miracles! He was deeply touched, witnessing the grief of a widow, who was almost being dragged on the way to the cemetery to bury her only son. The Lord approaches her, and looking at her with His comforting and reassuring eyes, He says: "Weep not!" He then touches the bier and says: "Young man, I say to you, arise!" The young man immediately stood up, like being awakened from a sleep. From this startling scene, we can imagine the tears of grief, despair and sadness, having been transformed into tears of unspeakable joy! This miracle, as well as others, supported by the teachings of our Lord, furnish us with positive proof, that death as we know it, is not the end; ---- but rather, a part of life, with the hope of Life Eternal. This morning I would like to touch on some of the teachings of the Church regarding the Hereafter. One of the basic beliefs of our Christian Orthodox Faith is, that the soul is immortal. It is immortal, because it is the very breath of God, which He breathed into the first created, Adam. The Creed, which we proclaimed during the Liturgy once again today, is the product of the first 2 Ecumenical Councils held in 325 and 381 A.D. This Creed, defines the Dogmas of the true Christian Faith in its 12 Articles. In the 7th Article, we repeat the teaching of our Lord, as recorded in the Bible: "and He shall come again in Glory, to judge the living, and the dead!" When we turn back the pages of history, we will be amazed, that even 1000 years before Christ, the ancient Greeks had a concept, -a belief, that there was a continuation of life after death. For instance, Homer speaks of the nether world, --- where the departed souls reposed, as living souls which had feelings, -- they also had the faculty of memory and the power of conversation. A little over 500 years later, the great philosophers, Socrates and Plato, living in the midst of an idolatrous age, came forth with teachings, which closely parallel those, of the Lord. There is no doubt that these great minds could not submit to worshipping created idols, and that moved by their God-given spirit, they paralleled in a way the prophets of the Old Testament. Just to give you an example of how these God-inspired, I would say, philosophers, made statements like: "The good man has nothing to fear; neither in this world, nor in the next." As we know, our Lord Himself, went through the process of death, and was resurrected from the dead, --- to prove beyond any doubt, --- that death was simply a transition, and that Life everlasting was to follow. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus, is the greatest proof of our own resurrection. St. Paul states this most emphatically when he wrote in 1st Corinthians "if Christ had not risen, then your faith is in vain. But now, Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of them, who have slept. For since by man (that is Adam) came death, by Man also (Jesus) came the resurrection of the dead. For, as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive!" (1st Corinthians 15:17-22.) In reading the lives of the Apostles and the countless Saints of the Church, we can readily conclude, that most Christians are very remote from the living faith of these Saints, who glorified Christ, and in turn were glorified by Him. St. Paul in writing to the Philippians (1:21), said: 'For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain!!" This, and so many other expressions are convincing, that Christ was foremost in St. Paul's life. This also, was the living motto of the ancient Christians of the first 3 centuries of persecutions. As imitators of St. Paul, Christ was first and foremost in their life. They often astonished their persecutors and executioners to such an extent, that many of them laid down their swords, and kneeling would plead: "Lead me to this Jesus, Whom you worship!" These Martyrs of the Christian Faith, considered the day of their execution, their birthday; --- their birthday in Jesus. Their beginning into the new Life, which is everlasting, and in which there is no sorrow, no grief, nor pain. Our Lord Jesus shed His innocent Blood, as a ransom for all as St. Paul says. Through His Blood we are sanctified and saved. In turn, His dedicated followers, in the centuries of persecutions, through their blood, nurtured the newly planted Tree of Christianity, and thus the Church blossomed and was edified. These Martyrs, whom we honor and revere as Saints, are our big Brothers and Sisters reposing in Heaven, who found favor with God, because they gave their all for Him, --- even unto death. While we do revere them as Saints, it is only God, Whom we worship. How very sad, that the Reformers of the 16th Century, in their struggle against the Pope, stripped the Church of the Saints, who were responsible for the rooting of Christianity. These Saints were Christians like you and I, --- but there is a vast difference, and that is, that we don't even remotely approach the undaunted faith, and their complete devotion to Jesus. Concentrating then on today's subject, whereas we quoted what St. Paul and the Saints believed about death, we, who seem to be anchored in the life of this world think, that there is nothing more horrible than death. Nothing more terrifying' and nothing more inexplicable. By reasoning along these lines, we readily expose our ignorance of God's supreme plan. Furthermore, it reveals that we are really foreign to any Biblical knowledge, and that our faith is, as St. Paul stated, ---without any real content. A true believer, accepts this life as a preparation for the Life which is to come. St. Paul stated it so eloquently in his Epistle to the Hebrews Chapter 13:14: "For we have no city which remains, but we seek the City which is to come." A Christian's physical and spiritual forces should be centered around this purpose, and aimed at this goal. A Christian uses all the God-given talents for the enjoyment of this life, but no less to labor for the establishing of God's Kingdom. There is no question, that we as Christians are called upon to endure trials and tribulations; but we do this with patience, and faith in God's supreme purpose. Emphatically, a Christian believes wholeheartedly the phrase in the Lord's prayer: "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven." That is what distinguishes the saint, that is, the elect person from the routine Christian. Conversely, the unbeliever lives for this world alone. Death for the unbeliever is the cessation of all activity, and is synonymous with annihilation. His or her life centers around the Epicurean philosophy: "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die." Truly, it is so discouraging to hear from the mouth of supposed Christians, --- either because they have forfeited their lives to sheer materialism, -- or, because they seek to justify their mode of living, that: "All those things about immortality and judgment, --Heaven or Hell, mean nothing. We, here upon this earth, experience both Heaven and Hell!" It is astonishing, --- but this is their actual belief! I cannot understand though, how these people reconcile justice and injustice? How can they explain the inequities of this life? We witness it every day; the wicked so often, are not only condemned and punished, but oftentimes exalted! ---- whereas, virtuous, pious, principled, and Godfearing people, instead of enjoying, as we say, the pleasures of this life, so often they suffer untold trials. What is the real answer? It is clearly and expressly given in many sections of the Bible. One of these, and indeed a very descriptive one, is the Parable of the Rich man and the Poor Lazarus. The scene after their death, shows the Rich man suffering the tortures of Hell, only because his life had been a very selfish one, living strictly for the pleasures of this world; with no heart or emotion for his fellow man. The poor Lazarus, now reposes in the bosom of Abraham, not because he was deprived materially in this world, but because he sustained his trials and sufferings with exemplary patience. I think we have a peculiar oddity in life, which perhaps we can say is a form of self-deception; and that is the fact, that even though we see death all around us, and we attend the funerals of our loved ones --we somehow cannot conceive that at some given time, and when we least may expect it, our turn will come. Consequently, man lives without too much focus on the Hereafter, and as a result suffers the consequences of his behavior upon this earth. The fact of judgment day, is of little, or of no concern to him. But, let it never escape us; -- that our true and constant awareness of death, --- but not in a morbid way, -- is one of the greatest forces, which can bring us close to God. A King in antiquity had commanded his personal valet not to greet him with "Good morning Master" but to greet him saying: "remember death!" Truly, this was a wise King. Consonant with this thought, it is interesting to quote from the ancient philosopher Plato, who said: "True philosophy is the study of death; because, one who makes a study of death, and in fact of sudden death, does not risk the danger of being entangled and imprisoned in the cobweb of materialism, and surely does not fall into a sinful life, but dwells in a higher and more spiritual life." I'd like to repeat this, because it so parallels our Christian teaching. How true these words, and how aptly they apply to all Christians. Let us all dear Friends, become more conscious of the surest and most inescapable part of life, which we call death. When we have fully become cognizant of this, oddly enough, it is at this point that truly we will have begun to live. Amen. + Fr. George Papadeas
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