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5th Sunday in Luke 2005 Today's Gospel reading is indeed impressive and didactic. With a powerful teaching, the Lord taught through a Parable, regarding the situation of the souls in Eternal Life! There was this very rich man, whose heart, shielded by his selfish living to the degree which blinded him so, that he was not able to see the sufferings of his fellow humans. His life was one of incessant merriment. He was true to the Epicurean philosophy, "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die." All his days were pre-occupied with his many friends, never giving even for a moment a thought, to look beyond himself; -- to see, if he could share even a minimum of his earthly blessings. Blinded to the needs of his less fortunate humans, he never stopped to see or speak to the poor Lazarus, who was seated at his gate, attempting to feed himself from the crumbs, which fell from the rich man's table. Lazarus" open sores prevented him from actively working, and he had no choice in those days, but to beg for his survival. He suffered much, but he did so, with patience. But, the picture changes. Now we see Lazarus carried by the Angels into Heaven and placed in Abraham's bosom; --- not because he was poor, but because he sustained his many sufferings in life, with faith and patience. We also see the rich man in the after Life, tortured immensely by his conscience, and realizing too late, that as a wealthy person, he should have exercised his stewardship to his fellow humans. He is now being tortured in Hades. From afar he sees Abraham, and the poor Lazarus reposing in his bosom. With a voice full of agony, pleads with Abraham saying: "Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Please send Lazarus, that he may dip his finger in water, and cool my tongue, because I am tormented in this flame." The rich man quickly receives his response from Father Abraham: "son, remember that in your life you enjoyed all the good things selfishly, while the poor Lazarus suffered much. Now, he is comforted and you are tormented! And beside all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us." Then the rich man answered: "Then I beg you Father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment." To which Abraham replied: "They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them." But the rich man said: "No Father Abraham, because if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." Abraham rightfully replied: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead!" This Parable very emphatically teaches, that if one is blessed with more than he or she can use, they have a great obligation to become the philanthropic arm of God, in order to alleviate the struggle of the less fortunate. If our wealthy heeded this teaching of the Lord, there surely would be a better balance in Society, and possibly we could eliminate starvation from the face of the earth. The millions and the billions possessed by individuals, will surely preclude many from entering the Kingdom of God. But, who is the rich person, who gives any thought, that one day he or she must relinquish all. and that they will stand before the Eternal Judge stripped from any merciful act. Also, it is faith, patience and perseverance, which will give us victory to our soul. These were the qualities of the poor Lazarus, which consequently opened for him the Gates of Paradise. Diverting from this Parable, I would like to say a few words regarding a great holiday for the Greek Nation, which in essence belongs to all the civilized world. It is the celebration of the "OXI" day, meaning "NO, NEVER!" It just so happens that many of us are of Greek extraction, but this is not the reason for me mentioning the greatness of this little Nation, which has the honored title, as the "Cradle of Civilization." It is an event, where Greece, the small Nation, with primitive weapons, showed the world, that "Freedom or Death," was inscribed in the Greek heart and soul. In that devastating second World War II, ignited by the egomaniac Adolph Hitler, and joined later by the equally egomaniac Mussolini of Italy, great Nations. one after another capitulated. The many millions of France took pride in their Maginot line, but to the watching world became a great disappointment, because in two weeks France surrendered to Hitler. Having then subdued most Nations in Europe, Hitler was focused on conquering Russia. Greece was incidental to them, so I presume, Mussolini being next door in Italy was given the privilege to over run Greece. It was 4:00 o'clock in the morning on October 28th, 1940 when Mussolini instructed his Ambassador to Greece, to awaken the Premier of Greece Metaxas saying that he surrender his Nation to the powerful forces of the Axis. To this request, the Ambassador received a resounding "OXI," -- No, this will never be. The Italian army was poised on the northern border of Greece ready to invade. But, to their consternation they met the Greek army, with primitive weapons putting up a remarkable resistance. I remember, while at the Seminary in 1940 reading the Greek papers stating, that the soldiers were dedicated to winning the war with the blessings of the Theotokos, our Holy Mother, the Ever-Virgin Mary. Greece was always a Christian Nation, having had the honor of St. Paul and St. Andrew to have spent so much time in Greece. The motto of the Grecian soldiers was: "We fight for our Faith and our Country." Since antiquity, Greece has always fought against tremendous odds, and always emerged victoriously. Herodotus, the great historian of Ancient Greece wrote, that when Xerxes was about to invade Greece, he met with a Greek exile, and asked him if the Greeks would put up any resistance. Informed that the Greeks would fight valiantly, he laughed saying: "How will a small group of fighters, who are so free and without one commanding General face our innumerable troops, who must fight or else face punishment." The exiled Greek responded: "Because they are a people, who cherish freedom, and for this, they are always willing to sacrifice their life! Xerxes did invade Greece in the 5th Century B.C. Who will forget the many battles with the Persians, and especially King Leonidas of Sparta with his 300 warriors in the straights of Thermopylae, keeping over 100,000 Persian soldiers at bay. When King Xerxes of Persia sent his emissary to tell King Leonidas to surrender, because they were so outnumbered, Leonidas said: "come and get our weapons if you can," to which the emissary said, that there will be so many spears tossed by the Persian troops, that the sun will be shaded. King Leonidas responded: "Good, --- we'll be able to fight under the shade." In a comparable manner, the Greeks of 1821 fought against all odds to free themselves from the Turkish occupation of 400 years. In our era, Greece showed the whole world, the worth of that one glorious word: "Freedom," by pushing back Mussolini all the way through Albania and Yugoslavia, and almost to the Italian border. And that was when Hitler came to Mussolini's rescue. Additionally the Greeks fought the Germans, and after 7 months it was impossible to resist anymore. Greece though, was the turning point of the II World War. It set back Hitler's timetable so that he fell into what he wanted to avoid. Fighting the Russians on their own soil in winter. With the battle of Stalingrad, Hitler's armies retreated. It was Stalin, who gave the Greeks credit for upsetting Hitler's timetable. And one must think: "if Greece would not have put up such a battle, what would the outcome of the war have been, if Hitler was able to subjugate Russia." Our Nation, founded on the principles of democracy in Ancient Greece, has always underscored freedom as the predominant concern of our Nation, as it should be the concern of all of us, individually and collectively. Without freedom there can be no happiness. God created man and endowed him with the free will to always be free. For this freedom, we must always be on guard, and even be willing to sacrifice ourselves, having the examples given us by Glorious Greece, from antiquity to our modern times. Throughout the Old and New Testament we read of the value of true freedom. One vivid example is the 1st verse of the 5th Chapter in the Epistle to the Galatians. St. Paul says: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty, with which Christ set us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Amen. + Fr. George Papadeas
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