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Sunday after Epiphany- Ocala January 9, 2005 From today's very brief Gospel reading I chose as my Sermon theme the prophetic words: "The people that sat in darkness, saw great Light!" (Matthew 4:16) Eight hundred years before Christ, the Prophet Isaiah uttered these very words, referring to the coming of the Lord, Who was to shed Light, so that people would not have to stumble in the darkness of sin. Isaiah spoke of the great power of this Light, which is Jesus, and Who came into the world at a time when there was dense spiritual darkness. As we know, in our Lord's time, the Hebrews were the only people, who had the revelation of the one God; -- however, they had buried this revelation under the mound of routine practices, executing only the externals, without any true relevance to the real spirit their religion offered them. By stating this fact, could it not be said, that this is a parallel condition with so many, many Christians today? Except then, for the Hebrews, the rest of the world at that time is referred to in the Bible, as the people of the Nations. The people of these Nations, known as pagans or idolaters, continued to fumble in the darkness of idolatry. Having drifted distantly from God's rays after the fall of Adam, they fell into the darkness of the unknown. But sensing innately, the ingrained need to worship a higher being, these people created gods according to their needs, so that in reality, they worshipped their own creations. All the world then was idolatrous, except for the Hebrews, as we have already mentioned. The civilized world today, for the most part, carries the most honored label" Christian." But, casting even a superficial look, one may wonder, if we, the Christians of today, are not living parallel lives with the people of the pre-Christian days! According to the Prophecy of Isaiah, the people who sat in darkness, saw the Great Light! Thus, as Christians, we all have received the true revelation of God. It would then be most natural to assume, that since the Great Light did come, all Christians would of their own, choose to walk the illumined path of the Lord, so that they would not stumble in the darkness of sin. A natural question then arises: "have we as Christians chosen to be, and to stay within the realm of the Great Light, which is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour?" One truly wonders, when reading the daily newspapers, the magazines, and witnessing the scenes and events, which dominate the television tube! While all Christians have been exposed to the Great Light, it appears, that so many choose of their own, to grope in the darkness. In essence, they make wrongful use of the free will, given to them by God, and they follow the ways, they personally have chosen, and not the ways of God. Consequently, those who follow the instincts of personal choice, will somehow suffer as a result. Their life surely would be an unhappy one and would sense the lack of fulfillment. How relevant and powerful the words of St. Paul, describing this situation of those, who choose other than God's ways. He states: "the wages of sin is death!" (Romans 5:23) Beloved Friends: we were all created in God's image and likeness; we came from Him; He gave us the power to become Godlike in our ways; and it is to Him, that we shall ultimately return. This basic and fundamental fact seems to elude so many Christians today. One of God's attributes is, that He is Light; --- a Light with everlasting brilliance. So it was, that in the fulfillment of time, our Lord did come to this earth as the Great Light, to illumine our path back to Heaven. He constantly wants to share this light with all of us, -expressly telling each and everyone of us:, "You are the light of the world; let your light so shine before the people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven." (Matt: 5:14-16) Still further, the Lord says: "A city, which is built on a hill or on the side of a mountain, cannot be hid. Neither should anyone light the lamp and hide it under a bushel; but place it on a lamp stand, so that it may shed light, to all those in the room." (Matt: 5:14 How simple, -- yet, how lofty and spiritually fulfilling are these teachings of our Lord. But, the oddity is, that while people do hear them, they somehow choose to follow, as we mentioned, their own set of rules, or should we say, their own selfish ways. The result? They sooner or later stumble in the darkness, because they have drifted from God's light beam. Christ is the Light of the world, and we must seek to always be under the warming rays of His Light. Unfortunately the Christian Church, especially since the 16th Century Reformation, has suffered much by the fragmentation, simply because, the individuals, whether Clergy or Laity sought then, and still seek now, to chart their own way, instead of following the Lord's way. I am amazed almost daily with some incidents that happen in various Churches. It was unheard of a generation or so ago, but we read of Bishops in the Roman Catholic Church taking issue with the Vatican on various moral issues. This unfortunately is happening in a Church, which until recent years was considered ultra conservative. You may be surprised that there are denominations today, preaching from the Bible, yet their Pastors deny the Divinity of Christ. Our Holy Orthodox Church may have other problems but the unity among the 15 Autocephalous Churches is the strong bond that has held the Church together, by adhering strictly to the Bible and Divine Tradition. All the anti-Biblical actions come about, because the Leaders, as well as the followers choose to follow their own ways, instead of walking in the path paved by God. Historically, as we well know, our Great Nation was founded on moral principles based on the Bible; but these principles have been so watered down, because of abusing the individual license, which in fact has supplanted true freedom. Unfortunately even the Highest Court of our Land continues to hand down decisions favoring the few, much to the detriment of our Country and the masses A few years ago, the Court upheld an opinion, which cleared the infamous Rap Group "2 Live Crew" of obscenity, overthrowing the Lower Court, which had condemned this Group as obscene, because of lyrics of their Album, "As Nasty as they wanna be!" The Federal judge in Fort Lauderdale had ruled in 1990, that the Album did not deserve free speech protection, because it was, as he rightly said: "an appeal to dirty thoughts and the loins, but not to the intellect and the mind." What then can we, the law abiding citizens, believing in a Country founded on moral law, -- what can we say, when those, who have a most sacred trust to protect the masses, go off on the deep end because of Legal technicalities. Indeed, so very sad; --- sad and catastrophic; --- so sad, and indeed so demoralizing. I'm a firm believer, that the time has come, that our Country should start making efforts to emphasize the true meaning of Freedom, which so many free rollers interpret as license. Freedom has its boundaries and its discipline. Whereas license is loose matter and becomes a free for all situation, true Freedom has its definite boundaries and disciplines. Unfortunately it is license which has gained a strangle-hold on our great Country. It is appalling, when we read of the problems of teachers in the first elementary grades, of hearing their young pupils utter loudly foul language, without even knowing what those words mean. Of course, where do these young kids get it from? Without a doubt, from what goes on in their home. Unfortunately, the teachers seem to be so powerless, only because they are not properly supported, --- and what is more tragic. they may even be called to task. Thank God though, for the genuine Christians, who still carry the Lord's torch high, and who choose to walk in the lighted path of the Lord. That is why, after the Family, which is the foundation of our society, the greatest weight falls on the shoulders of the Church, to help bring some balance and stability in our society. We Christians, who have seen the Great Light, must in turn make every effort to hang our lamp on the lamp stand, so as to spread the light all around us, and not hide it under a bushel. Amen. +Fr. George Papadeas Back to sermons
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