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Dekapentavgoustos 8/22/04 Ocala "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those, who trespass against us." Matthew 7:12 Last Sunday was a major Holiday for the Orthodox around the world. It was the Feast Day of the Dormition, or the falling asleep of the Holy Virgin Mother, St. Mary, after which she was assumed into Heaven. And that is why, western Christianity labels this day as the Day of the Assumption of the Holy Mother, whereas the Orthodox say "Dormition of the Virgin Mary." This day is the culmination of the 15 day fasting period of prayer and self examination, so that we may more worthily, as always, approach to receive the most Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The Festive period of the Dormition continues for 9 days, ending tomorrow, the 23rd of August. As with all great Holy Periods set aside by the Church, we always prepare ourselves in a special way to be as worthy as possible to receive Holy Communion. We approach to receive after the Priest raising the Holy Chalice saying: "with fear of God, with faith, and with love come forth." There is no doubt, that the greatest virtue, which is love, is the axis upon which the Commandments of God revolve. Repeatedly the Lord emphasized: ""Love one another." This is the call heralded by the Priest immediately before the recitation of the Creed. We remember well, that shortly before we recite the Creed, the Priest blesses the Faithful saying: "Peace be unto all. Let us love one another so that with one mind we may confess!" The Choir then responds to this admonition by singing: ""The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, of one Essence, and undivided." How uplifting and heavenly is the virtue of love, which brings us so close to God, Who is all-loving. Oftentimes though, this great virtue of love becomes tarnished, when we find ourselves, for one reason or another unwilling to forgive. This runs contrary to the wishes and example of the Lord, Who at all times is ready to forgive. He vividly showed this during His last moments on the Cross, when He forgave the thief, who was crucified next to him. The thief, witnessing the tolerance of Jesus, felt deeply in his heart, that next to him was someone so very superior, and more noble than any human. He humbly turns to Jesus and says: "Lord, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom." He receives the reassurance: "I say to you, that today you will be with me in Paradise!" Would you not agree that many times when we repeat the Lord's prayer, we do it routinely, without truly thinking of what we are really praying for? In the Lord's model prayer, we pray: "and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those, who trespass against us" Who will question, but that one of the great needs of humankind is harmony. Healthy, spiritual living requires --- harmony with God, --- harmony with our fellow humans, --- and basically, harmony with one's self. However, the harmony of our varied relationships is broken by sin, --- the great disrupter of life. When a person sins against God, roadblocks are raised along the highway leading to God! Our Lord Jesus thought of sin, as that, which destroys the brotherly and sisterly relationship of people. For the Lord, harmony with one another was essential, and a very basic element for true happiness. At an opportune time, Jesus related a story about a certain servant, who owed a tremendous debt to his King. The servant falling to his knees pleaded for more time, and the King deeply moved by his pleading, not only did not set a time limit, but with great mercy forgave him completely of his great debt. The Lord, continuing His story said that this servant, who had been so greatly forgiven, did not show even the slightest mercy, as he should have, to his fellow servant, who owed him but a paltry sum. When the King was informed of this cold hearted incident, which had taken place outside his palace, he summoned the forgiven servant to come before him, and chastised him saying: "You wicked servant, --- should you not have forgiven your fellow servant, as I had forgiven you?" He then commanded, that the unforgiving servant be cast into prison, until he would be able to pay his debt. Matthew 18:23-35. Let us never forget, that a person's relationship to God, is dependent upon his relationship with his or her fellow humans. The Lord taught: "If your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone; if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother." Matthew 18:1. Still further, the Lord emphasizes: "If you bring your gift for an offering at the Altar, and there remember, that you have something against your brother, leave your gift before the Altar, and go your way; firstly, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" Matthew 5:23-24. Naturally, a question arises: "how can harmony be regained, once it has been disrupted?" In the Old Testament days, our spiritual forefathers, knowing that a person must make amends for one's sins before he or she could approach God, they had developed an elaborate system of sacrifices. However, the Prophets of the Old Testament emphasized, that sacrifices alone were not sufficient for atonement. It was necessary to be forgiving,. Forgiveness is based upon repentance; and repentance means the changing of one's course of action; --- the changing of one"s mind and motives; --- the altering of one's attitudes! Was it not God, Who took the initiative to re-establish the harmony between the Creator and the created? An unforgiving God would have meant, the eternal condemnation of all people for past behavior. But we know that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have life everlasting" John 3:16 God is all loving, and always forgiving. St. Paul in his 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians 5:19 says: "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." This is precisely the meaning of the Lord's sacrifice upon the Cross; and that is why, the Cross must forever stand at the heart of a person's relationship with God. If God then forgives us, it follows naturally, that the spirit of God should motivate our relationship to our fellow humans. We should not ask, or accept from God a forgiveness, which we are unwilling in turn to offer those, who have wronged us. Jesus made this mutual forgiveness interdependent. He said: "For, if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; but, if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses." Matt: 6:1415 However, we must not misinterpret this thinking, that God is bargaining with people in some manner! Rather, Christ meant, that if a person in daily life, did not enter into the spirit of God's love, so as to want to practice love for his or her fellow humans, then he or she was too distant from God's spirit, to realize the breadth and the depth of God's love! To be sure, such an unforgiving person is not only in complete disharmony with God, but also with himself or herself! By acknowledging our sins, which is so vital for our spiritual growth, there comes the natural consequence of God's forgiveness, and the subsequent desire to re-establish harmony within the community of our fellow humans. Without a doubt, forgiveness is not always easy. There are also fellow humans, who do not seem to be deserving of our forgiveness. They are unrepentant. They may even reject our efforts of reconciliation. What then? Even then, we must never neglect the need for clearing our hearts from the impurity of resentment, because, if we choose to harbor bitterness, our souls will be blemished. But, when we are successful in clearing our minds and hearts of resentment, or hate, we have at least made perfect our personal responsibility. Hatred and malice, may not harm perhaps the person toward whom the strong feelings of animosity are directed, but be assured, that these bad feelings primarily destroy the soul of the person who holds grievances. Furthermore, -- forgiving those, who don't deserve forgiveness gives a deeper understanding of God's love. None of us is truly worthy of God's love, because as St. Paul says, "we all have fallen short of God's will in our lives." I'm sure, that many of you are familiar with that masterpiece prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, which for me constitutes a beautiful sermonette, and I chose to seal my message of today with St. Francis' words. "Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, -- pardon. Where there is doubt, -- faith. Where there is despair, - hope. Where there is darkness, -- light. Where there is sadness, -- joy. O Divine Master, -- grant, that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; --- to be understood, as to understand; --- to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; ---- and it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; ---- and it is in dying unto ourselves, that we are born to eternal life!" +Fr. George Papadeas
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