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New Year's Day 2006 By the Grace of God, here we are, starting the 1st day of 2006 in the year of our Lord's Church. Once again, we have offered our prayers during the Divine Liturgy -- glorifying the Lord's Name, and asking Him to bless us, and that the whole world may learn to live in peace and harmony. Without question, the swift current of materialism, and that of personal enjoyment, has taken its toll. We have just celebrated another Christmas. Did you notice, that as each year goes by, we see fewer Christmas oriented programs, and we hear less and less the Christmas music. Santa Claus has really taken over, and people have become completely absorbed in the exchanging of Christmas Gifts. Accepting God's greatest Gift to humanity for all time, that is the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, has almost become a routine of custom for so many. Some perhaps, include in this routine, going to Church and receiving the Christmas Holy Communion. It is no wonder, that so many Christians do not experience the spiritual uplift, which is the true message of Christmas; --- to sense deeply, a rebirth of our total being, --- to become true children of our Lord. And now, just one week after Christmas, we celebrate the 8th day of our Lord and the life of that Great Saint and Doctor of the Church St. Basil. The Church today, and always will continue to extend the lifesaving invitation proclaiming: "come, and pledge yourselves on this first day of another year, to a new spiritual beginning of the New Year. Come, and sense the spiritual power, which can become the vibrant and living symbol of all the days for all our years. Beloved Friends: So many Christians may be categorized as routine Christians. They are as St. Paul says, "people who have a zeal for God, but without any true knowledge or foundation." (Romans 10:2). We have given God a back seat as it were. We just take plain comfort that He is there. We truly are not involved with Him, so that we could say as St. Paul said: "I live; yet not I, but it is Christ, who lives within me." And we know that his life and mission proved those very words that he professed. We know that we all seek opportunities in life. And these may come and go. But, I ask you, is there a greater opportunity of choosing to be truly united with the Lord? --- And again I ask, -- is not the New Year a unique opportunity for all people, older and younger? To be sure, New Years day is a tremendous opportunity to fortify, and perhaps, even regain our soul. We all seek happiness in life. But, happiness doesn't mean the same thing for all people.--- Somehow, people have to finally come to grip with themselves, --- and at some time take life a little more seriously than they do. When this does happen, they will be convinced, that happiness does NOT come from the externals -- from things which we may acquire, - --- but happiness has its roots from deep within our soul. It has to source from within the soul. Proof of this is, that as a person matures and approaches the riper years in life, he or she realizes, and believes, --- that the things we felt were so important during our younger years, are now so incidental, and unimportant; also, the realization comes to us, that the things we took for granted, -- and to which we didn't give very much importance, -these are the things, which really count, and finally, even at a late date, they become very precious to us. I always remember, and I mention it periodically, the title of a popular song in the 40's -- the Best things in life are FREE! Think of it. The tangibles we all desire, may bring momentary happiness, but the intangibles, give us true and lasting happiness. A person will never be fulfilled, and truly be happy, unless he or she frees himself or herself from the thought, that the material things of themselves only, will bring the desired happiness! Isn't it amazing, how so many people think. They reason, that if they work hard enough, and achieve, to ascend the economic ladder, they will guarantee their happiness. But, the opposite happens too often. A person labors to amass a small or great fortune. Odd as it may seem, instead of him now breathing the free fresh air, he or she becomes a slave to the material, which they had envisioned would set them free. The late President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in one of his Christmas Messages re-iterated the words of President Washington when he said: "that our Country long ago had rejected the exclusive dependency on materialistic values!" However, I think that this noble phrase, so idealistic, and of course applicable and achievable, has long been covered over by the ashes of sheer materialism in our present world. As a result, spiritual fulfillment and true happiness has suffered at the expense of the tempo, which our society has set. Truly -- it is hard to comprehend -- why so many people are so willing to follow anybody or anything! Some, even become so blind and devoted to certain leaders, that they remind me of a servant in days of old. When his master was wounded in battle he commanded his servant to go ahead of him, and tell the dead that he was soon to arrive. The devoted servant pierces his heart with a dagger, believing that he would be able to execute the command of his master. --- Our Lord Jesus does not command us. But, He is forever reaching out, and inviting us to follow Him. He asks us to unload our hearts from the heavy burden we are carrying --- to deny our old selves - -- to pick up our cross and follow Him. Free from the heavy burden of our sins and faults, the Lord assures us, that He will give us the strength and the power to overcome life's difficulties.. _ When He is with us, and we truly believe this, to be sure, no earthly burden will ever be too heavy for us to bear. That is the reason, that we must become more conscious of the great privilege we have, to be known as Christians, and to believe that to grow in Christ, requires a steady and systematic process. -- Flowers do not bloom in a day, nor do the fruit of the trees ripen in a week! In like manner, -- step by step we can choose to ascend the steps on the ladder of Christian perfection, so as to sense real happiness and fulfillment. Beloved Friends: people must finally awaken from their spiritual lethargy, within the confines of family, work, Community and the Church. This is the great opportunity offered to all people on New Year's Day. Will we grasp this opportunity, and give our faith real and lasting substance? The choice of course is ours, and if we choose this to happen, then we can repeat with great belief, the words of St. Paul in Romans 8:36-39 "For I am convinced, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor the present, nor the future, nor evil forces above or beneath, nor anything in creation shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord." Amen.
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