The Mystery Man

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Once upon a time there was a desolate land, a land of dust and death and grit and thorns. Anything that lived on the land decayed and died. Plants, animals, people – they all died, and some, in dying, suffered greatly, and some, watching the dying, suffered greatly as well.

During the short time that the people lived on this land, they quickly grew backs that bent way over from them trying to scratch out a living upon the face of the cursed ground and to keep from dying. Most of the time it was only the old ones who died, but sometimes it was a young man, a promising child, or a baby girl.

The people did not like the thought of dying for they had seen what a struggle it was. To keep from being reminded of dying, the people of the land did not think about it much. Whenever someone did die, they dug a hole in the ground or in the side of a hill, and they put the dead man or woman or youth or child or baby into the hole. And if it was a baby, the hole was not very big.

A Mixed Bag

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Church of God here on earth is a mixed bag. In any given Christian assembly there are the faithful saints of God, redeemed by Christ and anxious to hold fast to the pure Word of God. And right alongside them are the false saints, the pseudo-Christians who would reject the truth of the Gospel, water down the proclamation of the Word, or propose new ways and new measures to accomplish their goals. We may wish it were not so, but that is how things are.

This is what the parable Jesus tells in today's Gospel reading teaches. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but in the middle of the night, the enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. No one was any more the wiser, until the plants grew up and their fruits were evident.

When it was evident that the weeds had been sown over top of and into the midst of the wheat, the servants of the master asked whether they should go and rip out the weeds. The master told them to leave the weeds alone until the harvest, lest they damage the wheat as they worked. Then, at the last, they could separate the good from bad and deal with each accordingly.

Doing Hard Things

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sometimes it is difficult to get things done. You set out with a plan for the day, a list of things to get accomplished. And, almost as soon as you get started, it seems, things are derailed. An unexpected phone call. A slew of activity on Facebook. A breakdown of equipment. Something is bound to come along and lay waste to your best-laid plans.

It is even more difficult to get things done when you do not want to do them in the first place. There is always something more interesting on the internet. Something is always wandering about in the yard outside the window. Some other project, whatever it might be, is always more intriguing or seems more important. Anything at all that you can come up with in order to avoid doing the things you do not want to face.

Face it – how many people actually – really, truly, honestly – enjoy hard work?

Apathy vs. Confession

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, apostles and martyrs. This is the day the Church has marked as the date of the death of these two pillars of the Church, so that we may rejoice to receive the gifts God has given to His people through these saints. For it is indeed good, right, and salutary that we should reflect upon those who have gone before us, give thanks for their faithful confession of the Faith, and meditate upon their examples of holy living.

Ancient tradition holds that Peter and Paul were both martyred on this day, although the exact year, or whether they both died the same day, or on separate years, has been debated throughout the centuries. It is believed that St. Paul was beheaded just outside the city of Rome proper, at a place now called Tre Fontane. He was then buried at a place now covered by the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Wall.

St. Peter, on the other hand, is reported to have suffered a much more gruesome martyrdom. Origen asserts that “Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer.” This is taken as fulfillment of what Jesus said to Peter in John 21: “when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” It is understood that Peter met his death in the Gardens of Nero on the Vatican hill. His remains now lie in a vault beneath the high altar of the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City, the altar from which the Pope celebrates the Mass.

Fear and Fear

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

On Saturday, 4 March 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office as President of the United States. Shortly after taking the oath of office, Roosevelt delivered his first inauguration speech, one that has come to be iconic of America rhetoric. He said:

This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.

Roosevelt took office in the midst of one of the great crises of American history.

(What) God Be With You (?)

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you have ever visited an Eastern Orthodox church, you have seen an unfamiliar picture of God, the Bible, and the world presented before your eyes. Instead of plain white walls, patterned after stoic German congregations, their walls are cluttered with pictures. You might almost feel that all the angels and saints are elbowing each other for space. They paint the picture of salvation on three levels.

On the lowest level – ground level, you might say – is Christ with His apostles celebrating the Holy Communion, John the Baptist baptizing, and other such scenes. This is the level on which we, the Church, now live. Our religious life, our life together as Christians, reaches its apex in embracing Christ within the Divine Service. He who lived and ate with His disciples now lives and eats with you in the Supper of His Body and Blood. The Blessed Sacrament is for us a living icon, the visible Word.

"With One Accord"

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today we gather, as did the apostles, after the fact of our Lord's ascension into heaven, beyond the sight and sound of humanity. He is risen from the dead – at this fact we rejoice. He is ascended into heaven – this fact is cause for rejoicing, but is just as likely to cause some melancholy. For what comes now? The apostles were told to go back to Jerusalem and wait. And what should they do while they waited? What should you do while you wait for the Lord?

“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.” Note two things about this verse. First, the apostles were of one accord. They were literally “of the same thymus”, that is, of the same soul, life, or desire. That is to say, the apostles were united in desire and will, and certainly in action. For with one accord they were devoting themselves to prayer. As one Greek lexicon renders it, they were “persisting obstinately” in prayer. They were united, and they were stubborn about adhering to the prayers of the brethren. Nothing could divide the apostles in those days, while they waited for the will of the Lord to be made manifest.

But what is the nature of this accord with which the apostles, the women, and the brethren of Jesus were united? Is it merely a bond of affection? A mutual consolation and wish for similar goals? Is it a common bond of grief for the One whom they all loved and lost?