St. John the Confessor
Orthodox Christian Church

In the name of the Father, and Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Because of the snow storms the Church was closed and we missed the Publican and Pharisee, Meeting of Christ in the Temple, and the Prodigal Son. Last Sunday we learned about the Fnal Judgement. This Sunday is Cheesefare Sunday, Forgiveness Sunday.

The weeks leading to this Sunday have been preparing us not only to begin the Fast on Monday but has helped us to know why we willingly accept and follow what Jesus Christ has revealed to us through His Church, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Orthodox Church, the New Israel.

Step back and ask yourself: do I truly believe that God is the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; One God but three Persons; the Word, the Son of God, God, Who became man, Jesus Christ,  that He Who has no beginning but a Father and no mother, now has a beginning and a Mother, the Ever-Virgin Mary, but no father; that He was crucified, died, and rose from the dead on the third day and that our bodies will become dust but our souls will continue to live and we will all be united with our bodies to be judged at Christ’s Second Coming in power and glory? After the judgement Christ offers us life eternal, for we who are mortal and corruptible, because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience death entered the world, offers us the choice to become immortal and incorruptible! Yes, we choose life or eternal damnation.

Let us go back to last Sunday, Judgement Day. Who has ever told us, with any certainty, about the end of the world and what we can expect after death? We have heard various prophecies and books have been written but we do have One Who has spoken very clearly and definitively about all that will come about at the end of time? Yes, Jesus Christ, God incarnate, God Man. He was present when He created the world out of nothing; He created Adam and Eve and put them in paradise and all that He has prophesied has come to pass. The OT is a prophecy that was fulfilled in the New Testament and the Book of Revelation is a prophecy of that which is yet to come.

St. John Maximovitch said in his sermon: “When the "books" are open, it will become clear to all that the roots of all vices are in man's soul. Here is a drunkard, a fornicator; some may think that when the body dies the sin dies as well. No; the inclination was in the soul, and to the soul the sin was sweet.

And if [the soul] has not repented of that sin and has not become free of it, it will come to the Dread Judgment with the same desire for the sweetness of sin and will never satisfy its desire. In it will be the suffering of hatred and malice. This is the state of hell.”

During a war, soldiers are taught not to surrender by believing the propaganda the enemy broadcasts to them. The enemy’s purpose is to weaken the soldiers into believing the fighting is hopeless. We who are Christ’s soldiers and in battle with the evil spirit world need to follow that same rule and not surrender to our enemy, the demons. Christ has warned us of this: and now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe (John 14:29). Satan is constantly seeking men to lead them astray; He is a liar and the father of lies (Jn 8:44) When we are tempted to lie, deceive, turn away from the Church, do our own will, because we expect to gain something good, it is a mirage, an illusion, and Christ and the Saints have shown us it is false and how we are to resist it. This is when our faith comes forth and we follow it.

Christ tells us about the battle and who the enemy is but He does not leave us to fight without weapons. Our chief weapon is Christ Himself for He tells us lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of time. Amen (Matt 28:20). We also have the power of His Body and Blood, Holy Communion, His Resurrection, His words and His life-giving cross. If we are convinced of Christ’s invincible power, then we should show it to other people. If you are not convinced but you want to be convinced, then do what the Gospel demands of you, and you will be convinced. Those who doubt will remain in doubt for the loss is not God’s but it is their loss for they hurt themselves, not God.

Are we doubters or do we believe in the Resurrection and life everlasting? The world, as I have said before, encourages us to do our own will, ignore what the Church teaches us about purity, virginity, for both male and female, set time aside for prayer and now for fasting. In the lives of female martyrs we are told how beautiful they were, and we think only of external beauty and forget that true beauty is purity of heart and soul. What is attractive is purity and living a moral way of life, but the world rejects this and teaches fornication, adultery, laziness, drugs, and a turning away from Christ which leads to eternal damnation. If you seek purity and virginity, you will be attacked, you will be slandered and mocked. When this happens, we must not falter, but awaken to who the enemy is and cry out for help from the Saints, the Mother of God and Christ.

In the verses before the Gospel reading today, Christ told us how to pray by giving us the Lord's Prayer. The first verses we heard in the Gospel today said (Mat 6:14-15) 'But if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.'

Christ is calling us to an action, a deed. Thoughts and feelings have been cultivated in us for the past weeks and now those thoughts which give birth to feelings are to give birth to action.  We are to forgive men their trespasses.

We heard in the Gospel, For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. We are preparing for the fast and we can ask the question, what does this, forgiving one another, have to do with fasting? If we understand fasting in the correct Christian sense, and not in a legalistic way, then the forgiving of insults and not being envious of another’s success, or obeying a parent or those in authority  and not returning an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, this is a fast for it is the greatest fruit of fasting.

Christ does not order us using His power of authority to forgive men their sins. He leaves it to our free choice, to forgive or not. Christ does not violate our freedom to force us to do something; if He did then our action would be His, not ours; however, He does point out the consequences if we do not forgive; But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, Who will forgive us our sins, if God won’t? No one, either in heaven or earth; men will not forgive us because we do not forgive them, and God will not forgive us because men do not forgive us.

St. John Climacus wrote: “The forgetting of wrongs is a sign of true repentance. But he who dwells on them and thinks that he is repenting is like a man who thinks he is running while he is really asleep.”

Christ then tells us, But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face…That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret. Christ is not just telling us to put oil on our heads and to wash our faces but He is telling us to anoint our mind with the Holy Spirit; this means to fast from evil thoughts; not to say obscene and terrible words; rather we are to fill our minds with holy things, of purity, of faith and love and all that is worthy of the Holy Spirit. We are to fast from all hatred and evil, envy and pride, blasphemy against God and man and from every sinful desire and lust.

What does Christ mean when He tells us to wash thy face? It means we are to restrain our senses, eyes, ears and nose from seeing only the things of this world; fast cars, fancy clothing, money to flash around to impress others, in essence, to eat, drink and be merry. In order to begin this process we must first begin with fasting from foods and here are  examples we are to follow: Moses, by fasting, was made worthy to receive the Commandments; Elias closed the heavens so there was no rain for three years; Daniel was saved from the lion’s den and the three children from the burning fiery furnace; the city of Nineveh was saved from destruction that Jonah had prophesied and John the Baptist became the greatest of those born of woman.

Christ in His love for us became man and now tells us how we are live. We are to forgive others their trespasses: we are not to hold a grudge or see the other person as the sinner and the one responsible for the problem that exists. We are to forgive. This implies that we recognize we are worse than everyone, truly guilty before everyone, to come to this realization is very, very difficult. And to consider the guilt of another before us as nothing, as if it did not exist, and maybe was even provoked by us - this is still more difficult. However, we have to do this, the Lord requires it from us, the Lord is waiting.

This opens to us the real purpose of Great Lent: our Heavenly Father will forgive us our sins. How are we to achieve this? Forgive people their sins. To forgive others is possible only with the grace of God, therefore, we too must become like the Prodigal and come back to the Father, asking for forgiveness of our sins.

The last verses we heard read today said, 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'

The treasure we seek is forgiveness of our sins for God will come and dwell in us if we forgive one another. In so doing we have open to us the Kingdom of Heaven. If we refuse, then we also hear resounding in our ears the words of Christ, 'neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.'

Let us open our eyes while we still have time and may we be convinced that the final victory will belong, not to the devil and his servants but to Christ our King and Commander. Let us then take up the weapon Christ has offered us for battle, the precious fast and refrain from excessive eating and drinking and choosing only earthly treasures.

Let us choose the path that leads to Christ. I ask you, as the first one, Forgive me.