Bishop Vladimir's Sermon
(abridged)
In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit!
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
On this present day of Sunday, the Holy Church, and we together with Her, continue to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration during this post-festal period. We are presently gathered in this holy Hermitage in order to share the spiritual joy of the Feast with our First-Hierarch and Abba, His Eminence, Metropolitan Vitaly, and also to express to him our oneness of mind and heart in essentially important matters concerning [our] Church and confession of faith.
In today's Gospel reading we heard how a certain youth asked the Lord: «Teacher, what good thing must I do in order to inherit eternal life?», i.e., what good work must I do in order to be saved? «If thou wouldst enter into life, keep the commandments» the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, told him.
All of Holy Writ, both the Old and the New Testaments, the whole of the Holy Gospel, the entire teaching of the Orthodox Church, all the Holy Fathers in their works and writings, all the heavenly beauty of our Orthodox divine services in their psalmody and prayers, all of the Canons and statutes of the Church — all of these call upon us to keep the commandments: both those of a moral, as well as those of a doctrinal, order.
According to the teachings of the Holy Church, it is necessary for those who desire to be saved, first of all, to believe correctly in God and to belong to the true Orthodox Church — and not to a false one; to be cleansed from sins through repentance; to pray frequently; to observe the fasts and to commune as often as possible of the chalice of Christ's Holy Mysteries. It is unconditionally important for those desirous of inheriting eternal life to remain faithful to the teachings of the Orthodox Church and to be zealous for God and His All-holy Truth, as well as for piety.
In the Holy Gospel, the Lord says: «having come, shall I find faith on earth?». In the last days, faith will diminish among men because they will be no longer be zealous about preserving it in all its purity; it will diminish in the number of zealots and defenders of the Orthodox Confession of Faith.
During this present time of universal world Apostasy and lukewarmness in matters of salvation, in a «world lying in evil» and falling away from the Truth, the word "zealot" is acquiring a rather negative connotation; it is being understood as something abnormal, as allegedly being some sort of «zeal not according to reason». Those Orthodox Christians who somehow, to the extent that they are able to do so, try to be zealous for the Lord and for their own salvation, and in no way whatsoever think to imagine themselves as some sort of distinctly unusual zealots, are laughed at by such as are lukewarm in their own faith — these latter mock them in all manner of ways, sharpening their tongues and attempting to be witty in their own definitions, distorting and twisting the meaning and genuine sense of the word «zealot», calling those who are zealous for the Truth «fanatics», «extremists», «rebels» and other such senseless labels.
But, in the Holy Scriptures, the Lord God Himself says: « I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God» (Ex. 20, 5). And, further on in the book of Exodus, it is said, concerning God: «His name is «jealous»; He is a jealous God» (Ex. 34, 14). St. Paul the Apostle writes to the Galatians: «it is good to be zealous always in good things» (Gal. 4, 18). And, finally, in the Revelation of St. John the Theologian, the Lord calls out to us: «be zealous» (юpoc. 3, 19). Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself manifested examples of zeal for us in His earthly life, sermons, and torments and death upon the Cross for the redemption and salvation of the human race. Recall how the Saviour, exhibiting zeal for the temple of God, chased out all those who were selling and buying, and overturned their tables. And then the Lord's Disciples, the holy Apostles, recalled the words of the holy psalmist and prophet David, spoken in the name of Jesus Christ: «zeal for Thine house doth consume Me» (Ps. 68, 9 [LXX]).
All the holy forefathers, prophets, apostles, bishops, venerable and righteous ones, fools-for-Christ, martyrs and confessors, by their lives and spiritual feats [podvigi], manifested examples of profound and mighty zeal for God and the fulfillment of His teachings and Divine commandments. This example of zeal was also manifested by the Holy New-Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, who, at the price of their lives and blood, at the price of terrible deprivations, were zealous for the Orthodox Faith and the Truth, not having bent their knee to Baal, beneath an alien yoke, together with infidels and persecutors of the Holy Church.
This zeal for God to which the Lord calls us must be expressed not only in active defence of our Orthodox Christian faith, but also in the daily carrying-out of Christ's commandments; in kindling love toward God and neighbour within our hearts; in exhibiting merciful kindness and condescension towards our brothers; in magnanimously bearing offenses and affronts; in compassionately forgiving transgressions against us by our neighbours; in being non-judgmental and kindling within ourselves a spirit of humility and meekness. «Learn from Me», the Saviour instructs us in the Gospel, «for I am meek and lowly in heart» (лatt. 11, 29). «To this man will I look», says the Lord, «even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word» (Is. 66, 2). That is, to one who carries out and is zealous for the commandments of God, in an humble awareness of his own weaknesses.
Therefore, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, let us beseech the Lord and His Most-pure Mother, the Most-holy Bogoroditsa, and also all the God-pleasers, that the Lord might be merciful toward us and grant us, to the extent of our strength, this holy zeal for the faith and for piety, for the fulfillment of His Holy commandments and for our salvation. Amen.
+Bishop Vladimir
Holy
Transfiguration Skete, Mansonville,
The After-feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord,
9/22 August 2004