THE
HOMILY
4/24/A.D. 2016
The preacher, whether
Bishop, Priest, or Deacon,
now addresses the People,
all standing.
From the 13th Chapter
of the Gospel according to St. John,
beginning at the 34th Verse:
“I give you a new
commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also
should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love
for one another."
Upon conclusion of the
reading is said,
In the name of (+) God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
The
People sit and listen to the Homily.
I. Introduction – How do we deal with remembrances and loss?
II. Sermon Body – It has been quite a week of remembrances, hasn’t it? There are so many events and people for
all of us. There are our personal
lists, and I would encourage you to keep your own calendar. There are recent losses from disease or
accident or… Then there are common
days of remembrance. Oh, and of
course there are Saints Days. Yesterday
St. George (martyred in AD 303) the Patron of England was remembered. Tomorrow we remember St Mark, the
author of the second gospel of the New Testament. For me there are three important personal remembrances that
occurred this past week:
1. The Ludlow Massacre of 1914, where
miners, wives, and children were killed in a labor dispute in Colorado (yes, I
am a Colorado kid).
2. Then there is the bombing of the Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
I will never stop seeing those wonderful firefighters carrying those
babies out of the rubble.
3. And finally there is the shootings at
Columbine High School in Colorado, where students’ lives, and a teacher, were
ended by other students.
As we get to know each other I am sure I
will blab on and on about all of these personal remembrances.
We all have our own lists of hard
remembrances. Let’s talk about
that.
A. First Point – The Glory of God, His
Greatness
What seems to be our question in all hard
things in our lives is how is God glorified in these difficult events?
There is a great and simple answer to
that question. Return to the
Gospel sentence.
We glorify God if we, “Love one another
as I have loved you.” See how
simple it is. Notice I didn’t say
it was EASY, just simple. It is a
bit of a trick answer, isn’t it?
How did Christ love us? He held and healed us, and scolded and
sacrificed…Yah, there is the catch.
Jesus died for us.
“Wait, now the stakes are getting really
high. I’m not too comfortable.” I know.
B. Second Point – Our Iniquity, The
Undeserving
Let me answer a question I didn’t ask (which
is very bad form according to most speech teachers). God does not wish suffering, sadness, or pain on us. He grieves with us and for us. God does not wish difficulties on
us. Why doesn’t He rescue us? We as humans have caused so much of our
own grief, and the world gives us challenges, and the evil one is always trying
to lend a hand of temptation.
God doesn’t give us situations to
handle. He gives us strength to
handle the difficulties we encounter.
Remember Paul and his thorn?
God didn’t remove his thorn.
He gave Paul strength to use the thorn in his ministry.
And why does Our Lord give us the
strength to go on? Why did he die
for us? Why did God the Father
send His son to us? Again, a very
simple answer: God loves us!
God asks for a very simple response by us
(simple, not easy): After gifting
us with eternal life He asks us to love Him with every fibre of our being. We are to live for Him, to be Baptized
and Baptize for Him, and to die for Him.
THAT IS ALL! Quite simple isn’t it?
Sure isn’t EASY, though.
C. Third Point – The Thanksgiving, Mercy
Given
So in our Psalm today, Psalm 148:13, what did we hear? “Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted; * his glory is above earth and heaven.” So if we love God completely, let us
praise His name. Don’t hide your
light, your faith, under a barrel.
Be glad in it.
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed
away." That is what we heard
tonight in Revelation 21:4. God will and does and will always
comfort us. Let me say that
again: GOD WILL ALWAYS COMFORT US!
Then in our Gospel tonight, John 13:34 & 35, “I
give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved
you, you also should love one another.”
Why should we do that?
SIMPLE: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you
have love for one another." POWERFUL!
III. Conclusion
– Reiterate the Sermon Points
There are remembrances and losses that
are common to us all, and there are personal ones. Also, though, there are common and personal joys and
celebrations. Through it all there
is corporate and individual prayer to OUR GOD. Through it all, if we love one another the world will know
that we belong to the God of LOVE!
The
sentence from the Gospel of the Day is reread.
“I give you a new
commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also
should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love
for one another."
Upon conclusion of the reading is said,
The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us
all evermore. 2 Cor. 13:14.
The Homily is concluded.
In Christ's love, Fr. Robert Pax
