3rd week after Pentecost.
Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness (July 04, 1976)
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
When reading the words of the Savior on the fact that one could live so simply, so carefree, if one does not care for the soul about food and drink, and the body – how to dress, two different feelings fight in us.
On the one hand, it seems: yes, how simple it would be, and why not live like this? Why not throw off responsibility, why not throw off the concern that constantly torments us?
On the other hand, there is another feeling: this is impossible! .. And now the question arises before us: is it really impossible what Christ has said ? Isn’t what He commands us not the way of life?
How to resolve this duality of our soul? It seems to me, having paid attention to the strict conditions that this freedom puts before us.
If we want to live the way that Christ tells us: to take care of the Kingdom of God and its truth, in the hope that everything else will be added, then we must completely change our whole attitude to life and stop living the way we live.
The truth of the kingdom of God is to love God with all your heart, with all your thoughts, with all your strength, and with your neighbor as yourself. This truth requires us to leave nothing in our life that could not be called love of God and love of neighbor.
This means that all our thoughts, all our forces, all our hearts should be given away not to ourselves, but to another: to God and to our neighbor. This means that everything that I have, everything that I comfort and please myself, belongs to God and my neighbor; This means that everything I use beyond necessity is taken away from God and from my neighbor.
If you think so about how we live – who will stand before the judgment of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of sacrificial, cross, joyful, saving love?
Everything that I have does not belong to me, everything that I use beyond need, I took away and stole from someone, everything that I don’t give away with my free will and love, I take it away from the miracle of God’s Kingdom of love … If you tune in this way , it would be easy to live by faith in God and the mercy of your neighbor: because it would mean living in spiritual poverty and in physical, even to us, incomprehensible, non-restrictiveness.
This is what is behind the light words of Christ forget everything take care of your Father, behind it is: take care only about what is God’s care and then you will enter into the kingdom, where you need nothing, and where the Lord will give you everything.
Amen.
July 4, 1976
St Nino Is Listed In The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops Directory of Parishes
Orthodox Church – Stillwater OK
Orthodox Church – Ponca City, OK