Passion Vespers at St Andrew Church

It is always good for me to return to my former parish and serve. Fr. Paul Lazor was the guest homilist. He was one of my professors at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and I am very, very grateful to him for the things that he taught me. I also appreciate his wonderful sense of humor which I experienced again this evening, Sunday 5 April 2009.

Before the service I told him that I appreciate all the things that he taught me and he asked me, "What did I teach you?" At first, I did not realize that this was a part of his humor, but when I started saying some of the things, he asked, "What else?" Then I realized what he was doing.

Later I shared with him that I am able to enjoy teaching chess now because of the experience that I picked up at St. Vladimir's Seminary. I also asked him how well did I do and he pointed out one big mistake that I made.

It was also wonderful seeing some of my friends at the reception after the Vespers. I have not seen Paula for centuries. I also saw Barbara and I was really pleased with her positive comments. Fr. Stavros and Peter arrived late because they could not find the church. But they still made it there.

Here are my notes:

In the Gospel we heard about the betrayal of one of Our Lord’s apostles, the denial of another apostle, the so-called trial, the scourging, the crucifixion, and the burial in another man’s tomb.

We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews. When you eat this Bread and drink this Cub, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. There is nothing else to proclaim. There is no back door or side door. The Lord said “I am the door.”

A Catholic priest said that Peter guards the front door but Mary lets people in through the side door. But there is only one Door. It is found only by a few, those who deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Christ.

The Cross is the center of the Christian faith because it is the means by which God reveals Himself as He really is, the loving God. I remember when I was in the seminary, 100 years ago. Professor Kessich’s wife has passed on.

The Bible is God’s search for man, for human. What is the first question in the Bible? “Adam, where are you?” The answer is found in the Cross. It is the instrument revealing God’s love, the means He utilizes in the death of His Son to fill all things within Himself.

In the icon of the Resurrection the gates of Hell are smashed and Christ leads Adam and Eve, and we hope e are in that line. From death to life, from earth to heaven, Christ leads us. We begin Lent with the Cross. For 30 years Fr. Paul was able to attend daily services. The last reading before Lent was the entombment of Christ. The Cross is stronger than death. It is the means by which God establishes His kingdom.

We begin this weekend with a special day of prayer to the Theotokos, namely the Athekist, which means do not sit. Where is Mary in all of this? Is she some kind of side door? She is discovered within those who are summoned to the crucified Christ, within the life of the Church, in every series of prayer. Fr. Alexander Schmemann said “We never do anything in a hurry in the Orthodox Church.”

We are no longer concerned with whatever I have been doing, but why? Starting Tuesday the hymns are about Lazarus. He is in only dead, but he is in the tomb. It is all over for him. But is it?

The angel tells us Mary, “Rejoice, full of grace.”

In 187 AD a saint said, “Where the Church is, there is the Holy Spirit and the full of grace.” Mary is vigilant about all of us and with all of us. She stands with us at the time of our cross. She shares in Christ’s power to save us. Do we need Mary? The answer is another question, “Do we need anybody?” A person who believes in accidents does not believe in God.

“Sin” means to go the wrong way. I go my way and I don’t care about ou.

The first gift in the second petition in the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is the spirit of chastity. That is the first thing we ask God. The original Greek is soforcinia: the practice of wisdom. IN Slavonic it is the wholeness of wisdom. Everything about us is to be used wisely, the way that God had designed. To say that Mary is ever virgin, we mean that she is full of grace.

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