 In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of those stories from the Bible that even the non-believers know and often reference. Who is the Good Samaritan? It’s the one who helps those who are in need. Who is my neighbor? It’s anyone we encounter. As we hear this parable every year, we know the outcome, nothing is surprising in it. We know that the expert in the Law is not asking an honest question. We know that the priest and the Levite refuse to help the half-dead man, but in a sense, they are obeying the Jewish Law by not helping because if the man were dead, they would become unclean and unable to serve in the Temple. And we know that the Samaritan, an outsider and an enemy of the Jews, is the only one who goes above and beyond to help the poor and wounded man. But there is one question we should always ask ourselves when hearing a parable, any parable, told by the Lord – who are we in this story?
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 22nd Sunday after Pentecost Thanksgiving Sermon As I have done in the past years on the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day, today I will read someone else’s sermon. This sermon was written by Father Alexander Schmemann, who was a great and influential theologian of the 20th century, a liturgical scholar, and also a loving teacher and pastor. He was the dean of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary for a couple of decades. He delivered this sermon on Thanksgiving Day of 1983, which was the last Liturgy he celebrated in his earthly life. He died from cancer not long after, on December 13th of the same year. This sermon was written in the form of a prayer, a thanksgiving prayer of a man, who knew his journey on this earth was coming to an end. Father Alexander never wrote down his sermons, always delivering them extemporaneously. But on that Thanksgiving Day in 1983, he came out before the Seminary congregation, took out a piece of paper, and said, In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Everyone capable of thanksgiving is capable of salvation and eternal joy. Thank You, O Lord, for accepting this Eucharist, which we offered to the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and which filled our hearts with joy, peace, and righteousness of the Holy Spirit. Thank You, O Lord, for revealing Yourself to us and giving us the foretaste of Your Kingdom. Thank You, O Lord, for uniting us to one another in serving You and Your Holy Church. Thank You, O Lord, for helping us to overcome all difficulties, tensions, passions, temptations, and restoring peace, mutual love, and joy in sharing the Communion of the Holy Spirit. Thank You, O Lord, for the sufferings You bestow upon us, for they purify us from selfishness and remind us of the “one thing needed” (Luke 10:42) – Your eternal Kingdom. Thank You, O Lord, for giving us this country where we are free to worship You. Thank You, O Lord, for this parish, where the Name of God is proclaimed. Thank You, O Lord, for our families: husbands, wives, our parents, and, especially, the children, who teach us how to celebrate Your holy Name in joy, movement, and holy noise. Thank You, O Lord, for everyone and everything. Great are You, O Lord, and marvelous are Your works, and no word is sufficient to celebrate Your miracles. Lord, it is good to be here! Amen. Slightly adjusted for the use in our parish. Thanksgiving Homily, 1983 Father Alexander Schmemann celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the last time on Thanksgiving Day. This was particularly appropriate since Father Alexander had devoted his whole life to teaching, writing, and preaching about the Eucharist; for the word eucharist in Greek means thanksgiving. At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Father Alexander took from his pocket a short, written sermon, in the form of a prayer, which he proceeded to read. This was a strange occurrence since Father never wrote his liturgical homilies, but delivered them extemporaneously. These were his words, which proved to be the last ever spoken by him from the ambo in Church. - The Orthodox Church, Vol. 20, No. 2, February 1984, p. 1:1   In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Before we can have a relationship with a person, we need to react or respond to the them first. A lot of times, our first reaction to them can determine how the relationship might go.  In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Every parable that we hear Jesus tell in the Gospels has a context. In other words, He did not tell stories because He liked to tell them. Christ is not a storyteller, He is the Savior. And so, the parable we heard today, about a homeless man Lazarus and the rich man, who remains forever nameless, was directed at the Pharisees, who were known for their love of money, honor, and greed. |
Jesus said to the crowds about John, “I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John the Baptist.” (Luke 7:28)
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