In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Today, in both the Epistle and the Gospel, we hear in two different ways, proclamations of the love of the Lord. We hear three times during the course of the year this Gospel reading in one form or another. People begin to make jokes about how many times in the year we hear about the swine running over the cliff. If we hear this Gospel reading at church three times during the year, then it is for a purpose, and it is our responsibility to understand what our Lord is telling us. The point is not so much about the pigs that are running over the cliff, although that is important enough because they show just what happens to you and to me when we play with the devil. If we do that, then we become demented as did the swine. They went over the cliff and the same thing happens to us.
The man who was possessed by the demon was out of his mind. He was crazy. He was violent. He was naked. He was living in a cemetery. Association with the devil always produces this sort of insanity, this sort of crazy behaviour. However, when He met this man (even without the man’s asking Him), our Saviour was already casting the devils out of him. They tried to distract Him and stop Him, but nothing stopped Him because the Lord’s love wanted to release this man from the slavery of the devil, the slavery of fear. Our Lord restored this man to his right mind and he became a peaceful person wearing clothes again. This is the whole point of hearing this Gospel : we have to know the Lord’s love for us ; we have to understand the danger that comes from playing with evil. In our North American society, a large number of people behave and speak as though they did not believe in the devil, and yet there are so many people that are deeply enslaved by the devil. It is said that it is one of the cleverest tricks that the devil ever invented that he should persuade people that he does not exist at all – and then, oy, yoy, does he play with us.
The Lord, our Saviour Jesus Christ is love, life, hope, wholeness and health. As we see in the Gospel, wherever He goes, He is bringing joy, hope, health, wholeness, sanity, stability, peace. He is bringing this, always, wherever He goes. He brings the same love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, patience, hope to you, and to me all the time. We are baptised into Him. We put Him on. We are members of His Body.
Why do I say as I do : “Please come forward in the church ?” Because, of course, Canadians especially, are very shy, and they think that being in church is a little bit like being in school, and the teacher might ask a question. Therefore, they want to be invisible and hide, somehow. That is how Canadians are, and it is rather sad that people who emigrate from Russia and Ukraine are infected with the same mentality. This is the opposite of what I experience when I am in Russia and Ukraine where people do not stand at the back of the Temple – they stand right up at the front. Why do they stand right up here at the front all the time ? The clergy have to push through people to get where they have to go if there is a procession. Why is this ? It is because people over there still perceive (even if it is not in their minds, it is in their hearts) that our life is coming from this Holy Table. Grace is coming from this Holy Altar. People want to be close to the Lord. They want to be near the love of the Lord. If there is going to be extra Grace coming, such as when the bishop or the priest may come out of the Altar and sprinkle with Holy Water, they want to receive that blessing. They do not want to be in the back corner where they might be missed altogether. They want to be in the front where they are going to get splashed well with the Grace of the Lord’s blessed water. That is why I am saying : “Please come forward – don’t be shy”. Why should we be shy in the house of the Lord – here, in our own place ? We are the members of the Body of Jesus Christ. We are His children. He loves us. As children with their parents, we need to be close to Him, too. We want to be here, close to Him, so that we can receive His love easily and quickly, and even maybe be the first.
We have to make sure we understand why we are here in this Temple. We are here in this Temple because we love our Lord, Jesus Christ, and we know He loves us. It is important that we should be here in this Temple, close to Him as often as we possibly can, so that our loving Lord can give us as much strength as possible to live this difficult life. Everyone of us has difficulty in life. Even bishops have difficulty in life. However, the Lord, in His mercy and love, gives us the strength to overcome those difficulties, to live through those difficulties.
The Lord in this Temple (which has stood here now for over 100 years) has been giving this love, this Grace and this hope to His children all this time. Over here in the corner we have an icon of the Mother of God. This icon of the Mother of God is an icon which disappeared, and then she showed herself again to us. People have had their prayers answered before this icon of the Mother of God. The Lord has sent us many such icons, and the relics of saints all around the world. Why ? Because He knows we need these contact points with Him, and so He gives us these blessings. Today, we are celebrating the presence amongst us (not in Canada but in Russia) of the wonder-working Kazan icon of the Mother of God. This is one of the most famous wonder-working icons that the Lord has given to Russia. I still remember when I had the blessing to be present at the time of the return to Russia of the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God. We were reminded at that time how, in the early days of the Monastery of Tikhvin, that when the Swedes were invading, the Mother of God taught the monks to take her icon in procession around the monastery. They did precisely this ; the Swedes went home, and no-one fought. This happened not a few times in Russia’s history. It was the same thing with the Vladimir icon, the Pochaiv icon of the Mother of God, and other icons.
The Lord in His love is with us. He is protecting us. He is helping us. That is why it is extremely important to overcome the weak part of Canadians (which is to be shy and hide, and to stand in the back), and rather to take hold of our place as children of the Lord, and eagerly be in the front, here, close to Him. The back of the Temple should be unoccupied, and the front part of the Temple should be packed full of people as it is in Russia and Ukraine. There, the back of the church is empty, and the front of the church is packed full of people. That is the way a father likes to see his family. I am not talking about the bishop. I am talking about the Lord, Himself. The Lord is feeding us from this Altar. The Lord Himself wants His children close to Him. He wants them gathered around Him so that He can show His love to them, embrace them, encourage them, strengthen them.
The Mother of God on this day is with us. We face difficulties, yes, but she is here, too. She is praying for us, and she is protecting us. Let us take her protection, and ask her to be closer yet to us. Let us ask her to help us to be closer to her, so that in everything, with her, we will be able to be pleasing to her Son. We will not be afraid to be close to Him, rejoicing in Him, and receiving from Him these Gifts, so that in every part of our life, no matter how difficult things are ; no matter how discouraging things are ; no matter what difficult challenges are facing us ; we will know that the Lord is with us. God is with us. He loves us, and He is giving us what we need to live. He is giving us the food for our hearts so that we can glorify Him : Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages.