30. SERMON OF PATRIARCH MOSES ABOUT THE CALL OF THE FIRST APOSTLES AND ALL SAINTS OF THE UKRAINIAN LAND, 10.06.2007
Second Sunday after the Holy Trinity Day
Day of all Saints of the Ukrainian land
In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit! Amen.
Congratulations, dear brothers and sisters!
Today is the holiday of All Saints of the Ukrainian land, in other words, the holiday of all people who lived in our land, all those saints who became famous by their saint life. This is their day, and today they pray to our Lord for Ukraine, that God gives us a greater harvest or gives us deeper understanding of the Truth, gives us His holy Church and help in constructing the temple that we build.
Today is the Day of All Saints of the Ukrainian land.
It was shown in the revelation long ago how the saints pray in heaven. For you to know all the saints are together, but the saints of every nation stand apart from each other. When the curtain rises and our Lord himself sits on the throne He announces what happens in Ukraine today. And when they hear about all the things in the country, they become very disappointed. But when they hear that Lord rebuilds His Holy Church that we pray with you, praise the name of the Lord, trying to grow in the sense of truth to share this truth with others, to build the temple, than the Lord and all the saints in heaven are very pleased. So we thank our Lord that He helped all the people who lived in Ukraine, to be saved and come to heaven. God builds His Church in such a way that the forces of the hell shall not prevail against it.
Indeed, it was always difficult to live in Ukraine. It is a very beautiful land, there are too many temptations for enemies that constantly attacked its territory: Tartars or Mongols, or another evil. And our people had to protect their land, giving their lives for their neighbors. When they believed in God - they were guarded. When they relied on older brother (who is not the older brother but the younger disobedient daughter, the Muscovy), we have lost the power to protect ourselves. And then the Tartars, Mongols captured the Kyiv Rus, destroyed it, burnt it. There are a lot of saints in Ukraine. I think that hundreds, thousands, millions. If you take 1933, the year of Holodomor (man-made famine), when Stalin helped "to get a crop in Heaven", in other words "the crop of souls". The devil collected the souls for Heaven, destroying them, taking their harvest of the bread away. People died of starvation, but people lived in faith, they believed in God, Creator of the Universe. It was only 1933. Yet it was impossible to take away the faith in God, because people were brought up in this, imbued with the Holy Spirit. The devil then killed them. How many? 14 millions went to Heaven. 4 millions of them maybe were not so good, but 10 millions, are in Heaven and they pray the Lord for Ukraine to have a better fate, the fate of the Kingdom of God to build the Kingdom of God in Ukraine and in the world.
If formally, there are not so many saints in Ukraine. It is officially. But the Church does not know all of them. And what number I've told you before? There are millions of souls in Heaven praying in the Heavens today, it is their day. Today, all the saints in the world greet them as the saints of Ukrainian land, Rus lands, they shine in their salvation.
In today's Gospel (Matthew, ²V:18-23) it is told how Jesus called the apostles. He came, He saw fishermen, He called them. And they left their nets. They did not say "Maybe I am unworthy" - they just followed Him and did their work. Sometimes they were tired, and somehow the Apostle Peter asked Jesus: "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" (Matthew, Õ²Õ:27), that is: we left all that we have: the wives and children, and our land. Jesus said:"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold[c] and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew, Õ²Õ:29). We are temporary in this physical body. You see? Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." - as Christ said (Ìatthew, Õ:28).
Maybe you are the saints whom the Lord also calls and says: "Follow me to build a temple for Ukraine, for the whole world".
And we, too, have to dream to save the world starting from ourselves, from the environment, Ukraine and the whole world. We have no opportunity to influence the entire world, so we have to build ourselves with the Lord. And when we are strong spiritually, then God allows us to work harder, but in such a way not to do harm. You see? He gently will give us the work in which we will have more power. We will be wise, humble, submissive to the will of God, patient, more spiritual, perfect, clean, in order to help this world on the earth. If you go in other lands, whether in Poland or in Russia or in America, you will see that there are the same people as we are, they want to be saved but do not know how. They do not hear these lectures that you hear. They read the teaching of Jesus, but do not read instructions to His teaching, that are these lectures. They feel it that it is saving, but do not have strength to follow it. They suffer in the whole world and are waiting. And maybe you will become those apostles who will bear these practical explanations of the Holy Scripture, through your ministry, and your doings.
We serve as followers of Jesus Christ our Lord, Jesus the Savior. Yes? Let's work.
We are now deals with the important case. But not everyone understands it. It seems that they have to go with palm trees, with the laurels that we should be glorified everywhere.
We have to be slandered, persecuted, this Jesus promised us. He said: "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John, ÕV:20). Is He greater? Yes, He is.
Apostle Paul says: "They were stoned ... they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated - of whom the world was not worthy - wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth" (Hebrews, Õ²:37-38), persecuted by this sinful world. So always take care not what people think of you but what God thinks of you, this is important. And then you follow Him and become the light for the world that shines in the darkness. Darkness cannot overcome it. And then after all, you will redeem your family or your friends, even your enemies. But we have to work. And you should not think will we be able to end it or not. Not only good work, but even a good idea or our good desire will be rewarded by God. So we have to try. The desire forms the soul. It will be light, and having left body will not go in the darkness, it will be taken by the Lord.
Do not be afraid of difficulties. Let the difficulties make us strong soldiers and unique individuals in the work on the earth. If you have fear or flee you will be crippled, disabled spiritual, and there is no need in such souls in the Kingdom of God. And people who are not afraid of difficulties and know how to build themselves in the name of good, and try to build themselves, they become strong, mighty; the Lord will add them to the number of apostles and saints of Ukrainian land.
May God bless us.
Apostle (Romans 2:10-16)
2
10 but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek: .
11 for there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without the law: and as many as have sinned under the law shall be judged by the law;
13 for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified:
14(for when Gentiles that have not the law do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are the law unto themselves;
15 in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them);
16 in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.
Gospel (Ìò., 4:18-23)
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18 And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers.
19 ² And he saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they straightway left the nets, and followed him.
21 And going on from thence he saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
22 And they straightway left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23 And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people.
24 And the report of him went forth into all Syria: and they brought unto him all that were sick, holden with divers diseases and torments,
possessed with demons, and epileptic, and palsied; and he healed them.
25 And there followed him great multitudes from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judaea and from beyond the Jordan.
