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info=In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ, dear brothers and sisters!
Our Jesus is merciful and loves people. In the Gospel (Matthew, IX:1-8) we read a lot about the events from His life, when Jesus helped very sick people, even raised from the dead in the end of His serving before His crucifixion. And in today's story from Matthew we have heard, that He healed a paralytic who had such illness for some sins. Maybe that man stole something, or cheated. Maybe his tongue was bad and he was talking without thinking. Maybe, he gossiped about very good people, who were innocent and it was only his dirty fantasy. And he was given this disease - palsy. There could be a lot of reasons. I just explain people simple things, but because of them you could be paralyzed. Do you understand?
And when Jesus sermonized in the house of tax collector Matthew a lot of people came there, and it was impossible thread the way through the crowd, because everybody wanted to listen to His words. And He was sitting in the room, but the room was small, even smaller in half than this one. A lot of people stood outside waiting for hearing a God's word. And the Lord was sermonizing. And the men with a paralytic came there. How could they enter the house? Everyone wants to listen to God's words, and they did not let them go even with a gravely ill. Why should they do it?
Everyone wanted to hear something for himself. Maybe suddenly He would talk about very important thing for their lives, because He could do miracles and they had heard about it. And the men came to an idea to climb on the roof and let a paralytic down with his bed through the tiles. And Jesus saw the faith of these men, who even dismantle the roof of the owner and let down that paralytic (Mark, II:5). He inspired with mercy to them even much than to the others who had just listened to Him. That is why He said to the paralytic: "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven". That meant: "Be healthy!" Yes! Be healthy! Your sins are forgiven means - be healthy. So, we are sinful - we get ill. If I say: "Your sins are forgiven." You have to stand up and to be healthy. Do you understand?
The man always becomes ill for his sins, for his mistakes, for his wrong way of life, for his wrong daily routine. So, you have to do all to have correct daily routine: to go to bed in time, to get up in time, to eat good food - as far as possible. And you have to think correctly, to act in the Law of Life.
And Jesus seeing their faith, said to the paralytic: "Your sins are forgiven." And at the same moment He heard how the scribes blame Him. He knew their laws, which were created by them and He heard their thoughts: "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" It is clear. And here Lord shows that man is given the huge power in His person. And He said: "But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" - he then said to the paralytic - "Rise, pick up your bed and go home." And he arose, and straightway took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed.
And what other testimony could be, that Son of man has a power to forgive the sins? They glorified God for it. Next, When the Lord said goodbye to His Apostles He also gave them this power. He breathed on them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld" (John, XX:22). "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew, XVIII:18).
So, the power of forgiveness and absolution of sins is given to the clergy. So something is being bound with the Holy Matrimony, or Epiphany, or anathema, the same is happening on the heavens. Do you understand? "And he said unto them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation". (Mark XVI:15), "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew, XXIII:19).That is, unite My people, increase the Christ's family.
And really, the serving to God has already been developed very much. What do we have in this situation? We have the fact that true clergy has really the power to bind and to loose by different ceremonies. True clergy can also heal, because they have a huge supply of this power, but you do not have to look for healing for free. You can't come and say: "Oh Father, heal me." He can heal only people, on whom His heart will show. And it could be very shy person, who does not expect healing. And the priest does it with the help of grace, which was given to him and which he gains by his true serving. Because the priest is an alive sacrifice of God. The priest is the person who will be persecuted for truth, whom will not understand, who takes big trials on himself. He is like a sanitary assistant, who cleans form all dirt, so a cleric cleans form all spiritual dirt. He fights with the invisible bad dragon in people and in himself; he cleans all country. So the clergy are the spiritual gold of that country, in which they were born, but anyway they are victims. The victim of serving. He deprives himself of many things. But if to follow with love to God, you do not feel that you are victim. If you follow with love to the God's serving, if you know that you are serving near the altar of the Universe Creator. If you know that your boss is not sitting in some office, but He has created the Universe and you try to serve Him that is the greatest serving, and you must have the greatest happiness that you can and you are allowed by bishop or Patriarch to serve the Universe Creator. And you are given this power to bind and to loose, to help your people become a God's one, happy and clean.
As we see in the Gospel, Jesus' power showed it. "When the crowds saw it, they glorified God, who had given such authority to men".It is a pity, but there are so many wolves in sheep's clothing and they neglect the God's serving. They put on the frocks, they trick people, pretend to be others, do not show their true face. They lead people on the way where is no God, no truth. It is a pity. But we have to pray that God has mercy on our land, on our Ukraine, that He helped His Church to be born again. To revive, to clear itself from the dirt. Because now the Church is like salt, which is insipid, which is for nothing and it is good only to throw it away.
Because the salt must be salty, it has to add flavor to food and fill the body with necessary minerals. But when it loses the qualities, it becomes like sand. It is the same with the priests. If he is not able to console the person, to inspire to the true serving, to rouse from sleep to high noble feelings, then who needs him, he is just good for throwing away.
The priest is called to be a good example, but he is a bad example. If you do not have anything inside yourself, if you have only darkness and chaos, first of all you must cope with yourself. Because the priest has to create harmony in the chaos. He has to go there, where people do not understand where the Truth is and to enlighten them with the Truth. Who wants to follow it, he will go; who do not want, he will leave. But the harmony and order comes up. Let God bless His Church for developing, that we have a lot of good priests, who will really be able to forgive our sins, who will bless us with God's word and good example and will sanctify us. And by the way, do not stand aside, because now the time comes when all of you become clergy; when your words and doings are good and right. Improve yourselves to become those priests, whom God needs on the earth, to replace those ones, whom people can't stand any more in their churches. And build God's Temple on the Earth.
Let God save you for your prayers, for your good doings, for your donations. Let God save you for your love to Him, that you have come here to pray, that you do not pay attention that we do not have visible gold dome. But in the invisible world you feel much better than under gold domes. Here is the presence of Angels, and the presence of God is very strong as we can feel it. Here is the presence of human happiness - the thing, which you cannot buy for money or other material wealth. You come exhausted, in some way unhappy. And God renews us with His Strength, His Love, His Grace and He gives the hope in our heart that He will change this world. We have to help Him in it. And His Angels will help us even if we will direct our efforts to very difficult work.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
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Apostle (Romans, 12:6-14):
6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;
7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;
8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Gospel (Matthew, 9:1-8):
9
1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.
2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed.
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."
3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming."
4But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?
5 For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—
he then said to the paralytic—"Rise, pick up your bed and go home."
7 And he rose and went home.
8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given
such authority to men.
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