Hey everybody this is Steve, and thanks to Christ,
the end, is just the beginning.
When Christ was taken down from the cross,
his disciples placed him in a tomb;
a dark and ominous void.
For most of human history that dark place was the end for us all.
Kings and peasants, old and young, all would end up in that dark place,
a place from which none return.
The bright light of our lives would be forever extinguished by the loneliness
and emptiness of nothingness.
Which is perfectly represented by the dark and ominous tomb.
When Christ was placed in the tomb,
and the stone was rolled and placed to seal it,
the disciples thought, that was it.
The tomb would remain shut, because Christ would remain dead,
lost, overcome by nothingness.
Yet God had a different idea.
The darkness of Christ's tomb was pierced by a great light,
and a place of death was transformed in to a place of life.
Now when we look at Christ's tomb we don't see a terrifying abyss,
an ominous void full of nothingness.
We see proof of God's triumph over death.
Proof of the resurrection.
Just like God overcame the void at the beginning of time,
when he created the heavens and the earth out of nothing,
God overcame the void of the tomb.
Christ. Is Risen.
This past Saturday we saw the story of the resurrection unfolding before our eyes,
at the ground blessing service for St. Nicholas Church.
When the Twin Towers fell on September 11th,
they crushed the tiny church building of St. Nicholas.
When the debris were cleared away, all that was left were giant holes in the ground.
They looked and felt, like tombs.
Those holes are still there, as part of the 9/11 Memorial.
Whatever the designers of the memorial had in mind,
as an Orthodox Christian I can't help but look at the emptiness of the pools,
and think of Christ's empty tomb,
and how death has been defeated.
This past Saturday we gathered right next to the 9/11 Memorial,
on the ground where a new St. Nicholas will rise.
We stood in an empty space,
under nothing but the clouds and sky,
the families of 9/11 victims solemnly brought water from the memorials
up to the site of the new St. Nicholas.
As Archbishop Demetrios proclaimed the Gospel,
and the waters of the fountains were transformed in to Holy Water,
I began to see where we were, differently.
I began to see it with the eyes of a Bee.
When the service started, we were standing at Ground Zero,
a place I associated with death and destruction.
When it ended, we were standing at the spot where the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated.
We were standing in Christ's empty tomb,
and we were participating in His glorious resurrection.
We were taking our spot in the unfolding story of salvation.
Just like the children of Israel,
thousands of years ago, piled up stones as signs of their deliverance,
we piled up towers of stones.
on the very spot where, 13 years ago,
the Twin Towers collapsed after a terrible attack,
the very spot where a new St. Nicholas is rising before our eyes.
Those of us who were there for the ground blessing had the chance to forever connect ourselves,
to the resurrection and triumph of St. Nicholas.
We could sign our names to the walls of the foundation, which have already been built.
It's amazing to think that those walls,
which will echo with the chants and prayers of Orthodox worship,
will permanently be marked with our names.
Even if you couldn't be there for the ground blessing service,
there are still ways to connect to this incredible project,
and the resurrection, which it proclaims.
Every time you light a candle in the darkness,
remember, nothing can overcome God's light.
Remember the resurrection and Christ's ultimate victory over sin and death.
This is the Gospel, not just good news, but the best news ever!
Every time you light your candle, pray for the incredible work that's happening with St. Nicholas.
And spread the word, by sharing this video.
And if you're able to, you can visit StNicholasWTC.org
and join the thousands and thousands of people from all over the globe
who've already made a donation.
As the new St. Nicholas Church building takes shape in the weeks and months ahead,
there will be a visible reminder of the truth of the resurrection.
The terrifying void has been replaced by Christ's empty tomb.
It will be a visible proclamation of the Gospel.
That death has lost its sting!
That the dark and terrible end of the tomb
has been replaced with a new beginning for us all.
By life, and light, and resurrection.
So let's Be the Bee,
and proclaim the good news of the empty tomb.
Be the Bee and Live Orthodoxy!
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I'll see you all next week!