Hello, my dear ones. I know it looks beautiful and the sun is indeed shining but it is cold,
it is very very cold so we'll keep this very brief for that reason and also because I see
no reason why this should be a long recording.
We've witnessed horrible manifestations of violence and hatred and evil these last few days
and we need to be able to look at them and to discern what they are and to call them out
for what they are we need to be able as Christians to look at evil and say this is evil we need to
be able to discern between the teaching of Christ and the teaching of the world of the fallen world
this is not about condemning this is not about judging this is about discernment
we need to be able to look at something any situation any person any behaviour and we need
to be able to discern whether that person that situation is in accordance with Christ's teaching
or not discernment is important because it allows us to navigate this world it allows us to to know
which way to turn when you lose the ability to discern between bad and good between something
that is of this fallen world and of the devil and Christ and his teaching than you are lost and it
takes a lot of work usually on the part of those around you not yourself because you are completely
paralysed if you've gotten to that point it's a lot of work on the part of those around you
praying for you having patience with you putting themselves on the cross on behalf of you so that
you may God willing by Christ's love and his endless ability to forgive may see the light again
violence is always evil the only sort of violence which is a spiritual sort of violence
which is a blessed kind is the one that we have um to manifest against our own fallenness
our own fallen nature the violence against the fallen aspects of our nature is the
only kind of violence that is acceptable and blessed in the life of a Christian
not hating is not according to the rules of our fallen nature not judging not condemning
not rejoicing when our enemies are suffering not trying to take revenge against our enemies
not um you know holding on to our wealth and holding on to our status all of these things
loving our neighbour loving even our enemy all these things go against the fallen aspect of
our nature and this is the violence that Christ teaches us that is necessary in order to find
salvation for our souls we need to do violence to the fallenness of our nature in order to to heal
these fallen aspects and to to repair them and to turn to orient ourselves towards Christ again
but apart from this kind of violence which also can only be applied to yourself not to anyone
else because then you become an abuser and also it has to be applied under the supervision of
someone who's more experienced than you are in the spiritual life apart from this kind of
violence everything else is fuelled by the demons and by by the evil of the of the fallen world.
There's no need to judge there's no need to condemn these people who have fallen prey to
this feeling to this spirit of of hatred there's no need to condemn them just to briefly clarify
that when I say that we should not judge and condemn I'm talking about our internal response,
our internal reaction as Orthodox Christians to what happens in the world in general not only now
to judge and to condemn are both sins judgment and condemnation they are poison injecting
our beings injected into our blood that end up deforming who we should become this is about our
spiritual reaction to the world in practical terms you'd better do everything in your power to make
sure that none of the horrors that we've witnessed happen again and that everyone responsible is
held accountable not only the people who do these things but also the people who have allowed these
things to happen and who have enabled these horrible events to unfold and then just keep
on doing what you're supposed to be doing keep on doing the good that you can do keep on fighting
the fight that is up to you so that this sort of thing never happens again every time
evil, every time a monstrosity of any kind is being placed up high before the eyes of a society
that society will collapse into evil and will become monstrous itself
there's a reason why Christ has put himself up high on a cross before the world
there's a reason why we look upon the cross and we contemplate this crucified God who is love on the
cross because we become what we look at when the world places before its eyes an image of monstrous
selfishness and hatred and just evil the world will become
like that because we are in a constant process of becoming of turning into something else we
as you all know and we've discussed this again and again we are not finished yet
we are all in a process of becoming and we are becoming the thing we choose to look
at there's no reason to judge there's no reason to condemn all we have to do is look at these people
and recognize in them the pitiful nature of their actions and of who they have become because oh in
this violence of theirs in this hatred of theirs what is hidden in fact is, is lack of strength and
a powerlessness which is indeed pitiful and almost you know it's it's awkward to even contemplate
people who need guns in order to feel strong are the weakest among human beings people who need
status to feel strong and powerful are weaker than any of the poor people who sleep homeless
in the streets people who need guns and the money and status in order to feel strong and
in charge of themselves and of the world these are the most pitiful people in the world these are the
weakest people in the world because their strength depends on things from the outside
their strength depends on things that are of this world and everything of this world is
made of nothing their strength and their feeling of being powerful and in control can be reduced
to nothing because Christ very clearly tells us in him there is no Jew no Greek no male no female
no slave no free person in him we are all one and this is not just about us being equal
being brothers and sisters this is also about the worth of all these categories we use in order to
inflict pain upon those around us so that we may feel strong and powerful
it means nothing that you are Jew or if you are Greek it means nothing that you are American or if
you are from Australia or Africa or South America or wherever you're from there is zero before the
eyes of Christ your nationality is zero if you are poor or if you are rich that is zero before Christ
if you are male or female if you are in any way defined by anything of this world that equals
zero before God if your strong point if you're strong attributes, if your claim
to power is your gun or your ability to hate and impose yourself upon others by imposing fear
upon them you rely on nothing and you become the nothing you rely upon; if your idol is your gun
if your idol is your gender if your idol is the colour of your skin or your status or your wealth
you define yourself through nothingness and you my brother and my sister whom I love in Christ
you run the risk of becoming one with your idol nothingness
they have become like the idols they worship says the Prophet David no ears to hear no eyes to see
they've become the metal of their own idols this is why there's no need for those to see you for
who you are this is why there's no need for those who see your actions for what they are to condemn
or judge you because you should not be judged and condemned you should be pitied and prayed for
and helped in any way possible because the point of a Christian is not to condemn and to judge
but to be a co-saviour with Christ himself for the entire world.
I've been told again and again this year that there's no such thing as racism in America
and yet here we are white men being allowed to storm the capital of the United States
just just like that just like it's the most natural thing to do you go into a
supermarket or you go into the capital of the United States and there's no difference
and yet at the same time black men and black women are being shot in their backs as they go into
their cars or as they are out jogging or as they are in their own apartments and nothing happens,
nobody's prosecuted and yet I'm sure that a new narrative will appear to justify this because the
depth of evil knows no end this is why God has allowed us to die as we know very well I mean
this is a theology of the Church from the very beginning this is what we hear again and again
in the services for funerals God has allowed death because God knew that once you've fallen prey to
evil there is no end to the depth of the evil we can become so he has allowed death just so we have
some sort of limit to how horrible how monstrous how like the devil we can become in our hatred.
Continue to look at the world through the eyes of Christ, my brothers and my sisters;
continue to pray to hold on to the ability to discern good from bad hold on to the good
stay away from the bad do the little that you can to prevent evil from taking over your soul
and the world around you keep on praying for those who've fallen prey to hatred and poison
and by the grace of God through his love we shall find salvation for our souls
do not allow anything of this world to become the source of your strength and of your power because
if that is the source of your power and if this is the idol in whose image you are growing then
you are growing in the image of nothingness and your strength is nothingness instead
look up to the Crucified One and allow him to change you into who you are and allow his weakness
the weakness of the one who made the world and willingly freely chose to be crucified out of love
for the salvation of the very world who crucified him allow his weakness to be your strength and in
that you shall find salvation for your souls and you shall also become co-saviours,
co-bearers of the cross of this fallen world in which we still live for a little while longer.
Oh, there is light at the end of everything there is love at the end of everything there is
hope that overcomes overtakes just drowns all this hatred. Don't let go of these
fruits of the Spirit no matter what they say no matter what they do; hold on to Christ,
my dear ones, and we shall be saved. Amen, my brother and my sister, amen, amen.