In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

We just heard the Lord say that whoever wants to come after Me must take up his Cross, and follow Me. It’s really important that we Orthodox Christians remember this. So important are these words that every time a priest or a bishop puts on his Cross, he says these words from the Saviour. However, every Orthodox believer who is carrying a Cross from Baptism, when kissing this Cross every day, should be saying the same words, too. Bishops, and priests are saying these words when they are putting on the Cross because they are leaders of the faithful. However, bishops, and priests are not different from or separated from the faithful. In fact, the faithful of the Church are called “sheep” by the Saviour, and even if they are leaders, the bishops, and the priests are still among the sheep. There is only one, real Shepherd, and this Saviour is the one who is teaching the bishops, and the priests how to lead the flock.

We Orthodox Christians need to understand that everything about our life concerns the relationship of love between us, and our Saviour. So, in carrying the Cross of the Saviour every day of our life, we are living in harmony and union with Him every day of our life. The way of the Orthodox Christian is to put Jesus Christ first in life. We are involving Him in every detail of our lives. He is with us while we are gathered here together in this temple. He is with us when we are eating. He is with us when we are sleeping. He is with us when we are working. He is with us when we are travelling. He is with us in everything. It is the Orthodox way for us to call His blessing upon everything that we are, and everything that we are doing.

The environment in which we live in Canada does not support us in this way of life. Orthodox believers easily forget what is the normal way of life while living here in Canada. In Canada, instead of people living as close as they can to the temple, they live far away, wherever it is comfortable, and cheap. It was a different story a hundred years ago, it is true; but now this is how we are living. People live far from the church, and because they are living far from the church, they don’t go very often to the temple of the Lord. Soon it happens that Orthodox believers in Canada become like almost everyone else. Worshipping the Lord, which is the center of the Orthodox life, instead goes into the back.

Instead of coming to the temple of the Lord very frequently to pray, and to worship the Lord, people come only on Sunday morning. Even then they are impatient because it feels long. Also, instead of having the church be open because people are always coming and going in the church, the doors are locked, and it’s hard to get in. Then we get angry because the doors are locked, and say: Where’s the priest? Where is the starosta? The question is wrong. The question has to be instead: Where am I? It’s because I am absent that those doors are locked. We can’t just leave the church open for thieves, you know. Even thieves in Canada do not have the honour they used to have; they don't have the respect for holy things that they used to have.

When the Apostle Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Saviour said to him: You didn’t come to this understanding on your own; you came to understand this because God showed it to you (cf. Matthew 16:17). Brothers, and sisters, we are in the same position as the Apostle Peter. We have weaknesses. We have doubts. However, the Saviour is still the Saviour. He comes to us in our needs because of His love. Let us follow the example of the Apostle Peter. Let us confess with our lives that Jesus is the Christ. Let us confess with our lips, and our hearts that Jesus is the Christ. Let us ask Him to give us the strength to recover the normal way of living an Orthodox life.

Let us ask Him to renew our love so that our lives will be able to glorify Him as He created us to do. Finally, let us follow the words of the exhortation of St Herman of Alaska, North America’s first recognised saint, who says to you, and to me: “From this day, from this hour, from this minute, let us love God above all, and do His holy will”. In doing this let us glorify the all-holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

† Archdiocese of Canada - Orthodox Church in America