Alexander S Karcher

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church.

This is a saying attributed originally to the early Christian writer Tertullian in the 2nd century AD, not even two hundred years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Tertullian spoke of what he knew and saw with his own eyes. Christians were martyred regularly by an empire which was unable or as yet unwilling to tolerate such a radical difference in lifestyle…yes, not so much a religion per se, the empire knew how to incorporate all manner of religions into the pervading culture, but a radically different lifestyle which promoted among its devoted adherents an unquenchable love for God and neighbor, a burning love which remained unquenched even in the face of persecution and torture and execution.

The only love which the Roman empire recognized was that patriotic fervor for empire and the civic religion which helped ensure the supposed integrity and unity of the empire. Put simply, worship the emperor and the machine of state as expressed the pagan deities and live in relative peace. For a person devoted to Jesus Christ, the peace offered by Rome and her emperors was obviously transient, the kingdom to which he or she belonged not of this world.

And so they died upon the sands of arenas across the empire, as bloody spectacles, entertainment for the masses, crushed beneath the machine of empire…but their blood soaking the dry earth was watering a burgeoning new spiritual reality that would shake and continues to shake the very foundations of the world.

The term “Martyr” has been in use for thousands of years by now, and many of us have forgotten its original meaning. When we hear the word martyr we think of someone dying for a noble cause and becoming essentially a symbol for that cause. We associate death and higher callings with the word, associations which ring true but they do not grasp the basic definition of the term.

The word in Greek, μάρτυρας from which we derive the word martyr by way of Latin, literally means “a witness”. These men and women and children who were martyred for their faith, were not
simply dying for a good and noble cause, they were witnessing a new reality, a reality where human beings were no longer afraid of death for the strength of their hope in Jesus Christ the conqueror of death. That is, fear of death no longer pulled the strings of human motivation and behavior for a sizable portion of the population, rather the nobler truths of faith and hope
and love stirred the hearts of so many to a God-given courage that would see them step beyond the boundaries of corruptible mortality into the Kingdom itself, the realm of immortality of grace and love, in light of which all earthly fear is banished.

And the Church, my dear brothers and sisters is this kingdom in its becoming. We are able to see it in glimpses during the divine liturgy, but very few of us as yet see it in its fullness, the in-breaking of the Heavenly Kingdom into our fallen world, the casting off of this present darkness for the light of Christ. And so we look to the martyrs as witnesses of this reality, and today, on October the 26th, we look to one in particular, Saint Demetrios the Great Martyr, the Myrrh Streamer, the Wonder-Worker of Thessaloniki and indeed, as the toparion says, the whole world.

About 1700 years ago, during the tumultuous period of the roman tetrarchy, a virtuous young man rose to prominence in the city of Thessaloniki. Born of the senatorial class, this young man established his reputation in the military and by the age of 23, according to sources, was made the proconsul or duke of the region, a high honor in the eyes of men. This young man was Demetrius, and he was a Christian at a time when Christians living openly as such were condemned to death. As a follower of Christ, the Risen Lord, Demetrios had no fear of death, and though he served the empire faithfully as a soldier and administrator, the empire had no lasting claim on his soul. When Galerius Maximianus, Caesar at the time with an axe to grind against Christians, began his persecutions in earnest, Demetrios took this as a sign.

Whereas before he was known for his virtuous living and his charity, now he professed his Christian faith publicly and what is more, began to teach and preach Jesus Christ in the public square, and the eloquence of the grace of the Holy Spirit was with him. Another great saint of Thessaloniki, Gregory Palamas, speaking of this soldier of Christ a thousand years later said, St. Demetrios was graced with splendid prophetic power and was counted worthy of “the apostolic and teaching diaconate and a high position”.

We do not have exact records of what Demetrios said, but whatever it was sufficiently enraged Galerius, the emperor, who left his military campaign in the north against the Sarmatian peoples and descended to the city of Thessaloniki, and had Demetrios imprisoned in an old roman bath, locked away from his beloved people, and then to distract the confused populace he ordered that games be held in the arena, gladiator games…and he named his own champion, Lyaios, a hulking and blood-thirsty barbarian from Germania who was undefeated on the sands, and who, at the emperor’s
request, openly mocked the God of the Christians as he slew his opponents.

We know God raises up his own champions. It wasn’t long before a disciple of Demetrios, a young soldier and Christian named Nestor, with the saint’s blessing, challenged the blood-crazed gladiator, and by proxy, the emperor himself. The two fought, according to sources, on a platform raised up on a thicket of spears, so that anyone who fell off would meet their end on the spear-points. Before combat Nestor prayed out loud for victory “from the God of Demetrios” ensuring that the emperor, but particularly the people of the city, understood why he fought and for whom.

By the grace of God and the prayers of Demetrios, Nestor would throw his enormous opponent from the platform. The emperor’s chosen was suddenly and surprisingly dead, the god-mocker humbled in a very public manner. Galerius flew into a rage and ordered Nestor be taken out of the city and beheaded, the martyr’s laurel crown would be his trophy. The emperor then sent soldiers down to the baths, where in the darkness of the makeshift prison, away from the eyes of the people, they slew the long-suffering saint with spears. Clearly, Galerius did not want either soldier of Christ to become martyr, a witness to the power of Christ and the weakness of tyrants. His intent was to obliterate their witness, to nullify the power of their shed blood by killing them in secret.

Before the providence of God however, the machinations of knifing men are all in vain. Scripture says through the mouth of the patriarch Joseph, “Fear not, for I am God’s. You took counsel against me for evil but God took counsel for me for good.” And so it was, God’s counsel survives even death. Demetrios had a servant, Lupus, who buried the body and took the saint’s signet ring and blood-stained cloak, and for the next few days worked amazing miracles of healing with these tokens of martyric power before being slain himself. Despite the emperor’s attempts, Demetrios’ blood would cry out from the earth, a witness to the power of God, and like a seed planted would grow into a mighty testament of the presence of the Kingdom among us.

He is called the Myrrh-Streamer, or Myrrh-Gusher for good reason, his sanctified body has been producing a powerfully fragrant myrrh for centuries, that is a beautifully aromatic substance that literally streams from him, which cannot be explained away. There is no scientific answer as to where it comes from and how. Ask anyone who has been, and they will tell you, the church where his relics are kept is absolutely enveloped in the holy scent.

A spectacular thing occurred sometime in the 1980’s on his feast-day, when every single icon and mosaic, the very walls of the ancient church began to gush myrrh as his relics had been doing for so long, while the case in which his sanctified bones were kept filled with the myrrh so that the clergy present were overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of the stuff. And this gushing myrrh heals countless people every year, it is a source of many miracles, a conduit of the grace given to Demetrios by God.

The God-Man Jesus Christ conquered death, and death could inspire no fear in his champions while they lived, and since their martyrdoms they are still capable of witnessing to the fact that death is not the end, God’s Kingdom extends beyond the gates of death, God’s life permeates all. Demetrios is also called the wonder-worker for good reason as well. Since his martyrdom 1700 years ago, the city of Thessaloniki has experienced invasions, fires, earthquakes, all manner of cataclysm, and accounts of the saint’s intervention abound. People have witnessed him upon the walls of the city, riding a [brown] steed, or elsewhere standing upon the roof of his church. Invading enemies have experienced him sallying out of the city, leading a regiment of riders in white. In fact the Byzantines had records of captured enemies claiming the fiery-haired warrior clad in white had seemed impervious to their weapons and spewed fire at them. There have been instances of women abducted by brigands retrieved miraculously by the saint as well as merchants and traders redirected in dreams and visions to the city, saving it from starvation. The city gratefully celebrates
his memory and patronage for an entire week surrounding October 26th.

His wonder-working activity does not stop at the walls of Thessaloniki however. Slavic peoples hold him in great honor. The Russians attribute the victory at the battle of Kulikov against the overwhelming Mongol hordes to Demetrius, and they have dedicated the entire expanse of Siberia to his protection. Every Saturday before his feast-day they celebrate “Demetrios Saturday” and remember the souls of those who have died nobly in battle. My own patron Saint, the Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky considered Saint Demetrios to be the patron of his family. We are all
connected. All Orthodox Christians of whatever ethnicity or nationality, pray to St Demetrios at the sacrament of Holy Unction usually during Holy Week, calling upon the grace of healing which he is known for. It seems that people the world over have been humbled by this valiant soldier of Christ, this constant and steadfast aid and protection, this mighty intercessor before the glorious throne of God. His short life was marked by virtue and boldness and yet his earthly accomplishments pale in comparison to the unimaginable grace manifest in his markedly active afterlife.

This, my brothers and sister, this is the reality of the Kingdom of God, this divine super-reality that is the Kingdom in-breaking into our fallen world, the grace of our Lord permeating this earthly materiality, so that the very air we breathe is fragrant with his grace, and catastrophes and all sort of evil is overcome and suddenly turned back, and death itself seems to have no effect. This is what the martyrs witness to, this is what they proclaim. This is what the devil and all petty tyrants fear trembling, the perfect love of Christ and his Saints that casts out all fear. This is the transformed world the Church presents to us, if we have the eyes to see.

My brothers and sisters, on this day, make our beloved saint Demetrios your friend and by his prayer we will all grow closer to Christ, and become ourselves in so many ways witnesses to and God willing, even conduits of his blessed Kingdom. God is truly wonderful among his saints! Now and forever and to the ages. Amen.

A healthy perspective on God is discovered in our worship and how we approach God. Our perspective of ourselves is this: we are made in God’s image. The image of God is who and what we are.  Nothing can take that away. Nothing can change it. We are made in God’s image. We are mirrors that reflect God’s glory. His glory shines in us all the time. Yes, the mirror is dirty, but it is there. It needs to be cleaned and polished!

At the core of every human being, writes St. Gregory Nazaianzus, is this amazing spark of divinity, created by God, put there by God which nothing, not even sin and death and the devil, can take away.  Yes, sin obscures our vision of this truth, AND fear distracts us from seeing it. The traumas and pains of life keep us from touching it.  All this negative stuff makes us believe wrongly that we are NOT the image of God, that we are separate from God, that he is far away from us and we are far away from him.  BUT THIS IS NOT TRUE.  It is impossible.  It is like a seed that cannot be destroyed, and it is growing and will grow forever until it reaches full fruition over and over again because there is no end to growing.

The answer is this: you must clear away everything that keeps you separate from God -BELIEVE- and nurture this belief. Clear it all away through spiritual effort, through love, through compassion, through worship, the sacraments, you have in the Church all manners of support:  your fellow Christians, your godparents, monks, priests, and the Saints so you can walk those difficult paths and go to those places in your hearts and minds and souls where you’re afraid to go.  You have confession, as long as you’re willing to be as honest as you can be about who you really are. You have Holy Communion and the reading of the Word of God that brings the light of Christ into the dark places of your lives. You need to be using every tool available to awaken yourself from the delusion that God is NOT closer to you than your heartbeat, the delusion that he is NOT closer to you than your breath.

The demons would have us believe in such illusions.  Jesus calls Satan the “father of lies” and the greatest of these lies is that God does not love us, is not in us and around us, caring for us all the time, that there is nothing luminous inside of us, no image of God in us.  To be in our “right minds” means to know Him, that He exists and that we are here by his grace and love. The Lord invites us to leave our fears behind and come to him as we are.  Just like it happens in today’s Gospel, when we meet with Christ, speak and relate with Him, then we depart from the desert of sin, we become free from the bondage of hatred and discover spiritual peace and calmness. Let us approach Christ then, because the Truth will liberate us from everything that drags us into those barren desert places in the first place. Remember how the Lord has taught us saying: “Learn from Me, that I am meek and humble in heart and you will find peace in your souls”.

 

“Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.” Luke 6:35

Dear Christians, you must know, that whoever helps the poor lends to God!

Your acts of good deeds will follow you in the afterlife, and on the Day of Judgment, they will stand up for you before the Righteous Judge, Who will judge the living and the dead. Our Christian love must be as the sun and the rain that God sends not only for the just, but for every man on the face of the earth, even to those who oppose His Will.

In the same way, the faithful Orthodox Christian loves not only those who love him, but even those who hate him: He loves those who harmed him, those who envy him, those who persecuted him and those who work evil against him on a daily basis. As our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ forgave those who crucified Him, when He was on the Cross, at that moment when He felt the utmost pain; just the same, we must also forgive all those who have done wrong to us.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the Gospel reading gave us His Teachings and showed us the Way of Life in which we should follow. We need to know the Lords words, and to live by the Lords words! As we want others to do good to us, we must also do the same to them. As disciples of Christ, we must become imitators of God in His Love. Only, when we surmount the boundaries of natural human love, we will be able to partake in Divine Love, which does not know boundaries, prerequisites and charges no interest. Then, and only then, we will be children of God.

May His Divine Grace come upon all of you!”

“At that time, as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, he saw two boats by the lake….”                                                           

Nothing!

That’s what the disciples caught after an exhausting, back-breaking night of fishing. When Jesus found them, they were getting ready to go home. Yet Jesus did something surprising in Sunday’s Gospel reading. He told the disciples to try again.

“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4)

Did the disciples grumble? Well, maybe a little… But then they were obedient.

“Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5)

And you know what? The disciples caught so many fish that their boats began to sink! We all face moments of failure and weakness… Moments where it’s easier to lash out at others than love them. Moments when we rely on our own illusion of strength rather than the “the power of God.” (2 Corinthians 6:7)

But the Lord doesn’t ask us to toil under our own power. He doesn’t want us fishing all night and coming up empty. Because Jesus is the only strength we need. And His strength is made perfect in our weakness….

When the disciples came up empty, they turned to Christ. Why should we do any different?

“If anyone would come  after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  (Mk. 8:34)

At the heart of our faith, at the center of the Gospel is the Cross. Remember, ours isn’t a faith invented by someone, it has been given to us by Christ, and is the direct result of his life, teaching & miracles. So, truly, we can say that our Church is the product of the Son of God becoming the Son of Man!

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

With these words of Jesus, dear Christians, we’re invited to offer to Him, not flowers and basils, but our hearts.

The Apostle Paul tells us that the Cross of our Lord was ‘foolishness for the Greeks’ and a ‘scandal for the Jews’. However, for those who believe -whether they’re Greek, Hebrew, or Roman- ‘the Cross is the power and wisdom of God.’ As we come to know and accept Christ -the crucified Christ- the Cross will become our greatest consolation -it’s a sign of God’s love for us. When Christ ascended the Cross, He offered salvation to the whole world, for all nations. But in order to gain our salvation, for each of us, every man, woman and child, it requires that we also choose to ascend the Cross. It means accepting the way of the Cross.

And whoever now ascends the cross can become a heavenly being, can find true life and see the glory of God! To ascend the Cross requires sacrifice and self-emptying, which is the opposite of self-gratification or self-indulgence. Nevertheless, for the race of Christians, self-sacrifice becomes our way to life; we lose our life to find it.

You can’t give something you don’t already have, this is undeniable, and the Lord didn’t promise earthly thrones because He Himself didn’t have these things: “My kingdom is not of this world”, he said. But what DID Christ promise? Sacrifice, self-denial and the Cross: “If anyone would come after me”, He said, “let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”.

My dears, our life will be a cross, however, “through the cross joy has come to the entire world.” Do you know joy?

Today many Christian men and women approach the Church but never quite commit themselves to Christ for various reasons. Others will draw near and see Christ in the icon, feel something peaceful, sense the richness of Orthodox theology, the beauty of worship, but just don’t ever get too close. Why? What’s the reason?

The reason is that what we really want is an easy life. But Christ wants something else from us!

And for this reason some can no longer even come into the Church, because Christ really is here, and in Church we come face-to-face with the Crucified One and his love -his self-denying love- and we are judged by this love, because we know the Lord waits for our love in return.

Meanwhile, those who take up their cross continue to serve the Church and the world patiently, whoever they are, clergy or layperson, man, woman or child, there are always those who commit themselves to Christ, who joyfully offer themselves as a sacrifice for the glory of God as well as for society’s betterment, and for the peace of the world.

What do we say to this? How will we respond?

My dears, we will improve the world not with accusations and slanders, knives or guns – but with the Cross. The Cross, not some ornament or jewelry, not as a banner or emblem of war, not topping the king’s crown or a flagpole, but the Cross inscribed in our hearts and minds.

“The Cross,” as St John Chrysostom says, “let it become the instructor and the symbol of our life!”