Sermon on the eve of the Commemoration of the Feast of St. Barnabas, the Apostle
+In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One Triune God, and may
His grace and mercy be upon each and every one of us. – Amen
Respected Anoop
Achen, and my dearest brothers and sisters in Christ,
If I were to say “Indian Orthodox Church”, what are the few things that come to
mind? Right off the bat, we usually come up with things such as worship, our
saints, our liturgy, our songs, the diocese, MGOCSM, our Sunday school. I bet
the word “missions” did not come across your mind at all, and don’t be alarmed;
because this is the case for many.
This reminds
me of what my friend had told me back when I was in college. I had brought her
to my church and a few bible studies and afterwards, I had asked her about her
experience. She then went on to say, “Bobby, what you guys have is really
nice…..but I feel as if you guys are just focused on your own people. Your
ministry is only geared to the people in your own church. What exactly are you
doing to bring others to this faith of yours? I feel as if your church is an
exclusive club”. She even went on to say that the clergy lead the services and
sacraments, the elders take care of the logistics, and the youth and children
are being taught about the faith……then after a few years, the youth and children become the elders and there
will be a new set of children to teach. Its ends up being an ongoing cycle”…..And
she’s exactly right. We spend so much time teaching our own kids about the
faith, which is great…don’t get me wrong….but what are we doing to educate
others? I was a leader of a non-denominational group called Intervarsity
Christian Fellowship back in college, and I kid you not, no one there knew what
Orthodoxy was. So when I said I was Orthodox Christian, they asked me, “so like
Jewish?” Sad isn’t it?
What are we
doing to show others who Christ is? Do we love Orthodoxy enough to share it
with the world? Are we just merely exercising our faith alone to benefit us and
our loved ones? Do we even have to spread it in the first place? Peter gives us
the answer to this in 1 Peter 2:9, where he states
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies
of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”.
We are CALLED….and we are CHOSEN to “proclaim the excellencies” of Christ. It’s
not something we COULD do, but rather it is something we are CHOSEN to do. Just
having faith in God does not cut it. What are we doing with this faith of ours?
With that said, I’d like to turn our attention to James 2. IF you read this
chapter, you can clearly underline his thesis as “faith without works is dead”.
James is stating clearly that "an empty faith" (or a non-action
filled faith) is not true faith, it is nothing more than mouthing words. Simply
stating that I’m better than Lebron James in basketball, means nothing, and in
the same way, simply stating that I’m a Christian, means nothing. It does not
mean anything UNLESS you can demonstrate WHO YOU ARE in a way that would
convince any and all who saw them. In the words of Billy Graham, faith and
works go together like inhaling and exhaling. Faith is taking the Gospel in
(inhaling) and works is taking the Gospel out (exhaling). Talk is not enough.
Intentions are not enough. REAL faith…translates into REAL action.
So with that
said, I invite all of us to examine our lives, myself included. Ask yourself, what
have I done to spread the word of God? What have I done to help those who were
in need?
When I take Holy Communion on Saturday evening, Christ dwells within me; so what
am I doing to share that Christ that dwells within me? Do I Keep him hidden, or
do I shine light to Him so that all may see? There is nothing I can say or do to
show you what works you can do. Each of you are called in different ways. Each
of you are put in different scenarios and situations in life where you can
cater to those in need. For me, especially in New York City, you’ll see many
asking for money. So the one question that I get asked in New York by the youth
is, “well, what if I don’t have money to give to those in need”? My answer to
them is “why does missions have to be limited to money?” It can be simple as giving
a hand to someone who needs help, picking up trash that you see around your
community, sharing a verse and praying for others, inviting people to church, praying
for someone, and sooo much more
By you all coming here today, and attending Qurbana on Saturdays, and actively
being involved in your prayer life, this all demonstrates your faith which is a
great foundation. But to accompany this faith, have a heart for missions. If we
define missions, it is as follows - the vocation or calling of a religious
organization, especially a Christian one, to go out into the world and spread
its faith. This faith that is instilled in you, share it with the world!
There’s a saying that goes “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single
step”, so in the same way, to reach the world, start with your own backyard.
Share this faith with your neighbors, and those you encounter on a daily basis.
Share it with the poor, the sick, the suffering, the needy, those who need
Christ, and those who have not yet heard of him.
In the same
way Christ called the disciples to go out in to the world, Christ is calling
you too. Among the disciples called, is Barnabas, a disciple of St Paul. We see
their motive here in Galatians chapter 2
….they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me,
that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked
us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do”. (7-10)
They traveled together, have converted many, and attending to the poor and
sick. How fitting is that this church bears his name. This church, is set apart
from all other churches. You all are a mission parish. And so, don’t take that
lightly. Be that beacon of light for missions, and lead the way for future
churches and generations. And as you all prepare to celebrate the feast of St
Barnabas, remember also the spiritual giant who bore his name as well, the late
lamented H.G. Mathews Mar Barnabas. Thirumeni was a huge advocate for missions.
So let us seek intercessions from Thirumeni, St Barnabas, and all the Saints as
we too prepare to spread Gods love and our faith to all those we come across.
My prayer is
that when people see you carry out missions, they can boldly say that you are a
Christian. Not by the cross you wear around your neck, but rather through the
reflection of Christ on your face and through your deeds.
+ To God belongs all glory, honor, and praise. Amen
