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Building Bridges Sermon by Fr Andrew George September 7, 2008 One of the most important things that Jesus did during His ministry on earth, was to tear down walls and build bridges! Yes as strange as this might sound, Jesus indeed, tore down the walls that kept people away from each other and built bridges, that are girders of love and forgiveness, so as to bring people together. If you think with me for a moment, about Jesus' life, you will see what I mean. He associated with sinners (Zacchaeus being one example) whom the Pharisees rejected. Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman at the well which was against Jewish law. Samaritans were viewed as no good and women, of course, were segregated in those days as inferior. He associated with both the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated. Jesus also "worked", in particular on Saturdays; He healed on the Sabbath day, and was criticized for doing so since it was viewed as a day of rest. He tore at the "wall of hypocrisy" of the Pharisees in doing so, that they addressed to the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law as it should be. St. Paul reminds us of the human and spiritual bridges Jesus built in this letter to the Galatians (ch3:v26-28 in particular): "In Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek (Race-Nations) slave nor free (Class Hatred) male nor female (sex & power) for you are all one in Christ". Beloved spiritual children, dear parishioners, there can be many applications to this theme but I’ll only stress a few brief ones today.... This past week we entered quietly the new Church year (Sept 1st) -it is important that we enter it in peace and harmony with all in our families and in our parish. Any grudges and hard feelings need to be set aside and forgiven. This current weekend we are holding our Greek Festival. The festival is actually a "bridge building event." Yes, we build bridges with others in the state who know nothing about us and by coming to the Greek festival they sample our food and pastry hear our music and learn about our Orthodox faith from the church tours. As simple as this might sound, it is actually quite important for it develops respect when at times there was misunderstanding as to who we are and what we do and believe. These current days, we follow in the media the various storms affecting our nation and we are certainly sympathetic towards those who have been greatly affected (lost their homes and the like). Yet some of us are so cold hearted to members of our direct family and refuse to forgive and resolve differences. In recent months, we have also followed in the media the topic of immigration reform and of the round up of suspected illegal immigrants by our government. This is yet another form of walls being reinforced, versus, bridges being built, bridges that can improve peoples' lot in life. In life, there are all sorts of walls that are not made of brick and mortar, and these are the walls Jesus destroyed and wants us to destroy. Walls of –suspicion of hatred, of the haves and the have not’s, hostilities in families. Walls of-un forgiveness towards others. Jesus tells the story (Matt 18:23-35) of the servant who was forgiven a great debt, but who in turn refused to forgive a small debt of his fellow servant and had him thrown in prison for non-payment! Such actions set up walls between people, but likewise between man and God. For as Jesus said "If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your tres passes". (Matt 6:15). Archbishop Anthony Bloom (an Orthodox bishop in England) tells of a man that went to him for advice. This gentleman relates to the Archbishop that a friend had offended him and asked the Archbishop, who should go to the other to make peace. And the archbishop replies "I cannot possibly set myself as a judge between you, but one thing is certain to me; the meanest of the two of you will wait for the other to make the 1st move." It is always a great day when a new bridge is dedicated. People on both sides of the bridge rejoice because they are now able to reach each other, easier and faster. The space that separated them has now been conquered. But building bridges is not the business of engineers and construction workers along! It is everyone’s business, especially if we are Christians to build bridges of happiness, harmony, peace, unity, forgiveness and love; between ourselves and whomever we may be at a distance with! After all God did it for us, by bridging heaven and earth by his taken on of flesh on Christmas Day. We can build these bridges by extending kindness and courtesy, patience and praise. Let us all do this with everyone we come in contact with for we are all one in Christ! Let us be sure we act as being one in Christ. AMEN Sermon Archive Advent - Plan Ahead Rightly - Fr. Andrew A Culture Obsessed With Food - Douglas Cramer Advent - St. Joseph - Fr. Andrew Advent - A Mixed Bad - Fr. Andrew Building Bridges - Fr. Andrew The Importance of Restitution - Fr. Andrew Declare How Much - Fr. Andrew Being Truely Thankful - Fr. Andrew Wheat or Hay - Which are you offering the King? - Jim Petrou |
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