The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (6:14-21)
We have come to the edge of the cliff and soon we will take the plunge into the dark radiance and bright sadness of Great and Holy Lent. Our mother, the Holy Orthodox Church, sets this final Sunday before the start of Lent as a final reminder and a chance for a tune up of our hearts and minds as we begin this great spiritual struggle again.
This Sunday is called cheesefare and it is also called forgiveness Sunday. The most prominent feature of this day is actually found in the Great Vespers service that we will pray together this evening. It is a vespers service much like those served throughout the week. A service of evening prayers but there is a distinct feature that happens just once a year. Each of us, whether child or adult, whether old or young, forms a line together and we bow to one another and exchange these heartfelt words “Please forgive me, a sinner” and the other replies with “God forgives.” This exchange between each and every person who is present helps us to put our desires into reality. We force our words and our actions to reflect the type of virtue and demeanor that we desire. That virtue that we desire is forgiveness.
So we each reach out and embrace one another with love and with this desire for forgiveness. We want to forgive others and we also want others to forgive us. It is a painful thing to feel that you have hurt your brother or sister in Christ. I know that as the father, it is easy for me to fail you in one way or another. It might be my failure to pray for you as I should. It might be my failure to be more attentive to what your saying to me. It might be that I’ve failed to live up to your ideals for a priest. For whatever it is, I ask your forgiveness and prayers not only now but tonight as I am the first to bow to each of you.
St. Seraphim of Sarov tells us that the goal of our whole life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. The reading today reflects this well. Our Lord tells us that when we fast we should not fast like the hypocrites. Our fasting is not meant for others to see or to compare to others. Fasting isn’t the goal. Almsgiving isn’t the goal. Praying in the Church isn’t the goal. Praying itself isn’t even the goal. All of these are the tools not the goal. The goal is to acquire and retain the grace of the Holy Spirit. The goal is to partake in the divine nature of Jesus Christ. The goal is to have fellowship and communion with the Holy Trinity and also with one another as members of the body of Christ.
What our Lord is saying to us with these stark words is that unless you learn to forgive others, you cannot be forgiven by God because you can’t have communion with God. You can’t have communion with God unless you can forgive everyone for everything, completely and totally. St. Silouan the Athonite takes this a step further when he writes, “Whoever will not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit.” So we can’t achieve the goal and purpose of our life if we don’t love our enemies and we certainly can’t love enemies, those who hurt us or offend us, if we don’t first forgive them.
This means that forgiveness is once again tied to the greatest commandment of all, the commandment to love. And Our Lord is loving us by offering us a warning and a path into His presence. If you have anything against anyone forgive them completely. Don’t hold onto it. Don’t harbor it. Don’t even let yourself dwell on it. For by holding onto this you keep the door to hell locked while you are on the inside. This need for radical forgiveness is applicable to all people. Husbands and wives need this on a daily basis. How many marriages would thrive and get through tough times with forgiveness as the basis? Parents need this for their children and children for their parents. Friends need forgiveness between them at times.
Certainly as brothers and sisters in Christ we need to forgive one another. We spend a lot of time together over the days and months and years. We become a family and like any family we hurt one another even when we don’t intend to do so.
On this note let me say that sometimes we need to be more careful with our words when we are together. Sometimes our words are a bit extreme and not salted with discretion and care and these words can cause others to be easily offended or even turned away from the church. Sometimes this even happens when you have no idea that others are within earshot and are offended. I’ll give you a brief example of someone who had visited with a friend. As they sat one day during coffee hour they overheard two members speaking about how bad and terrible and stupid the protestants are. That visitor later said to their friend, “these people are the same as the last church I attended, judgmental.”
So my brothers and sisters not only should we forgive one another daily but we should also take extra care to avoid offending and being a stumbling block to others in the first place. You are not called to be the judge and the critic of the world or of your brothers and sisters. You are called to be salt and light. So let us observe these things as a sign of the love of Christ dwelling in our hearts. For it is His love alone that opens the doors of the kingdom. AMEN.
Source: Sermons