02nd Sunday in Matthew  Ocala 06/25/06          

"Come, follow after Me, and I shall make you fishermen of men. "Matthew 4:19 With this very simple invitation to the poor, illiterate fishermen of Galilee, the Great Miracle of Christendom commences to unfold. This invitation was extended to the fishermen, after the Lord had fasted and prayed in the desert for 40 days, to prepare Himself for His earth saving ministry.

Descending from the mountainous desert, and walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, He saw two men preparing to cast their nets. He approached them and said: "Drop your nets and come, follow after me. Instead of catching fish, which ultimately die, I shall make you fishermen of living souls, so that you will be able to give them the true life, and make them worthy of My Kingdom."

Without any question, having sensed deeply that they were being invited by Someone, Who seemed to exude warmth and love; He surely appeared so different from all the people they ever knew. The brothers Andrew and Peter, as if possessed, without any hesitation, dropped their nets and followed after Jesus, without asking for any guarantees.

Thus, the history of Christianity commences; a religion, which took hold, not through conquest, or the sword; neither by using as a foundation the human intellect or wisdom. Christianity was founded solely on agape, or love, which as we know is the basis of everything that is good, everything that is noble, and everything that is uplifting for the soul of humans.The Lord could have easily chosen as His Disciples the intelligentsia of His time, -- or the wealthy, --- or the influential people in society; people, who with a single nod could wield great power.

Instead, He chose the poor and simple fishermen, whom He transformed into learned and wise men, so that even through this miracle, the Christian Religion could be edified. This is the miracle described in the hymn of the Holy Day of Pentecost, which we heard only two Sundays ago, and which is as follows: "Blessed are You, O Christ our God, Who rendered the fishermen all-wise, sending down upon them the Holy Spirit; and through them, the world was drawn to You. O Loving One, glory to You."

Without a doubt this is the unique invitation of all time! However, before Christ and after Christ, in all ages, as well as in today's world, and without a doubt in future ages, as longs as there are people on this earth, many and varied invitations will always be extended through some leaders to many people for varied motives and purposes.

Oddly enough, all those invitations that reach the ears and hearts of people, are filled with promises. "Follow me," they say, "and I will give you every guarantee of success and happiness. If you follow me, many new horizons will be opened up for you!" And as it is precisely at this point, that the logical person can see that these ephemeral invitations are diametrically opposed to the invitation of our Lord to follow Him.

Most times the invitations extended by so many people have ulterior motives, which mainly would benefit them, without them even caring in the least for the people who support them so faithfully. We all lived to see the selfish, personal interest of the known disgraced televangelists, who did so much harm to those, who responded to their invitation, and even lost fortunes.

But, the invitation of our Lord Jesus is directed to the heart and soul of every individual, with the express purpose of winning our hearts to grant us true fulfillment and happiness, and to guarantee our place in His Eternal Kingdom.          Our Lord seeks to free all people from their enslavement to the worldly --- the material things, which of their own cannot bring them the desired happiness.

Let's not go far. Think of this verse and never forget it, because the Lord gave great emphasis to it: "For what shall it profit a person, if he or she gains the whole world, and loses his or her own soul?" And: "What shall a person give in exchange for his or her own Soul?" Matthew 16:26

Without much effort we can readily witness the great suffering in the world, as compared to the relatively little happiness. People suffer as individuals, and as groups, simply because, they choose to respond only to the various invitations of this life, and totally disregard the invitation of the Lord. The worldly invitations invariably give so many promises, but they are usually based on selfish interests, on deceit, on force, on coercion, on calculation, on falsehoods.

"Follow me," shouts the demagogue, "and I shall grant you a much better opportunity than you have now."

" Your situation will improve only if you follow my instructions or advice." The demagogues elect to strip others of authority, and possibly of wealth, so they can rule. Thus, evil perpetuates itself, when a person chooses the path of radical action. As long as there exists in this world, the opposing forces of conquerors and conquered, --- of winners and losers, the feeling of revenge and retaliation will never be subjugated to tranquility and peace.

Only when the individual, --- the groups, and nations apply the Golden Rule, and make it a way of life, ---= only then, will true peace and joy come to the heart of every individual. "As you would have others do unto you, do also unto them likewise." Luke 6:31. What a perfect world this wold be, if this rule, which has been labeled "golden" were to be applied by all humans!

We know from the Bible, that the All-perfect God created man in His own image and likeness! He wanted man to be close to Him, and to be likened to Him. So, it isn't by chance that the Lord stated it plainly and emphatically: "Be ye perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48.

This perfection is effected, only when we choose to follow God's Commandments. When we respond to God's love, happiness reigns, --- evil is minimized and annihilated, giving us the desired peace in our heart. Conversely, when people choose to live apart from God, they cannot truly sense fulfillment, even though they may possess massive fortunes. Odd as it may seem, --- a better and happier world is our direct personal responsibility. Each of us, has an obligation to contribute somehow,--- something for the betterment of this world.

We may not be able to correct the world, but we can really correct the matters in our own intimate or outer circle.

When you think of it, did we not respond to the Lord's invitation over 4 years ago to come together as a community of Orthodox believers to found our Mission of the Greater Ocala area? I thank God every day for the success of our Mission, and how we all were bonded into one great Orthodox Family, dedicated to further God's Glory here on earth. Think of the beautiful relationships we have all formed. Of course there is much to be done and we ask all Members to share his or her part of the necessary obligation.

So my beloved, as we depart today with the blessings of our Divine Liturgy, let each of us analyze himself or herself, and take cognizance, as to the invitation that we have chosen to follow. Let us ask ourselves: "have we submitted strictly to following the ways of this world, or, have we made every effort to align ourselves with the will and the Commandments of God?

Let us not forget the Lord's words: "Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" Matthew 4:4. People will never achieve the desired happiness, unless they choose to walk with God. In God only, is our every guarantee for complete fulfillment and happiness. Did not the Lord say: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily laden, an I shall give you comfort and rest.?" Matthew 11:28.

+Fr. George Papadeas