On Sunday 29th September 2024, we had the joy of welcoming back His Grace Bishop Raphael who celebrated the Divine Liturgy assisted by Fr Dionysios-James Higgs from the Church of the Holy Apostles in Layland and Fr Nikita Banev.
The chanting was led by Miss Liliana Banev with Mr Andreas Samoutis and Dr Maria Eugenicos, who together with her husband Dr Nikolaos Evgenicos were accompanying His Grace Bishop Raphael. Mr Irineos Livadiotes and reader Symeon Banev assisted in the altar.
The service marked the 25th anniversary of the visit of the late Archbishop Gregorios who opened our present chapel in September 1999.
The day concluded with a festive meal in the hall, lovingly prepared by members of our Community. Fr David Walker joined us for the meal.
Glory to God and Happy Anniversary to everyone!
Bishop Raphael's Sermon
"As you wish that men would do to you, do so to them" (Lk. 6:31).
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The command which Christ gives in our reading from the Gospel today has often been referred to as the Golden Rule of Christian life (or in Greek ὁ χρυσὸς κανών). It shows how practical our life should be.
Fr John in Edinburgh used to tell us: Christianity is a practical business. It's not enough to believe correctly, you have to act correctly. Orthodoxia is not enough. Orthopraxia is also required --- the right praxis, the right action. A Christian who believes in theory in his mind or even in his heart, but does not translate this into acts --- acts of love, acts of charity --- is not a Christian.
The philosophers of ancient Greece used to say something similar and yet different: Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you. This was a negative teaching, a teaching to avoid doing what you do not like for yourself. But all this did not involve love. Yes, you can avoid doing something to others that would cause them hardship. And such behaviour is, of course, a good thing, but it is not enough. You can still remain within your egotistic environment. In the end, one would say: l will still be able to do what I want, what I like, whether it is righteous or sinful. I will simply try not to bother others. This has become the rule in our own day. Do what you like, do what pleases you. No one teaches what is harmful, what is inappropriate, what causes spiritual harm. As long as you do not harm and do not bother others, it is all allowed.
Such teaching is, from a Christian point of view, not only insufficient, but it could be very detrimental, even harmful. One might engage in a very sinful life. A sinful life basically means life without love. That's what it means, no love for God and no love for others as long as we don't bother each other.
But the Lord goes further. The Lord demands all of our life. He demands all of our heart. He wants everything that we do to be perfect, at least to aim to be perfect.
We are not perfect. None of us is. Only God is, but we should aim to reach perfection in God. We should be inspired by this though. As the Gospel today says, to act with love: Do to others what you would like others to do to you.
Some people might object: wait a minute, wait a moment. I might want harmful things. Do I wish that others do to me what I desire? Maybe my desires are not right. Maybe my desires are corrupt. Is this really what the Lord is telling us that we should do to others? No! Basically, I believe that every human being desires the best. That deep down in his or her soul everyone desires purity. Deep down everyone desires love, unconditional love. Deep down, under the surface and the dust and sinful life, everyone desires peace, eternal life. That everyone wants God and everyone desires Christ. There was an early Christian writer, Tertullian, who used to say that the human soul is naturally Christian. No matter where they are, what environment they have grown up into, human souls are by nature Christian.
This is why in today’s Gospel the Lord says: as you desire --- deep down in your heart --- the purity of God, the purity of love, so do offer the same to others. How wonderful this is! We are called to learn to love other people. Some people say I don't know how to achieve it. We will start by this: as you want the best for you, try to do the best for others, and before that even try to understand others. Try to get into their shoes, try to even imagine a little bit what they go through. Sometimes it's not possible for us to understand this unless we have felt the pain, similar pain as the other feels. We don't know what they go through and we pass easy judgments. That's why the Lord permits pain to come into our lives so that we become sympathetic and loving and we know how to practise what He says.
When I was a layman, a very good spiritual father who lived outside of Athens surprised me when he told me: when you become a priest---not if but when---I will give you one piece of advice. Before you give advice to other people, before you try to teach others, or what’s even more, before you attempt to correct them, try to get into their shoes first. Try somehow, to examine, to find out how they feel and try to share and sympathise with them. Then you might be able to give the right answer.
This is also what the Lord tells us in today's Gospel:
“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36).
Amen.
