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Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
Dear Parishioners, it was brought to our attention that the livestream cut out or froze during the sermon of today's Liturgy.   Here is the text of the sermon if you wish to read the sermon in its entirety.  


Living with Joy through Repentnace
Fr. Hector Firoglanis – January 9, 2021
 
The Holidays are generally defined as the time period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, but as Orthodox Christians we add the great feast day of Theophany on January 6th.  As the pandemic continues into 2022 with no sign of abating, it has been more difficult for people to be happy during the “Happy Holidays.”  
 
But as Christians we are called not to be merely happy in our lives, for happiness implies positive feelings based on our external circumstances. 
 
We are called to something greater than happiness – and that is JOY.  Unlike happiness, joy is not based on our external circumstances, but is an inner disposition of the soul.    
 
The world teaches us to strive for happiness, whereas the Church teaches us how to cultivate joy through repentance.     
 
*          *          *
 
The context for today’s Gospel reading is that Jesus had recently been baptized by John the Baptist and went into the desert for 40 days to pray and fast and be tested by the devil.  
 
Coming out of the desert, Jesus heard that John had been arrested.  He withdrew to the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah as the place where the people sat in darkness.  
 
There is nothing really happy and cheerful about today’s Gospel reading.  
 
Most people would say the same thing about our lives today.  How can we talk about joy when there is so much unhappiness in the world – especially as this pandemic drags on.  
 
*          *          *
 
There is a story of a devout Orthodox man who went to see a spiritual elder while in a miserable state.  This man had built a house in what had been a very quiet town.  Soon afterwards, some people opened a garage next to his house.  Then further down a highway was built.  Next a nightclub opened across the street.  Soon the man could not sleep at all.”
 
“What can I do, Father?”  he asked the elder.  “Am I supposed to build another house?  How can I?  I have five children.  It’s not easy to build another house.  What should we do?  There is no rest for us now.” 
 
“Listen, my child,” said the Elder.  You are not facing the problem spiritually.  Let us suppose that a war started there and I told you that if you stay in this house, I would guarantee that no harm would befall your family.  What would you say to this?  Probably you would say, “What a blessing this is, my Lord!  The whole world is being destroyed and I am being guaranteed my life.” 
 
Of course, you would consider this a great blessing.  Now have another positive thought, this time about your current situation, and say, “Thanks be to God!  At least there are no heavy armored tanks going by here…we see only cars…Some people are going about taking care of their businesses.  There is no war!  What a blessing!  Thanks be to God!
 
As we have said, living with Joy does not mean changing our external conditions – making more money, buying a bigger house, getting a facial makeover – for these things bring only temporary happiness. 
 
Living with Joy means repentance: changing our hearts, changing our inner disposition, and changing the way we think about things, and returning to a Christ-centered life. 
 
*          *          *
 
We read in today’s Gospel on this Sunday after Theophany, “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).  
 
*          *          *
 
This is what repentance means… not changing our environment or forcing other people to change and conform to our wishes.   It means changing our perspective and learning to have gratitude for what we have while striving to align ourselves with God’s righteousness.  
 
A great example of repentance can be found in the Holiday Classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where George Baily goes from a total wreck contemplating  suicide to a changed man filled with gratitude and joy when his guardian angel helps him to see how valuable and blessed his life truly is.
 
Nothing external changed in George Bailey’s life… he was still in debt and facing the possibility of time in jail …. But his perspective changed.   His heart changed.   He repented!   And this changed not only him, but even the people around him and his dire circumstances.  
 
This is why repentance is the greatest miracle.   It has the power to change not only us from the inside out, but also the people around us in a way that does not restrict their freedom.  
 
And this is how we too can live a wonderful life… a joyful life… even in the midst of an ongoing pandemic or any other personal crisis we may be experiencing in our lives.
 
*          *          *
 
For the year 2022 let us strive for true repentance so that we may have joy, and not merely happiness.  If external circumstances lead to extreme highs and extreme lows in our lives, then we need to become aware of our main problem, which is our alienation from God. 
 
Here are a few New Year’s Resolutions to help you live with greater JOY in 2022:
  1. Watch less news.  5 minutes a day; no more than a half hour — stick to local news and stay away from CNN and Fox News and other such corporate-owned legacy media outlets which are often toxic and divisive in their content.
  2. With the time you save from watching less news, pray more and go to church more.  According to recent polls:
    1. “Americans who attend religious services weekly were the only demographic group to see their mental health improve during the course of this pandemic”
    2. Every other demographic saw drops in mental health self-assessments between 2019 and 2021: men, women, Republicans, independents, Democrats, whites, non-whites, married, unmarried, all incomes, and all ages.
      1. https://medium.com/catholic-way-home/the-only-group-to-see-mental-health-improve-during-the-pandemic-2497bcfe273
  3. Repent, go to confession, start with a new beginning in your life. 
  4. Cultivate gratitude… be content with the external things you cannot control and strive to improve your spiritual state and live a more holy and righteous life.     
  5. Focus on positive thoughts… be the bee and not the fly (St. Paisios). 
If we come to church more to worship God together, control our negative thoughts, if we cultivate a spirit of gratitude, and truly repent, Christ will find a suitable dwelling place within our hearts, and we will experience eternal joy within our lives – for the duration of 2022, and for all of eternity.  Amen. 

 
 

 

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