{"id":2462,"date":"2019-12-03T11:19:11","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T18:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/?p=2462"},"modified":"2019-12-03T11:20:47","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T18:20:47","slug":"god-gives-us-the-present-time-for-repentance-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/?p=2462","title":{"rendered":"God gives us the present time for repentance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit! \u00a0Today the Virgin appears in the temple of God, in anticipation proclaiming Christ to all\u2026 The angels beheld the entrance of the Pure One and were amazed. How has the Virgin entered into the Holy of Holies? Purity and holiness, light and joy\u2014that imperceptible spirit of today\u2019s feast and service. Upon the steps of the Old Testament shrine of the Jerusalem Temple stands the three-year-old youth, the great Holy of Holies, triumphantly and rejoicing. And her elderly and righteous parents, Joachim and Anna<\/a>, and a choir of young maidens with lighted candles, \u201csinging, playing, and exalting,\u201d accompany she who is borne as a gift to God. Embraced by sacred delight, the high priest Zacharias<\/a>, the elder and father of the Forerunner, \u201cblessed and welcomed\u201d the holy maiden, and according to special revelation bore her into the Holy of Holies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Small\nevents, so why is this celebration so joyful, so memorable and significant? Why\ndid this feast become one of the twelve? Because, my dears, the Entrance of the\nMost Pure Virgin into the Temple became a necessary component in God\u2019s salvific\nprovidence for the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This event\nput an end to the centuries long alienation of man from God and his sojourn\nunder slavery to sin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nsanctuary of the Jerusalem Temple, where dwelt God and where He manifested His\npresence, inaccessible to all except one high priest, and even then but once a\nyear, where he entered with the blood offering, bringing prayer for the sins of\nthe people, is by Divine grace opened to the God-chosen maiden\u2014the daughter of\nman. And the Most Holy Virgin is brought into the Holy of Holies, and,\ninvisibly for the world, bears within herself a great offering, a new living\noffering\u2014Christ\u2014God and Man. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Old\nTestament Temple of God accepted into itself the seed of new life, the divine\nmaiden in whom will spiritually sprout and grow the New, saving Covenant of man\nwith God. The Old Testament Temple of God took into itself the sacred Ark of\nthe New Testament, the animate temple of the Savior, the precious bridal\nchamber and Virgin\u2014the sacred treasury of the glory of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the\nentrance into the Temple of the God-chosen maiden the time came when the grace\nof God would return to people, and they would draw near to God, as to the Heavenly\nFather, for the Son of God is the Son of the Virgin and grace proclaims the\ngood news of reconciliation with God, and the entrance to Heaven is opened to\nall desiring it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with\nthis entrance it was possible for the first time to pronounce the words: \u201cThine\nown of Thine own, we offer unto Thee\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s gift\nto man\u2014the Most Holy Virgin\u2014the fruit of prayer of her elderly parents, and\nthrough her\u2014Christ, returns mankind to God, as a gift to Him from man, as a\nfavorable and fragrant sacrifice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with\nthis entrance, in anticipation of the great changes in the world, it was\npossible for the first time to sing the words of joy and hope: \u201cChrist is born,\nglorify Him; Christ is descended from Heaven, go forth to meet Him!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the\nentrance into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos is accomplished a miracle.\nHeaven united with earth, and eternity entered into time, hallowing it for\neternity. \u201cToday is the prelude of the good will of God, of the preaching of\nthe salvation of mankind\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How great is\nthis day, singular and unrepeatable\u2014the day of the beginning of the New\nCovenant with God on earth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years\nremained before the appearance of Christ the Savior in the world, and the\nTemple of God was called amongst the utmost holiness and purity and Divine\npower to nurture and cultivate in those years the delicate, childlike pure soul\nof the divine maiden, filling her with the Godhead, and preparing her for the\nDivine Incarnation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day by day\nthe Most Holy Virgin grew in bodily and spiritual strength in the Temple of\nGod. The strength of soul of the Most Holy Virgin was formed, grew, and\nstrengthened by angelic converse and prayer directed towards God, and labors\nfor the sake of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her bodily\nstrength was supported by heavenly food, brought to her by the archangel. The\nhigh priest Zacharias, himself unable to daily enter into the Holy of Holies,\nwith astonishment, disbelief, and fear heard the conversations of the Virgin\nwith the archangel in the Sanctuary. And, finding nothing similar in the\nappearances of angels<\/a> to other people, the high priest was\nconfirmed in the thought that the time of the fulfillment of the universal\nexpectation had arrived, and from the blessed one would come Salvation, from\nthe bride\u2014the Promised One, from the Virgin\u2014God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Mary,\nnourished by Divine grace, having lost in the last years of her life in the\nTemple her sole attachment to this earth\u2014her righteous parents, gave a vow to\nGod\u2014to preserve until the end of her life her virginity and to remain the\nhandmaiden of the Lord, Him alone serving and devoting herself in all things\nand always to His holy will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/em> Behold the handmaid of the Lord;\nbe it unto me according to thy word<\/em> (Lk. 1:38). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And her\nheart, given to God, became a temple not made by hands, a receptacle for God.\nAnd soon, very soon afterwards, Christ\u2014Her Son and the Son of God\u2014comes and\nestablishes the legitimacy of this new temple not made by hands, the basis of\nwhich will be Himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know ye\nnot that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?\nIf any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of\nGod is holy, which temple ye are<\/em> (1 Cor. 3:16-17). And with this renewal of\nthe temple of God, people will worship God not only in Jerusalem, but in Spirit\nand in truth will they worship Him in every place of His dominion, wherever is\nfound a faithful human heart that loves God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all of\nus on this great day of the present feast it is impossible not to ponder and\nunderstand that the path to Heaven, open to men in this time so far departed\nfrom us, all the same begins on the threshold of this temple of God not made by\nhands, when by Baptism man offers himself to God as a gift and becomes a temple\nnot made by hands, and the Spirit of God takes up residency within Him. And our\npath in life must pass through the temple, to be reared and grow in it, that\nthis path might end in the sanctuary of God, in Heaven, where with the offering\nof His own Blood has already entered Christ Himself\u2014the High Priest of all\nfuture blessings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My dears,\nthe Temple of God always and at all times was an altar consecrated to God, and\nsacrifices brought by all. In the Old Testament times the Lord Himself blessed\nthe Temple as a place of His dwelling: The heaven is my throne, and the\nearth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is\nthe place of my rest?<\/em> (Is. 66:1). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the\nfirst Temple of God\u2014the sanctuary built on earth, erected by Solomon, the son\nof the king and prophet David, in the year 1033 before the Nativity of Christ,\nwas created directly at God\u2019s bidding. I have hallowed this house, which\nthou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart\nshall be there perpetually<\/em> (3 Kg. 9:3). And wondrous and holy and\nmagnificent was the first Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Ark of the\nCovenant, given to man by God, through Moses, was in it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Temple\nof God at all times is always eternity, in it lives and abides everything that\nwas from the beginning, from the creation of the world, and what will be until\nthe Second and glorious Coming of the Lord. In the Temple of God everything and\nalways lives\u2014the past, and the present, and the future. And there are not\nmysteries in life which the Temple of God\u2014the Holy Church\u2014does not know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why do\nthe living not know these mysteries; why do even those who abide in the Temple\nremain deaf and blind to them; why do they see and hear so little? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why was the\nfirst Jerusalem Temple, together with the great shrine, the Ark of the Old\nCovenant, lost? Why has that great shrine of the Second Jerusalem Temple,\nsanctified by the abiding there of the Ark of the New Covenant\u2014the Most Holy\nDivine Maiden\u2014and sanctified by the appearance there of our Savior and\nGod\u2014Christ, left us as a reminiscence nothing but the Wailing Wall? Why should\nthe \u201cNew Israel\u201d\u2014Great Russia\u2014throughout nine centuries creating within itself\nthe House of God, like the Old Testament Israel suffer through the seventy-year\ncaptivity by their own and the abomination of desolation in the holy place\u2014the\nmany, many destroyed churches and monasteries of God? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must seek\nagain the answer to all our bitter \u201cwhys?\u201d in the Church and in the Holy\nScriptures, which the Church preserves. It preserves sacred objects, it\npreserves truth, but woe to us, the living, for these storehouses opened, these\nprophecies fulfilled before us, appearing for us because of our negligence,\nbitterness and secret unbelief as behind seven seals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what\nthe Lord of Sabaoth said when the first Old Testament Temple was newly\nconsecrated. Listen to these words, my dears, spoken to all of mankind by the\nLord as a warning: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or\nyour children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have\nset before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut\noff Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I\nhave hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight \u2026 And at this house,\nwhich is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall\nhiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to\nthis house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God \u2026\nand have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them:\ntherefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil<\/em> (3 Kg. 9:6-9). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They to whom\nthese words were addressed did not hear them. Will we really not hear them,\nseeing them fulfilled? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Falling away\nfrom God is the cause of all ills at all times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jewish\nkings and people apostatized from God, worshiping strange gods. The Lord\npunished Israel with war, and in anticipation of repentance sent the prophet\nJeremiah to the apostates preaching repentance unto correction. But they did\nnot listen to the prophet, as they had not listened to the Lord Himself. And\nJerusalem was destroyed, and Solomon\u2019s Temple fell, and the Ark of the Covenant\nwas lost, and the seventy-year Babylonian captivity was the lot of sinful\nIsrael. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Second\nJerusalem Temple, built following the return from the Babylonian captivity, was\nsmaller and not so magnificent, but the prophets Haggai and Zechariah\nprophesied that it would have greater glory than the first, for the Ark of the\nNew Covenant would be nourished there. And the fate of this Temple and the\ndiscontinuation of Old Testament sacrifices were prophesied by the prophet Daniel\nlong before their fulfillment. The final prophecy about the Second Jerusalem\nTemple sounded from the mouth of the Savior Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ wept\non the day of His entrance into Jerusalem, and, seeing Golgotha near, foretold\nthe destruction of the Temple: And shall lay thee even with the ground, and\nthy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon\nanother; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation<\/em> (Lk. 19:44). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rejected,\nagain Israel rejected God, they rejected Christ the Savior Who took on\nhumanity, condemned Him to death, and besought in His place Barabbas, a\nmurderer. And finally, the world hears weeping and wailing for the blindness of\nthe chosen people: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets,\nand stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy\nchildren together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye\nwould not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate<\/em> (Mt. 23:37-38). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your house\nis left unto you desolate\u2014<\/em>fearful words taking place, because people again did not want to be godly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one and\nthe same time the Jerusalem Temple reared she who is the great Holy of Holies\nand the disciples of Christ, as well as those, who therein living their lives\nfar from God, killed the high priest Zacharias between the Temple and the\naltar, killed the Forerunner of Christ John, and crucified Christ the Savior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do we not\nsee that a man becomes either a co-worker with God, or a destroyer of that\nwhich the Lord creates? Look, my dears, how dangerously we walk. You can be in\nthe Church but not have God, and God punishes people for dishonoring Him and\nrejecting the Church. God\u2019s salvific punishments last decades, intended to\nreturn their human hearts to God. And as a final warning to us the words of the\nparable of the vinedressers sounds out: Therefore say I unto you, The\nkingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth\nthe fruits thereof<\/em> (Mt. 21:43). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us be\nespecially attentive, my dears, creating and restoring now in great quantity\nman-made churches, and not forget the most important New Testament church of\nGod\u2014our hearts, called to serve God in Spirit and in truth. Do not forget that we\nare returning from captivity amongst foreigners, and do not forget our\ncountrymen who fight for us and our Orthodox faith, sick, lame, and spiritually\ndepleted. We were without God for a long, long time and now stand but at the\nthreshold of the Church, which will sanctify us, but under one condition: if we\nwant it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will bring\nyou, my dears, the words of the Lord, which especially now should help us\ncomprehend the critical moments of our present life: \u201c\u2026 therefore thus saith\nthe Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little;\nye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye\nclothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to\nput it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.\nGo up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take\npleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much,\nand, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

saith the\nLord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto\nhis own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth\nis stayed from her fruit<\/em> (Hag. 1:5-10). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stand\nupon the threshold of the Church, and must enter in, having revived within\nourselves knowledge of the law of God, to enter with the fulfillment of our\nvows already offered to God by us. And don\u2019t forget, that rulers alone do not\nmete out the destinies of countries and peoples, but responsibility before God\nfor the life of the world falls on all, on every living person, no matter how\nsmall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My dears!\nThe grace of God gives us the present time for repentance. The love of God\nendures the disease of our unbelief. The Lord waits to gather us under His\nwings. Let us desire salvation, return to the Church of God with love and\ndesire for Him, and return to God the temple of our hearts, that the bounties\nof the grace of God, imprisoned by our sins, and Heaven may be opened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Most\nHoly Virgin, the God-chosen maiden, the daughter of man, the first to open\nHeaven to us, becoming the mother of suffering and ailing mankind, is always\nready to support, strengthen and guide in life, along the path of salvation, by\nher grace all who flee to her with faith and love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe magnify\nthee, O most holy Virgin, God-chosen Maiden, and we honor thine entry into the\ntemple of the Lord.\u201d Amen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivered on\nNov.21\/Dec. 4, 1994 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archimandrite\nJohn (Krestiankin)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit! \u00a0Today the Virgin appears in the temple of God, in anticipation proclaiming Christ to all\u2026 The angels beheld the entrance of the Pure One and were amazed. How has the Virgin entered into the Holy of Holies? Purity and holiness, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2462"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2467,"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2462\/revisions\/2467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svetisimeon.org\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}