Homilies

St. Jude Church, Miami, FL, July 15, 2007

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matthew 5:
14)

Before I say few words about the Gospel of the day, I am very pleased to make
two short remarks of good news especially to our dear Parish of St. Jude in Miami.

The first good news, if you haven’t heard it yet, is the elevation of our dear Father
Gabi, Monsignor Ghanoum, by our Beloved Patriarch, His Beatitude Gregorios III
Laham, to the dignity of Great Archimandrite of Antioch and Patriarchal Exarch of
Mexico with administrative powers for the Eparchy of all Mexico. This new title
gives him also the right to wear the crown and the staff as I am wearing here and
as all our Mlkite bishops do. Congratulations, dear Fr. Gabi. 3a qbaalha la a3la!

The other good news that you certainly are aware of is that we had last week, in
my opinion, the greatest Melkite Convention so far, under the leadership of our
Patriarch Gregorios III and our Shepherd Archbishop Cyril, with people coming
from all over the United States. In that great and memorable event, we have
prayed together, studied together and enjoyed each other's company and the
company of our Lord who promised that "Anytime two or three are gathered in my
name, I am in the midst of them."

I imagine our Lord Himself telling us on that glorious event, as we heard it again in
the Gospel of the day: "You are the light of the world."

We should notice, by the way, that Christ, in that portion of the Sermon on the
Mount, does not tell only His 12 Apostles or His 70 Disciples that they are “the
light of the world.” He told everyone present who was listening to him with faith,
and He tells everyone present here and now: “You are the light of the world.”
Everyone of you here present, Gabi, Marie, Sam, Sandra, Tom, Jamil, Nicola, etal,
all of you, by the fact that you are listening to Him with faith, “you are the light of
the world.” And the Lord continues, "So, let your light shine, so that they see
your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven." Now, frankly, we
should ask ourselves: How much are we the light of the world and how much we
are letting our light shine? How much does the moon shine? As much as it is
exposed to the sun, or more precisely as much as it shows to us the portion of it
which is exposed to the sun. The moon has no light of its own. The side of the
moon facing the sun is bright; but the side which is not facing the sun is dark and
frozen.

This is the great challenge that we face: How much we are shining the light of
Christ around us? As much as we are turning our face toward Christ. What is the
difference between us Christians and the non-Christians? We sing: “All of you
who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” If there is no difference
between us baptized and the non-baptized, then our baptism is in vain our title of
Christian is a false label. Let us face it: If I hold a flash light, and you don't hold a
flash light; and if your light is as shining as mine, or my light as dim as yours, what
is the use of my flash light?

Once upon a time, in the good old days before the invention of electricity, there
was a gas lamp in the middle of the public square, in a small town. Around
midnight, a drunk man walks through it, like a mosquito hitting a light bulb. He
brakes the lamp and the light goes out. On the morning of the following day, the
judge asked him, “Why did you do it?” He answered: "I did not see it. Why did you
leave the light in the dark?"

Of course, what is the use of a light, if you have no eyes to see? On the other
hand, if the light bulb is not lit, it is as good as no light at all.

We are challenged to do better, if we are Christians. If we don't do better, our
Christianity is going to waste. Our Melkite poet Nasiif el Yaaziji wrote:
"Wa qullu man laa kaira minhu yurtaja
In 3aaca aw maata 3ala xaddin siwa!"
Translation: “Anyone who does nothing good, then it makes no difference, if
he/she is dead or alive.”

May the sparks of faith and joy and love which touched our hearts during the
Convention and also during this Divine Liturgy communicate faith and joy and
love to your family and your neighborhood, and may our Lord Jesus Christ
continue to direct our lives in every good deed and make us His moons, shining
His light through our good deeds Let the face of Christ show on our face. Let the
non-Christians, or the nominal Christians see the face of Christ in us. Maybe this
is the only Gospel they will ever read. Yes, indeed, you, Peter, Paul, Nancy, Jim
and John, you are the living Gospel. You probably are the only Gospel many
people will ever read.

Some examples of shining the light of Christ:

* Attend church on Sunday faithfully. This will keep your faith strong, and will
strengthen the faith in your community.

* Give the good example to your children.

* Decide about your priorities. Where is your treasure, there is your heart ...

* Forgive and don't keep grudge.

* Refill your battery by attending the Divine Liturgy at least on Sunday as a bare
minimum.

* See in others the image of Christ, and show them the image of Christ in you...

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