During a sermon, Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine addressed the issue of the call of Christ. The Lord calls upon us not because we are worthy, he calls upon sinners, the unworthy ones, the Lord calls upon us to come to Him as we are.
“Should sin be punished? Yes, sin must be punished, that is what God’s law says. But the Lord does not want us to die sinners, but for us to be fixed, changed, renewed, and to achieve salvation. He wants each person to share with Him the bliss of eternal existence in love and holiness. And knowing that we are weak, that sin still has power over us and works in us – the Lord still calls us to Himself. He gives us communion in His sanctuary, gives us the bliss of His love, not as a reward for merit, but as a gift. He does not call us because we are truly worthy. Because if only the worthy were called, then none of the people would be able to achieve salvation,” the head of the OCU said during his sermon on September 18, the press service of the OCU reports.
According to the Metropolitan, we all find ourselves at the crossroads of this world. Servants of God – our parents, our spiritual mentors and teachers – called us to the Church, called us to share the joy of communication with the Son of God.
“Becoming members of the Church, we are obliged to change. As for the celebration, we don’t wear everyday or work clothes, but we choose special clothes that emphasize both the exclusivity of the event and our respect for those who invited us to the holiday, as well as for us and for the Church,” the Metropolitan said.
However, Christians have a duty to change so as not to be rejected. Christians themselves must reject the unworthy, sinful, dirty, and ‘wear’ purity, adorning themselves with faith and good works.
“There are many Christians – but not all of them live as Christians should, not all have changed, not all have chosen to ‘wear’ good, true faith. Not everyone has rejected the sinful deeds of this world. Therefore, even when we entered the Lord through baptism, this doesn’t mean that each of us remains with Him. The parable reminds us that the host of the holiday will come to us. And if he sees that we dishonored his vocation, disrespected his mercy, that we neglected the honor bestowed upon us – then our fate will be with the one who was thrown out,” concluded Metropolitan Epifaniy.
It should be recalled that Metropolitan Epifaniy met with the delegation of the French Episcopal Conference of the Roman Catholic Church. He also opened a home for women who had suffered from abuse.
