Sermon January 24, 2020 In the Name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Of course, you know that almost the entire New Testament is read at church services throughout the year. The Fathers of the Church, creators of Church Typikon (Rules church does services by) singled out special, one can say the most important passages from the Gospel and the Apostle for reading on Sundays.

In the Name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit! “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Col 3, 4) Remember, I shared with you a story when a little boy asked me: “who are you?”

I, therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4)

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost! We have heard in the Acts of the Apostles how, as the Feast of Pentecost was approaching, Paul the Apostle had started on his journey to Jerusalem to be there together with all those who on that very day received the Holy Spirit. Of all of them he was the only one who had not been present in the High Room where the event took place. And yet, God had given him a true, a perfect conversion of heart, and of mind and of life, and had given him freely the gift of the Holy Spirit in response to his total, ultimate gift of self to Him, the God Whom he did not know but Whom he worshipped.