FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY: A SERMON FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

A Medieval Icon Depicting the Creation of Eve, Who was Both the Bride of Adam and the Body of Adam, Just as the Church is Both the Bride of Christ and Also the Body of Christ - Of One Flesh, Of Separate Being and Person, and United by the Spirit of God in a Fruitful, Salvific, and Beautiful Union

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

INTRODUCTION 

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, faithful friends, and cherished visitors, it is with heartfelt joy that we welcome you to St. Alopen’s Cathedral Church on this Third Sunday of Great and Holy Lent. As we journey together through this sacred season, towards the Great and Holy Pascha of Our Lord, we are reminded both of the challenges that confront us and the beauties that await us as we strive toward the radiant light of Easter. Lent is a time of spiritual warfare and purification, of casting out darkness from our hearts and allowing God’s grace to transform us into vessels of His divine love. 

In this holy time, we are called to deeper prayer, acts of mercy, and askesis - the holy struggle that cleanses the soul and draws us nearer to God. Let us not lose heart as we embrace fasting and self-denial, for these are not burdens but gifts from the Holy Spirit, guiding us into deeper communion with our Lord. The path to Theosis (the transformation of our lives by the divine energies of God) is a path of humility, repentance, and sacrificial love. 

We ask you, beloved brethren, to offer fervent prayers for one another, for our parish, and for all those in need, especially our beloved Assyrian, Syrian, Melkite, Oriental, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic friends and family who find themselves under so much attack now in the Middle East. Let us continue to give ourselves to the works of mercy, caring for the poor, comforting the afflicted, and encouraging the weary. As we strive to walk as children of light, may our lives testify to the unity and holiness of Christ’s Kingdom. 

SCRIPTURE

THE EPISTLE: EPHESIANS 5:1-14

BRETHREN: Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 

THE HOLY GOSPEL: ST. LUKE 11:14-28

AT that time: Jesus was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. 

SERMON

Dearly beloved, today’s Gospel brings before us a profound and essential truth concerning the Kingdom of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having cast out a demon from a man who was dumb, encounters skepticism and opposition from those who attribute His work to Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Our Lord’s response is both piercing and wise: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.” (St. Luke 11:17) 

This proclamation strikes at the heart of all spiritual warfare. Christ, in revealing the unity of His Kingdom, exposes the disunity of evil and the absurdity of attributing divine works to Satan. In these words, He also sets before us the clarion call of Lent: that we may root out division from our own hearts and submit wholly to the reign of God. 

UNITY IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD

The contrast between unity and division underpins not only this passage but the entirety of God’s dealings with mankind. From the beginning, the unity of the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost - establishes the very pattern of love and harmony which creation is called to reflect. Yet, in the Fall, division was introduced: man from God, man from woman, and brother from brother. The history of redemption, from Abraham to the Apostles, is the restoration of that unity through divine grace. 

In Genesis 24, we behold Abraham’s servant seeking a wife for Isaac - a holy union ordained and prospered by God. Abraham’s careful instruction to his servant reveals the need for purity and obedience to divine calling. In the provision of Rebekah, we see that God honors faithfulness with fruitfulness. The union of Isaac and Rebekah becomes an image of how God unites His people through divine providence and faithfulness to His promises. 

Likewise, in Acts 10, the vision given to St. Peter proclaims the breaking down of division between Jew and Gentile. “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” (Acts 10:15) The vision declares the unity of the Kingdom of God - a unity that transcends ethnic and cultural boundaries and is grounded in the redeeming blood of Christ. 

FINDING JOY IN LEAVING THE DARKNESS AND SEEKING THE LIGHT

In the Epistle, St. Paul calls us to be “followers of God, as dear children.” (Ephesians 5:1) This following, however, is not merely a passive acknowledgment but an active walking in love and light. The Apostle warns against the unfruitful works of darkness, for, as he says, “Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8) 

In a world that thrives on division, where even within our own souls there rages a conflict between flesh and spirit, how vital it is to heed St. Paul’s admonition. The unity of the Kingdom is manifest when we surrender to God’s sanctifying power, allowing the Holy Spirit to cast out the darkness that divides our hearts. John Donne, in his holy sonnets, laments this inward conflict, crying, “Batter my heart, three-person’d God.” The soul knows that unity with God requires a breaking and remaking, a submission to divine love that heals all division. 

REALIZING JOY IN THE POWER OF GOD

St. Cyril of Jerusalem wisely observes that when Christ declares a house divided against itself cannot stand, He is asserting not only the impotence of Satan but the absolute authority of God’s Kingdom. Evil has no true unity; it is a chaos of conflicting desires and ambitions. But God’s Kingdom is unshakeable, grounded in divine truth and everlasting love. 

Similarly, the Blessed William Laud taught that the Church, as the Body of Christ, must not be torn apart by schism or heresy, for such divisions grieve the Holy Spirit and hinder the mission of the Gospel. In his “Conference with Fisher the Jesuit”, Laud declares, “He that divides Christ's seamless coat, by breaking the Church's unity, is not far from that sin which crucified Christ.” Laud understood that the preservation of unity within the Church was essential to its witness, for division not only wounds the Body of Christ but also obscures the light of the Gospel to the world. As children of light, we must be vigilant against any spirit that seeks to undermine the harmony of the Church, for it is through our visible unity that the world may come to know the love of God in Christ.

PRACTICING JOY IN UNION THROUGH FAITH AND LOVE

Consider the words of the great poet and divine, Fr. George Herbert: 

“Love bade me welcome, 

yet my soul drew back, 

Guilty of dust and sin.” 

Herbert captures the soul’s hesitation before divine love - a hesitation born of self-doubt and unworthiness. Yet Christ calls us to draw near, to be reconciled and restored. The Kingdom of God is not a fearful submission but a joyful entering into His peace. We are called not merely to observe God’s works but to participate in them, to let our lives be instruments of unity and grace. 

A CALL TO THE HOLY JOY OF ASKESIS AND SUFFERING LOVE

Lent is not merely a season of fasting but of purification, of casting out the demons of pride, sloth, and lust, that the kingdom of our hearts might be wholly Christ’s. The demon that held the man dumb was not merely a physical impediment but a symbol of spiritual oppression. When Christ cast it out, the man spoke - his voice, long silenced, became a testimony to the power of God. 

So must we speak - words of truth and grace, words that build up and not tear down, words that heal and not wound. This Lenten journey is a pilgrimage toward such speech—a movement from dumbness to proclamation, from division to unity. 

THE FULLNESS OF JOY IN CHRIST’S BODY

The joy of the Kingdom lies not in mere abstinence but in cooperation with the Holy Spirit in His work of universal transformation. Our Lord does not simply cast out demons; He fills the empty space with His Spirit. He does not merely call us to renounce sin but to embrace holiness. In the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson: 

“Ring out the old, ring in the new, 

Ring out the false, ring in the true.” 

Let us not be content merely to cast out the works of darkness. Let us replace them with the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. In so doing, we shall manifest that unity which the world so desperately needs to see - a unity not of compromise or worldly peace but of the eternal Kingdom of God. 

The poem that best sums up all the ideas of this sermon is Fr. John Keble’s "The Church's Unity" best known as “The Church’s One Foundation” from “The Christian Year.” It captures the essence of our unity in Christ as divinely ordained, the horrible tragedy of division, and the call to live as one Body in Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost.

The Church's one foundation 

Is Jesus Christ her Lord; 

She is His new creation 

By water and the Word: 

From heaven He came and sought her 

To be His holy Bride; 

With His own blood He bought her, 

And for her life He died. 

Elect from every nation, 

Yet one o'er all the earth, 

Her charter of salvation 

One Lord, one faith, one birth; 

One holy Name she blesses, 

Partakes one holy food, 

And to one hope she presses, 

With every grace endued. 

Though with a scornful wonder 

Men see her sore oppressed, 

By schisms rent asunder, 

By heresies distressed, 

Yet saints their watch are keeping, 

Their cry goes up, "How long?" 

And soon the night of weeping 

Shall be the morn of song. 

'Mid toil and tribulation, 

And tumult of her war, 

She waits the consummation 

Of peace for evermore; 

Till with the vision glorious 

Her longing eyes are blest, 

And the great Church victorious 

Shall be the Church at rest. 

Yet she on earth hath union 

With God the Three in One, 

And mystic sweet communion 

With those whose rest is won: 

O happy ones and holy! 

Lord, give us grace that we 

Like them, the meek and lowly, 

On high may dwell with Thee. 

SUMMARY

As we draw near to the Christ’s holy altar today, let us present ourselves as living sacrifices, that the unity of the Church might shine forth as a beacon of hope to a divided world. Let us remember that Christ has conquered the powers of darkness, and in Him, we are more than conquerors. Even though we struggle with sin, failure and continuous temptation, we shall not be discouraged and will keep on repenting, asking God’s glory to be revealed! 

Brethren, let us walk as children of light, that the unity of God’s Kingdom may be manifest in us, and through us, to the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 

COLLECT

Let us pray…

O Almighty God, who hast delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of Thy dear Son: Grant us grace, we beseech Thee, to walk as children of light, that, being delivered from all uncleanness and vanity, we may with pure hearts and steadfast wills follow Thee in the way of holiness; that, being cleansed from all evil and filled with Thy Holy Spirit, we may rejoice in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.