Lather, Rinse, Repeat!

Passages: Is. 51:15-52:3; Heb. 13:18-25; Lk. 22:24-30
Ընթերցուածքներ՝ Եսայ. ԾԱ 15- ԾԲ 4; Եբր. ԺԳ 18-25; Ղկ. ԻԲ 24-30

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

“Lather, rinse, repeat!” How many of us have thought about how often or why we shower or bathe? According to a Harvard University study in 2021, approximately two-thirds of Americans shower daily, whereas in, for example, Australia it’s over 80%. There are also several reason why we shower and when we chose to shower. The most obvious reason is cleanliness. Yet, morning showers for examples help wake us up; it boosts alertness and washes off overnight sweat for a fresh start. In contrast, evening showers rinse away the day’s dirt, allergens, and oils, which promotes better sleep. When and why regardless, we all know and understand that showering and bathing, washing ourselves, and overall cleanliness is for our benefit (and sometimes the benefit of others).

St. Paul in today’s reading, expresses to us, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ…” (vv. 20-21) What St. Paul is instructing us to remember is that God the Father, through the death and resurrection of God the Son, Christ Jesus, has renewed us, strengthened us, cleansed us and washed us for a purpose. To equip us to do His Will. In the same way my dears, when we shower to clean ourselves and we prepare ourselves for the coming day, night, work or journey, likewise, as Christian’s we are “showered” or washed in preparation. Just as we would shower and live our life, likewise, when we are washed by Christ, washed from the moment we are baptized of the Holy Font, our life requires of us to live in such a way that is fulfilling of His Will.

St. Maximus the Confessor writes, “Do not say that faith in Christ alone can save you, for this is not possible if you do not attain love for Him, which is demonstrated by deeds. As for mere faith: The demons also believe and tremble (James 2:19). The action of love consists in heartfelt good deeds toward one’s neighbor, magnanimity, patience, and sober use of things.” In other words, if we say we believe in God, we come to Church, we are baptized, we read what Holy Scripture teaches us, we receive Holy Communion, but do not live out our faith beyond “this process or belief”, then our faith is dead. Faith is a living response to the love of God; God loved and so sent His Son. God loved and through His Son, Jesus Christ, saved us, washed us; And therefore, God’s love must move us to do likewise. Being washed, we must now live by reflecting that love, that compassion and mercy; being an example of God to one another. To believe in God is wonderful, but so what, if the demons also know of the existence of God? To do good things, is exemplary, but so what, if those who don’t believe can do more than us?

My dears, our Christian faith is Communion with God, it is God born into our lives, and therefore, the purpose of how we live. (After all we are in the season of Christmas.) By love, Christ Jesus is born into a manger, is born for the Cross and from there He looks at us, into our heart, beyond our capabilities, beyond our shortcomings, our language, our age and education. Jesus Christ looks and calls all of us to equally be washed not merely in belief but as a whole person – physical and spiritual. That is why in 2 Corinthians (7:1) we read, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God.” The filth or defilement we must be washed from is not just physical in the same way, coming to Church and asking for forgiveness is not just about feeling bad for our mistakes. Our Lord knows we all make mistakes; God knows that we in this sinful world get dirty, make bad choices, live facing temptation and often choose wrong. Sometimes it feels like as much as we try to get cleaned up, sober and on the right path, we keep falling. Just this morning, my mind kept wondering as I prepared the Communion Bread, and it just wasn’t working out at first; I kept failing. I came to Church and saw that 2 of the flowers had dried up. And as I tried to throw them out, the petals and leaves fell all over the floor, forcing me to clean it up. As I cleaned the flowers, the pots fell over and all the dirt spilled onto the carpet. And in that moment, in anger and frustration I yelled out “c’mon God!”

My dears, God sees our frustration, our hurt, our rejection, our pain and He still embraces us, offers us hope, life and renewal. God desires us and so provides for us the opportunities to come to Him and be cleansed despite our mistakes. Because to be cleansed of body and spirit, begins by us recognizing we are in need of a washing; that we need God. And so we are invited to bow before the Cross, kneel before the manger, this Holy Altar, to look up and see our Lord through repentance; to turn to Him with hope and in Holy Communion. To be cleansed and to live love; to live Gods love not just as a belief or as a feeling by in life, in our daily choices doing the will of God.

When we shower on the bottle of shampoo it says, “Lather, rinse, repeat” especially for that deep clean. Come and pray, my dears! Be lathered and washed over by the love of God who forgives us. Rinse away the excuses and reasons of why we choose to live apart from Him. Repeat your prayers, your repentance daily! Through these steps we will be continually washed and cleansed; we will recognize the depth of God’s love for us. We will be that love for all others to experience God our Heavenly, Christ our Lord through the Holy Spirit, every day and in every way, now and forever, Amen.