Sermon: 2nd Sunday of the Fast
Today, the 2nd Sunday of the Fast, we celebrate the memory of our father among the Saints, Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica. St. Gregory Palamas lived in the 14th century AD. He left the world when he was 12 years old and became a monk on Mount Athos. He gave himself over in complete obedience to a holy man named Nicodemus who instructed him in the commandments of God and guided him unto noetic prayer; that is prayer of the heart. Because he had obtained noetic prayer, he was deemed worthy to behold a wondrous vision of the Mother of God; she received St. Gregory under her protection and promised to be his mediatress.
After his elder Nicodemus died, St. Gregory became the abbot of the monastery of Esphigmenou on Mt. Athos, this monastery continues to this day to be a staunch defender of Orthodoxy against Ecumenism. He then left Esphigmenou and lived in the wilderness where he lived a most severe life. Then, in obedience to God’s will he was elevated to the priestly rank and later he became Archbishop of Thessalonica and he served the Church of Christ in this capacity for many years.
He suffered many afflictions according to the words of St Paul “…all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” For 23 years he suffered persecutions from the God-fighting heretics; at that time there appeared in the Church one Barlaam the Calabrian who began to wage fierce war against the Church. This Barlaam was an Italo-Greek monk from Calabria, Italy who opposed the practice of hesychasm. Briefly, hesychasm is a technique whereby its adherents pray the “Jesus prayer” –Lord Jesus Christ; Son of God, have mercy on me. They are sometimes counted worthy to behold the presence of God in His uncreated light. Barlaam believed that this light was created and that man could come into communion with the God’s essence solely by intellectual contemplation. St Gregory formally pronounced that that which the Saints behold are the uncreated energies of God and not His essence. This is the same light which shone forth from Christ during His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor.
St Gregory firmly held that God communicates with His creation through His uncreated energies and that the essence of God is unknowable. Thus he expressed the position of the Orthodox Church that there is a distinction between the essence and energies of God; saying that His essence is invisible and incomprehensible whereas His energies are visible and perceivable. Therefore, we are able to behold God through His energies but not in His essence. After suffering much and emerging victorious over the heretics, St Gregory Palamas was carried off by the Turks and remained in slavery to them for a year. But he used his time well and taught the Turks about Orthodoxy after which time he was liberated by the Christians and returned to his see in Thessalonica where he finished the good fight of this life and now rejoices eternally in the uncreated light of God together with the Angels and all the Saints.
The Church has placed St Gregory’s memory during the Fast because he was a Champion leader of noetic prayer. Each and every one of us should pray at all times of the day - Lord Jesus Christ; Son of God, have mercy on me- that one day we may be deemed worthy to behold God face to face in His uncreated light through the intercessions of our Father among the Saints Gregory Palamas and of all the Saints. Amen.