Archbishop Alexander (Nehodenko)

.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear brothers and sisters!

Today we talk about the faith and the deeds. When we believe we consume in some way, we take. We say: "Oh Lord, I believe in You! Help me!" When we believe, when we take God as the energy, the truth, almost for 99% we always say: "God, Help us! Help me to do this or that..." We have a consumer-oriented mood to use God. If we do not give. Good deeds are the process of giving, it is love... If we have only faith and we only consume, consume and consume, we do not give back, so this God's energy starts to function in us in a different way. We become fanatics in some way. We become like that people, who say that they will kill all other people, because their faith is better. Do you understand?

If there is no love in the soul, so there is no process of perceiving and giving.Good deeds are our love. We do the right things not because we put some ticks. When the person does so, he crosses these good deeds. We do good things because of great love, because of desire to help to a neighbor. The same way as those four men, who brought the paralytic, did. Do you understand? They dismantled the roof. What is it? They had faith! However, they would have not done that, if they had not had love for that man, who was paralyzed for many years. Maybe they were watching during 30 years how this man suffered. We all have seen these paralytic people and the tears appeared on our eyes, because they can do nothing. If that man lied in front of their eyes for many years, they wanted to help him. But they didn't know how. Then the prophet appeared, the great prophet, who could do miracles. Faith appeared, love appeared in their souls. And that is why the circulation of energy went on. Such sound circulation, which must have every person, every Christian. Take from God! As the greatest energy, which we are able to take, is the energy of God, the energy of the Creator. And give back! If we do not give, we turn into the bog. As we work only for ourselves. And then we become selfish. We take, take... "Oh Lord, give us more and more! Oh God, I want wealth, car!" And we take and take. But why do we need that if later it turns into the rust? It decomposes in us... We start to smell badly. Faith is good, but without love it is not. The great and strong energy comes through our faith, but you must make continuation. We are the continuation of the God's work on the Earth. We should do the same things, which Our Lord did, we should do good deeds. We can do it only through love and faith. As these two things are like wings of one bird, which flies to God: the faith and good deeds.

And Apostles remind us all the time: "Believe and do like the Lord did." Like He did, although He knew that He would be killed, He would suffer. But despite that, He did, because He knew that people needed it. He brought knowledge and they must have been given to people. Through what? Through the great suffer, which Jesus felt. Nobody could understand why He did it. Every man wanted to see Him on the king's throne. But He brought knowledge, which must go deep inside people's consciousness so hard that people remember about it. When He was killed, the energy of death came in Him, then a lot of people understood the reason. People looked at Jesus and they finally had understood why everything happened in such a way. He came, brought knowledge, was killed and rose from death. This is the great blessing for people. That people could not be afraid that to suffer for good deeds. They will be redeemed. Lord said: "Who will give his soul for me..." Who will give soul for the deed, for the energy, for which He was not afraid to give Himself. God do not expect from us the same sufferings, which Jesus had. But He wants us to do a little bit...

We always take the God's energy, when we appeal to Him. God always give us. When a man asks: "Oh Lord, give me happiness in my life!" He does not say: "I will not give you!" It is clear that happiness will be given to us. But, if we say: "Give me millions!" It is clear that He will not give, because it will ruin our soul. But He will give us understanding. Now we all are sitting and we are in this God's energy, God's grace, because it came upon us. Maybe it is stronger for someone and weaker for another. But we all feel this blessing, as if God is sitting near us now. As if He is sitting. It is the greatest thing - mysticism, which is very strong in the Orthodoxy and generally in the Christianity. We should understand that spiritually we can be near God, we can feel Him, but it is not enough. He says: "Create! Make good deeds, the same as I did! What he did? Light! What? Good deeds! What? He brought happiness to people! Then your hearts will be full enough. Full of what? Of the grace, all that light, which is in Me, in My Son, which I brought to you." That is why create the light. That one, who makes light, is the God's man. And it is the great honor to be God's man on the Earth. May God save you!

May God bless you!