In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This line from St. John the Baptist has been weighing heavily on my heart lately. I’m writing this on March 11th, 2026. The world right now is consumed by division, not just in the United States but in the entirety of the world. This division began in the garden. It has been rampant. I never understood until the veil was recently lifted for me. Satan’s grip on the world is much tighter than I anticipated. Our church has been fighting heresy for so long, but the true heresy that we have lost sight of is within our hearts.
My journey only had one goal, and that was to understand God with my brain. I thought that if I understood God in my head, it would lead me to Him. But Saint Cyril of Alexandria recently spoke to me through his writings and humbled me. As I was preparing my notes and breakdown of the Gospel of John, I was humbled.
“For it is not the part of a mind that loves truth to indulge in restless curiosity and to busy itself about words beyond what is fitting, but rather to receive with simplicity the things that are spoken by God.”
— St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book I
He warns that those who seek answers instead of truth will not only fail to find the answers but will not receive the truth, which is Christ Jesus.
It troubles me, all this death surrounding us, from the passing of the leader of Iran to a recent preacher, Mhir Mhir Zelalem. I thought I understood death. I thought it was something that just comes and goes. Luckily, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ broke down the door of eternal emptiness. But now something was not right.
I was recently reading the book Elements: The Transfiguration of Elijah, and in the first book, spoilers if you have not read it, the passing of his soon-to-be wife, his fiancée, and the passing of his parents, how sad it was, but not just sad, but sudden. This stirred my heart in ways that I could not understand. I had just read the chapter, and now my heart is being tuned by the words of Christ.
As I was reading through the life of Elijah, his past, his childhood, from being so close to God, being in communion with Him, that innocence he had as a child, as he was falling in love with this girl who brought him closer to the Lord, but then he lost it all, and how a moment like that is unexpected. The first thing that came to me was Christ’s words:
“Take, eat; this is my body.”
“Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
— Matthew 26
I then went back to that scripture and really tried to understand why Christ made this such a big deal. Christ defeated death and sin. That eternal separation is no longer. He opened the door at the end of the hallway wider. All you have to do is follow the right paths through the sacraments, and then at the end, the ultimate sacrament, the key, the Eucharist.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Kingdom is near.
This brings me to my concern. We, as members, especially clergy of the EOTC, have put many stumbling blocks in place and disguised them as traditions. What am I speaking of exactly? The restrictions to partake of the Eucharist.
Recently, I experienced something that I had never seen before. A fellow Deacon was nearly refused the Eucharist because he was not wearing liturgical garments. In an instance where garments could have been worn, I would understand, but there were none available. The situation became a serious issue simply because he was not wearing these liturgical clothes to partake. In the end, he was allowed to partake, but the fact that it almost prevented him from receiving the Eucharist did not sit right with me.
Brothers and sisters, I see a promising future with the next generation to come, but let us not repeat past issues. Let us please partake. Oftentimes, I hear people say they are not good enough to partake in the Holy Communion. Well, THAT’S EXACTLY WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE IT..
In saying this, I am not diminishing the purpose of confession. No, go to confession, but still partake. The warning about those who take the Eucharist unworthily was directed toward those who have weaponized their ignorance, not understanding the weight of what they consume. It refers to those who made their belly their god, which Paul also rebukes in his epistles, those who do not humble themselves before the altar.
Funny enough, recently we have all probably seen the interview between Father Lazarus and Chris Crawford, where he expressed how humble the Lord was, that He truly came to serve, that He became crumbs. He is speaking of the Eucharist. How are we meant to out-humble that? Obviously, we are not meant to do that, but we must examine ourselves before partaking.
A good example is like going to see a doctor. You are waiting in the emergency room, and as you sit there before seeing the doctor, before your name is called, you begin to recollect what you are going to say when the doctor asks you what is hurting. Moments of self-reflection are what Paul is speaking of. We are not meant to let these thoughts hold us back from partaking in what was shed for you, because it was not meant for you to reject it, but for you to receive it as Christ asks us to.
You have heard it said by Saint John Chrysostom that the church is not a courthouse for criminals but rather a hospital for the sick:
“The Church is a hospital and not a courtroom, for the Church does not condemn on account of sins, but grants remission of sins.”
— St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew
I’m going to use the hospital analogy again. What is a hospital without medicine? We are gathered there to be healed. Would you ever go to an emergency room and leave after just sitting in the waiting room for about two hours? Absolutely not. You would demand to see the doctor. You would demand medicine.
Physical illness, yes, you can feel it, and it’s urgent. But if you could see your soul cry, you’d want to partake every day. Your soul, the pain it feels, does not cry out through your flesh but is heard by our Heavenly Father. It cries so loud that God Himself took on flesh to destroy all things that block its way to eternal connection.
The church, Christ, our mother Church, also feels postpartum when your soul is troubled, just like how a human mother feels a deep connection with her child. Sometimes, my mother would tell me she would feel that I was not happy or that I was not feeling well, even if we were in two completely different places.
Our souls are in pain; the Church mourns. Please partake, my brothers and sisters. The Kingdom of Heaven is near.
Peace and blessings be unto you, and may the Lord accept you. Praise be to God. Amen.
Faith Unto Ages 