Fr. Martin Halík: “God wants us to be close to each other"

On 23 November, the Orthodox parish in Markovce heard a deep and very human sermon by Fr. Martin Halík, who reminded the faithful what spiritual closeness, love and patience between people mean.

The Orthodox parish in Markovce published on its Facebook page the sermon of Fr. Martin Halík from Sunday, 23 November. We are publishing the full transcript for our readers

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. Dear brothers and sisters, it is already a week since the fast began for us. Step by step we are preparing for the coming of Christ, the Saviour, as we sing at the prayer services.

And at the same time we are being taught what is wise to do and what is unwise to do. In today's Gospel we see that even if a person is rich, even if he has everything, tomorrow he may be dead, and of all that he has he will have nothing. Sometimes we envy others.

There in Gemer, where we served, there was a man who employed many people. He employed many people and he was rich. But only those who were close to him and who worked with him knew that he was unhappy. Because his wife spent that money, she was like that, she was not honest, and he had nothing but trouble with her.

We often envy someone when we see that he is doing well. But then, when you get to know that person better, you find out that, for example, he is suffering from cancer and does not know whether he will be here the next day, whether he will be here in a week.

Illness spares neither the poor nor the rich. Misfortune in families spares neither the poor nor the rich. And often each of us has our own trouble that God has allowed, but at the same time God always gives us a way through those troubles.

He gives a way as well. He says: “Come to me, all who are burdened. Come to me, all for whom things are hard. And I will… I will help you.”

That is why we go to church roughly every week. God commanded us to go to church on Sunday, but He did not command it as some kind of tyrant. He commanded it because He knows that we must rest. That we must draw strength. We must be refreshed.

Sometimes it happens that someone works, works, works, and now he does not even feel like eating, he does not even feel like drinking, but his mother tells him: “Eat something, go and have a drink, take a break.” And God says the same to us: “On Sunday take a break, go to church, go and pray.” So that we do not think all the time about those earthly things that trouble us, that are necessary – food, drink, clothing, a house. But so that we also think about the spiritual things.

So I have heard that when someone is at work, he listens. People listen beautifully. I have also seen that when someone has a boss, the boss says something and everyone says: “Yes, yes, perfect, well said.” Even if in his head he may think it is rubbish. But he learns that obedience beautifully, and people obey beautifully at work. And then he knows what is important. Not the work part, but the personal part.

When I come home, where I have my family, I tell myself: “Here at work I will somehow put up with it, I will manage, I will obey, so that I have no problems, so that I have no worries, and I will come home, and that is where the main thing is.” And now at home. And God tells us: “At home, too, listen. Listen to your husband. Children, listen to your parents. Listen to them.”

And it does not matter that not everything gets sorted out. It does not matter that not everything will be perfect. Listen and do not quarrel. Do not scold. Listen as if you were at work, and focus on the main thing. The main thing is the spiritual. On God.

And when we listen at work and then have everything at work in peace, then we have calm, then we can focus on the things at home. When we listen at home, then we have no quarrels at home and we can focus on the spiritual things. On the main thing.

Because, as we see, even if someone has a lot and piles up a lot of food, and drink, and money, so that he can have for himself as much as he needs, it may be of no use to him at all. Christ says: when is it of no use to him? When he hoarded it for himself.

So people often do this: they store up for their children. They want their children to be well off. And that is beautiful. Everyone has the right to that. To store up for their children, to put aside for their children, and that is beautiful. So we do not store up for ourselves.

But it is still our family. And God wants something more from us. That we would also store up for the Lord God. That we would also serve the One who gave us everything, who arranged work for us, who gave us health, who gave us life. So we help the Church, or we help the suffering poor, in whom Christ, God, is revealed to us.

So, dear brothers and sisters, may God truly grant that we do not serve ourselves, but serve the Lord God. On Sunday they heard God, they came to church, as the Lord God commands us, but they realised that it is not because he does not love us, or because he wants something from us. He does it, like a good mother, because he wants us to rest, to draw strength, to be close to him.

And so he also invites us to come to confession, because in confession we can throw everything off ourselves. All those sins that weigh on us, all those words we said and did not even mean to say. All those heavy things, so that we can throw them off, so that we can leave church so light and gather strength again for the next week.

And Christ, God, like a mother, wants to have us near. Everyone wants to have their children near. And Christ wants us to be near him. So near that he turns into bread, so that he can enter our unclean, dirty mouths and be in us. That is how near he wants to be to us. If we saw him, we could not receive it. If we knew what this communion is, we would all fall to the ground. If we understood how great that nearness is.

But he comes as ordinary bread, so that we can bear it all. So that we could receive him, because he wants to have us that close. As parents want to have their children near. Christ is in the midst of us.