September 12, 2021
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
John 3:13-17 - "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (RSV)
Are You a Sheep or a Goat? – Many of the more careless sort, using the loving kindness of God towards men to increase the magnitude of their sins and the excess of their disregard, speak in this way saying: “There is no hell, no future punishment. God forgives all our sins….” But let us remember that there are two advents of Christ, one past, the other still to come. The first was not to judge us but to pardon us. The second will not be to pardon us but to judge us. It is of the first that He says: “I have not come to judge the world but to save the world.” But of the second He says: “When the Son shall come in the glory of His father, He will set the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.” (Mt 25:31) And the sheep will go into life and the goats into eternal punishment. (St. John Chrysostom)
The icon is of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14th).
