Anglican Orthodox Church of France

07/09/2026

"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28.

In the vestibule of the Johns Hopkins Hospital at Baltimore you can see a heroic figure of our Lord Jesus with outstretched and appealing hands. It represents Him in the act of speaking

these blessed words of His : "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Thus our compassionate Lord ought to stand always before us in the burdensome toil and trials of this life. When men attain to wealth and social distinction, their acquaintance is eagerly sought after; but no one cares for the poor, the sick, the lonely, the downtrodden, and forsaken. They bring no advantage, no personal gain to their friends. But it is just to these our Lord Jesus addresses His sweet invitation: "Come unto Me." Rich and poor, high or low, all are welcome ; but the hearts toiling and laboring at tasks they cannot master, groaning under the heavy burden of unforgiven sin or crushing grief and sorrow, they are His dearest brethren and sisters after the flesh to whom He would give rest, that is, whom He would revive and refresh. We know how He so kindly refreshes them with the blessed assurances of His pardon, and help, and mercy in His precious, holy Gospel, which is always the power of God unto salvation to every one that belie veth. Do we always in our troubles follow this kind invitation of our gracious Master which He has addressed also to us so often, or are we like the foolish peddler who continued to hold his heavy pack on his weary shoul-

ders while riding with the kind-hearted farmer who had picked him up on the road and was carrying him and his burden to town? If we can trust the Lord Jesus to take care of our mmortal souls, we can surely trust Him also with the far lighter burdens of this fleeting life. No matter what these burdens are — sickness, sorrow, poverty, sin, grief over departed friends and relatives, fear of the future or of death, — all, all we can bring with us to our compassionate Savior; for His invitation is clearly to all laboring and grieving hearts: "Come unto Me." "Whosoever cometh to Me," He says, "I will in no wise cast out."

 THE FAMILY ALTAR September 7. " He hath done all things well; He maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak ."  Mark 7: 3...

07/09/2026

SERMON for the 15th Sunday after Trinity
Galatians 6:11-18; Matthew 6:24-34

JESUS' CHOICE

There are people who do everything by halves, and who give up, despairing they could reach the goal. There are people who hesitate for a long time, sometimes for a lifetime, before making a definitive commitment. There are people who are afraid of everything, of the future and even of the present. We all know some of them. I am not talking here about the necessary trial periods, which are essential to judge a candidate's abilities "against the wall". I am speaking of those whom our Lord Jesus Christ invites to stop parochialism on both sides: They want to enter His Church to become saints, without leaving their old habits and worldly principles. They hope to be able to serve God and money indefinitely. But this is a fatal mistake!

What do we say when we recite the Lord's Prayer? (Matthew 6:10): “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” If we pray to “Our Father which art in heaven ... Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:9-10), we must renounce our own will, at least when it comes to spiritual things and their implications for our daily lives. It's just a matter of consistency. The Lord is not going to tell us how to cook our skewers, or when to wash our dishes. But He wants to change our habits and our way of thinking.

Jesus does not like money; He does not touch it with his own hands; He entrusts his purse to Judas. And Paul confirms this (1 Timothy 6:10-11): “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” The love of money leads to envy, false witness, theft, violence and murder, and ultimately to hatred of God who condemns these behaviors in His Ten Commandments. It is quite the opposite of Christian virtues. This is why our Lord says (Matthew 6:24c): “… You cannot serve God and mammon.” If you tell me that in our society we can no longer live in autarky and that "money is needed to live", if only to pay our taxes; I will answer you that money must remain a currency of exchange, and not an idol that one could keep at home, under the mattress or in the bank, accumulating it as if money were an end in itself, useful, praiseworthy, when it is just a mark of plain greed.

The world judges people by their possessions, their income, their purchasing power. We think we can rise in society by increasing our income and possessions, but this is to rise in the hierarchy of hell. For by ascending into the kingdom of Satan, one distances oneself from the kingdom of God (Matthew 23:12): “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” This is why Jesus says that “You cannot serve God and mammon.” In any case, we will not take anything with us into the Kingdom of God; nothing that we have bought, accumulated, saved. It is well known, and we see it every day: the rich have an easy life, but they are not happy because they are consumed by worries, the constant anxiety of losing everything or even a part of their possessions. Christ speaks of the spirit of poverty in His Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3: “Blessed the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is even the first bliss on the list! We should never get attached to money, because it is by this means that Satan lures us to hell (Luke 12:34): “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Let us be like Job when he said (Job 1:21): “… Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Even Abraham, the father of believers, was concerned about his great possessions with the Lord (Genesis 15:3): “And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.” Abraham was tempted, which is to say that we are all tempted by Money, in other words: we are all more or less attracted to Satan.

Christ has given us medicines: first of all, His example. He despised money and refused to touch it, preferring to die on a cross than give in to Judas' passion for money. Then we must pray every day, all mornings and evenings, in order to resist temptation (Matthew 26:41): “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Finally, we must nourish our minds with the Word of God, read, taught and preached. The Bible frees us from temptation, focusing our spirits on higher targets. The Bible is the written Word of God, and Jesus Christ is the Word of God, incarnate. Both free us from Satan, from his works of pride, to orient us and direct us towards the Kingdom of Heaven, in truth. As believers, we have this hope, founded on the Rock of Christ's promises; Christ is that Rock from which flow rivers of living water (1 Corinthians 10:4): “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” And we will be like Him, springs of living water that preach the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour (John 7:38): “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Jesus tells us not to worry. However, it takes a good deal of faith to let completely go and rely on our Father in Heaven for all our real needs, not just spiritual ones. But let this not become an excuse for laziness! God does not forbid us to work, as Paul and his companions give us an example by confessing: “And labour, working with our own hands…” (1 Corinthians 4:12a). Manual work occupies the hands and keeps them away from evil deeds... Blessed are the do-it-yourselfers, gardeners, cooks, musicians and all those who occupy their hands with healthy activities! Among the rabbis, manual work is obligatory, because it is repetitive and allows to think about God by freeing the mind.

(Matthew 6:31-32…34): “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things ... Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Our Father in Heaven knows. He knows everything. And He blesses those who are faithful to Him. What more do we need to be freed from all care, from all anxiety? Let us trust Him, and all will be well (Matthew 6:33): “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” With such a promise, we are the richest on earth! We are sure to have something to eat, drink and dress. This is the essential thing to keep us alive and in society. It is when these things are lacking that believers benefit from small miracles that defy reason, and find themselves provided by divine providence. God's grace provides for everything, and God abandons us only if we abandon Him in the first place.

After trust, comes confidence. Our Father in heaven has given us faith and strength to bear witness with our lives, and to resist those who would convert us to other religions of the Book, or force us to practices contrary to our Christian faith. This is how Paul judges and condemns without hesitation those who want to circumcise Christians on the grounds of religion. Jews and Muslims altogether share this will. This is why Paul comforts us: circumcision is nothing in itself. It saves no one in itself; it condemns no one in itself. It is just a rite that has become obsolete with baptism, which is a universal spiritual circumcision, concerning both girls and boys (John 6:63): “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing...”

And this is so true that those circumcised for reasons of religion do not obey God, do not recognize His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, and persecute His faithful for whomever they can, thinking that they are doing the right thing (John 16:2-3): “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.” There is therefore no reason to boast about circumcision, nor to envy the circumcised. With baptism, we have a better sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham, provided that the teaching of God's Word follows it.

And Paul is the first to find nothing glorious in his own circumcision (Galatians 6:14): “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Here, Paul is referring to the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. His death is the amputation of the wholesome body, and not only of the fo****in. The death of the fo****in symbolizes the death of the body. This is how we are baptized into death, but into the death of Christ (Romans 6:3-5): “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” And Paul adds: (Galatians 6:15): “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”

Sorrowful spirits will see in the following verse a whim of Paul, seeking to impose his personal dictatorship on Christians (Galatians 6:16b): “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” The question is whether “this rule” is of divine or human origin. It is a serious question, because it has caused a lot of ink and blood to be spilled. Let's remember the rule (Galatians 6:15): “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” Does it come from Paul or from Christ? The answer is quite clear, and you know it because we have already mentioned it (John 6:63a): “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing…” Paul is therefore inspired by the Spirit of Christ when he writes to the churches. The rule is that what is spiritual is more important than what is carnal, for God is Spirit and " the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6c).

Incidentally, Paul then speaks of the stigmata of the cross that he would have had. This would not be an isolated occurrence, for others had the same. He makes this request: (Galatians 6:17): “From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” One might think of circumcision, because Paul and Jesus were both circumcised like any Jewish boy. Now Paul is not speaking of one mark but of several marks of Jesus. He does not specify the number or the place on his body. We are reduced to suppositions; The fact remains that he claims to have these marks on his body, which no one disputes.

Paul's Epistle to the Galatians ends with a blessing (Galatians 6:18): “Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen…” And this blessing is spiritual. He does not say, "May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, nor with your body," but that grace be with your spirit. Finally, here we have confirmation that our spirit is the most important thing that the Creator God has given us. This is our main asset. It is our spirit that we must cultivate, nourish with the Word of God and water in the same way, and God will make it bear fruit.

The mind is superior to the body. The spirit is stronger than the flesh. Our mind has no muscle, but it does benefit from the grace of an eternal and all-powerful God. This is the choice of our Creator and Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord and Savior.

My friends, let us rid ourselves of all our cares; let us cast them at the foot of the Cross of Christ, and He will destroy them with Him, dragging them into His painful death. It will be a great grace given to you. Christ will do this for us because He loves us. And nothing and no one will be able to stop Him, for Christ loves all those whom the Father has given Him (John 10:27-30): “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” Let us be faithful and thankful to Him, and let us praise His holy name, for to Him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, belong the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen.

Rt. Rev. Yves Méra, AOC Bishop of France.

03/09/2026

"And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?" Luke 24:32.

One need not travel far to discover that a sinful levity characterizes our time and age. While all men know that they are on the way to death, that eternity is rushing to meet them, that they will never, never "pass this way" again, yet so few of them care to know where their eternity will be spent. It seems to cause them no concern whether they are going to the abode of Christ's blessed saints in heaven, or to the fearful pit where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. But let us not be deceived by their outward optimism. In spite of their display of levity and gayety these people carry about with them a heart either burning with carnal lusts, or a heart that is heavy with some inconsolable grief and weighed down with despair. How happy are we if, by God's saving grace, we have our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with His quickening Word as our traveling companion on our way through life, as the two disciples going to Emmaus on Easter Eve had Him on their way! Then the joyous experience of these disciples will be ours. Though our hearts often grow weak in faith, though doubts and fears assail us, though grief and sorrow oppress us, still shall we then know where we are going ; for the risen Lord with His sweet Word divine will assure us of our pardon and peace with God, strengthen our wavering faith, comfort us as one is comforted by his mother, in all the painful experiences of our pilgrim way, and safely lead us through the frowning portals of death into the mansions above, where there is neither night nor sorrow nor sin forevermore. How often our hearts burn now when listening to His blessed words ! But oh, how our hearts will burn when we shall see Him face to face ! Oh, let us ask Him daily in humble faith also to abide with us, and pray : —

O Jesus, Savior, hear our cry! We, too,

Are weary travelers on life's rough path,

And Thou art still unchangeably the same.

Come, Lord, to us, and let us walk with Thee;

Come and unfold the words of heavenly life,

Till our souls burn within us, and the day

Breaks, and the Day-star rises in our hearts.

Yes, Lord, abide with us, rending the veil

Which hides Thee from the loving eye of faith,

Dwell with us to the world's end evermore,

Until Thou callest us to dwell with Thee, Amen.

The center of the Traditional Anglican Communion; adhering to the Holy Bible (KJV) in all matters of Faith and Doctrine, a strict reliance on the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion, The two Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, the Two Creeds, and the Homilies and formularies of the Reformation Ch...

02/09/2026

September 2.

"Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." Mark 10:14



God bless the little children ! What eloquent preachers they are for us older people with their unquestioning trust in our care and love. Do they not daily remind us of our Lord's saying: "Except ye become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven"? How many a man and woman has learned to pray again from their own soul while teaching their darling to lisp its first prayer ! And how the unselfish and incessant care of the little ones teaches us elders forbearance and patience and simplicity ! What a strong bond of affection they establish between all members of the household! Verily, Luther is right when he says, we old folks eat with the little ones and not the little ones with us. For their sake, that we might supply their wants, God protects and blesses us, their guardians. And what a sweet comfort they prove in hours of deepest affliction to many a grieving heart! Truly, children are a gift of God, and parents cannot be too thankful for them. Yet it is awful to think how many of our American parents neglect their most sacred duty to their children by not bringing them to their Savior in Baptism and later to faithful instruction in His holy, saving Word. They are robbing their children of the divine right of being brought early to their Savior and will have to give account to their God one day for their negligence. Again, how many parents are so careless about their acts or words in the presence of their little ones, forgetting that they can give great offense to Christ's blood-bought little lambs! "Take heed," our Savior warns, "that ye despise not one of these little ones ; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven. For the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost." Matt. 18, 10—12.)



Thank God for little children!

When our skies are cold and gray,

They fling a sunshine o'er our hearts,

And charm our cares away.

Dear mothers, guard these jewels

As sacred offerings meet,

A wealth of household treasures,

To lay at Jesus' feet.

The center of the Traditional Anglican Communion; adhering to the Holy Bible (KJV) in all matters of Faith and Doctrine, a strict reliance on the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion, The two Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, the Two Creeds, and the Homilies and formularies of the Reformation Ch...

02/09/2026

SERMON for the 14th Sunday after Trinity
Galatians 5:16-24; Luke 17:11-19

LIVING FOR GOD

One in ten... ten percent of Christians live for God. How about the others? Nine out of ten, 90%, are spiritually dead. The churches are filled with corpses. I am not talking about the tombs of dignitaries who can be buried there, but about the faithful, regular worshippers, but notorious non-practitioners in their daily lives, as Paul denounces them in his Epistle to the Galatians, whom he criticizes for living according to the flesh and not to the Spirit of God. They are like those nine l***rs who were healed at a distance by our Lord Jesus Christ, and yet went on their own way as before, whereas only one, a Samaritan despised by the Israelites, was converted to Christ by changing the direction in his life to come back to Christ, praising and thanking God for His greater blessings and smaller benefits. He really and concretely considered Christ as THE Lord.

Faith is indeed trusting in God to the point of letting Him take the direction of our lives, whether it is our big affairs or our tiny daily worries. When we fly, we trust the pilot to take us to the heights of the sky and land us safely. We submit to his will, without recrimination, because he decides to disembark a sick passenger or to have an engine that refuses to start properly serviced, each time causing a delay of a few hours. This pilot watches over us, and does not throw tantrums: he respects the flight instructions himself, and always acts for our greatest good.

Is Jesus Christ the pilot of your life, the captain of your boat? If the captain of the Titanic had listened to the warnings given to him by radio about the danger of icebergs drifting in his direction, instead of walling himself up in pride and doing as he pleased, the Titanic would not have sunk and turned into a marine graveyard. Christ is the only good Master, and we would be wrong not to submit to His will, expressed in the first place in the Gospel and the other inspired texts of the New Testament, containing all kinds of warnings. We see too many so-called Christians ignoring the poor, being harsh with the weak and hypocritical with the powerful. This is a regrettable counter-witness that has distanced many from the Church, from the Word of God, and from faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Another fault of these façade Christians is their habit of imposing their traditions, rites and habits on others, with an unforgivable spirit of judgment, since they forgive nothing to others. In Corinth, Jewish converts claimed to circumcise Christians coming from paganism, to make them Judeo-Christians in accordance with the Law of Moses (Galatians 5:2,6): “Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” The devil hides in details, even in our intimacy.

Paul therefore insists on the witness and discernment of the spirits (Matthew 7:16-20): “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” One of two things: either the behavior of Christians, and in the first place of their pastors, is in accordance with the gospel of Christ, and then run to listen to them, or it is not, and then flee away from them as far as you can. Why do so many Christians crowd with deviant preachers? Simply because they like to hear what pleases them, flatters them, and comforts them in their evil way (2 Timothy 4:3-4): “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

As for us who have the Spirit of Christ, let us be content with what is written in the Bible, including the Epistles of Paul (Galatians 5:16-17a): “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other...” What is in conformity with the Gospel in “... Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like “? “… they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5/19b21a, c).

A good witness is noted in “… love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance…” (Galatians 5:22). This is the fruit of the Spirit, and there is only one Holy Spirit, the third divine person of the Holy Trinity and God Himself (Galatians 5:25): “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Let the "Holy Spirit" pilot lift us up on the wings of faith in Jesus Christ, our only Savior and Lord. But let us not boast of a superiority - real or feigned - that does not come from God and only serves to discourage the young sheep of the Lord who are still weak and walk behind the flock in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd (Galatians 5:26): “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”, Paul said again.

When Christ ascends the mountain on which Jerusalem is built to be sacrificed as the Passover Lamb, he follows the border between the Galilee of the Israelites and the Samaria of their heartfully hated cousins. Inevitably, He will meet people from both populations (Luke 17:12): “And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were l***rs, which stood afar off” The Law of Moses required l***rs to keep away from the healthy, so as not to contaminate them (Leviticus 13:45-46): “And the l***r in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.” The l***rs, Jews and Samaritans altogether, scrupulously apply the Law of Moses: they keep their distance from the Master, while praying that He heal them of their impurity. The Law of Moses does not cure them of leprosy, nor does circumcision save them. (Luke 17:13): “And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And why then do they make this unanimous request to Him? Because they are all affected by the same evil; they are l***rs, all ten of them.

All men are unclean before God, until God purifies them through baptism by imparting to them a share of His Spirit of Truth. All men are unrepentant sinners until they repent and do penance. All men should cry out to God, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” All men should fill the churches to hear the preaching of the Word of God, which alone can restore them and put them back on the right path of truth and charity. But the vast majority do not want to, or do not dare, for fear that their illness will be revealed in public. It feels uneasy when a new convert proclaims the list of his sins before a Baptist congregation. Is it not better to keep quiet about evil and speak of the good things such as the acts and word of God? Why give so much publicity to Satan? Is it not enough to read the Bible to know what ignominies sinners are capable of? Let us not advocate for the devil, let us keep silent about evil, but let us preach the Word of God that sets us free from all evil (John 8:31-32): “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” By converting, one turns the page and buries the past deep into the ground (Galatians 6:15): “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” And it is not by blessing evil, nor by marrying bicycles (yes: 2 pedals) that we get new creatures in the end. This can only be done by conforming to the gospel of Christ. So, it is the Gospel that must be proclaimed, not sin. This is the reason why the Book of Common Prayer excludes scabrous passages from public readings, in order to avoid giving unhealthy ideas to the congregation, to the weakest and to children.

Let us preach Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ crucified. Where do you see written in the Gospel that Christ required a confession other than spontaneous? Even Zacchaeus did not reveal everything about his crimes. He could have said: I extorted so-and-so from so much money, deceived so-and-so about his rights, stole the cloak of Lazarus, the poor man's sheep (2 Samuel 12:4): “And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.”, I had Naboth killed to take his vineyard (1 Kings 21/13-16): “And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it”, etc. No, Zacchaeus simply said, “and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” (Luke 19:8c), period. And even to the adulterous woman, Jesus does not ask to reveal the details of her previous life, we easily suspect that she lived in sin and lucre. Our Lord simply says to her (John 8:11c): “Go, and sin no more.” This is a word that liberates! The past is crossed out and the penitent is lifted up, inviting her to look further, higher, hoping in the Lord and living in gratitude and fidelity to the divine Master: Jesus Christ, crucified in her place and risen in eternity to manifest her definitive forgiveness, once for all.

Nine l***rs healed by the same Jesus Christ persisted on their little way and went to show themselves to the priests, to obtain their reinstatement among the people. Only one took the time to come back to Christ, understanding that there was more than a priest in Christ Jesus. Christ is indeed the eternally living sacrifice that definitively purifies the faithful elect. Christ is God and man. As a man, Christ suffered torture and death; and as God, He overcame this same death by rising again from the dead on the third day. This is what sinners need to hear. This is the sermon that Christian congregations should listen to. All of us need to humble ourselves and always come back to Christ. It is absolutely necessary for us to understand that we all were just prisoners of evil, and Jesus confirms this by commanding us to pray by saying in the Lord’s Prayer: “deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13) How can you deliver free men? That would be pushing open doors! If we ask to be delivered, it is because this world is a prison of which Satan is the jailer. Let us therefore have compassion on the prisoners of the devil by teaching them the Truth that frees from evil: The Gospel of Truth.

Then we will be able to say to those who repent, this liberating word that our Lord Jesus addressed to the only l***r (a Samaritan, on top of all) who came to thank and praise Him after having recognized that Christ is God: “And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” Yes, the grace of God fell on this l***r Samaritan on his way to show himself to the priests of the Temple in Jerusalem - not on the others, even though they were healed at the same time as him, and in the same manner. And it was certainly not an effect of his own will, but a result of divine election, if he “... fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks...” (Luke 17:16). And the others didn't? As Israelites, no doubt they thought that God's blessings were in store for them only. They took their healing as a due, or a benefit they deserved, as sons of Abraham and scrupulous observers of the Law of Moses. But if they were healed, they were not saved. Let us beware of a mystical religiosity that would make too much room for miracles. Rather than ostentation and the spectacular, our Lord Jesus Christ prefers discretion and intimacy of heart (Luke 17:20b-21): “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” It is in the hearts of believers. Let's not just believe. Let us live for God in gratitude, praise, hope, and obedience. This will be our life of faith, and our best Christian witness. Amen.

Rt. Rev. Yves Méra, AOC Bishop of France.