Homily

Glory is a word that means great fame or honor won by great achievements, and it also is the word used to describe magnificence, great beauty, grandeur. In Greek the word is Doxa—glory. And the ending of a prayer that gives glory to God, such as “For to You is due all glory, honor and worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever.” That kind of prayer ending is called a doxology, or “a word of glory.” In the Old Testament, after the Exodus, we are told that the glory of the Lord dwelt on Mt. Sinai. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem the sky was filled with angels and “the glory of the Lord shone round about them.” When the Lord was transfigured on Mt. Tabor Jesus shows Himself in glory, with Moses and Elijah. And at the beginning of St. John’s Gospel, which we will read on Easter morning, John writes, “We have seen His glory, glory that belongs to the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth.” Many times at Liturgy and at prayer we say, in one way or another, “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.”

God is infinite, with no beginning and no ending. He was not created but rather He is the Creator of all things, from the great expanse of the universe, down to the smallest of atoms and sub-atomic particles. Everything that exists is, in some way, an imperfect reflection of God Who is perfect in His very being. One of the reasons the Son of God became man was to reveal to us the Father’s glory, in His person, and to invite us to praise and enter into that glory. So, as Christians, we are called to live in that glory, for we carry the Divine Image within us, and in that way, the more we live in Christ, the more we reflect His glory in this world.

Sometimes we talk about giving God the glory, but in truth we cannot give Him what He already has. When we say, “Glory be to God,” we are simply declaring His glory, recognizing His glory, honoring His glory. We proclaim His honor for He has done all things good, and we proclaim His magnificence, beauty and grandeur. One of the prayer endings, doxologies, that we use is, “For to You is due all glory, honor and worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever.” We simply recognize and proclaim that ALL glory is due to God Who is all perfect in His glory. It is part of our vocation to proclaim that glory which is not a part of the material world, but can be seen as a reflection in the material world—a very beautiful sunset, the eclipse last year, a spectacular fireworks display, the birth of a little baby—all these things reflect the glory of God, but, sadly for us, we often fail to see that divine glory’s reflection, because we easily forget God, and instead of lifting up our eyes to heaven in praise we suffer from vertical blindness. We only see horizontally, to what is all around us, and we forget so easily where all of that came from, and Who it is that keeps it all in being. One of the reasons we worship is to remind ourselves of this great glory of the Lord and to recognize this glory in our own lives.

As you know, I have spent many days in Chicago these past few years and the Catholics there who I see all the time have a custom. If you call the Chancery office Sister Maria, or Petro Rudka will answer the phone, “Hello, St. Nicholas Chancery. Slava Isusu Christu! Glory to Jesus Christ!” When you meet Ukrainian Catholics there, they do not say “Hi” or “Good morning” but they say, “Slava Isusu Christu!” If I have to call one of them it’s expected I will say, “Slave Isusy Christu!” and they will answer “Slava na viki; Glory forever!” Even when I am walking down the street from time to time passersby, seeing my collar, will say to me, “Slava Isusu Cristu!” We live in a time where the word “God” and the name of Jesus Christ are used in films and in life on the street as a way to swear. There are many people in our country who ONLY hear the name of our Lord as a swear word. But we are the people who give glory to Jesus Christ.

Now in the Ruthenian Church where I come from, we always said “Glory to Jesus Christ,” but only in church. The custom of using it as a greeting in everyday life has died away. But Ukrainian Catholics still keep this venerable custom, as I experience all the time in Chicago, as well as in other places I may visit. And what a great custom it is. So I would like to integrate that custom here, that I greet you with “Glory to Jesus Christ” and you answer “Glory forever!” not just before and after the sermon, but as a regular way of greeting. It will take some time for me to develop that habit, and for you not to be surprised by it. I have been practicing on the servers for some weeks now, with mixed results both on my part and theirs. But it is our privilege, and our duty, and our honor to give glory to Jesus Christ, Our Savior and the Lover of Mankind.

So I ask you to reflect on the glory of God at Liturgy today and during the week I hope you will keep His glory in your thoughts and even on your lips, especially so that next Sunday we will be better prepared to welcome the King of Glory as He comes to Jerusalem to enter into the time of His Passion and Death.