Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

First, beloved of the Lord, let me greet all of you for being here tonight on behalf of the parish, and also to congratulate you on assuming this ministry and mission, which often feels and appears to be without hope. You see, what you’re doing [with] your involvement in this work is prophetic, and you remember how the prophets normally ended up. [Laughter] I’m hoping for each of you there will be a fiery chariot. [Laughter]

I read the program, and it says that I am the guest speaker here tonight. [Laughter] The last time I was invited to speak at a pro-life thing in January was nearly 40 years ago. It was in Truro, Virginia, right before the March the next day in the Capitol. I was part of a team—it seems to me there were six or seven of us who spoke at that big rally. I spoke last, and I think they intended for me to get everybody all fired up, and I hope I did that, but I remember some of the other speakers who spoke right before me, who were on the team. Everett Koop, for example, who was the surgeon general of the United States; Jerry Falwell, the well-known evangelist back in those days; Bernard Nathanson, a former abortion doctor who became extremely pro-life after he discovered God. It was at that rally, by the way, that he first declared he believed in God, his first time he declared he believed in God!

There’s so may things I want to say, I’m going to have to tie myself to the Scriptures as best I can, because otherwise… And I was sure— I thought: I won’t need any notes. I need notes for control! [Laughter] Because you just turn me loose on this without anything… boy, you’d miss breakfast tomorrow. [Laughter]

Tonight I want to talk to you about the mind’s contract—its compact, its contract, its beriyth, its covenant—with reality. The mind was made for reality, created reality. Reality is in danger right now, and creation has already been rejected even as a concept. We’re dealing with the current and common notion that knowledge is the product of thought instead of the recognition of light. We might call knowledge, this knowledge, man-made, except it’s risky to use the word “man” these days. [Laughter]

Created reality, beloved in the Lord, is a product of light. Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz. In the beginning, God created heaven and the earth. Waha’aresh, hayetah tohu wavohu, wehoshek ‘al-pene tehohm. And the world was tohu; the earth was tohu wavohu: very mixed up: confusion, chaos, and there was darkness everywhere. Hoshek ‘al-pene tehohm Darkness was on the face of the depths. Then God speaks God’s first word Wayyomer Elohim yahi owr—yahi owr. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. What is this light? He’s not going to create the sun and the moon for three more days. What is this light? “Genithyto phos,” says the Septuagint. “Genithyto phos, kai egeneto phos.” What is this light?

Of course, it’s the same light that appears in the first chapter of the gospel of John, the light we read about as our gospel reading for the night of Pascha, that night of nights, when the light shines in the darkness. This is the light of reality, because all things are created in the Logos. That’s what distinguishes us from Muslims. This great mythology, which I’m afraid that too many Orthodox have bought, that we worship the same god as the Muslims, the same God as us? They don’t think so. They know better! [Laughter] The God we worship is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. If it’s not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, then it is a false god.

This is the beginning, however, of created reality, where God creates the internal truth of reality. This is God’s first activity, his first energeia; that’s the first expression of energeia, God’s activity, in the world, his first activity outside himself. Everything else emanates from this light. He speaks this light into creation and makes it real. And God determines that this light will have nothing to do with darkness; this darkness, this hoshek, this skotos in the Greek, has nothing to do with light. Paul made that very point when he asked the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 6), “Tis de koinonia photi pros skotos. Can there be—” What is koinonia?—“What fellowship, what communion, is there between light and darkness?” It was very interesting. He says that with respect to marriage; that’s the context in which he speaks of it. No fellowship between light and darkness. I’m not sure I like the word “fellowship” very much. For me it suggests something rather frivolous. I prefer the Latin word “communion.”

There must be no confusion of darkness with light. There is no middle ground. They have nothing to do with one another. Between them, there is no koinonia; there is no compromise. There is no inch of room for discussion. We cannot come to some meeting of the minds, some neutral position. It is all in. God divides and separates light from darkness. Wayyabdel elohim, ben haowr uben hahoshek. And God separates the light from the darkness. They have nothing to do with one another. The light is reality as God creates it. We can know it because of his gift of inner light that we have as human beings. It has nothing to do with chaos and the confusion of darkness.

Now on the final day of creation, God makes one creature on whom he endows the capacity to perceive the light that emanates from reality, to recognize the difference between light and darkness. He makes this creature in his own image and likeness.

And now, for the first time, the Bible speaks of sex. Although sex is found in both animals and plants, the creation account does not speak of sex except in relationship to human beings. “Zakar uneqebah bara otam.. Male and female he created them”: The first time it speaks of sex.

By the way—this is a parenthesis—the Greek expression there the Septuagint, arsen kai thylu, male and female, is not a combination that’s found very often in the Bible. It’s interesting that the two places where it really stands out is in the book of Leviticus when it talks about sexual perversion, and these two terms are used; also in Romans 1, first chapter of Romans.

The very first commandment the human race receives from God is about sex. “Increase and multiply.” Increase and multiply. This is always in the Church considered to be both a blessing and a command. There’s not a trace in the entire Christian tradition—there’s not a trace of dissent on this point, that sex must never—on the human side sex must never be divorced from procreation. They have to go together. God can get the child. We don’t try to have babies; God gives the baby. God wants us to do our part, but we must never, ever put an impediment to the activity of God, that is, locking God out of the bedroom. There’ll be no blessings on any household where God is locked out of the bedroom.

This has always been considered a command. There was never any dissent in the Fathers of the Church, East or West, Catholic or Orthodox—no dissent anywhere—until the 20th century, specifically 1930, the Lambeth Synod of 1930. This was an Anglican synod. In 1930, the Lambeth Synod said there might be some occasion for contraception, might, by rare exception. 1930. It’s interesting that the Anglican bishops said that in 1930. Last week, just this past week, those bishops decided that men can be married to men and women to women. It’s a logical progression. It’s a logical progression. That was in 1930, less than a hundred years ago. There was full consent among all Christians of every stripe—Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, all of them. They didn’t always agree about the Trinity or agree about Christ, but on that point they all agreed. That was a command without exception.

In 1965, in reaction—was it 1965 or am I confusing my dates?

C1: The date of what, the encyclical?

Fr. Patrick: The encyclical.

C1: 1965.

Fr. Patrick: 1965, yeah. There were several major statements by church leaders in reaction to this in 1965. I wanted to make sure I had my dates right, because we’re dealing here with my memory. The most notable of these was the encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae. That was quickly followed by similar statements from each of the Orthodox patriarchates, first of all by the Ecumenical Patriarch himself, and the holy synod of Constantinople put out a joint statement. The reason I wanted the dates right was because I remember when I was in Rome, and it was 1965, and that’s when I met Patriarch Athenagoras, in 1965. He had just issued his own statement in support of what the pope said. That has always been the official teaching of the Orthodox Church, always, no exceptions—until people start to stray from the faith some time in the late 20th century. But it is a straying from the faith.

For the first time in Christian history, a group of bishops separated sex from procreation. It was a sin against the light. As I say, last week the sons of Lambeth— [Baby cries] That child: way to go! [Laughter] I appreciate hearing that enthusiasm for this sermon. These are really very sweet people. I think when the fathers of Lambeth met in 1930, they could not possibly have foreseen the evils they had unleashed. Everything else has flowed from that.

As soon as sex is separated from procreation, there’s no reason any more whatsoever that sex has to be between a man and a woman; there’s no reason whatsoever. It now becomes quite arbitrary, quite flexible now. You see, on the question of sex, the world has returned to tohu wavohu, to confusion and chaos. Children are now the disposable by-products. The marriage is not for the procreation of children; the children are now disposable by-products. Once God was locked out of the bedroom, everything quickly turned to confusion. And this has all happened in my adult life.

Once we replace sex with gender, all bets were off. I said some similar things in Corpus Christi in June of last year to a group of Lutherans. I will not be invited back. [Laughter] But I was reacting to— There was a team of six of us. I was reacting to a statement by one of the Roman Catholic contributors there. This lady was the head of her theology department. She had made references to the male gender. I said, “Pardon me. There is no such thing as a male gender. There’s a masculine gender, and it has to do with grammar. Human beings were not created according to the laws of grammar, but physical laws, biological laws.” [Laughter]

Once we replace sex with gender—because gender is malleable. The word for “little girl” in German is das Mädchen, is neuter. All the little girls I ever met were quite feminine.

Now, beloved in the Lord, we have a sick society, in which elementary biology is ignored. Now, who is paying the price for this insanity? Little children are paying the price for this insanity. Babies. Little babies made in God’s image and likeness. Once again, we see the sacrifice of children on the altar of Baal.

The founding fathers of this country were quite explicit they were trying to re-found the Roman Republic. That’s everywhere; we see that everywhere. Am I right on that, guys? You know your literature. They tried to re-found the Roman Republic. Jefferson, Adams, all of them: re-found the Roman Republic. What do we have now? Carthage. The wrong side has won the recent Punic War: Carthage. At the base of this predicament, this horrible thing, is the sacrifice of little kids, made in God’s image and likeness. At the base of this, the core problem is idolatry, worshiping the Punic gods, worshiping the god of Tyre and Sidon.

Recently I was watching the news, which is a depressing thing to do these days, and the secretary of the treasury of the United States, she said that abortion is good for the economy. I’m glad she had the honesty to admit what it’s all about. The little children, their little bodies have to be used to grease the tracks of industry. It’s a false god. I’m glad that the people in charge of this ministry decided that we weren’t going to stop it just because the Supreme Court finally got something right, because the problem still persists. It’s a deeper problem, however. God will not pour his blessings on any people that slaughters children. They can expect nothing good from God; there will be no blessings.

Which will bring me back to Elijah; it brings me back to Mount Carmel—which God are we going to serve? Because there is no koinonia between light and darkness. Which God are we going to serve? That’s what Elijah says: Decide. Decide. And then remember they had a little bit of friendly competition? And after Elijah brings that three and a half years of drought to an end with a simple prayer, he looks out over the sea; from Mt. Carmel he looks out over the sea, and sees a cloud the size of a man’s hand. He turns to Ahab and says, “We’d better move. There’s going to be a flood.” And that began the first march for life, where Elijah marches from Mt. Carmel to Mt. Horeb, follows back in the footsteps of Moses to go and meet the living God at Horeb.

The way the text reads in King James, it’s always blown me over. Ahab… Ahab’s not going to lay a hand on Elijah now, not after what’s just happened to the priests of Baal. Not going to lay a hand on him. Ahab gets in his chariot, and all of his men get in their chariots, and they ride at breakneck speed that 16 miles that separate Mt. Carmel from Jezreel. They’re riding at breakneck speed, and what does the sacred text [say]? “And Elijah ran out ahead of them.” Outrunning these horses for 16 miles! Well, anyway.

And then he continues. He has a long pilgrimage. I’ve always called that the first march for life. I say I’ve always called it that—it was 40 years ago the last time I did it. [Laughter] But I’ve always seen it that way, though. The first march for life. He marched by himself, one man’s conscience standing up to the entire political and social system.

You, beloved in the Lord, are the b’nai nevi’im; you are the children of the prophets. You are assured of a great deal of darkness, despondency, discouragement, but you fought the good fight. You continue to fight the good fight. The blessing of God will be upon you, upon your minds, in your hearts. One cannot serve the living God fruitlessly. The living God pours benediction upon you and upon all your labors. And my task here tonight is simply to remind you of this. Amen.