At the Church of St. Nicholas in the Old Town of Kotor—today, the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, October 11, 2026, as the Church celebrates the Venerable Chariton the Confessor and the Holy Martyrs of Medljani—Fr. Nemanja Krivokapić delivered a sermon on the Gospel passage concerning mercy to the faithful. "Some parts of Holy Scripture, though divinely inspired, are not clear at first glance or are somewhat difficult, requiring interpretation or the insights of the Holy Fathers. Yet there are parts of Holy Scripture—especially the Gospels—that are clear and unequivocal, leaving nothing to be added or taken away. We have just heard one such Gospel passage: the Gospel in which the Lord Jesus Christ instructs us on how we ought to live if we wish to be Orthodox Christians. God Himself, having come down to earth, taught us what we must do and how we must act.
Truly, it does not get better than this: God Himself has told us what we must do to attain the Kingdom of God. For the very purpose of our life here on earth is to attain the Kingdom of God. And the Savior Himself teaches us how to achieve this in this simple yet beautiful Gospel passage. He teaches us, above all, that we must be merciful. Mercy lies at the heart of today’s Gospel reading.
He teaches us to show love first and foremost, for the essence—the very core—of it all is doing good, which is, in fact, love. Love for our neighbors.
God is, above all, love. He has shown love toward us humans, and we are to reciprocate that love through our love for our neighbors. Indeed, if we can..." By whatever name we might call Him, God is love. For given all He has done for us humans, we have no experience of God other than love. He created us out of love; there is no other reason. Out of love, He came here to earth, became incarnate, suffered, and rose again; and out of love, He gave us the Church and, through the Church, the Holy Sacraments.
God gives Himself to us through this Holy Communion—which we receive and for which we prepare through fasting and prayer, all again out of love—and thus, through love, we become like God.
Saint Athanasius the Great says: "God became man so that man might become God by grace"—so that man might be deified, and thus become like God.
And if He is love, then that is the way we become like Him: by showing love for one another.
In the Old Testament, the relationship with God was different. In the Old Testament, God was viewed as a righteous Judge who would give you exactly what you deserved. Your lot would be determined by your deeds. If you kept the Law of Moses, rest assured that nothing would be withheld from you; He is righteous and would grant you everything. But if you transgressed, you could expect a just punishment. In the New Testament, the relationship between us Christians and God is different. We view Him as a Father who is love—One who loves us above all else and judges not according to strict justice, but according to mercy. Yet, how did we suddenly gain the right to view God—the Creator who made us—in this way?
It is precisely through the Lord Jesus Christ, who became incarnate and became one of us; as the Apostle Paul writes, "we have thereby become sons by adoption." Thus, we now have the right to regard God as our Father, rather than merely as a righteous judge. We now see Him primarily as a Father who loves us. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught us this when He gave us the Lord's Prayer, which begins with the words: "Our Father, who art in heaven." We address God as "Our Father." This is the new relationship we have received in the New Testament through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. And this is the relationship we now share with God—a relationship of intimacy and love.
Therefore, if God is love, we ought to respond to Him with love; and today’s Gospel teaches us exactly how to do this—simply and clearly, without the need for complex interpretation. We are to show love to all people, to our neighbors—meaning everyone around us. So, the message here is clear: we should give not only to those who might do something for us tomorrow, or to those we know will repay us, but specifically to those in need—without expecting anything in return. We ought to give from the heart, with joy, and without a thought for personal gain.
This is what defines us as Christians; indeed, the Lord Himself said: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." It is very clear and precise. That is the measure of our Christianity—we are Christians if we love one another. May the Lord God grant that, as we hear these beautiful Gospel readings, our hearts may soften toward one another, and that through good deeds we may attain the Kingdom of God. Amen," said Fr. Nemanja.