WEBVTT

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Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory to Christ. The gospel

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is called Good News, and you've just heard the

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best of Good News. Jesus, in this incredible

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prayer with his Father, and we can speak about

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that all day. We have this insight. into this

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relationship with Jesus and the Father in that

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passage from the Gospel of John, chapter 17,

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that is very touching and encouraging, especially

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at the end when he says that he has come and

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he has given the words that we might have his

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joy. Such good news. So, let us hear. Let us

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hear a little bit more now of this gospel, the

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first one we read from Luke chapter 8, the parable

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of the soul. Each October we hear this parable.

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It happens to be during harvest season. Perhaps

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that's when Jesus offered his words to the crowd

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of people that were around him. Perhaps it was

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harvest season then. We have to remind ourselves

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that for those who were listening to Jesus on

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that day, sowing seed and harvesting crops was

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the life or death matter. They had to survive

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on the food, the plants they planted and the

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food they would reap from that harvest. This

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isn't just a story that Jesus kind of pulls out

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of his hat that kind of sounds good to everybody.

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It really hits home for them. We don't have that

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kind of relationship with the earth. We run up

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to Trader Joe's or Costco or wherever we're going

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to go, and we're not worried about the harvest

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except how much the prices have gone up. And

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also, those listening to Jesus, Hearing this

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parable about a sower that just goes everywhere,

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throwing his seed, even on the path, probably

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thought this was a crazy man, this sower. Why

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would he waste his seed? But it's funny, in the

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epistle of St. Paul, the passage you heard today

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says, he who sows sparingly will reap sparingly.

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So this seed is everywhere. The word of God is

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the seed. The word of God is Jesus Christ. It's

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not some idea. It's Christ's presence in the

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heart of every single person. And he's sowing

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everywhere. And there's an expectation then in

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this parable by Jesus Christ that we do something

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with that seed. with that that's been put in

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our heart, his word, which he has so graciously

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and extravagantly spread everywhere. In a way,

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this parable, which the Lord himself has explained,

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because the apostles just didn't get what he

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said, it's similar to the parable of the talents.

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It's about accountability before God. The gift

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of salvation. accountability, which means judgment

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also for us. From what we have received, what

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do we do with what we've been given in the church?

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What do we do with not just the spiritual blessings

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that we've received, but the material blessings

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that we've received? This is St. Paul's message

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to the Corinthians there. If you give a lot,

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You will reap a lot. Christ is trying and tries

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with all that he has, then and now, to bring

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us into that joy that he said, to bring us to

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the kingdom, to remind us of the good news of

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the resurrection. The gospel readings, pretty

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much every week, are challenging us, asking us.

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What is our response today to that news? You

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hear the parable of the talents. You hear stories

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of a rich young man who walks away from Jesus.

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He can't respond, or he responds in a negative

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way, I should say. You hear the message of the

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cross and St. Peter's rejection of that. You

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hear about the denial of the Lord by St. Peter

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on the night of the Passion. The gospel's telling

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us over and over there are a lot of good reasons

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to water down the message of the cross, the message

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of the gospel. A lot of good reasons to back

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away from Jesus Christ. The reasons are not true.

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A sower went out to sow his seed, Jesus starts.

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As he sowed, some fell by the wayside. It was

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trampled down. The birds of the air devoured

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it. As I said, the Lord, the sower, puts into

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the heart of every single person some kind of

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knowledge of the glory of God. The heavens are

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telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims

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His handiwork. Day by day, the words go forth

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into all the universe. It's looking at nature,

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even, that we can see that there's something

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in us that calls us to higher and higher and

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greater spiritual life. His presence is everywhere

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as we sing. Everywhere present and fillest all

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things. Notice in the Gospel, now to just bring

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it to a simple understanding, the seeds of faith

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that fell on the good ground, Jesus said, are

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those who having heard the word with a noble

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and good heart. Keep it and bear fruit with patience.

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Once again, Jesus is speaking to us about the

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heart. The heart. This is encouraging to me.

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Because we come together and the heart becomes

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a mother. more receptive here at the Divine Liturgy

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when we are together. But there's something that

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worries me deeply about this parable, also about

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the heart. What worries me is this. Jesus points

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out in the parable that those by the wayside,

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the heart at work, they represent those who are

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given the seed of faith. They hear, he says.

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Then, The devil comes and takes away the word

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out of their hearts, lest they should believe

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and should be saved. It scares me. It worries

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me deeply to think that the devil has some kind

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of access to my heart. This is deeply disturbing.

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We need protection. The Holy Spirit gives us

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that. But over and over again, we see how our

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heart can be invaded by thoughts, by judgment,

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by criticisms, by anger, by fear, by lack of

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faith, by accusations, by disappointments. It

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worries me also, deeply, that when Jesus tells

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us what happens with the second kind of sorrow,

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one receives the word of God, the gospel message,

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the light of Christ with joy, but there's no

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root. And when a time of testing or temptation,

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in the gospel, it's the same word that Jesus

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uses for in the Lord's Prayer. Lead us not into

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temptation. Lead us not into the time of testing.

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When a time of testing comes, one walks away.

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It was joyful for a while. The Christian faith

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was zealous. And then it became dry. But that's

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the path we go when we hit the desert. And the

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manna is there. And the repentance is there.

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And we survive that time of testing. We have

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to be watchful for this time of temptation when

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we can either mature in the faith, be faithful

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in what we do, or be afraid and resentful and

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angered about that time and fall away. And it

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worries me deeply also when the Savior says that

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there are those of us, and I include myself,

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in which Christ's presence, the Word of God,

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is choked. It's choked. How? Not by testing.

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Not by the devil. But by a self -inflicted, a

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pile -up in the mind and in the heart. of cares

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and worries and he says pleasures of this life

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he doesn't mean that the pleasures of this life

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are bad in themselves no we give thanks to god

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for the material blessings we receive but for

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the pursuit pursuit of pleasure for the contemplation

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of pleasure which turns us away from christ this

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is a self -inflicted wound shown by cares Let's

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be honest. By affluence. The Lord calls us back

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sometimes with hardship and sickness. All that

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is my own fault when it's choked. It's not from

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God. I have to be careful. We have to be careful

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not to neglect the care of our soul. Not to be

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offended. To be watchful for that time when God

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is testing us. like gold in the fire to be purified.

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St. Basil says, and when a soul is purified,

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it's like crystal, and the sun hits that crystal

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and becomes even more beautiful, sending out

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warmth and rays in every direction. That's what

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we're supposed to be like. But we have too many

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distractions. Turn off your cell phones when

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you come to church. Today, no cell phone has

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gone off during the homily. This is a minor miracle.

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Turn them off when you come in. You only need

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to eat your mind on the Lord, not on those cares.

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Maybe we should add a line to the true became.

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Lay aside all earthly cares and turn off the

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cell phone. And you will in that case. Brothers

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and sisters in Christ, let me summarize what

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the remedy is. Four remedies. The scriptures,

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confession, divine liturgy, and receiving Holy

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Communion. These remedies are not obligations.

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They're not things that we've come up with. They're

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not things that we must do. Not requirements.

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These are gifts. Four gifts from God. The liturgy,

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the scriptures, confession, communion are not

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about what we do, but gifts from God that he

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gives to us. And we can receive them and make

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ourselves capable of receiving them. Because

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that's the participation in the kingdom of God.

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That is when the word, the seed of faith grows

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in the mind. That is when we have Christ's joy

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fulfilled in ourselves. Amen.