WEBVTT 00:00:00.490 --> 00:00:05.950 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 00:00:05.950 --> 00:00:15.830 of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Well, just in time, 00:00:15.869 --> 00:00:24.550 each November, depending on when Pascha was, 00:00:24.730 --> 00:00:30.000 we hear this particular Gospel reading. this 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:35.820 peril. Just as the fast begins, the 40 -day fast 00:00:35.820 --> 00:00:39.320 before Christmas, just as Thanksgiving is around 00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:44.119 the corner, we hear something to take very serious 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:48.420 consideration about how we fast, how we give 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:51.719 thanks. Of course, we give thanks, and the word 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:55.380 Thanksgiving has two words in it, thanks and 00:00:55.380 --> 00:00:58.920 giving. We're giving thanks to God. but we're 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:01.479 also giving out of our abundance to someone else 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:06.140 that does not have. So we hear this parable about 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:10.879 a man, Jesus gives this parable, who is in a 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:13.659 very different tax status and bracket than the 00:01:13.659 --> 00:01:17.500 people he's speaking to. He's in a different 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:20.200 social strata than the people he's speaking to. 00:01:22.140 --> 00:01:26.219 The people he's speaking to would consider this 00:01:26.219 --> 00:01:32.239 man is Blessed. He's blessed. He has it all. 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:38.859 God has blessed this man. And that's true. But 00:01:38.859 --> 00:01:43.700 don't think that this parable is just about money 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:48.840 and possessions. Not merely about money and possessions. 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:56.040 It's about desire. The Lord puts his finger on 00:01:56.040 --> 00:02:03.900 the exact illness we have. That desire is the 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:09.960 condition of the heart of how we identify ourselves. 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:13.699 And in the modern world, whatever we desire, 00:02:13.979 --> 00:02:20.139 we think we can have. Even if human nature doesn't 00:02:20.139 --> 00:02:24.319 allow it, we think we can technologically change 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:28.729 things. It's the desire of the heart. This parable 00:02:28.729 --> 00:02:35.610 is about having a great heart. Having a great 00:02:35.610 --> 00:02:41.469 spirit. Magnanimity, right? Great spirit. Mahatma. 00:02:44.370 --> 00:02:49.830 This man is rich, but he does not have a big 00:02:49.830 --> 00:02:54.569 heart. This man is rich, but not in the kingdom 00:02:54.569 --> 00:02:59.699 of heaven. So just before this parable is given, 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:04.800 the Lord is teaching. He's teaching profound 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:12.639 words. He's saying this. Are not five sparrows 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:15.379 sold for two copper coins, and not one of them 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:17.780 is forgotten before God? The very hairs of your 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:21.840 head are numbered. Do not fear, therefore. You 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:26.060 are of more value than sparrows. Also I say to 00:03:26.060 --> 00:03:28.900 you, whoever confesses me before men, him the 00:03:28.900 --> 00:03:33.240 Son of God will confess before the angels. But 00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:36.080 whoever denies me before men will be denied before 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.599 the angels of God. And he goes on in this profound 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:41.740 way. He says, anyone who speaks a word against 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:44.960 the Son of Man will be forgiven him. When they 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:47.520 bring you to the synagogues and the magistrates 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:50.639 and the judges and the authorities when you're 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:54.120 arrested, don't worry. About what you're going 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:58.340 to say. How you should answer. For the Holy Spirit 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:01.419 will teach you in that very hour. What you ought 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:04.300 to say. And as Jesus is saying these profound 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:07.599 words. A man is working his way through the crowd. 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:10.520 He's kind of nudging through the crowd as I see 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:19.980 it. And he raises his hand. And he says. Oh master. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:23.779 You think he's going to ask a question about 00:04:23.779 --> 00:04:26.500 these profound things Jesus is saying. But what 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:29.519 does he say? Master, will you tell my brother, 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:33.680 my older brother, to divide the inheritance with 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:40.399 me? This is the response Jesus has to what he's 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:44.759 been saying. Priests get this sometimes too. 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:49.319 The ugliest thing is the inheritance fight in 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:52.389 a family. for sure. But does Jesus answer the 00:04:52.389 --> 00:04:56.149 man? He says, man, who made me a judge or an 00:04:56.149 --> 00:05:00.769 arbiter over you? Well, the father did, obviously, 00:05:00.990 --> 00:05:06.569 but not for that. And then he says, beware. Beware 00:05:06.569 --> 00:05:15.129 of greed and covetousness. And then he tells 00:05:15.129 --> 00:05:22.720 the story. The voice of God Almighty tells this 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:28.920 man, who has incredible blessings from God, Fool! 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:33.839 Fool! This night your soul is required of you. 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:37.819 He's a fool. Why is he a fool? Well, let's point 00:05:37.819 --> 00:05:41.600 out a few reasons. To the fool, says the book 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:46.379 of Proverbs, no one is more trustworthy, wise, 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:51.959 or reliable than himself. He who trusts in his 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:56.220 own heart, in his own soul, in his own understanding, 00:05:56.360 --> 00:06:02.259 is a fool, according to Proverbs. He did everything 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:06.279 in relation to himself. He thought he had ultimate 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:10.459 control over his life. Well, do we? Do we have 00:06:10.459 --> 00:06:14.810 ultimate control over our life? He thought that 00:06:14.810 --> 00:06:17.149 he could shape it. He could mold it. He desired 00:06:17.149 --> 00:06:20.170 something and he was going to extend himself 00:06:20.170 --> 00:06:25.990 into it and add wealth to it without thanksgiving 00:06:25.990 --> 00:06:30.569 to God. He was going to curate his image for 00:06:30.569 --> 00:06:32.810 the world to see. We do that on social media, 00:06:32.910 --> 00:06:39.370 don't we? Forget about it. It's pointless. He 00:06:39.370 --> 00:06:44.600 planned ahead. Good to do. Just not far enough. 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:48.300 He was also wrong about his expiration date. 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:53.959 You see, we don't know when the Lord will call 00:06:53.959 --> 00:07:01.480 us. We have a date. It's there. For sure. 100 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:06.980 % guaranteed. The church, the spiritual fathers 00:07:06.980 --> 00:07:10.939 of our church teach us we should meditate on 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:15.370 our death. Daily. Not in some morbid psychological 00:07:15.370 --> 00:07:18.329 way. Oh, they'll be sorry when I'm gone. Like 00:07:18.329 --> 00:07:23.069 that. No. Not like that. But in a way in which 00:07:23.069 --> 00:07:27.490 we consider leaving this life and all the things 00:07:27.490 --> 00:07:31.149 that we have and all the people in the relationships, 00:07:31.410 --> 00:07:35.129 good or bad, and what we will say at the judgment 00:07:35.129 --> 00:07:40.689 seat. And are we prepared to depart? I could 00:07:40.689 --> 00:07:42.649 say for most of us, the answer would be probably 00:07:42.649 --> 00:07:47.649 no. That's why the church says, meditate on your 00:07:47.649 --> 00:07:51.029 death daily. One saint says, a day in which you 00:07:51.029 --> 00:07:55.189 haven't meditated on your own repose is a wasted 00:07:55.189 --> 00:07:59.870 day. Because once you do begin to think about 00:07:59.870 --> 00:08:03.709 your end, then every moment becomes precious. 00:08:03.829 --> 00:08:06.730 Every relationship between each other becomes 00:08:06.730 --> 00:08:10.290 precious. charged with importance. It means something. 00:08:12.250 --> 00:08:16.689 It has value that you maybe didn't see without 00:08:16.689 --> 00:08:19.629 that. And this man did not do that. He just thought 00:08:19.629 --> 00:08:28.850 about his goods. Also, he thought not only he 00:08:28.850 --> 00:08:32.230 had total control, but we hear the words, I, 00:08:32.509 --> 00:08:37.919 me, mine, and my. some 13 times in this parable 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:42.159 of only six verses. He had no words of gratitude 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:47.399 to God for the abundance he received. So the 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:50.000 listeners thinking this man is tremendously rich 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.820 and blessed, Jesus Christ turns the table on 00:08:53.820 --> 00:08:57.720 that understanding. This man simply collected 00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:06.590 more. St. John Chrysostom advises, he says, More 00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:12.049 than you need. Give it to the storehouses and 00:09:12.049 --> 00:09:16.750 the barns of the poor. For there is heavenly 00:09:16.750 --> 00:09:20.230 and divine storehouses. For he, he says, who 00:09:20.230 --> 00:09:24.929 feeds the poor, he says, feeds God. Being rich 00:09:24.929 --> 00:09:28.350 is not a sin. Being ungrateful to the Most High 00:09:28.350 --> 00:09:31.590 God for his blessings, being selfish with those 00:09:31.590 --> 00:09:34.090 blessings, and forgetting that you are mortal, 00:09:34.509 --> 00:09:38.850 Those are sins. Jesus, our Savior, in the verse 00:09:38.850 --> 00:09:41.129 before the parable and the reason for the parable, 00:09:41.149 --> 00:09:44.710 again, I will tell you, beware, he says, watch, 00:09:44.970 --> 00:09:49.789 beware of greed, of covetousness. What is covetousness? 00:09:50.830 --> 00:09:54.549 You can all look it up. It's insatiable desire 00:09:54.549 --> 00:09:59.590 for material gain or social value or status or 00:09:59.590 --> 00:10:02.809 power. I was going to say something about the 00:10:02.809 --> 00:10:05.629 election, but I won't. That's always on display, 00:10:05.970 --> 00:10:10.309 and it tempts us too. That's why this parable 00:10:10.309 --> 00:10:13.210 is not just for the rich people. Jesus didn't 00:10:13.210 --> 00:10:17.590 speak it to rich people. St. Paul says covetousness 00:10:17.590 --> 00:10:23.350 is idolatry. Idolatry is the worship of something 00:10:23.350 --> 00:10:28.009 or someone besides the true and living God. It's 00:10:28.009 --> 00:10:32.200 trust in something or someone. that is not God. 00:10:33.259 --> 00:10:36.700 So we know that this parable is not a story for 00:10:36.700 --> 00:10:40.980 rich people, since Jesus was not preaching to 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:44.620 the rich. And at the end of the parable, Jesus 00:10:44.620 --> 00:10:52.059 says, basically, my friends, you heard the parable. 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:57.159 Therefore, and that's in the text, he says, therefore, 00:10:58.190 --> 00:11:01.230 Have faith in God, not things I tell you, therefore. 00:11:01.429 --> 00:11:05.649 Do not be anxious about your life. He doesn't 00:11:05.649 --> 00:11:10.509 mean don't plan. Don't take care of your family. 00:11:11.110 --> 00:11:15.409 Don't work hard. Anxiety is a sickness of the 00:11:15.409 --> 00:11:19.629 soul. Don't be anxious about your life, what 00:11:19.629 --> 00:11:22.049 you will eat, nor about your body, what you will 00:11:22.049 --> 00:11:25.690 put on. For life is more than food, and the body 00:11:25.690 --> 00:11:29.919 more than clothing. Consider the lilies, how 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:33.139 they grow. They neither toil nor spin. And I 00:11:33.139 --> 00:11:35.960 tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:39.519 arrayed like one of these. O ye of little faith, 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:43.779 do not seek what you are to eat and what you 00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:47.779 are to drink, nor be worried and anxious. Let 00:11:47.779 --> 00:11:51.279 not that be the center of your goal of your life, 00:11:51.340 --> 00:11:55.179 he was saying. For unbelievers seek after these 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:57.320 things, and your Father knows that you need them. 00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:00.240 Instead, seek his kingdom. These things will 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:04.639 be added to you. And the epistle sums it all 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:08.620 up for us. It's not I who live, but Christ who 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:12.399 lives indeed. And the life I live is because 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:16.879 of the sacrifice, the crucifixion, and the resurrection 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:19.639 of our Lord Jesus Christ. Don't we repeat in 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:23.620 our litanies? Let us commend ourselves in each 00:12:23.620 --> 00:12:30.580 other and all our life unto Christ our God. You 00:12:30.580 --> 00:12:35.279 say amen to that. And I do too. Which means we 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:38.240 give our assent, our approval, our agreement 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:41.840 that we are to commend ourselves and our entire 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:45.419 life. Everything. Everything. All the blessings 00:12:45.419 --> 00:12:51.429 God has given us. All the people we know. And 00:12:51.429 --> 00:12:55.750 we think maybe what he means in the litany is 00:12:55.750 --> 00:12:59.710 this. Well, let's look to him for safety. Let's 00:12:59.710 --> 00:13:02.769 put our lives in God's care. Let's abandon ourselves 00:13:02.769 --> 00:13:05.529 to him, counting on him to save us from some 00:13:05.529 --> 00:13:08.909 kind of adversity and troubles. But that's not 00:13:08.909 --> 00:13:15.309 what it means. It means that generously, courageously, 00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:20.480 wholeheartedly, by an act of will that transcends 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:24.980 our very will, that goes beyond our will, to 00:13:24.980 --> 00:13:28.679 do good in our disposition to sin, we say to 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:37.860 Christ, Lord, I don't want to live my life. I 00:13:37.860 --> 00:13:41.980 want to live your life. I don't want to live 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:46.480 according to my standards. I want to live according 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:52.200 to yours. May our Lord grant that. To him be 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.879 glory, now and ever, to ages of ages.