OrthoAnalyika Shownotes: 27 December 2009
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Homily/Lesson (Two Sundays before the Nativity)
Colossians (3: 4-11)
When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Gospel: St. Luke (14: 16-24)
Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”
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This is the second Sunday before the Nativity, so today we celebrate the Holy Forefathers of Christ – all the great Fathers, Mothers, Prophets of the Old Testament, and especially His ancestors in the flesh, from Adam to the Virgin Mary.
In today’s Gospel, the man has sent out an invitation to join Him at His house for a feast. He sends His servant to tell all those who had been invited that everything was ready. You can imagine the man’s great joy and anticipation – how He had prepared everything so that He could share the good things that He had with others. This is the natural desire of all good people: they want to share their blessings with everyone else. The love that they have within their lives naturally seeks to express itself. We should be more like this. The story points not just towards the best among us, but to God Himself.
In Christ’s parable, it is God the Father who has first sent out invitations, letting everyone know that everything was being made ready for a great feast and that a special place was being prepared for all of them. How did He do this?
•God prepared the feast by sending out the Law, and like a master rancher, rising up amongst the best of his herd a bloodline that would – through His Spirit – produce a fitting sacrifice and meal to bring His guests to His Mansion. This effort culminated, in the fullness of time, to the birth of the Theotokos Mary from Joachim and Anna, and eventually to the virginal birth of Christ Himself. It was His Flesh that would become “meat indeed”, and His Blood that would become “drink indeed” for all the feasters.
•(How did God send out the original invitations?) He sent the original invitations out through His prophets. Together with the Law, they tried to get people to yearn for God and to center their lives around Him in anticipation of the time when the Messiah would unite them with God’s glory.
Just to make sure you understand the setting: there is no need for God to have us in His mansion for the feast. But He went through all these preparations, up to and including the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of His Son, out of His love for us. We are the object of God’s love. He wants us to join Him in celebrating the joy of life. So He prepares the feast and lets us know that it is coming and that He will soon open the doors to His house.
You know what happens next in the parable: once everything is ready, the man sends His servant out to let the invitees know that His doors are open and that the feast is ready. But despite having advanced warning, despite knowing the magnitude of the event and the great effort the man had made on their behalf, people refuse to come. Each has a different reason, but we are to understand that none are sufficient. They are just making excuses for bad behavior.
This situation should make you sick to your stomachs for at least three reasons: first, because you are revolted by the disrespect of those who were invited; second, because you sympathize with the man in the story who was throwing the feast, knowing the sense of shame and righteous anger such disrespect would evoke within you; and third, because you know that this really happens and that more often than not, it is we who play the part of the disrespectful invitees. The Doors to God’s feast are open now – we are invited by Baptism to enjoy this feast throughout our lives and throughout eternity. This morning, you have come to Church; but what kind of excuses do you make to keep yourselves from God’s presence, not just on Sundays, but at every moment of everyday? Is God’s house – is the fact of being close to the creator of the world, the source of all joy, the center of fulfillment – not good enough for you? Is there really somewhere else you want to be?
I don’t want you to misunderstand: I am not just talking about church attendance. I am talking about all those times in your daily life when you reject God’s invitation to live in love with Him and everyone else for something else. And if you are honest, you have to admit that the things you reject Him for really are pitiful. What have you chosen over His love? a chance to get back at someone, a chance to make excuses for your own bad behavior, a chance to forsake solemn promises for all the wrong reasons, a chance to prove that life is so hard and that nothing good ever happens to you, a chance to show how big you are by reveling in dangerous and unhealthy passions. In fact, every sin that St. Paul describes today is a voluntary excuse not to join Him at His feast: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, and lying. All this pettiness pales next to the glory that awaits you in God’s house [and it is His feast that gets you in].
How can you say that life is hard or that there is no love or comfort in this world when the very Wellspring of Love and Comfort are inviting you to live with them forever? How can you get more joy out of sin than out of the blessings of union with God? How can you get more happiness out of a relationship cursed by sin than one that is brought into Union with God through love?
What happens next in this parable should send shivers up your spine: the door is eventually closed to those who reject the man’s invitation.
We should all thank God that He opened up His feast to everyone, for in Him, as St. Paul says today; “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free”. I thank Him because it is this openness that allows my family to Commune with God here at St. Michael’s and for me to serve at this altar, despite our complete lack of Ukrainian blood. But we all should thank Him – even those of you who are pure Cossack through and through – that He grafted all nations to His chosen people, Israel; that we are all made one in Christ.
But the real meaning of this right now – and the thing that sends shivers down my spine – is that all of us have been invited; all of us have a place reserved for us. The invitation remains, but the parable warns us that it will not be there forever. I am not saying this to scare you – there is nothing to be scared of because the door is wide open. But if you reject the invitation for whatever reasons (e.g. the time isn’t convenient or when you thought it should be, you have land to care for, new toys to play with, or a spouse or family to please… if you reject it for whatever reason), you may not have the opportunity tomorrow to accept it: the door may already be closed.
Some people like to worry and debate about the Second Coming. I do not know when it will come any more than you do: but I do know that my own days are numbered. Based on my genetics and lifestyle, I may have another 50 years – or circumstances could take me tomorrow. I am not taking any chances. I am taking Our Lord up on His invitation right now, I am walking in the door of His house to be with Him, and I will do my best (through His grace and mercy) to stay there until He makes it my home forever.
As your pastor, as your friend, as someone who loves you very much, I ask you to please accept His invitation and join me there.
Interview:
For this show, we were blessed to have an interview with Demetra Perlegas, PhD. Listeners may remember me mentioning her in connection with her help in our discussion on H1N1 and the Eucharist. Demetra has just finished a pilgrimage to Greece, during which she was able to continue her exploration and research into the role relationships, family, and chastity have in our sanctification. I know you will enjoy our conversation on these subjects! Sorry about the popping on my microphone during the discussion. I think I have resolved the problem.
Useful links dealing with chastity and marriage:
Orthodox Christian Information Center – Marriage and Family:
This has links to other articles, to include Father Josiah’s 4-part audio series on marriage, and an excellent practical article by Archimandrite Aimilianos.
Elder Prophyrios – On the Upbringing of Children:
This elder is always practical, he tells lots of stories that are full of lessons for us.
Fr. Luke’s Blog Entries on Marriage:
This blog has the writings of Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain translated into English–he counseled many people about marriage and family life; Demetra got to visit his tomb where he rests outside of Thessaloniki.
St. John Chysostom – Homily on Marriage:
Wow.
Illumined Heart – Marriage and Family:
This podcast features an interview with Dr. Philip Mamalakis, a professor up the road from you at Holy Cross who specializes in Marriage and Family, he’s also a marriage therapist, a devout Orthodox Christian, and a father of 7.
Demetra’s Blogsite: The Quiet Revolution:
Her posts are more like articles than your typical blog entries. I have found them insightful and useful.
