THE RICH FOOL

In the Parable of the Rich Fool, a landowner has been blessed over the years with abundant crops. It finally gets to the point where he no longer has room to store it all, and so he comes up with a bright idea: he will tear down his old barns and build new and bigger ones. Then, having set aside so much, he will not be required to work anymore. Instead, he'll "eat, drink and be merry," devoting his life to the pursuit of pure pleasure. Unfortunately for him, however, "Man proposes, but God disposes." That very night God will take his soul and demand a reckoning.

"So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Now the point of this parable isn't that we shoudn't make wise provision for our future and the well being of our loved ones. Surely God expects us to be responsible stewards of the material blessings He gives us, and especially that we should share these blessings with those less fortunate than ourselves. The problem is, the Rich Fool puts all of his hope and trust in these blessings, while forgetting their Source.

Rather than thanking God for His blessings and using his resources to better serve Him, he sees his good fortune as an opportunity to "take his ease." This seems to be the goal of most contemporary Americans--to get to the point where we can get by doing as little work as possible and can simply enjoy life. But the truth is, we haven't been put on this earth for the sake of our own personal enjoyment and happiness. Rather, the time allotted us has been given for repentance, that we might strive to work out our "own salvation with fear and trembling." And since we don't know when God will demand an account of our actions, it is imperative that we live each day as though it were our last.

Just like the human mind in the old commercial, the time given us by God is a terrible thing to waste. It would indeed be nice if our life were like a video cassette: we can pause it or rewind it any time we wish and start all over again. But the reality is, we only live once. There can be no second chances. All too quickly, time passes by relentlessly like sand through an hour glass, and before we know it, we've wasted the best years of our life in foolish and frivolous pursuits.

That is why we are called upon to "redeem the time," for the days we live in are evil and we can all too easily lose sight of "the one thing needful." The time we have been given in this life is our most precious resource, and it stops for no man. For this reason, today is the day of salvation: tomorrow it may be too late.

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

A lawyer comes to Jesus and asks Him, "What is the greatest commandment of the Law?" Instead of answering directly, our Lord asks him what he thinks, and he replies, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and thy neighbor as thyself." Jesus replies that he has answered correctly, but the lawyer, "seeking to justify himself," asks, "And who is my neighbor?" For the Jews considered only their fellow Israelites to be their neighbors, which provided an exellent loophole for treating all others as outside the pale.

Now Jesus could have simply said, "Your neighbor is anyone in need--not just your fellow Jew." Instead, he tells a parable about a man (no doubt a Jew) who is set upon by thieves. A priest and a Levite both pass by and look upon the unfortunate victim and pass by, offering no help whatsoever. Perhaps they felt some desire to help, but you see, there was the risk of coming into contact with blood, and this would have rendered them ritually unclean, thereby requiring some rather extensive purification rites, which would have been just too inconvenient. Finally a Samaritan, a member of a race despised by the Jews, passes by. He not only offers immediate help, but takes the victim to an inn and takes care of him. Not only so, but when it is time for him to depart, he leaves money with the innkeeper and charges him to spare no expense in his care of the victim.

Finally Jesus asks the lawyer which of the three was neighbor to the man in need, and the lawyer answers rightly, "The one who showed mercy." Then Jesus says simply, "Go and do likewise." For indeed, it is only when we actually show mercy toward another that the relationship of neighbor comes about. Technically, both the priest and the Levite were neighbors to the victim, but only the despised Samaritan proved to be a neighbor in fact.

God says in the Scriptures, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice"--while the priest and the Levite are more concerned with preserving their ritual purity than in fulfilling the commandment of love. And so we all can easily fall into the trap of thinking we are faithful Orthodox Christians because we keep the fasts, say our daily prayers, attend church and receive Holy Communion--all the while neglecting those concrete acts of love that constitute the essence of the Christian life.

It is not enough to be perfectly correct in all of the outward aspects of the Faith if at the same time we neglect the command to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. For even if we somehow manage to faithfully observe every single canon of the Church--that is, "the letter of the Law"--we are condemned for not keeping the most essential canon of them all, which constitutes the spirit of the Law--love of God and neighbor.

Today we celebrate the memory of the holy apostle Matthew, a former tax collector who (due to his profession) was in flagrant violation of the Jewish Law. Yet when Christ says to him, "Follow me," he gives it all up out of his love of God, while this very same love inspires him to sacrifice his whole life in service to his neighbor. Suffering gladly every hardship in order to preach the Gospel to those who are perishing, he finally dies a martyr's death. So may we all, through the prayers of the holy apostle Matthew, be strengthened in the Faith and inspired to follow his good example.

OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE

When Jesus cast the demons into the herd of swine and they plunged over a cliff and drowned, the Gadarenes were neither joyful nor astonished at this manifestation of God's power, but rather they were afraid, and they begged our Lord to depart from their region. Like many people today, they preferred God a safe distance away, not actively involved in their affairs. As the English saying goes, "God is in His heaven, and all's well on earth."

Like the Pharisees, the Gadarenes preferred the status quo, business as usual. They had no desire to "cast out into the deep" and perchance risk a first hand encounter with God. They were like the Grand Inquisitor of Dostoyevsky's tale, who demanded to know why Christ had to return to earth: the Church, after all, was doing perfectly well without Him.

Truly, "Our God is a consuming fire," and "It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God." To be sure, God is love. Thus, St. Paul shows us "a more excellent way." For even the greatest of spiritual gifts will eventually pass away, while of all things love alone is eternal. Indeed, apart from love, nothing we accomplish in the spiritual live has any value.

Nevertheless, God's love is a two edged sword: for the demons and sinners, it is a tormenting fire, while for the righteous, it is illumination and heavenly joy. The wicked fear God because His light reveals their works of darkness and brings down judgment upon their superficial, worldly and self-centered lives.

The truth is, Christ came to cast fire upon the earth; not to bring peace, but to initiate the final war between the forces of darkness and light. The question is, when push comes to shove, what side are we on? It is impossible to hide from God or to straddle the fence. If we are not for Him, then it stands to reason we are against him.

For truly, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! And only those who sincerely repent, turning from the darkness of this world to the light of the living God, will be saved. Moreover, the sign of this Kingdom is the gift of healing given to His disciples--especially to the Holy Unmercenaries--the power to cast out demons and to cure every manner of disease.

For Christ did not come to condemn the world, but "to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

GREAT MARTYR DEMITRIOS

Our Lord assures us, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you....If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." This is another one of those "hard sayings" of the Gospel which so many would be Christians choose to ignore. Rather than courageously bearing witness to Christ before the powers of this world, these lukewarm Christians instead take the easier path, making friends with this world and accomodating their faith to worldly standards.

After all, we certainly do not wish to step on anyone's toes or to "offend" those who may feel uncomfortable with our convictions. In this relativistic society of ours, one of the gravest sins is to speak the truth as we see it, whatever the consequences. So what we are left with in the end is a watered down faith that is powerless to save ourselves or anyone else.

We would all prefer to have our cake and to eat it too. Why not enjoy all the benefits of a worldly life while still retaining the image of a "good Christian?" So it is we can faithfully attend church and go through all the motions of a pious life, all the while lacking the courage of our convictions.

The fact is, though, our faith is not meant to be a crutch to help us "get through" life, but rather a weapon to be used against the principalities and powers that rule this world. St. Dimitrios is an example for us all of what it means to bear witness to Christ in this fallen world. As the military governor of Thessalonica, he had attained a position of authority and power that most men would envy. Yet when the emperor ordered him to exterminate all the Christians in the city, he refused point blank. Instead, he chose the much harder path of obeying the King of Heaven. For this, he was stripped of his military rank, cast into prison and subjected to the most brutal torture. In the end, he was run through with spears and breathed his last as a true and faithful witness. Yet for this witness, he received the incomparable riches of eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom.

It is true that we in this country no longer face literal martyrdom, though our turn may well be coming. As Blessed Seraphim Rose of Platina once stated, "What began in Russia will end in America." And for that matter, there are places in this world today where literal martyrdom is still a real and present danger. In any case, whatever the circumstances, a genuine Christian life must in some sense be martyric.

Self denial, accepting ridicule and abuse from those who hate us, striving to put Christ at the center of our lives--all of this and more is true martyrdom. But how is it possible for us fallen and sinful creatures to live such a life? St. Paul gives the answer: we must "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus," all the while enduring "hardness, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." This was the path chosen by St. Dimitrios. May we all, through his holy prayers, do likewise.

PARABLE OF THE SEED

Christ explains the Parable of the Seed thus: a Sower goes out to sow his seed. Some falls by the wayside and never takes root. Some falls among weeds and brambles and at first grows nicely, but is soon smothered by the weeds. A third part of the seed falls on rocky soil: it springs up fast, but soon withers away in the noonday sun. Finally, there is the seed that falls on good fertile soil and ultimately produces a good harvest. Now the seed is the Word of God, while the Sower is Christ. The soils represent the souls of vari0us types of people, depending on how receptive they are to the Word of God.

Now this, of course, is a very instructive parable, one that we should all ponder on deeply. However, there is another way to look at this parable (surely not a better way, for our Lord Himself gives the explanation) but a different perspective that might allow us to consider this parable in a new light. Let us say simply that the seed represents our own good deeds and works, while the soil represents how we employ these good deeds and works for the greatest possible good. There is a saying, "Good intentions pave the way to hell." What this means is that our desire to do good is never enough. In fact, do our actions really make this world a better place, or are we in the long run doing more harm than good?

God has given to every person alive unique gifts and talents: we should ask ourselves, are we
truly using them in a way that best serves God and our neighbor? Are we truly striving at all times to do God's will, or are we in fact following our own self-willed desires?

Today we commemorate the life our our Father among the saints John of Kronstadt. Now St. John was a human dynamo, constantly busy serving the Church and his fellow man in general. Nor did he work and strive in vain. His life and witness left an enormous impact on the Russian people in the critical period before the Revolution.

Having a heart purified by prayer and prompted every moment by the Holy Spirit, he always gave generously to those in need, not counting the cost. But realizing that simply handing out to the poor is not enough, he was the founder of the famous House of Industry, which gave to the poor needed skills and dignity. More than this, St. John personally saw to the spiritual needs of all who lived there.

Contrast this personal and spiritual approach to poverty with the charitable work (however well intended) done by impersonal institutions and government agencies. These seeds very often fall on the trodden path or stony soil, while St. John's efforts--because they were blessed by God--mostly fell on fertile soil and bore much fruit. St. John taught that our whole life must be lived in Christ and inspired by the Holy Spirit, otherwise our best efforts may be futile and of no lasting value.

Let us follow this holy saint's example and never forget that no matter how seemingly insignificant our gifts and talents, they can be of immeasurable value to the Church of God and all those in need whom we may encounter--so long as we are striving at all times to fulfill the will of God and not our own.

THAT WE MIGHT KNOW GOD

"And this is life eternal, that we might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." In this verse is expressed the whole and entire purpose of the Incarnation, that we might know God--not as a mere philosophical concept or mental contruct, but personally. As our Lord said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." Likewise, only he who knows Christ truly knows the Father.

For it is a true and certain saying that the fullness of the Godhead is revealed bodily in the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who is the perfect image of the Father. This is the Gospel preached by the Holy Apostle Paul, the Gospel which "is not after man," but was made known "by the revelation of Jesus Christ."

This is why the veneration of icons upheld by the 7th Ecumenical Council is solemnly celebrated every year as the Sunday of Orthodoxy. Because God took on human flesh and assumed visible form through Jesus Christ, it is not only lawful but indeed essential that we venerate Him through the holy icons.

Indeed, "God is the Lord and has revealed Himself to us:" not in the indistinct shadows and images of the Old Testament, but face to face. As the holy Fathers say, "God became man that men might become gods"--through union with Christ, we become by grace everything that God is by nature.

This is what it means to know God: not by rumor or hearsay but first hand, through personal and intimate experience. This is eternal life and salvation and the reality proclaimed and safeguarded by the holy Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council. This is the true Orthodox Faith and the refutation of all heresies. This is the Faith that has established the universe.

THE GOLDEN RULE

"And as ye would that men should do unto you, do ye also to them likewise." This so-called "Golden Rule" is unique to the Christian Faith. It is true that similar precepts can be found in other religions, but nowhere in this precise form.

For one thing, the context here is love for one's enemies. Now the Golden Rule is perhaps not so hard to follow (up to a point) in regards to one's friends and loved ones--so long as it does not become too inconvenient. Even so, our motives in following the commandment are usually mixed: either we expect the same treatment in return ("I'll rub your back if you rub mine") or else it becomes an occasion of pride and feeling good about ourselves.

However, it goes completely against the grain of our fallen human nature to behave in a loving, kind and compassionate way toward those who hate and abuse us, even if our behavior does not reflect our true feelings. After all, no one wants to be a door mat, and besides, "What's in it for us?"

The fact is, if we desire to succeed and to "get ahead" in this world, the Golden Rule can become a real obstacle. In any case, is any normal person real capable of truly loving one's enemies?

True enough if our Faith is a hoax and we are merely a higher form of animal struggling to get along in this world the best we can until death overtakes us and we cease to exist. But if we truly are beings created in God's image "a little lower than the angels" and destined for eternal life in the glory of God's heavenly Kingdom, it changes everything.

It is indeed this capacity to love even one's enemies that lifts us above the lower creatures and confers dignity and purpose to a life that would otherwise be meaningless and therefore not really worth living. Nor would God ever command us to do anything that we are inherently incapable of doing. Humanly speaking, it really is impossible to fulfill the Golden Rule, but truly all things are possible through the grace of God.

As God told St. Paul when the Apostle asked three times to remove his "thorn," "My grace is sufficient for thee: my power is made perfect in weakness." This grace, however, is not something somehow added on to our fallen human nature. To be fully human means to be united with God and to be filled with His grace, which is the uncreated energy of God Himself.

"Be merciful, even as your heavenly Father is merciful:" this is the true reason for fulfilling the commandment, because we are all in the truest sense the children of God, and God is love. This, then, is the path we must all strive to follow if we desire that peace, joy and fulfillment only God can give--both in this world and the next.