20081005 Now is the Time!

20081005 Now is the Time!
www.stmichaeluoc.org
www.orthoanalytika.org

2 Corinthians 6:1-10
St. Matthew 25:14-30

In these financial times, when people have taken our economy to the brink of destruction with bad loans and risky investments, it might be tempting to sympathize with the servant who buried his talent. But this is not a story about going into debt (which scripture routinely criticizes as unhealthy and dangerous), or about about taking on risk in an attempt to satisfy hedonistic desires for riches or property; or even about mortgaging the future to satisfy illicit desires now. This is a story about taking stock of what we have, rolling up our sleeves, and getting to work.

What have we done with the gifts God has given us? Have we used them for His glory, or have we been too afraid to do His work? Have we been so timid in our service to Him that we hid the gifts He gave us? Are we “good and faithful servant[s]”, or a “wicked and lazy” ones?

For there is no doubt that we are God’s servants: all that we have is given on loan to us as His stewards. In this sense, He gives us gifts as a farmer might give his tenants land and seed: so that they might use them to gain Him a great crop. To some He has given more than others; as He says in this parable, He gives “according to [their] own ability.” He does not expect a farmer who only has the strength to till and maintain one acre to farm ten; nor does he expect the weaker farmer with the smaller field to return as large a yield as the stronger farmer to whom he leased a larger field. Notice that God rewarded both the servant who returned five more talents and the servant who returned two more, calling them both “good and faithful servant[s]”, making them both “ruler[s] over many things”, and granting them both to “enter into the joy of your lord.” The problem with the servant who received one talent was not his ability, but his refusal to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

The Gospel tells us that the man refused to roll up his sleeves and get to work because “he was scared”. Specifically, it seems as though he was scared of failure. He was scared of failure, so he became lazy. Rather than confronting his fears, he did nothing. He did nothing, and as a result he was cast into “outer darkness”.

Being scared is not a sin. But anyone who has studied our catechism knows that laziness is. God can help you overcome fear; first and foremost by offering forgiveness as soon as we confess our shortcomings. You have to realize that God does not care about the talents, or the crops, or the obvious results of the work we do for Him: He is our great Father and Teacher, desiring only our growth and progression towards perfection and bliss. It is the work we do for Him more than the tangible results they produce [and that we then offer] that perfect us. What do we have that God really needs? All He wants is our perfection; and in order to grow us into perfection, He demands that we work. And He demands that we get to work right now.

Quoting and paraphrasing the prophecy of Isaiah, St. Paul tells us that “Now is the accepted time… now is the day of salvation”. There are things that we need to do, and now is the time to do them. Some of the things we are asked to do will put us outside our comfort zone; we might not like doing them. They might be hard. We might rather be doing something else. But let me share two pieces of advice my saintly grandmother gave me when I defended my [mile-wide] lazy streak: “everything worth having is worth working for” and the less philosophical; “they don’t call it work for nothing.” Work may be hard, it might move us out of our comfort zone, but look at the rewards God offers!

I agree with St. Paul: the time is now, this is the day of our salvation. Right now we are in the middle of the Divine Liturgy. [Some of you might rather be doing something else. We have many empty pews, and some are empty because some actually decided to do something else.] Liturgy means the “work of the people”. The “work of the people”. This is the Divine Liturgy. This makes it the most important of all the work we do. This may obvious for me as a priest [after all, this is what I am called and paid to do], but it is no less true for all of you.

So how are we doing at this Divine Liturgy? How are we doing at Our Holy Work? In what ways is it pulling us outside of our comfort zone, and how are we responding? This work demands our full attention – are we giving it our full attention, or is that too hard for us? Are we too lazy? I know that my mind is tempted to wander, but even more than in the secular world, my job here is not to daydream, but to serve attentively. Perhaps we are distracted by children or tempted to judge those around us; we may even be harboring hatred for past wrongs done to us or someone we love. These are real temptations, but they are no excuse: our Master told us to “suffer the little children”, never judge another, and to love everyone – even our enemies. This Liturgy, this encounter with Perfection, sanctifies us, but it takes effort. It takes work. It may not be easy for us. Unless we are already perfect, it probably should move us outside of our comfort zone.

Listen again, to how St. Paul puts it, as he describes the proper attitude towards doing this work:

• ...we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. (2 Corinthians 6:3-10)

This work of being a Christian can be hard, but look at the reward. In just a few minutes Christ will offer Himself to you; His Body and Blood for your salvation and eternal life. The time of salvation is now: Enter now into the Joy of Your Master.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

FWIW, this homily was matched with the following in the "Q&A section of our weekly bulletin:

Question: I know someone that has been away from the church for years, but wants to come back. What is the procedure?

Answer: Invite them to come home! In accordance with the Gospel (e.g. St. Matthew 20: 13-16 & St. Luke 15: 31-32), we welcome them with open arms: they are immediately restored to full communion through the Sacraments of Repentance and Communion (if penance is required, then that is largely a private matter). Again in accordance with God’s instructions (e.g. St. Matthew 18: 4-6), we should put nothing (to include grudges and hard-heartedness) between Christ and His children. The “devil” is only “in the details” if we put him there. It is my opinion that if we truly reached out to folks that have been away for whatever reason, not only would our pews be full: we would be one step closer to living the kind of life that Christ requires of those who bear His name. We always greet everyone who comes in our doors with love and compassion (e.g. St. Matthew 5: 43-48). This is how we grow (as persons and as a church).