20081214 No Reserve Domain in Salvation

20081214 No Reserve Domain in Salvation
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Ephesians 5: 9-19. … (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says:
“ Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

St. Luke 18:18-27. And a certain ruler asked Him saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? None is good, save One, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not commit murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these I have kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, He said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me. And when he heard this, he was sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?” But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (One God). Amen.

Have you heard of the term “reserve domain”? As a political term, it can be thought of as those things that the government is not allowed to directly touch or affect. In the United States, our constitution – and especially the “Bill of Rights” – is designed to make sure that the government stays out of religion, out of our homes, out of our gun lockers, out of our peaceful assemblies, and so on. This is because the framers opposed tyranny and believed that a system of limited government would be best for our individual satisfaction and for the stability of our democracy.

I remember how upset my grandfather was because he felt the government encroached on the private domain of citizens when it amended the constitution in 1913 to make it easier for it to get into his wallet through a national income tax [16th Amendment]. He thought it had stepped way over the line. Others think the government stepped over the line when it passed the Patriot Act after 9/11; or when it protected the killing of the unborn with Roe vs. Wade; or when it threatened to tax political speech from the pulpit; or even when it generally privileges certain moral codes over others. I don’t want to talk about any of these issues today: my point is simply that all of us are accustomed to the reality and need for “reserve domains”.

In fact, we have a word for those governments that recognize no legitimate reserve domain: we call these governments “totalitarian”. The Soviet Union was totalitarian – it attempted to penetrate every aspect of people’s lives and to destroy every person, organization and institution that it could not twist to its own ends. Not every American agreed with President Reagan’s characterization of the Soviet Union as an “Evil Empire”, but I reckon that most did agree that Soviet subjects would have been better off without its invasive and tyrannical rule.
Glory to God, we do not live in a totalitarian state. While the scope and size of our government has certainly grown since the founding; our culture nonetheless has a strong sense of independence when it comes to government. We want our reserve domains. We may not agree on where they should be drawn, but all of us agree that there should be lines the government should not cross. We love our freedom. It is part of who we are. This is a wonderful thing. The founders were right: this keeps our country strong and our politics democratic. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. For Ukrainian Americans, this tradition is also supported by that of free Cossacks and the Zaporozhnian Sich. We all cherish our freedom.

Unfortunately, this bleeds over into other areas where the concept of the “reserve domain” is more problematic. Where it actually does us harm. Look at marriage: how many husbands and wives hide things from their spouses in a foolish attempt to maintain some kind of freedom? Virtual lives; hidden spending; separate bank accounts; drug use; extra-marital affairs and flirtations; these and other secrets come naturally to many Americans, but such reserve domains undermine the trust required to keep marriages healthy.

Worse, yet, are the things we try to keep from God.

Today’s Gospel lesson describes an encounter between God Incarnate and a rich young ruler. This young man is pious and respectful. He was a model to his peers, and would be recognized as such to us now because of his excellent manner of life. After all, how many of us have even tried to keep all the commandments from the time of our youth? And how many of us who have tried have had the self-discipline to successfully avoid temptation for so long? I only point this out because I want you to understand that this man was devoted to living life according to God’s will; and he seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it. But there was part of his life that he wanted to keep separate; private; reserved. When Jesus called him on it by telling him that he needed to sell everything he had, the young man “became sorrowful”. It seems as though he was willing to submit to God in every aspect of his life, save one. He wanted to protect that one area of his life; keep that one part of his life under his own control; keep that one part of his life separate from God. It is easy to fault the rich young man for this – and he certainly was at fault – but you have to admit that we are at least as guilty as him.

What will you do when God calls your bluff? When He tells you that you need to change the very part of your life you want to protect and keep private? Some of us are like the rich young ruler, afraid to give sacrificially from our budgets; others are reluctant to abandon extra-marital sex in favor of celibacy; others want to protect their careers; others are afraid to open up their hearts to love and hope. The actual domain may vary, but everyone seems to have at least one area they try to wall off from God.

Again, this seems quite natural to Americans. We subconsciously confuse the need for independence from government with independence from God. But we must empty ourselves completely to God; we must submit everything to His authority. Totalitarianism and tyranny are evil because men are imperfect and cannot be trusted with such power. But God is perfect and completely trustworthy. If He tells you to change part of your life, then you can be sure that giving it up is good for you; that it will make you more of who you really are and who you should become.

While it is hardly “selling everything you own”; the call toward tithing or sacrificial giving is likely to bring about the same sort of selfish sorrow that the rich young man had. Giving up meat during fasts, giving up sex outside marriage, and giving up our habitual hard-heartedness also seem easy when compared to the sacrifice asked of the rich young man; but we are as likely to walk away from Christ in sorrow when these things are asked of us as he was back then.

You cannot serve two masters (St. Matthew 6: 24). There is only one master worth having, and that is Jesus Christ. He is better than money, sexual gratification, meanness, and pride. These might bring comfort during this lifetime, but it is Christ that beings eternal life and following His commandments that bring true satisfaction and joy today.

Do what every saint has already done: give up everything you have and follow Him. Because through Him all things are possible.

-fr anthony