July 6, 2014 Sunday Sermon, Money

...  in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us.  Lord, cleanse us from our sins.  Master, pardon our iniquities.  Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities for Your Name’s sake.  Lord have mercy (three times).

July 6, 2014 Sunday Sermon, Money

Old Testament Lesson

Exodus 20:1-17, The Decalogue: The Law

And God spoke all these words,

“I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall not have other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself any graven image: any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me; and showing mercy to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.  You shall labor six days, and do all your work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: You shall not do any work in it: not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

The First Commandment with promise

Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long on the land which the Lord your God gives you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Psalm 119:12, 18

Blessed are You, O Lord: teach me Your Statutes.

Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law.

The Gospel

Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23

[Jesus] spoke many things to them in parables,

“Behold, a sower went out to sow.  When he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony ground, where there was not much soil; they sprung up immediately, because they had no depth of soil; when the sun rose, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away.  Some fell among thorns; the thorns sprung up, and choked them.  Others fell on good soil, and brought forth fruit: some, one hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

“Therefore, Hear the parable of the sower.

“When any one hears the Word of the kingdom, and does not understand it[1], then comes the wicked one, and grabs away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.

“He who received the seed into stony soils, is he who hears the Word, and quickly receives it with joy.  Yet he has no root in himself, so enduring for a while, when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, after a while he is offended[2].

“He who received seed among thorns is he who hears the Word.  Yet the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.

“He who received seed into good soil is he who hears the Word, understands it; who also bears fruit: bringing forth one hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”

The Homily

Money!  The individuals of modern society are increasingly defined by money.  Great athletes and coaches are no longer remembered for their contribution to the sport, but for the enormity of their monetary contract.  Great inventors like Boeing, Douglas, Grumman, the Lockheed brothers, McDonnell, Northrop, or the Wright brothers are no longer measured by the beauty of their ideas, but by the size of their government contracts.  The once friendly town doctor (no longer treats all, frequently without pay) is now a debt and regulation burdened profit center.  The family farm is a money churning corporation, and God help it if it fails to post a positive portfolio this year.

Now, even womanhood is defined by the number of stars on an Admiral’s shoulders: not for her contribution, not for the wonderful things she has accomplished, but for her acquisition of power, status, and the highest attainable salary in military service; all of which are acquired mostly by good luck: for there are many women who have given equally amazing achievements to the world without any recognition at all.

Even our healthcare industry is more concerned with the money of sexuality, than with actual healthcare for all.  The morning after pill must be in place, so that people can go back to work, unimpeded by children, so they can be defined by money.

You as well, whether male or female, will be defined in your lifetime by the size of your 401k, and by your net worth, not by the things you did for other people.  When you are cremated or lowered into a grave, few will much care about anything other than the magnitude of your estate; and if it is of any size, wars will be fought over how it is divided.

The result of this definition is the deprecation and marginalization of all other social values.  It is fundamental to the current collapse of our society, and indicates that we will only recover with great pain and difficulty, if we recover at all.  It explains, in part, why 1% of the American population have hoarded 40% of the wealth to themselves: obviously, they are more important and valuable people, deserving all the money they can hoard.  It explains, in part, why there are no jobs: obviously, work, in and of itself, is not a value.  The definition of humanity by money paralyzes us by distracting us from those things which are truly important in life.  Soon this distraction terminates our ability to be free.

Hawthorne (1804-1864) appreciated this fact when he wrote his scathing condemnation in The House of the Seven Gables.  Shakespeare (1564-1616) lampooned it with his character, Shylock, The Merchant of Venice.

Jesus warned us that this would happen, “The cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.”  “You cannot love God and mammon.”[3]  “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”[4]  Let us not focus our lives on what we get, but rather on what we give (with or without pay).  Let us be defined by the size of our hearts, not by the size of our wallets.  Let God be pleased to make us into good soil, and fruitful.  Definition by money is just another form of fruitless slavery.

Christ has set us free.  The Holy Ghost makes us free.[5]

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[1] We fail to understand the Word of God, even when we hear it, because we do not have the gift of the Holy Ghost teaching us and empowering us to learn.  This is our failure in not asking God for the gift of His Holy Ghost, because this gift is freely offered to all who ask (Luke 11:9-13).

[2] He is not offended at the world for persecuting him; but offended with God for letting him being put under tribulation.

[3] Matthew 6:24

[4] Acts 20:35

[5] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  They are designed and intended for your free participation.  They were freely received, and are freely given.  No other permission is required for their use.