The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

Today's Gospel reading (St. Luke 14, 16-24) presents us with the parable of the men who refused to come to a great supper. One bought a farm; another bought five yoke of oxen; and another married a wife. These were the reasons presented for not going to the great supper. The Fathers of the Church explain this parable by telling us how each excuse correlates with attachments to worldly pleasures. The man who bought a farm shows us the type of people attracted to exercising dominion and the greed of possession or ownership. The man who bought five yoke of oxen represents the kind of people who are slaves to curiosity. The five yoke represent the five senses, and some men are constantly seeking to see, touch, taste, and experience material things. Their curiosity is about the world around them or the lives of others, and they do not look inward into their own lives. The man who married a wife represents those who seek only physical pleasure. It is somewhat implied that he married a wife to satisfy lustful passions rather than for the love of children.

The great supper symbolizes the Heavenly Kingdom. The servant in the parable points to Jesus Christ, Who came to open up the Kingdom of Heaven and invite us to enter there. Tragically, those who are blessed with some of the best things in this world find them to be impediments to greater spiritual blessings. It is not sinful or wrong to purchase a farm, yoke of oxen, or even marry a wife. These things are all good. The problem is when these things take precedence over God's greater spiritual goods.

Our attachment to the riches and pleasures of this world makes them become like thorns that wound and injure us because they keep us from gaining any spiritual graces. St. Gregory said: "Bodily delights, when we do not possess them, awaken in us a great desire for them. But when they are ours, and we taste them, our delight soon turns to distaste through satiety. Spiritual delights, on the other hand, when we do not possess them, are distasteful to us; but desired the more once we possess them."

The worldly are inclined to envy the rich, powerful, or famous people of this world, but if we look closer, we often see that worldly success brings serious spiritual pain and suffering. Among the worldly successful people, we often find that they have tried and failed at multiple marriages, and they suffer anxiety and depression to a greater extent. Worldly success is indeed a thorn that wounds and destroys them. When we see this, it becomes almost incomprehensible that so many people strive for and even pray to receive these material successes. We seem to forget the woes that the rich of this world experience.

On the other side, the poor and feeble of this world wonder why God is punishing them with certain material deprivations. The world fails to understand that poverty and sickness are blessings from God rather than curses. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God." It is not simply material poverty that is required. Many are materially poor but are filled with desire and chase after worldly things. These are not poor in spirit. To be truly poor in spirit, we must become spiritually maturer or spiritually wiser. When we are poor in spirit, we see the possession of things, the curious pursuit of physical sensations, and the addictive pursuit of lustful desires as snares or traps to keep us from advancing in grace and virtue. The spiritually poor can possess some material things but are never possessed by them. They are always ready to leave these things behind to pursue greater spiritual treasures.

Suffering and crosses in this life are God's gifts by which He strives to make us turn away from this world so that we will answer His invitation to the spiritual banquet of Heaven. The crosses of this life are the means to even greater spiritual treasures in Heaven.

Few parents understand that the desire they have for their children's material success is more of a curse than a blessing. Freely and willingly embracing poverty, chastity, and obedience for the love of God is the greatest desire and prayer that we can instill in the hearts of our children. This is not a defeatist resignation but is instead a wise and mature choice made for the love of God. It is the perfect way to give greater honor and glory to God and aid in the salvation of our fellow men.

May we all strive to obtain for ourselves and our loved ones a natural and longing appetite for the Great Supper offered by God to us in Heaven.

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