12th Sunday after Pentecost 2020 Fr. Lawrence Margitich

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The prayer before the

gospel tells us that we are going to hear glad

tidings, good news. We need encouragement, and

we need good news, whether it's international,

national, local, or personal. This last week

has been... Pretty difficult. Many, many challenges.

I could simply repeat the sermons I've been giving

for the last five months because we're going

through the same thing. It so happens, however,

that the gospel we have today is the glad tidings

we need I don't pick these gospels. This is in

a list of readings that the church indicates

for us as part of a cycle. And this is the one

we get today. Let's discover the good news that's

there if you haven't already. Every gospel is

a wake -up call. It's a visit from the Lord.

Sometimes he has to kind of get us by our shoulders.

And say, pay attention. I'm with you. Sometimes

he has to rub our head and our back because we're

asleep on the bed spiritually. Maybe emotionally.

The way we feel. And he has to nudge us. Wake

up. Arise, sleeper. Salvation is at hand. Once

again, today, we meet a familiar character in

the gospel. You know this man, this rich young

man. Religious man. He's done well in life so

far. He's a good man. He came by his wealth honestly.

And he honestly seeks a word from our rabbi,

our savior, Jesus Christ. And he approaches him

reverently. And he respectfully asks him an important

question. Master, good master, what must I do

to inherit eternal life? And Jesus, knowing this

man and loving him, knows that the question is

out of place. It's the wrong question. And he

needs to challenge and kind of shake this man

a little bit. He doesn't answer them right away,

does he? He says, why do you call me good? Only

one is good, but God. Keep the commandments.

And in truth, if we all kept those commandments,

honor, forgive, don't covet, don't lie, don't

kill, all those commandments about one another,

what a stable society we would truly have. because

we would be respectful of one another. He says

he's done all those things. He's perfected them

from his youth. I imagine Christ's surprise.

Really? Okay, how about this hard one? The man's

question, what do I need to do to inherit eternal

life, is like this. Think for a minute. Let's

think for a minute about falling in love. Someone

here today is celebrating an anniversary. I think

it's Alexander and Elena. Maybe if they're not

here, they're watching, maybe they could think

back how when Alexander was introduced to Elena

and there was something there. He started to

learn who she was. What if he went up to her,

oh, I don't know, about day three or four thinking,

wow, I really like this woman. He went up to

her and says, what do I need to do so that you'll

marry me? Now, I think any woman would go, I

think you're on the wrong track here. How about

we get to know each other first? You see, what

this man, in his honest but superficial approach,

was all about himself. Let's leave behind our

superficial and shallow understanding of a relationship

with Jesus Christ. What can we get from him so

that we feel better? What are we saying? God

is with us. Understand, all ye nations. Because

God is with us in the child. God is with us in

Galilee healing the lepers, the blind, the deaf,

the dumb, the sinful. God is with us on the cross.

God is with us in the resurrection. God is with

us in the liturgy. God is with us. This is a

matter of love. We don't go up to Christ and

say, what do I need to do to get into heaven?

St. Macarius the Great said this, even worldly

persons associated with the glory of something

beautiful, something great, a worldly king, know

this. How much more true is this of those whom

the finger of the divine spirit has touched?

Divine love has wounded their hearts with the

longing for Christ, his true and heavenly king,

his beauty and his ineffable glory. His unfailing

graciousness and his incomprehensible majesty

have conspired to hold a person captive with

desire and longing. Our whole being should be

fixed upon him with love because God has that

kind of love for us. His whole attention because

he is immortal. and eternal, ineffable, beyond

understanding. Each one of you, his attention

is fixed with desire and longing and care for

each one, each one of us. God created us for

that kind of love. The man in the story, the

account, when he heard Jesus say, come follow

me, you'll have treasure in heaven. He trusted

his own treasure. He didn't believe the one who

can really deliver. Here on earth, says Elder

Thaddeus of Serbia, there is nothing that can

give us inner peace. For neither riches, nor

glory, nor honor, nor position, nor family, nor

neighbors. nor psychiatrists, nor drugs, nor

other activity can give us unshakable inner peace.

There is only one giver of life, peace, and joy,

the one who said as he ascended, behold, I've

been given power, all power in heaven and on

earth. His power is not like, I don't know, a

Marvel Comics character like Thanatos or somebody

like that. His power is the power of love and

humility. His power is the power over evil. His

power has conquered death. That's the one we

want to follow. There's a lesson today in this.

that we need to grab the moment in this afterfeast

of St. John the Baptist, the beheading of St.

John the Baptist. It's a two -day feast. We keep

it again today. We are still contemplating and

prayerfully meditating on that great man and

on his death and that stupid man Herod on his

birthday. Take note of Herod's weakness. Herod

liked to hear him speak. He liked to hear Jesus

speak. And he was sorry, but he didn't repent.

He didn't change. He couldn't let go of the sin,

no matter how much he liked to hear St. John.

And later in the Gospel, Jesus is brought to

Herod to judge him at the crucifixion. This is

the son of the Herod that tried to kill him when

he was an infant. And Herod wanted to hear Jesus

says the gospel and maybe wanted to see a miracle.

Jesus said, not a word. The Savior answered,

not a word. Let's act, dear brothers and sisters,

when the invitation is coming to us, whether

it be for prayer in the morning or in the evening

or at noon, whether it be to... set aside to

discover in ourselves what it is, like that young

man, is keeping us from really coming to Christ.

Let's act when we are invited to, knowing that

God is patiently waiting for us, but perhaps

he will be like he was to Herod. He will say

not a word. In the book of Revelation, there's

a passage that says, to the angel of the church

in Ephesus, I write, I know your deeds. your

labor, your perseverance. Without growing weary,

you have persevered and endured many things for

my sake. But I have this against you. You have

abandoned your first love. And this first love,

indeed, for us, is the Savior Christ. Notice,

he does not send the young man away with a condemnation.

He lets something stir in that man's heart. Perhaps,

You and I don't feel like divine love has wounded

our heart with longing for Christ, for his ineffable

glory, his graciousness, his majesty. Maybe we're

not captivated with desire. This is not our experience.

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found

wanting, inadequate, says a great writer. It

has been found difficult. and left untried. The

Lord does not call us to walk a frightening and

dark road during these difficult days. He says,

I've walked this road. I know every turn and

every dip of it. I know every hillside. You can

follow me. You can be safe. I'm the good shepherd

that walks in front of his sheep. meeting all

the dangers himself, so that the sheep may be

safe. To our Lord who cares for us, be glory

now and ever, to ages of ages. Amen.