Homily given at Saint Tikhon's Monastery Church on November 20, 2017 by Reader Andrew Bohush
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Glory to Jesus Christ!
In today’s Gospel reading we hear of a rich man whom had more than what he needed, but not more than he would ever want. This man thought he should use his riches and grow what he already had into something bigger. He would build bigger barns to store his crops, hoarding them and not making them available to others. But having more of something and make it bigger, is it always better? The rich man was also going to celebrate his riches.
We see this in today’s society where people feel that they are better than the other person based on what they have on worldly possessions. These possessions are only temporal and cannot be taken with us to Kingdom of which is to come.
Do not feel that I am judging nor should you judge those who have. It only takes reciting Saint Ephraim’s prayer to quickly put us in a stop for that. It is what we do with what we have that is important.
I recently came across a picture on the of a huge mansion and a smaller home side by side and underneath the picture was of a grave of which was freshly dug. The caption read, “no matter where you live in this life, your final resting place is the same whether you are rich or poor”.
We all have that one worldly possession that we consider as our vice, the one thing that we cannot go without. Whether it is our cell phone, computer, television, video games, car or any other object that we cannot go without. We all know that we will not be able to take it to the Kingdom with us and not be able to use it there. As we are now about a week into the Nativity Fast, we have given up meat and dairy, lets us also give up another possession of ours for another month. Lets see how we are as person without this object. Will we be a better person? How will we change, for the better or for the worse?
Christ calls the rich man foolish: You work hard to gain stuff. You have more than you need. You think only of yourself. Then you die, and have nothing. What will happen to this “stuff” that we have. We will have no need for any of this “stuff”. These worldly possessions cannot be taken with us.
We must not be foolish and think not just about our body, and ourselves but we must think of our soul and how we can purify it and make it a clean just as the Bridegroom saw His Bride.
Tonight at the Vigil for the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple we will hear how Joachim and Anna will be giving up their one worldly possession to God as a “thank you” and to say that they kept their word by promising God they will offer up their first born child to Him. This is a great example of how Joachim and Anna gave up their most prized possession, their daughter. The one thing in their life they thought they would never have, but were given a child from God and this child was given up to God in the Holy of Holies.
Let us use the rich man as an example to us; let us strive to be rich toward God and to bring ourselves closer to God. This is to put our trust in God and be able not to deprive us of God and his works. Also, let us see God as our treasury of good things, who is present with us and to be able to come and partake of the biggest treasury that we are given, His Body and Blood. Amen.
Dedicate ourselves to one another and our lives to God and Christ.