Help for our Desire

Today is the fulfillment of the Lord‘s promise that with God all things are possible. What things? The things of salvation through Christ from sin and death, the things of the Passover of Christ from death to eternal life, and the things of communion with Christ himself, the taste and the site of life in the kingdom of heaven at hand. What mortal does not urgently need immortality? What departed soul does not need eternal life? What doubter does not secretly desire the kingdom to taste and to see?

How is this promise fulfilled today? It is fulfilled in the proof of two contrasting lives. The first life is the rich young man in Luke’s Gosport which is red on the 30th Sunday after Pentecost, the one who called Christ by a mere earthly title “good teacher“ and asked what he could do to inherit eternal life. T The second life is the life of a very rich man in Jericho, Zacchaeus, whose life is red on the 32nd Sunday after Pentecost, today.

And that we may see who Christ is, that he is so near, and that we may understand whether Christ himself is our hearts true desire, let us examine the proof of the life of the first .

For the first life kept the particular Commandments which he and Christ discussed together, face to face. But they did not discuss the first and greatest commandment: to love God. That would’ve required an act of faith prescribed by Christ God, to go and sell , and then give to the poor, and have riches in heaven, and then come and follow. The first man desired to be a success, to keep the commandments, to do an honest days work. The first man desired to make investments, in order to be secure. The first man desired to be well thought of and respected among his peers. Indeed, the first gained all of these things. In modern times we might say such a person as one who lived a good life, was never seen speeding on the highway. He never rolled through a stop sign but stopped waited three seconds and then proceeded. He always paid his taxes. He dressed well and was neat and tidy. He never gave a false account against anyone. He never committed adultery. He honored his parents. He’s the kind of person whose life reads well in an obituary and makes you let out a sigh. Who among us hearing of such an honorable and moral and even law abiding and successful life of prosperity and self discipline does not think headfirst to himself or herself: what is wrong with that? If so, our own hearts desire is a kin to this first men’s hearts desire. His desire was not God. The first man loved himself. Therefore, the first man saw the incarnate God standing before him, the kingdom of heaven at hand. The first man loved mammon and hated God, and he served mammon and therefore despised God. How did this man despise God? The first man sought to exploit the riches of God, like the prodigal who wanted the inheritance of his father in this world and Early. The first man desired his own life, His own will, and he wanted it to last forever, like Adam who plucked an apple. The Lord reveals this to us that we may turn towards him. And if we are willing to renounce the necessity and danger of such a desire to save our own life and preserve it, and that we may understand Christ is our savior from danger and necessity of this world; indeed that we may understand well enough to change our desire for this world to a desire for a true life, true joy, and true freedom which indoors in this world and in the next, that is consider the proof of the life of the second man.

The second man, as we have said before, has a name. It is derived from the Hebrew word meaning “pure“ or “innocent“. Such a name describes the image and likeness of god given with free will to accept it, to enjoy it, and offer it safely back to God for greater blessings yet to come, or to exploit or to consume like Adam consuming the Apple and separating and breaking communion with God.

How is the second man, Zacchaeus, contrasted from the first? The first kept the Commandments or at least some of them. The second did not. The first did an honest day at work. The second did not. The first made investments. The second did not. The first was well thought of among his peers. The second was not but was despise and hate it and justifiably so. But, my brothers and sisters, beware of that so far the contrasting features of these two lives is only on a moral ground, these contrast Ani are seen by the eyes of mortal man. But we are called to do more than us. Let us lift up our hearts to see the contrast of these lives in the light of the divine knowledge of the gospel of God‘s beloved son, Jesus Christ. By the grace of God we see that the first man did not know the depths of the trouble of his soul. But the second man knew full well that his soul was already in hell. The first desire to live comfortably on the earth forever. But the second desired to depart from the choke hold of the cares and pleasures of this world which would choking his life, and to be saved from them. The first could not think to confess a single sin or transgression that he had committed, for he had kept the letter of the law but had violated its spirit and purpose of love and mercy. But the second already dreaded the divine judgment that would come for his vast extortion against his neighbors and he was one who was speechless in the judgment. The first met God face-to-face but turned away from him. But the second overcame obstacles and climbed a sycamore tree desiring to see who Jesus was, and having seen him face to face, never turned his back or went away, but obeyed him. The first word away do his own home and had a meal prepared for him by his servants. But the second went to his own home because the Lord had spoken to him and was coming to see him, and he made preparations to serve the Lord. The first kept an orderly gate and entrance to his home. But the second wedding side of his home and rearranged everything to prepare room for the Lord. The first eight sumptuously with his friends and family. But the second had no friends and yet he communed with the only true friend of mine, the Lord. The first stood in his house but had no exclamation of joy, no repentance, only sorrow for himself. But the second, having been moved by the power of salvation come to his house, stood up and exclaimed to all who would hear it: “look Lord! I give half of all my goods to the poor!“ And continued further in his inspiration, in his new life of repentance, excited for the day when he would depart this life in peace. The first saw only the impossible. But the second sole what Simeon be held when he received the child Jesus into the temple and exclaimed “mine eyes have seen the salvation, a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of the people Israel.“ Finally, my brothers and sisters, the first desired his life but did not desire God in his life, and therefore received no help from God. But the second who desire to see who Jesus was and desired more of him and yet more, he was the one who received help from God, he was the one for whom God made possible an entrance into the kingdom of heaven and life eternal. That is the fulfillment of the Lord‘s promise but with God all things are possible, it was God‘s salvation from sin and death as possible, that with God the passage from death to eternal life is possible, that with God to taste and see the life of the kingdom of heaven at hand is possible. For the first life is not named, he having desire to have his name on a monument, but not to have his name in the book of life. The first therefore is not separated by a great chasm and his name is neither spoken no remembered. But the second repented of his self centeredness and all its harmful consequence, and desired to see who Jesus was, that was his desire, and he received help, God made it possible for his feet to enter into the kingdom and for his sore to inherit eternal life which is Christ himself.

That is all well and good, you may say. But you may ask how does this apply to our life in this parish? That is good to ask. Indeed, let us ask, therefore, what is our desire when we see that our parish life, our budget is continuous continuously thousands of dollars in deficit, week after week? Is the desire in our hearts that of the first person, to hold onto our money, to live a good and moral life, hard-working, respectable? Is it to hold ourselves only to the standards of this world and to offer gifts only according to the teaching and wisdom of the world? Or is it the desire of the second, the desire to love God and the power of God to save us, the desire to be relieved of the chokehold of the cares and pleasures of this world , the desire to prepare in our homes, in our hearts, for the Lord to offer himself to us eternal life? Or one I say, what does it have to do with our daily life as persons? Yes, what about the deficit of our soul? What is our desire for our soul? Is it to pass from death to eternal life? Is it to taste and to see the kingdom of heaven at hand? If that is our desire, the Lord in deed promises to make it possible. Indeed the Lord is helping us even now with all of his orders and hosts of archangels and angels appointed in heaven, all of his saints, the holy Catholic and apostolic church which is now equipping us to prepare for the time of necessary repentance, the time of great lent, which begins March 7th which is the support, the structure, the very presence of God making it possible for us to enter the kingdom of heaven.

May our desire be desire for this very same Christ who stood before the first man who walked away from Christ that is now separated by a great chasm and whose name is neither spoken or remembered. They our desire to be for this very same Christ God who stood before the second, who did not walk away nor became sorrowful, but heard the word of the Lord, received it with joy, and went and made his home, that is his heart, a place to serve the Lord and to worship him, the Savior of his soul . By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the father and the communion of the Holy Spirit, it is possible for us to experience the Lord‘s mercy, the Lord‘s generosity in our hearts, even the possibility he makes for us to make haste, to prepare bread and wine which, with gods sanctification in this holy house, becomes communion, his very life, his body, his blood, the kingdom at hand.

May the Holy Spirit cause it all to exclaim true and bold and grateful words of repentance and joy because today salvation has come to our house. God is our savior, and to him we give glory, praise thanksgiving and worship forever. Amen