9th Sunday of Luke
November 22


Wealth is a gift from God and its utilization should be made with this constantly in mind. Reflecting upon today’s reading of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke and we learn that many do not recognize the gift of wealth as being a blessing from God.

Wealth is of no value to the wealthy when they are of ill health or are dying. Money cannot buy health or guarantee life, for these are also gifts from God! We are to live as stewards of the mysteries of God and as such, our life is to be lived to the fullest extent of the God given talents that are bestowed upon us by our Heavenly Father.

Listen to the words of our Lord, as recorded by the Evangelist Matthew, chapter 25, verse 34: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” This most powerful passage teaches that we will be held accountable to the Lord for our behavior on earth.

The Beatitudes teach us the important lessons of life. The Lord said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This first Beatitude from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount is the theme that shines forth like a gem from the context of today’s reading of the Holy Gospel.

Today’s Gospel lesson points out our foolish concern for the unimportant and insignificant things of our present life. The Holy Gospel reading is so very illustrative of our life today. We are concerned about material wealth and its accumulation with the hope that we will land on easy street and take life leisurely the rest of our days. The remark is often heard: “If only I can swing a certain business deal”, or “If I could only get that new job”, or “If I could inherit what is due me, now”, perhaps win a lottery – then I will be set. “Set?” Set for what?

The first Beatitude tells us that those who are poor materially for Christ’s sake are actually rich in the spirit of God. Possession of material wealth is not a sin in itself, because all we possess is a gift of God. As a matter of fact, all we possess actually belongs to God! It is sinful ONLY when our sense of values becomes warped, when wealth takes preference in our lives, and greed becomes paramount. It is with this in mind that St. John Chrysostom wrote: “Become a good manager of those things given you by God.”

As we consider our responsibility to the Lord and to one another, we must recognize that we have been given the privilege to exist for the glorification of God and to aspire to His image and likeness of perfection as sons and daughters of the most High! We are destined to live eternally in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is God’s desire that “all people should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth!” It is to this end that Christ came into time to affect the salvation of all mankind.

In today’s Gospel story we have the illustration of a man who stored his accumulation of grain into newer and larger barns so that he would not have to worry about his sustenance for the rest of his life. However, he took for granted the extent of his life. He may have been able to control the storage of his grain, but his life span was not his to decide! He worried about the years ahead which was a futile aspiration for his soul was required of him that very evening.

God, His Church, our Christian Orthodox Faith, is not a joke or something to be taken lightly. It is a very serious commitment that requires conviction! It is for real…It may seem nice to come to church on Sunday as the thing to do; exchange pleasantries and greetings; sit through a Divine Liturgy and then return home with some sense of satisfaction in having fulfilled an obligation. Remember that the Pharisees did likewise. In being baptized a Christian, we accepted a commitment to live in Christ! Coming to church every Sunday for a lifetime is no guarantee of one’s salvation, but it is the only place to begin, because there is no other place on earth. This is where Christ manifests Himself at every Divine Liturgy in the Holy Eucharist.

As Orthodox Christians, we must put forth great effort to find ourselves and be carried away with the spirit of Christ, and keep Him with us everywhere we go. How can we do this? Whether we are blessed with wealth, or if we have a limited income, we must realize the privilege of giving to the Church and Her sacred mission as an expression of our faith in Jesus Christ! We must pray for others always, no matter how unfairly we may be treated: Pray for their good health; Pray for their illumination in Christ; Pray for the departed and the eternal repose of their soul; Pray that God’s Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!
Our Christian Orthodox commitment to Christ and His Church involves constant determination to better our lives. We cannot afford to become complacent to the extent that we might sit back; divorce ourselves from the life of the Church to “eat, drink, and be merry,” so to speak. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ warns us of insignificant and irrelevant endeavors we might pursue foolishly. All earthly wealth, in time, becomes corrupt and disappears. It is only by our living the Christian Orthodox Faith through good works that we lay up treasure in heaven. If it is hard for someone to understand this, the example of the birds, who do not plant or harvest, or the wild flowers that do not toil or spin, yet the former are fed and God provides for the least of these, why then does one think that God will not provide for him? Christ attributes this kind of thinking to little faith.

The lesson of today’s parable is that we must concern ourselves with attaining the kingdom of Heaven and all of our other needs will be provided. To follow the path of the rich fool is to follow the road of destruction and condemnation. For “what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul.” AMEN!



Archippus the Apostles,Philemon the Apostle & his wife, Apphia, Onesimos the Disciple of Paul
November 22

Philemon, who was from Colossae, a city of Phrygia, was a man both wealthy and noble; Apphia was his wife. Archippus became Bishop of the Church in Colossae. All three were disciples of the Apostle Paul. Onesimus, who was formerly an unbeliever and slave of Philemon, stole certain of his vessels and fled to Rome. However, on finding him there, the Apostle Paul guided him onto the path of virtue and the knowledge of the truth, and sent him back to his master Philemon, to whom he wrote an epistle (this is one of the fourteen epistles of Saint Paul). In this epistle, Paul commended Onesimus to his master and reconciled the two. Onesimus was later made a bishop; in Greece he is honoured as the patron Saint of the imprisoned. All these Saints received their end by martyrdom, when they were stoned to death by the idolaters. Saint Onesimus is also commemorated on February 15.

Reading Courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery




Holy Martyr Cecilia and Those with Her
November 22

Saint Cecilia was of an illustrious Roman family. On being betrothed to Valerian, she drew him to the Faith of Christ, and he in turn drew his own brother Tiburtius to the same. They contested in martyrdom during the reign of Diocletian, in the year 288.

Reading Courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery