Sunday Sermon

We hear of a king settling accounts with his servants. One servant is forgiven a debt of a very great amount of money after he begs forgiveness from the king.

This servant turns around and then shows no mercy whatsoever to a fellow-servant who owed him a small amount of money.

Hear how the king reacts upon hearing of this, and learn our Lord's lesson for all of us in living a life of forgiveness.

Jesus told three parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The third parable is commonly known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but it might be more aptly called the Parable of the Loving Father. All three parables speak of the recovering of that which was lost, but the focus of the third parable is different than that of the first two. The focus of the third parable is on the actions of the father of the returning prodigal. For me, the most important aspect of this parable is what it tells us of our Heavenly Father’s reaction when any of us turns toward Him: He “runs” to embrace us.

Both Matthew and Luke tell us that sometime earlier Jesus looked down upon the city and had cried out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34) Do you hear those words? YOU WERE NOT WILLING.

And that brings us to today. Just like the people of Jerusalem, we find ourselves in the presence of Jesus. I wonder what He sees when He looks at us? Does He see people worried about many things? Does He see people who are so busy doing things here and there—so busy that they never bother to consider those things that are eternally important?

Or does He see people who recognize Him for who He is—the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God, our Savior. When He turns and looks into our lives, I wonder, will He weep once again because of what He sees? Or will we have the peace that passes all understanding as we respond to His outstretched arms and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord”?

“I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other.” St. Luke 18: 14.

When a man is able to declare himself free from so many vices, such as theft, injustice, adultery, to thank God in fervent prayer for benefits received, to fast, to give a tenth part of his goods to the poor, are not those praiseworthy holy works and occupations which show a man to be a pious, just servant of God? On the other hand, what is more scandalous than to see a man wallowing in all sorts of wickedness, so that he is publicly called a sinner? Yet how different was the judgment pronounced by our Lord on the two men: “I say to you this man went down into his house justified rather than the other.” Who would look on such a judgment as just if he did not know it came from the infallible Truth?

LECTURES FROM THE HEART: PRAYER AND FASTING

Today our Lord delivers a boy from a demon which the disciples had not been able to cast out. This demon had caused the poor boy to toss himself into fire and water alternately, seeking through one or the other to cause destruction.

The Lord tells the disciples that they were not able to cast out the demon because of their own unbelief. And in addition to faith, prayer and fasting were also necessary for casting out such a destructive demon.

Our Lord today reminds us of the very same thing. As the devils redouble their desire for destruction, let us redouble our faith, which then will enliven our prayer and fasting!

LECTURES FROM THE HEART: O YE OF LITTLE FAITH

Today our Lord retires into a mountain alone to pray for us all, while He sends His disciples ahead of him on a boat across the sea. When night was come, the boat was tossed by the wind and waves upon the sea, and the Apostles feared for their lives.

What then do they see but the Lord Himself coming to them, walking across the stormy water! Hear today's lesson as Peter wishes to walk across the water to meet the Lord. What can we learn from his example?

The idea of one’s being a servant to a master is somewhat foreign to our thinking today. We sometimes compare it to the employer-employee relationship, but that does not do justice to the master-servant relationship. A servant is one who gives up himself wholly to another’s will. He is devoted to another to the disregard of his own interest. We are all servants. The question is what, or whom do we serve? Do we serve sin, or do we serve God?

It's not always easy to see the needs of other people. Sometimes we are too focused on our own problems to see when others are hurting. At times we lack awareness because our schedule is overloaded. The truth is, you were created to serve God by helping others. In doing so, you are fulfilling the law of Christ. But you can't help someone with their burden if you don't see it. If you care, you'll be aware.

It has been asked by someone, “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”

Many Christians struggle more with their personal prayer life than with any other area of their lives. Jesus told His disciples, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17). Paul preached, “Our God does not dwell in temples made with hands.” We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 3:16). Christ lives within us, and our Heavenly Father’s call on each of our lives is to be a house of prayer.

What should we do, when we realize that the world we live in is a cess pool? And how do we purify and guard our minds amongst such wickedness?