Homily on the 11th Sunday after Pentecost.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go. Mt 18:23-27
At the beginning of this week I was walking around my estate with my family to get some fresh air and to get our daily exercise, as this time of isolation can be a time to pile on the kilos if one is not careful! Therefore, as we were walking, we encountered two young women both pushing a baby stroller. The footpath had a large bush covering the majority of it so my wife and I stopped behind the bush; giving them enough space to pass. The women passed by, continuing their conversation as if we were invisible.
Thus, my wife turned to me and stated that she was quite disappointed that the two women did not have the decency to say thank you to us for stopping to let them pass.
Now correct me if I am wrong, but is not courteous to say “thank you” if someone were to go out of their way in order to render assistance or just making life that tad easier? Moreover, in the past 10-15 years I have noticed the number of drivers that wave their hand when you give way has declined dramatically. I recall as a young child asking my mum - “Why does everyone say hello to each other when you drive” and she explained to me - “If someone gives way to you or allows you to merge into traffic, the polite thing to do is wave your hand to indicate your appreciation”.
Hence, as we continued walking, we passed by a house where a little girl was playing with her toys by the window. As my wife was expressing her frustration regarding the two women earlier, the little girl stopped what she was doing; smiled and waved at my wife with such enthusiasm. At which my wife turned to me and said - “This little girl has just made my day”!
Therefore, if our hearts have pure intent meaning, if we do good onto others without expecting anything in return and live in God through the Mysteries of His Church, He (God) will always turn a negative situation into a positive situation! As He has proven time and time again through our lives!
Having stated thus, may I pose the question and ask - “What happened to the Aussie spirit that so many of us brag on about? We as a race and a nation (Australia) are becoming more and more desensitised towards one another; purely due to the fact that – (A) we are slowly losing touch with our spiritual side (Establishing an intimate relationship with God), (B) self-hatred, a contributing factor due to the absence of God in our lives!
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. Mt 18:28-30
Thus, on the other side of the spectrum there are people who constantly go out of their way to make others feel loved, wanted and appreciated; giving a small word of encouragement where it is needed; as that little girl showed onto my wife.
The other day I was having a conversation with my wife and she was explaining to me that she is in an online chat room with two of her friends; where they message each other to see how they are doing on a daily basis.
Hence, my wife was explaining to me that she finds these motivational quotes online and posts them on this chat room in order to motivate her friends and encourage them to carry on. Most of the times these quotes go unnoticed which isn't an issue for her but she said she feels as if she's trying to encourage or motivate the walls.
Therefore, my wife felt that the quotes weren't beneficial for her two friends so she decided to send them to another friend. The response my wife received made her feel so good for being able to make her friend know that she wasn’t forgotten and that she is not alone!
Thus, as I stated before God always turns a negative into a positive! In the above the negative would have been, my wife wasting time to send the positive messages but through the grace of God via the gift of discernment she made another friend feel as we say in our native tongue – over the moon!
When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Mt 18:31-35
We can all recall that saying that we learnt as young children, “Treat others the way you would like to be treated”! We can find similar sayings in Holy scripture in – Lk6:31, Mt7:12, Phil,2:4, Jn7:24, Rom,13:10......
Therefore, if we were to show one person what love truly is (Jesus) and show them how to acquire it (The Mysteries of The Church), this world will be a slightly better place. This is every Christians role, not to go out and shout “repent of your sins” rather employ the gentleness and love we omit every day! This gentleness and love they see emanating from us will spark their curiosity and they will learn that they too can acquire it! The requirement is humility. Through it (humility) God makes everything possible, everything positive and renders our lives whole!
In conclusion, we must always turn to the Theotokos (Mother of God) for she is eternally interceding for us Her children. And Jesus like any good and well-behaved Son listens to His Mothers requests! (Honour thy Father and thy Mother) She is the prime example of supreme humility for when the Archangel Gabriel came to Her and invited Her to become the living tabernacle of God the word and to take from Her flesh in order to become Son of man – she wholeheartedly responded with a YES, placing all Her trust in God the author of life!
Thus, this is why we venerate and magnify Her. Firstly, because She is the Mother of God (Jesus) and secondly because She is our Mother! From the foot of the Holy Cross Jesus gave her to us Jn19:27
As we draw near to the conclusion of the Dormition fast let us raise our hearts onto God through the prayers of the All Holy Theotokos, praying Lord Jesus Christ Our God Have Mercy on us and save us!
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