One of the many things we talk about in our Metanoia classes is the very different ideas that surround the way we approach Christianity in Holy Orthodoxy when in comparison to our Western Brothers and Sisters. Often, when we are having theological discussions with others, we use the same words and language, but come at them with a completely different understanding.
Today’s gospel lesson on the Rich Man and Lazarus offers us an opportunity to talk about one of those words: Sin. The English dictionary defines sin as: An offense against religious or moral law. It says the origin of the word comes from the Latin “sont” which means guilty. This is why we often hear the word sin tied so heavily to guilt, or the need for Jesus to pay a penalty for us to appease an angry God.
In Holy Orthodoxy, sin is viewed in a different light. We take our understanding from the Greek word for Sin that is used in Holy Scripture: “amartia”. This word means “to miss the mark.” Imagine that we are all archers, aiming our arrows for the target. Our arrows are the directions that we take in life…our journey towards Christ who is the target. When we sin, we sway from the bullseye and literally “miss the mark”. We spend our life in repentance, metanoia…literally changing the direction of our life is going.
I bring these images to you this morning, because we are given a powerful parable by our Lord in today’s Gospel, that describes a man who “missed the mark”. The rich man spent his days clothed in the finest clothes and eating the best meals. He daily passed by a poor and destitute man called “Lazarus”, whose name means “God is my help”. The rich man passed by him like he didn’t exist…refusing to offer him love, charity, or generosity. In the end, it was Lazarus who ended up in paradise, and the nameless rich man that spent eternity in a hell that he himself created.
The rich man was a poor archer, who missed the mark in two distinct ways that we can all relate to. The first was the sin of “attachment”…this belief that the things of this world will bring us true happiness:
“If I only had more money, I’d be happy.”
“If I only had a better spouse, I’d be happy.”
“If I didn’t have to work and could retire, I’d be happy.”
“If I could just have everything I want, when I wanted it, all of my problems would be solved!”
We become so caught up in the “if only”, that we forget the one universal truth, that there are two ways to be truly unhappy: Not getting what you want…and getting everything that you want.
The second arrow that the rich man spent his life missing the mark, was that of the fear of loss. So often, when we finally get what we want, we have a tremendous fear that we will lose it, or that it will be taken away from us. This is the seed of greed, which is a path that leads us further away from Christ.
Now, before everyone goes and sells their houses and retirement plans this morning, and before everyone starts to think that living in the richest country in the world is a one way ticket to eternal damnation, let us not forget about the example of the third character in our parable this morning…Abraham!
We hear in the Old Testament, how Abraham’s nephew Lot was taken captive by several kings who combined their forces to plunder his land and possessions. Abraham came to his nephew’s rescue by chasing after these kings and destroying their armies…gaining the opportunity to not only return all of Lot’s riches, but to plunder that of these wicked kings as well.
As Abraham is negotiating what to do with the spoils of war, a mysterious priestly King named “Melchizedek”, who had nothing to do with the war, comes onto the scene, comes to offer Abraham hospitality, brining bread and wine as refreshment for Abraham and for all of the soldiers. Melchizedek gave Abraham a blessing saying: “By God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, blessed be Abraham and blessed be God the Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
The blessing was an eye opener for Abraham, who realized that all of the good he had been given came from God. He refused to take any spoils of war, because he came to the realization that it was God who was the source of all of his blessings. Abraham became the first person in the history of the world to tithe 10% of everything he was given, back to God.
Dear ones, the way we hit the mark that has been placed before us, is to come to the realization that all we have comes from God Himself. It is a shift in thinking that takes away the sins of attachment and greed, when we begin to see the truth...that we simply stewards of all that we have been given.
In the next direct deposit that you receive from your employer, this is money that could not have been earned without God…who gave you everything you needed with which to earn it. How do you use that gift to worship the God Most High?
We all have both the blessing and the curse of living in the richest country in the world…a place where very few men, women, or children go hungry. A country where even the poor would be considered rich in many places throughout the world. How do we take that wealth and use it to do God’s work in the rest of the world?
We have all been made stewards of this Holy Church in Fenton. How much of our time, talents, and treasures will we sacrifice to be good stewards of the gift that God has given?
As we are reminded today, we are all archers that have been given a limited number of arrows to fire towards the Divine life. Let us pray dear ones, that our aim is true!