Come and get it were the words I loved to hear back on the farm. Mealtime on the farm usually meant me coming in from the heat and the day’s work pretty dirty. Usually I needed to remove my shoes before entering the house. I always headed to the sink to wash up; otherwise I was not allowed to sit at the dinner table. Granma Hazel would send me back to the sink a time or two because I had missed spots on the undersides of my forearms or maybe even my face needed a rinsing as well. Getting the dirt and grease off my hands and arms was not my priority, filling that hole in my belly and hollow left leg with vittles was! I wouldn’t have taken my shoes off or maybe even washed my hands if I had allowed my stomach to be priority number one. But in order to eat Grandma’s home cooking, there were some steps necessary to be rewarded with that pleasure, and I was willing to keep practicing!
Sometimes I missed a thing or two because my focus was somewhere else, and so it is with walk with Christ! In my efforts to be a good Christian, there are many little things that contribute to the everyday struggle. I constantly fall short and miss an opportunity to succeed on that walk; I inattentively step off the path and into the muck. I am not perfect and truthfully at times it is not my focus to be Christ-like, sometimes is all about my wants! We can all put on our church-face but the instances when I am not at my best or let my guard down are the memories that keep me grounded. They are the thorns that I have yet to pull! (2 Cor. 12:7) It is hard to live an ascetic life in the world with all of these distractions, but I need the practice! I need to be amongst these other souls that help me discover my shortcomings. I need to be reminded that there is still dirt under my forearm or smeared across my face! I need to be reminded that I still have work to do in my garden!
The man in the Gospel reading today reminds me of me “ Jesus said to him, “If thou art willing to be perfect, go and sell thy possessions, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and keep on following Me.” [Mt. 19:21] St Theophylact writes: “Everything, He says, which you say you have accomplished, you have done by fulfilling only the letter of the law, as do the Jews. But if you would be perfect, that is, be My disciple and a Christian, go and sell all you have, and give everything all at once, keeping nothing back which to give alms continuously….The young man, however, was sorrowful, for though he desired eternal life, and the soil of his heart was deep and fertile, yet the thorns of his wealth were choking him.” (The Explanation of Blessed Theophylact, pg 166) How easy it is to skip a step or two. Our Lord wants us all in!
Some of the much along our walk are confused by what the world tells us. However, premarital sex in not okay, getting drunk and high is not okay; it lets our guard down and allows demons in. Being physically and verbally abusive is not okay, does screaming really make our viewpoint right and everyone else wrong? Having murder in my heart and using my tongue as a sword as I slay my opponent is not okay! Stealing and cheating is not okay! Watching filth on our smart devices is not okay! Not giving God what is God’s in not okay! “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
How do we overcome these failures, these temptations? It is simply the turtle that wins the race, not the hare! Inch by inch, day by day, repentance after repentance! Practice, practice, practice! The Orthodox Church has the things you need to get better. You need to come to confession. Don’t let that devilish pride keep you away any longer, you and I need to be cleaned with the Body and Blood of Christ! Get clean, and when you get your feet back in the muck, repeat, repeat, repeat; confession, repentance and communion. Pray without ceasing! (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
The choir, the readers, the deacons and the priests are here at most of the services. There are times when we have had a terrible week and every burden seems to have landed squarely on our shoulders, and we really don’t want to be here! But at the end of the service peace has been restored to our souls. We have been transported from chronos time to kairos time, the world verses communion with God. Fr. Richard and I are here for you! What are you waiting for? Come and get it!! We yearn for your salvation! We pray for you and I know you pray for us, because I feel it! And most import of all, WE ARE FAMILY!
