Our Holy Fathers Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium (4th c.) and Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum (7th c.); Post-feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God
1 Timothy 5:11-21; Luke 17:26-37
Nativity Fast.
Read Luke 17:26-37
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.
Today’s gospel recalls the Old Testament figures Noah and Lot. During these men’s lifetimes, there were many wicked people in the world. These people would abuse the pleasures of this life, carrying on with everyday life while contentedly conducting themselves in evil ways with no desire for repentance. Instead of pursuing virtue, they would distract themselves from God and busied themselves with eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, buying and selling, planting and building. In their own minds, they were making their life secure, but God had a different plan for them.
In the Garden of Eden, the deceptive serpent tempted Eve to eat the fruit saying, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4-5). Just like Adam and Eve, people today still face the temptation to forget about God and instead try to make themselves gods. Adam and Eve were given dominion by God over all of creation to be its stewards, but they still were forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We can only properly exercise our control and dominion when we have right relationship with God.
An essential part of having this right relationship with God is practicing humility. Humility is understanding that God is God, and we are not. We must accept that we are not the ones with ultimate control and never will be. We must be open to whatever God wills for our life. Instead of grasping for control over things that are in God’s domain and not ours, we need to learn to surrender to God’s will. Some people try to harness control by using drugs and alcohol to manipulate their perception of reality, some get lost in the fantasy worlds of the internet or pornography, and some may excessively use products or have surgeries to avoid the inevitable appearance of ageing. We will not live abundantly if we greedily try to hold on to imaginary control over our life and circumstances. The reality is that God is in control, and we need to learn to surrender to Him and trust in His love and care for us. When we lose our life to Him, we will then actually keep our life.