December 10, 2021

The Holy Martyrs Menas, Hermogenes and Eugraphus
Hebrews 7:18-25; Luke 21:37-22:8
Nativity Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.

Read Luke 21:37-22:8

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!

When I was a child, I remember waking up on December 26th and watching the morning news. Every year, hundreds of people would be lined up in front of various stores, waiting for them to open so that they could either return some of the gifts they received the previous day or buy more stuff that they probably didn’t need but greatly desired to have. The desire for material things simply for the sake of having them can be part of an overwhelming feeling of greed that comes upon us at times and leads us into an abyss.

Judas is overcome by this same feeling of greed. The evangelist Luke uses strong language to show how temptation has totally taken hold of Judas (“Then Satan entered into Judas…”) and how the proposition of money in exchange for betraying Jesus led to Judas consenting to carry out this evil act.

We need money to live but we do not live for money. We need certain material things in our lives to make our lives easier and for us to enjoy life but we do not live for these things. We live for communion with our Creator who in these coming days will be born of a Virgin for our salvation. Our ultimate desire in life should be to have Him in every aspect of our life and to not look for cheap substitutes such as money or material things.