Our Holy Fathers and Archbishops of Alexandria Athanasius and Cyril.
Ephesians 5:1-8; Luke 14:1-11.
Read Ephesians 5:1-8
What is the connection in our reading today between sexual sin and idolatry? To our modern ears these two things might seem completely unrelated, but from our Scriptural Tradition there has always been a clear connection between choosing sexual pleasure or sexual license and choosing to worship a different god. Put another way, God, as the creator of our bodies and the author of love is the Lord of all- even (and especially) our sexuality. When we decide to take sex or love on our own terms we have put another god on the throne of our hearts. St. Paul warns us that this sin does not simply begin in the bedroom but in our thoughts and conversation. Our Lord in his incredible deepening of the Law at the Sermon on the Mount essentially teaches us the same: sin begins not in action but in the mind and in the heart. We must be on our guard against the possibility of losing eternity with God through an irreverent attitude towards what only ever really belongs to God.
Ambrosiaster writes:
To teach us that covetousness is such a dangerous thing, he calls it idolatry, no sin being greater than this. But why is covetousness called idolatry? Idolatry usurps the honor of God and claims it for the creature. The holy name of God, which belongs solely to the Creator, is thereby applied to creatures. Covetousness is viewed on a level with idolatry because the covetous person similarly usurps for himself what belongs to God and hides them away. Covetousness withholds the resources offered by God for the common use of all. It hoards them to itself so that others may not use them. (Epistle to the Ephesians 5.5.1)