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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Hill Country Homilies. Weekly homilies from Holy Annunciation

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<v Speaker 1>Orthodox Church in Liberty Hill, Texas. Holy Anunciation is an

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<v Speaker 1>old calendar Orthodox church sharing the faith of the Apostles

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<v Speaker 1>and the love of Christ with all who seek His truth. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>let's listen to this week's homily, Men of.

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<v Speaker 2>The Father and Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen, Glory

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<v Speaker 2>to Jesus Christ. I see it if you like, beloved

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<v Speaker 2>in Christ. Today for our gospel reading, we heard the

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<v Speaker 2>parable of the rich fool from the Gospel of Luke.

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<v Speaker 2>This is a man so rich, so overflowing with blessings

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<v Speaker 2>from God, that he imagines that he must tear down

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<v Speaker 2>all his barns and storehouses to build bigger ones to

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<v Speaker 2>contain his abundant holdies. His seems to be a prudent

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<v Speaker 2>plan until he hears from God thou fool, this night,

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<v Speaker 2>thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose things

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<v Speaker 2>shall these be which thou hast provided? And the parable

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<v Speaker 2>concludes with this warning from Christ. So is he that

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<v Speaker 2>layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

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<v Speaker 2>Now there are a number of different issues we could

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<v Speaker 2>consider from this parable. It's a short reading, but the

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<v Speaker 2>audacity of the rich fool is such that he leaves

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<v Speaker 2>much for us to think about first, particularly in this

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<v Speaker 2>country where we come from a background of rugged individualism.

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<v Speaker 2>We come from a country where we prize honor and

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<v Speaker 2>honor self sufficiency. The person, the person who can grow

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<v Speaker 2>their own food or provide their own needs, can be

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<v Speaker 2>off the grid and thriving. This is kind of a

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<v Speaker 2>secular icon of our nation, and those abilities have as

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<v Speaker 2>their underpinions a number of very commendable qualities. The person

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<v Speaker 2>who reflects that ideal has a variety of talents that

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<v Speaker 2>they can call on for their very survival and the

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<v Speaker 2>provision defense of their family, and glory to God for that.

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<v Speaker 2>But this is the problem with the rich food. Where

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<v Speaker 2>does he put the glory? Because it's certainly not to God. Rather,

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<v Speaker 2>he labors under this delusion of self sufficiency and forgetfulness

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<v Speaker 2>of God. Listen to his own words, what shall I

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<v Speaker 2>do because I have no room to bestow my fruits?

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<v Speaker 2>I will pull down my barns and bill grater, and

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<v Speaker 2>there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

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<v Speaker 2>He views all that is in his grasp as being

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<v Speaker 2>of his own doing and of his own possession. He

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<v Speaker 2>does not consider for a minute that without the provision

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<v Speaker 2>of God, his own doing would have been futile. He

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<v Speaker 2>sees his rewards as his entitlement and not as a

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<v Speaker 2>blessing bestowed upon him. And I think that it is

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<v Speaker 2>easy for us to do as well. When we work hard,

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<v Speaker 2>when we taste success, when we begin to realize some

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<v Speaker 2>of the fruits of that work, we can become very

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<v Speaker 2>self congratulatory. We hear things that like you earned it,

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<v Speaker 2>which swell our heads up. And that focus, which is

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<v Speaker 2>very ingrained in our culture, is dangerous because it puts

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<v Speaker 2>the focus on us and it omits any role for

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<v Speaker 2>God in our blessings. Let us instead be very careful

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<v Speaker 2>not to fall into the trap of attributing our accomplishments

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<v Speaker 2>solely to personal effort. When we receive promotions or financial

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<v Speaker 2>windfalls career success, we need to consciously pause to thank

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<v Speaker 2>God and to recognize Him as the source of all

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<v Speaker 2>blessings beginning ending each day, acknowledging God's providence and acknowledging

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<v Speaker 2>Him in moments of achievement, audibly responding thanks to God

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<v Speaker 2>when we receive congratulations, are making a practice say even

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<v Speaker 2>to ourselves glory to God rather than I did it.

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<v Speaker 2>Then we're showing some remembrance and placing the praise and

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<v Speaker 2>the glory in the right place rather than leaving it

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<v Speaker 2>when we walk away from the mirror. This parable also

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<v Speaker 2>serves as an example of how greed is more than

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<v Speaker 2>just simple avarice. Rather, it manifests itself in us, as

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<v Speaker 2>it did with a rich fool, as spiritual blindness and

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<v Speaker 2>even idolatry. When we hear this parable, we often forget

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<v Speaker 2>that it's told in a specific context. Immediately before he

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<v Speaker 2>tells the parable, a man has come to Christ to

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<v Speaker 2>ask him to speak to his brother, to convince him

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<v Speaker 2>to share his inheritance with him, and Christ decline, saying,

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<v Speaker 2>who made me a judge or a divider over the two

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<v Speaker 2>of you? And he warns them take heed and beware

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<v Speaker 2>of covetousness, for a man's life consists not in the

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<v Speaker 2>abundance of things which he possesses. And then he tells

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<v Speaker 2>the parable of the rich fool. Say no, how, Saint

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<v Speaker 2>Cyril of Alexandria explains that Jesus does not leave us

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<v Speaker 2>without instruction because he's now found a good opportunity, and

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<v Speaker 2>he makes a profitable and a saving speech. He shows

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<v Speaker 2>that covetousness is a pitfall of the devil and hateful

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<v Speaker 2>to God. Saint Cyril writes the wise Paul even calls

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<v Speaker 2>it idolatry, perhaps being suitable for only those who do

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<v Speaker 2>not know God. For this reason, he says, very correctly,

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<v Speaker 2>take heed and keep yourselves from all greed, from great

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<v Speaker 2>and small, and from defrauding anyone who may be the

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<v Speaker 2>words of Paul say it. All the riches become the

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<v Speaker 2>idol and they are not bad in themselves, but when

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<v Speaker 2>they're placed in front of God, as the rich man did,

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<v Speaker 2>then they become the object of his worship. And so

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<v Speaker 2>too does he show this how it had led to

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<v Speaker 2>spiritual blindness when he says it's found only in those

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<v Speaker 2>who do not know God. And maybe it's maybe this

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<v Speaker 2>parable has been put providentially before us today, immediately after

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<v Speaker 2>Black Friday, when our cultural commitment to acquisitiveness is probably

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<v Speaker 2>its greatest. But we can actively resist this consumerism of

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<v Speaker 2>the season by practicing the very gratitude which the rich

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<v Speaker 2>fool lacked, having gratitude for what we have and by

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<v Speaker 2>choosing generosity. A few years ago, someone had the idea

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<v Speaker 2>to follow Black Friday with Giving Monday. That's a nice idea.

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<v Speaker 2>Face with abundance rather than focusing on the next purchase

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<v Speaker 2>or the next president under tree, we can ask who

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<v Speaker 2>needs this more than I do? We can feed, We

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<v Speaker 2>can feed the hungry, we can support the church, We

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<v Speaker 2>can help struggling families. Every windfall becomes an opportunity for

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<v Speaker 2>almsgiving rather than for hoarding. And the blindness of our

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<v Speaker 2>spiritual eyes will be lifted when our focus becomes not

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<v Speaker 2>on the gifts and the purchases that are laid before us,

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<v Speaker 2>but on the one who has permitted them to become hearts.

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<v Speaker 2>And finally, let us consider and heed the closing caution

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<v Speaker 2>of our Lord. So is he that layeth up treasure

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<v Speaker 2>for himself and is not rich toward God? If this

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<v Speaker 2>is the example of what laying up treasure for ourselves

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<v Speaker 2>leads to, let us ask what we must do to

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<v Speaker 2>be rich toward God. For the reward of the rich

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<v Speaker 2>fool is not to be envy. He labored and labored

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<v Speaker 2>to acquire all that he desired, and he planned his

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<v Speaker 2>final great building projects so that he could now take

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<v Speaker 2>his leave and rest and be married. But that treasures

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<v Speaker 2>that he worked so many years to acquire availed him

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<v Speaker 2>not another day, for that night his soul was to

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<v Speaker 2>be required of him. We truly don't know the day

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<v Speaker 2>or the hour when our soul will be called for.

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<v Speaker 2>The rotting grain in the storehouse has become the memorial

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<v Speaker 2>of this rich man's life. He chose to live for

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<v Speaker 2>the temporal, not for the eternal kingdom, and so it

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<v Speaker 2>is for he that is not rich toward God. Saint

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<v Speaker 2>Gregory Paul Moss points out how damning this failure to

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<v Speaker 2>be rich toward God can be using the very example

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<v Speaker 2>of the rich fool. Saint Gregory points out nothing in

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<v Speaker 2>this parable suggests that this fool acquired his goods by

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<v Speaker 2>sinful means. He didn't seem to steal them. He didn't

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<v Speaker 2>cheat or swindle anyone. He just labored. But his acquisition

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<v Speaker 2>was not without sin. His sin was his self centered

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<v Speaker 2>self satisfaction, which resulted in his heart being hardened against

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<v Speaker 2>the needy and his mind being forgetful of God. Saint

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<v Speaker 2>Gregory says, because he did not make good use of

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<v Speaker 2>the abundance he resis from God and was not rich

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<v Speaker 2>towards him. Through being generous, he made himself deserving of

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<v Speaker 2>death and gain nothing from all his wealth. So one

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<v Speaker 2>way we can be rich toward God is by being generous.

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<v Speaker 2>But what else shows that we are rich toward God?

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<v Speaker 2>The Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that the man who

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<v Speaker 2>is rich toward God is evidently one who does not

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<v Speaker 2>love wealth, but rather loves virtue, to whom few things

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<v Speaker 2>are sufficient. It is one whose hand is open to

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<v Speaker 2>the needs of the poor, comforting the sorrows of those

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<v Speaker 2>in poverty. According to his means and the utmost of

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<v Speaker 2>his power, he gathers in the storehouses that are above,

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<v Speaker 2>and waves up treasures in heaven. So, whether we are

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<v Speaker 2>rich or poor, we can be rich toward God when

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<v Speaker 2>we serve those in need as our means permit, and

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<v Speaker 2>to the greatest extent we're able. Take the widow's might.

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<v Speaker 2>The widow's might was within the means of both the

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<v Speaker 2>widow and the rich man, but it was her utmost

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<v Speaker 2>power to give just that, while for the rich man

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<v Speaker 2>it would be such a trifle as to almost be

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<v Speaker 2>insulting if that were all he gave. So give as

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<v Speaker 2>we can, as much as we can. This is one

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<v Speaker 2>who is rich toward God and this is our challenge

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<v Speaker 2>in uncertain times. As we begin this Nativity Fast, let

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<v Speaker 2>us take a moment to give ourselves a quick spiritual

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<v Speaker 2>audit and ask ourselves what are we truly investing in?

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<v Speaker 2>Is our time spend in prayer scripture? Are we losing

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<v Speaker 2>ourselves in carnal entertainment? Is our treasure given to charity

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<v Speaker 2>here we spending it on luxuries? Have we focused our

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<v Speaker 2>talents on our family and our community? Are we solely

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<v Speaker 2>furthering our own desires? And let us take that audit

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<v Speaker 2>and practically commit to increase all areas that are deficient

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<v Speaker 2>to add a spiritual discipline during this fast, whether that's

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<v Speaker 2>more daily prayer, coming to more services, setting aside alms

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<v Speaker 2>specifically for those in need during the season. Brothers and sisters,

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<v Speaker 2>the rich Fool was a worldly success, but his time

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<v Speaker 2>in the world was short. Let us learn from his

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<v Speaker 2>example and not revel in abundance and look instead to

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<v Speaker 2>find our storehouses in the bellies of the poor, our

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<v Speaker 2>treasuries in the pockets of the needy, And let us

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<v Speaker 2>make merry in the joy of the Lord rather than

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<v Speaker 2>our owned indulgences. For the prayers early Father's Lord Jesus Christ,

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<v Speaker 2>our God, have mercys and save us. Amen.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Hill Country homilies. For more information,

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<v Speaker 1>visit Holy Nunciation Orthodox Church at www dot Denunciation, tx

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<v Speaker 1>dot com and please join us again next week