THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH

A SERMON FOR THE 7th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Back in the days before the Industrial Revolution, most people worked on the land.  In every nation, the natural rhythm of the four seasons determined the work that was to be done—the planting of the crops in spring, the harvest in the fall. Summer naturally became a time when a little relaxation could take place between planting and harvest time, and this concept has continued into our modern age, with the long summer break for the children and thoughts of vacations, outings and picnics for the adults.  And then, of course, there was the opposite side of the annual cycle, the winter.  The poor farmers and peasants of yesteryear had no source of food and nourishment during the cold, harsh winter months, nothing to eat other than what they had set aside from their harvesting earlier in the year.  Their very survival depended on the yield of their harvest.

Naturally, agricultural and farming analogies abound in Holy Scripture, and today’s readings are a prime example.  Both the Epistle and the Gospel talk about “fruit”.  Simple lessons, but profound.  Simple lessons, and yet when they are applied to our own lives, how easily we neglect them.  Or disregard them altogether…  Or worst of all, deliberately reject them.

Here’s the first lesson for us: “Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”  If we want to have good fruit, so that we may survive the long, harsh winter, we had better go to the good tree and not the corrupt tree and gather up the fruit there.  We had better center our lives around good people, follow good teachers and mentors, surround ourselves with good friends, because they will help us survive this life.  “Show me your company, and I’ll show you who you are.” But how do we know whether our company is good or not?  Because of the fruit they produce.  If they are truly good, then surely goodness and mercy shall follow them all the days of their life, and they shall be blessed of the Lord.  They will follow the commandments, and lead others to do the same.  They will love their holy religion, and draw others to it.  They will love God and their neighbor, and be ready to sacrifice their own happiness for the good of others.

Surround yourselves with such people.  Be one of these people yourself.  For these are the good trees that bring forth good fruit.  “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”  It’s so very obvious, isn’t it, in the context of the apple orchard?  And yet, how often we stray towards the corrupt trees, those persons who entice us with temptations to satisfy our own desires, those who would draw us away from God and into a permanent search for more pleasure, more material possessions, more money, more power.  St. Paul sums it up perfectly when he says “The wages of sin is death.”  No matter how hard we work, if we’re working to cultivate a corrupt tree, then at the end of the day, when it’s time to reap what we have sown, at harvest time, what will be the fruit of our labor?  “A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit.”  We would have a very bitter winter to look forward to.  In fact, the corrupt tree that we have planted, cultivated, and cared for, oh so diligently, will suffer the fate of “every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit.”  It shall be “hewn down and cast into the fire.”  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what that means…

Our blessed Lord never fails to remind us that, although he loves us more than life itself (and he proved that by giving up his life for us), there is still an awful place that will last eternally for those who disregard or reject his teaching.  Here today is his teaching—avoid bad company.  “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”  Sure, they seem like they’re interested only in helping us to be happy, in providing us with all the pleasures of this life so we can satisfy and gratify ourselves through them.  But not through God.  They cater to our lowest senses of appetite and emotion, manipulating our “feelings” so that we want that which we should not want, and are bored or even repulsed by the nobler aspirations of the human soul.

There is a modern word which describes such people.  It is the “Millennials.”  No one can help when they’re born, and certainly it is not a sin to be a millennial in the strictest sense of the term.  But there is a certain truth to the stereotype of the millennial as being someone who is self-centered to the point of narcissism, who rejects all concepts of authority and duty.  They don’t honor the military or the clergy or the genuine Christian, because they have contempt for the sacrifices of others—first, they don’t understand why they sacrifice, and secondly, because it shows them up for being the selfish creatures they are.  The millennial attitude is shown in so very many things today that it would take all day to just list them.  So I’ll mention just one, and that is their attitude to patriotism.  It was the Fourth of July this past week after all. But watch the liberals: their respect for our military veterans and for the fallen is given begrudgingly, if at all; they prefer their heroes to be athletes who refuse to give honor to the flag; they want to abolish the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance, any public displays of patriotism; and most telling of all, they want to remove all mentions of God from the national scene, whether it be images of the Ten Commandments in our courthouses, “In God we trust” on our coins, manger scenes at Christmas, and crosses at our war memorials.  This is all part of the same contempt for what should be held dear—God and country.

As a result, this country is on the precipice of a great fall into socialism. Socialism—perhaps the most obvious example ever of a corrupt tree, which has never failed to bring forth evil fruit, from the Soviet Union to Cuba, from Venezuela to Vermont.  And let’s not forget the “National Socialists” or “Nazis.”  But this is the natural goal of the Millennials, and we must beware these false prophets.  Wolves more ravening than Hitler and Stalin would be hard to find.

I’ve mentioned the false prophets in our own lives, those so-called “friends” and “mentors” who would lead us astray.  I’ve mentioned the false prophets on our national scene who are hell-bent on taking our country to the brink of destruction.  Should I mention too the false prophets of our Church?  Can we think of any false prophets in sheep’s clothing who have been leading souls astray since Vatican 2?  Enough said, I think!

Just remember these stinging words of our Lord, that “not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”  It’s not enough, he’s telling us, that we have faith in God, nor even that we acknowledge him as our Lord and Savior, as the Protestants do. We must do his will.  We must obey his commandments.  “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments,” says our Lord. You won’t just do whatever you want, but what I want.  You will not offend me by pleasing yourselves, but will do my will.  You will accept your responsibilities as Christians and follow me.  As St. Paul tells the Romans, “Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end of everlasting life.”

So the message is clear, whether you be a millennial or not, if you want the reward of eternal life, if you want to avoid being hewn down and cast into the fire, you must avoid bad company in your private life, and take care that your public life does not take you into equally dangerous company in your politics. “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”  No, and why would you?   Seek out the good trees and become one yourself.  Gather the good fruit of others, and produce good fruit yourself. For the warning is plain, and the wages of sin is death.