Today's Sermon in a Nutshell:

 

 

Today's Sermon in a Nutshell:

On this date, October 25, 1864, an action took place that has, and will forever be remembered in infamy: the ill-fated charge of the British Light Calvary against the Russian forces in the Battle of Balaklava during the Crimean War. This event was made famous by Alfred, Lord Tennison’s epic poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” published just six weeks after it occurred and in which Tennison emphasized the valor of the cavalry who bravely carried out their orders, regardless of the nearly insurmountable odds and inevitable outcome due in part to issues of miscommunication amongst the British ranks. In the parlance of the time, it was a literal slaughter, a blood bath. From a military standpoint, it was worse blunder than Custer’s at Little Big Horn. For modern video gamers, it would be considered an “Epic Fail.”

In today’s gospel parable, we witness another epic failure: the outcome of a hedonistic life lived selfishly and self-centeredly. A rich man, with little or no care for others, let alone the poor, dies, and is forever resigned to the bowels of Hell. Amidst his ever-increasing agony, he begs God to send someone to “warn” his brothers, lest they succumb to the same fate. Our Lord, however, reminds the man that such cautions have already been given via the Law and the words of the prophets. The truth of God’s Word has been spoken with clarity so that no one can plead ignorance or raise the claim of “miscommunication,” for all has been stated plainly, simply, and outright.

Therefore, don’t make the same mistakes as others who feel there is nothing beyond the grave. If you want to attain everlasting life in the Kingdom of Heaven, live like you want it!

Fr. John