SPEAKER_00: Today the readings place before us two radical different ways of living.
SPEAKER_00: The first reading we encounter one of the darkest stories in the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: King Ahab wants something that does not belong to him.
SPEAKER_00: Naboth owns a vineyard that has been in his family for generations.
SPEAKER_00: It is his ancestral inheritance, a gift entrusted to him by God.
SPEAKER_00: Ahab asks for it.
SPEAKER_00: Naboth refuses.
SPEAKER_00: And what does the king do?
SPEAKER_00: Well, he sulks, he pouts, he throws what's essentially a royal tantrum.
SPEAKER_00: Then Jezebel steps in.
SPEAKER_00: She manipulates the legal system, recruits false witnesses, destroys an innocent man, and steals what was never theirs to begin with.
SPEAKER_00: At the heart of this story is a simple but devastating sin, the refusal to accept limits.
SPEAKER_00: Ahab wants something.
SPEAKER_00: He cannot have it.
SPEAKER_00: And instead of accepting that reality, he allows desire to become entitlement, entitlement to become resentment, and resentment to become injustice.
SPEAKER_00: How many sins begin exactly that way?
SPEAKER_00: I want this.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I deserve this.
SPEAKER_00: I should have this.
SPEAKER_00: And when we don't get what we want, anger begins to grow in the heart.
SPEAKER_00: The tragedy is that Ahab never actually needed the vineyard.
SPEAKER_00: He was already a king.
SPEAKER_00: He already possessed more wealth and more power than almost anyone else in Israel.
SPEAKER_00: And yet one thing he could not have consumed him.
SPEAKER_00: That's the danger of unchecked desire.
SPEAKER_00: The human heart can possess a thousand blessings and still become miserable over that one thing it lacks.
SPEAKER_00: And then if we come to the gospel, Jesus presents a completely different spirit.
SPEAKER_00: You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you, notice how often Jesus does this.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't simply tell us to avoid evil, he calls us to a higher way of living.
SPEAKER_00: The natural instinct of fallen humanity is retaliation.
SPEAKER_00: You hurt me, I'm gonna hurt you.
SPEAKER_00: You insult me, I'm gonna insult you.
SPEAKER_00: You take from me, I'm gonna take from you.
SPEAKER_00: You go one mile, I'll do the bare minimum.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says no.
SPEAKER_00: Christian is not called to mirror the behavior of the world.
SPEAKER_00: A Christian is called to reveal the heart of God.
SPEAKER_00: Turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give generously, refuse to let bitterness have the final word.
SPEAKER_00: Now let's be clear, Jesus is not teaching weakness, he's teaching freedom.
SPEAKER_00: The person who must retaliate is controlled by the actions of others.
SPEAKER_00: The person who forgives is free.
SPEAKER_00: The person who must get even remains chained to the offense.
SPEAKER_00: The person who chooses mercy walks away with peace.
SPEAKER_00: Look at the contrast between today's readings.
SPEAKER_00: Ahab is enslaved by what he wants.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus teaches us how to be free from what we want.
SPEAKER_00: Ahab grasps, Jesus surrenders.
SPEAKER_00: Ahab takes, Jesus gives.
SPEAKER_00: Ahab paths, his path leads to death.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus' path leads to life.
SPEAKER_00: This is where the gospel becomes very practical.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because most of us will never steal a vineyard, but all of us will be tempted to hold grudges.
SPEAKER_00: All of us will be tempted to demand our rights.
SPEAKER_00: All of us will be tempted to replay old wounds and seek revenge in subtle ways.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus invites us to something greater.
SPEAKER_00: Invites us to become people whose hearts are rooted in God that we no longer need to win every argument.
SPEAKER_00: We don't need to settle every score or possess everything we desire.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because when God is enough, we stop grasping.
SPEAKER_00: When God is enough, we stop retaliating.
SPEAKER_00: When God is enough, we become free.
SPEAKER_00: So today I invite you to ask yourself, is there something I'm grasping for that God has not given me?
SPEAKER_00: Is there someone I'm trying to get even with?
SPEAKER_00: Is there resentment to continue to carry?
SPEAKER_00: Bring it to the Lord if that's the case.
SPEAKER_00: Because the path of Ahab always ends in misery, I promise you.
SPEAKER_00: But the path of Christ, the path of surrender, generosity, mercy, and trust will always lead you to freedom.
SPEAKER_00: And freedom.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's the beginning of holiness.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.