WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:05.360 Today the readings place before us two radical different ways of living. 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:09.439 The first reading we encounter one of the darkest stories in the Old Testament. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:12.960 King Ahab wants something that does not belong to him. 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:17.920 Naboth owns a vineyard that has been in his family for generations. 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:23.519 It is his ancestral inheritance, a gift entrusted to him by God. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:25.679 Ahab asks for it. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:27.519 Naboth refuses. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:29.359 And what does the king do? 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:34.320 Well, he sulks, he pouts, he throws what's essentially a royal tantrum. 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:36.640 Then Jezebel steps in. 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:45.600 She manipulates the legal system, recruits false witnesses, destroys an innocent man, and steals what was never theirs to begin with. 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:52.799 At the heart of this story is a simple but devastating sin, the refusal to accept limits. 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:55.119 Ahab wants something. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:56.560 He cannot have it. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:06.239 And instead of accepting that reality, he allows desire to become entitlement, entitlement to become resentment, and resentment to become injustice. 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:09.359 How many sins begin exactly that way? 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:10.480 I want this. 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:12.000 Well, I deserve this. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:13.439 I should have this. 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:18.319 And when we don't get what we want, anger begins to grow in the heart. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:22.959 The tragedy is that Ahab never actually needed the vineyard. 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:24.400 He was already a king. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:29.280 He already possessed more wealth and more power than almost anyone else in Israel. 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:33.200 And yet one thing he could not have consumed him. 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:36.159 That's the danger of unchecked desire. 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:44.000 The human heart can possess a thousand blessings and still become miserable over that one thing it lacks. 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:49.599 And then if we come to the gospel, Jesus presents a completely different spirit. 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:59.599 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. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:06.079 He doesn't simply tell us to avoid evil, he calls us to a higher way of living. 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:10.159 The natural instinct of fallen humanity is retaliation. 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:12.240 You hurt me, I'm gonna hurt you. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:14.719 You insult me, I'm gonna insult you. 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:18.080 You take from me, I'm gonna take from you. 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:21.759 You go one mile, I'll do the bare minimum. 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:24.159 Jesus says no. 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:28.960 Christian is not called to mirror the behavior of the world. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:32.319 A Christian is called to reveal the heart of God. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:40.639 Turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give generously, refuse to let bitterness have the final word. 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:46.639 Now let's be clear, Jesus is not teaching weakness, he's teaching freedom. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:52.080 The person who must retaliate is controlled by the actions of others. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:55.280 The person who forgives is free. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:59.919 The person who must get even remains chained to the offense. 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:04.000 The person who chooses mercy walks away with peace. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:07.039 Look at the contrast between today's readings. 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:10.879 Ahab is enslaved by what he wants. 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:15.039 Jesus teaches us how to be free from what we want. 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:19.599 Ahab grasps, Jesus surrenders. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:23.120 Ahab takes, Jesus gives. 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:27.039 Ahab paths, his path leads to death. 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:30.159 Jesus' path leads to life. 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:33.680 This is where the gospel becomes very practical. 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:34.240 Why? 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:40.400 Because most of us will never steal a vineyard, but all of us will be tempted to hold grudges. 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:43.360 All of us will be tempted to demand our rights. 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:48.800 All of us will be tempted to replay old wounds and seek revenge in subtle ways. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:52.000 Jesus invites us to something greater. 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:58.879 Invites us to become people whose hearts are rooted in God that we no longer need to win every argument. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:03.439 We don't need to settle every score or possess everything we desire. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:04.319 Why? 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:07.599 Because when God is enough, we stop grasping. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:11.199 When God is enough, we stop retaliating. 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:14.240 When God is enough, we become free. 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:21.279 So today I invite you to ask yourself, is there something I'm grasping for that God has not given me? 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:24.079 Is there someone I'm trying to get even with? 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.199 Is there resentment to continue to carry? 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.639 Bring it to the Lord if that's the case. 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:35.680 Because the path of Ahab always ends in misery, I promise you. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:43.600 But the path of Christ, the path of surrender, generosity, mercy, and trust will always lead you to freedom. 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:44.879 And freedom. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:47.519 Well, that's the beginning of holiness. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:48.480 Amen.