Proper 16B’24
25 August 2024
Josh. 24.14-18; John 6.56-69
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
North Little Rock, Arkansas
The Rev. Carey Stone <+>
‘Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in Egypt, or the gods of the Amorites; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’ – From Joshua 24.14-18 (revised)
Each fall various parishes throughout the Episcopal Church pick a Sunday as school starts to celebrate “Rally Day.” This is a special day to celebrate and rally around the various ministries within our church and to encourage every member to find their unique places of service. As we continue exploring what the Church has traditionally called the “Seven Deadly Sins” what deadly sin do you think we’ll be talking about today? “Sloth.” What is sloth? Just hearing the word may bring images into our minds of an ape-like creature hanging upside down in some distant jungle. The word we often use that points us closer to the meaning would be the word “lazy.” = “Not willing to work or use any effort.”
Washington Post writer, Katherine Boyle notes that there is a high financial cost for laziness: “Being lazy is costing you thousands of dollars a year. Really. That sandwich you buy at the corner [fast food chain] costs $7. Does it really taste that much better than something you could make at home? Sure, sometimes it’s a luxury to have an extra 15 minutes in the morning. But do the math: A $7 sandwich every work day adds up to about $1,700 a year…How much do you spend on lunch? If you spend $10 each work day, you’re spending $2,400 annually… Bringing your lunch even half of the time can save you hundreds of dollars.”1 Our Breakfast and Lunch by taking the easy way out could potentially cost us 4 thousand, 100 dollars.
When we think of other deadly sins, they each seem to imply an action: Greed causes us to grasp for more, Pride causes us to strut our stuff while looking down on others; Gluttony causes us to overconsume the good things of God, Anger causes us to lash out and to seek vengeance; Envy leads to us towards hatred and slander, and Lust leads us to turn people into products and sexuality into a drug. But Sloth? As one writer noted, “Sloth is the only sin that doesn’t require any effort on our part. If we allow nature to take its course – sloth will automatically happen.”
The confession of sin in The Book of Common Prayer makes the distinction by categorizing sins into two primary categories:
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole hearts;
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
The Book of Common Prayer, p.360
Things left undone. This prayer reveals a problem much deeper than mere laziness. What would cause us to turn apathetic towards God, our neighbors, and even ourselves. A deeper dive beneath the English word sloth into the original Greek of the New Testament points to a more descriptive word “acedia”, which translated means a “lack of care.” The early monastics saw this sin for what it is and called it the “noonday devil” “the most oppressive of all demons.” Early monks under the spell of this demon would become restless and tempted to flee from their calling in order to “go back to the comforts of the world.” Hidegard of Bingen founder and Abbess of several convents indicated that the nuns of the 13th cen. also were not immune, writing that they would become “weakened by the coldness of indifference and neglect.” This restless discontent that leads to a lack of care for the things of the Spirit that ought to bring gladness.
Under the paralysis and hypnosis of sloth we can become like ‘spiritual Rip Van Winkles’ who have fallen asleep to our very lives, our souls, the souls of others, and resistant to Love that God is trying to bring to us. Besides sluggishness another manifestation can be mindless and restless busyness that doesn’t accomplish anything. I once knew someone who was captured by sloth and were discovered to be playing solitaire on the computer all day while they were at work. The things left undone eventually come calling they ended up getting fired In an exit interview they reported the following: “I have to admit it, I’ve become disappointed with God. Unfair events have happened to me, and during these periods of my life God seemed to go on an extended leave of absence. I tried to keep my prayers and my faith and always tried to do the right thing, but I still ended up being treated very unfairly. God just didn’t come through like I’d always been taught that He would. It’s not just happened to me either; I’ve seen others be let down by God, years of illness or heartache with no relief. If I’m honest I tell myself, ‘What’s the use of trying anymore, nothing ever seems to work out in my favor. Why should I put myself through the demands of a spiritual life when it doesn’t seem to pay off for me or for those I care about, what’s the use?’
What is the antidote for the slow and corrosive poison of sloth? Diligence – a word that literally means “to care” 2 How can we come back to love for God, others, and ourselves and begin to care again?
The desert monastics of the fourth century (the first monks and nuns) had parables and stories to capture the essence of Christian teaching. There are many such stories – I’ll share one I think applies:
Once when Antony was [sitting] in the desert [he fell into] boredom and irritation [akèdia]. He said to God, “Lord, I want to be made whole and my thoughts do not let me. What am I to do about this trouble, how shall I be cured?” After a while he got up and went outside. He saw someone like himself sitting down and working, then standing up to pray; then sitting down again to weave a chain out of palm leaves, and standing up again to pray. It was an angel of the Lord sent to correct Anthony and make him vigilant. He heard the voice of the angel saying, “Do this and you will be cured.” When he heard it he was very glad and recovered his confidence. He did what the angel had done, and found the salvation that he was seeking. 3
This story and others eventually were taken by St. Benedict to form the basic structure of the monastery; as well as a powerful antidote for sloth. This remedy is known by the Latin phrase: Ora et labora “Pray and Work.” By keeping a daily structure that consisted of meaningful daily work and a daily regimen of prayer, the noonday demon of sloth could be defeated. Those who have or are currently struggling with this deadly sin may be feeling despair like change is hopeless. One of the Desert Mothers, St. Josemaria Escriva has some encouragement for us:
“Even just attempting to pray is prayer. God takes care of the rest. Put yourself in the presence of God, and once you have said, ‘Lord, I don’t know how to pray!’ rest assured that you have begun to do so.”4
As we wake up to God and to our lives God will meet us and lead us back to a path of steadfast faith, if we will only humble ourselves, pray, and work! Amen.
1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-high-cost-of-being-lazy/2012/03/09/gIQAWRBgGS_story.html
2 https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=of%20diligence&utm_source=extension_omnibox_submit
3 The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks trans. by Benedicta Ward (London: Penguin Books, 2003), 60
4 https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2010-05/caring-and-not-caring