I stood in line for what seemed like hours, but my friends and I wanted tickets to this concert. I mean we really want them. We wanted them so bad that we were standing outside for hours, missing other events, and even getting a little hungry. That didn’t even stop us from doing what we had to do to get those tickets. And we did, and it was a great show.

It really is amazing what price we humans are willing to pay to get what we really want. We humans have some interesting priorities. Did you know that we spend about $17 billion dollars a year on pet food in Europe and the US? Did you know we spend $8 billion dollars a year on cosmetics in the United States alone, and the fastest growing segment of the cosmetics industry is cosmetics for males? But we are a human race that is consumed by what we desire.

And, by the way, desire isn’t bad. Not at all. Desire is good. Desire is a gift of God to pull us toward him. But only if our desire is shaped, disciplined, matured, and harnessed to do that. And that, my dearest, is where the trouble comes! The truth is, tell me what you desire and I can tell you who you are. If our desires are never questioned, if they’re never molded or matured or transformed, our desires will quickly become our masters and reduce our lives to only seeking to fulfill them. Our desires will become cruel slave-drivers, always demanding more of our attention, time, and resources. You see, our desires can become mindless gods bent on their own perpetual fulfillment with no regard for those who follow them. But, of course, we were made for something—Someone—more!

Look at our gospel lesson today, in Luke 6:17-23.

At that time, Jesus stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.”

The Lord Jesus is standing on a level place and there was a huge crowd seeking to touch him. Why? Because power was coming from him and healing all who touched him. And these folks needed healing! Some were physically ill; others had spiritual illnesses that they longed to be freed from and restored to wholeness. In fact, these ill people wanted, desired, to be healed so much that they pressed in on the Lord for the chance to be made well—nd the Lord healed them. Their powerful desire coupled with debilitating illness combined with the presence of Jesus all cooperated to open the eyes of those who were ill to seek their only salvation in Jesus Christ.

Do you see something important here? It’s the combination of need, desire, and opportunity that mix together to inform and shape our desires into what they can become—but only when we seek our healing in Christ alone! It is when our need and desire is enlightened by his presence and our action to move toward him that the desire is shaped to be the most healthy drive to our will. When our desires are turned inward or seek fulfillment elsewhere, outside of Christ, they keep us sick, unfulfilled, and enslaved to a never-satisfied desire, but when our desire is directed toward Christ, then the desire is shaped and matured to remain a servant to our souls rather than an unyielding taskmaster!

Today, where are your desires taking you? Are they taking you towards Christ or away from him? What treasures are ours in the Faith to see all this wisdom given to us to teach our desires, shape our desires, instruct our desires, to seek him for our wholeness and healing. Blessed Augustine was right when he declared, “Our hearts are restless, until they can find their rest in you.”

Why not embrace the wise discipline of a purposeful Orthodox life and enter into that school of wisdom where your desires are shaped by daily prayer, regular liturgies, and consistent practice that trains all your hopes and desires to find their fulfillment in the only true Lover of mankind—our Lord Jesus?