Fourth Sunday after
Trinity.
The Collect.
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O
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GOD, the protector of all that trust in
thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply
upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through
things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O
heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle
Romans
viii. 18-23
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I
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RECKON that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of
him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall
be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in
pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting
for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
The Gospel
St. Luke
vi. 36-42
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B
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E ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge
not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:
forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give
into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be
measured to you again. And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the
blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his
master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. And why beholdest
thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is
in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me
pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the
beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of
thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in
thy brother’s eye.
In a
world that places a very high premium upon achievement and performance, we are
often misled, even by our clergy, to believe that our works are the means by
which we are saved. The modern church emphasizes giving almost to the exclusion
of all other considerations. The rich man, or woman, will be rewarded with
honors and positions of responsibility even if their daily lives do not reflect
that Spirit of which Christ spoke. Perhaps the poor widow that spends all of
her available time in cooking for the sick and homeless will be forgotten in
the perishable minds of men, but shall be more highly remembered and favored in
the Infinite Mind of God. God gives us many hints of His Will to be fulfilled
in Christ in the midst of the Old Testament. The people of Israel were living
as they pleased and believing that all their sins were remitted by the
sacrifices of the wealthy. But God counseled: For I desired mercy, and
not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
(Hosea 6:6) The money-changers of the modern temple would have us persist in
believing that we can BUY God's favor while living as we please, but it was
NEVER so. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. (Psalms 85:10) Mercy and truth are husband and wife –
inseparable! If we will have mercy, we must accept truth with it. As Jesus told
the Samaritan Woman at Jacob's Well, ". . . the
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit
and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
(John 4:23) `Spirit' is not emotionalism, but love of God and our fellow man.
But our love must be directed in truth, for false worship is an abomination in
the eyes of the Lord.
As
we read in our biblically-oriented prayer of Collect, God is the protector of
all who trust in Him. We can claim none of God's protection apart from the
measure of trust we place wholly in Him. Without God, we have no strength at
all, and our righteousness is as filthy rags. Apart from God, there is no
holiness to be had. We lean upon God for His increasing mercies in His
Sovereign Rule over us, and to Guide us through the Wilderness of Sin of this present
world. Only God can show us the safe and righteous way – we cannot find it
alone. In avoiding those things that worldly, we are amassing to ourselves
those treasures that are heavenly. These are the Godly petitions we repeated
from today's prayer of Collect.
In
our Epistle for today, taken from Romans 8, we discover that there is groaning
of the mortal soul that is inclined to the Holiness of God. Such a struggle and
groaning is forever present with us until the curtain of time is lifted and
time shall be no more. It is not a sorrowful groaning, but an intense desire to
see God's will worked out on earth as it is in Heaven according to that prayer
the Lord taught us to say. When sorrow and misery befalls the stranger to
God, hope is forlorn and there is no brilliant Light upon which he may fix his
eyes from the darkness that engulfs his wretched soul. But the child of God
embraces the Light even more earnestly as the dark circle surrounds him, or a
loved one. He knows, innately, that the Light is his destination and not the
dark fires of Hell that seem to presently surround him. ". . . . weeping
may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalms
30:5b)
Our
Gospel text calls us to a higher standard of life and Spirit than a rigid
adherence to the law can afford. If perfect obedience were possible, there
would be no need of mercy; but we can never be perfect keepers of the Law of
God, therefore, we must have mercy if we are to be accounted blameless and
righteous in entering the Kingdom of Heaven.
Consider the great pardon and mercy shown to us through the substitutionary
death of Christ! He suffered that we might forego the eternity of Hell. We
should rightfully be punished for our life of sin, yet Christ died in our stead
that we, accepting His Lordship, might be pardoned and forgiven. Be ye
therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. This is
a mighty admonition to us, for we can never be as merciful as God has been
toward us. But God would have us to take on the very nature of mercy in our
dealings with others. Though a child can seldom match the understanding of his
father or mother, he will nonetheless mimic the nature he sees in his parents.
That is what God desires of His children today.
37
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be
condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven So many good
Christians misunderstand this to mean that Christian judgment is forbidden.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The meaning to us is this: We should
not judge with our personal judgments, but with the righteous judgment of God
as evidenced in His Word. Jesus Christ gives us commandment that is clear: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge
righteous judgment. (John 7:24) We are not only to judge from
the heart, but also judge only by the measure of God's judgment and not our
own. If God has declared a certain behavior sin, that is not OUR judgment, but
God's. Simply declaring God's condemnation of a sin is not our PERSONAL
judgment, but HIS! Remember the debtor to the king whose great debt was
forgiven by the king and, who, after went out and took a man by the throat who
owed him a small sum, threatening to sell his wife and family into slavery?
He was forgiven a fortune, but refused to forgive his own servant a small debt.
How merciless was he! Are we not the same? The King of Glory has forgiven us an
enormous debt, and a multitude of debts, yet we refuse to forgive those who
offend us in the slightest measure.
38 Give,
and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken
together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
It is not possible to give more than God has given, for He immediately
replenishes our bottles of oil the moment we pour out our blessings to others.
There are blessings that cannot be measured in simple terms of a piece of bread
for a piece of bread. Our giving of bread to the poor is multiplied in return
value a thousand times. Our souls have rest and a good conscience thereby.
Peace of mind is a possession not enjoyed by the greedy.
Can
the blind lead the blind? Of course they can! It is happening in 90% of
America's churches today. Ministers, blind to the love and Spirit of God, are
leading their blind disciples ever nearer the gaping abyss that awaits all who
do not hear with clarity the voice of God. 39 And he spake a
parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into
the ditch? This is a parable of Jesus that has profoundly present
implications. Our seminaries have been turned from a concentrated focus on the
Word of God to an obsession with church growth, conflict resolution, seeker
friendly programs, and, yes, MONEY schemes! If the lay Christian is NOTR blind
(informed deeply by the Word of God) it is not likely that he can be led by the
nose by a blind guide.
Do
you know that there are theologians today who believe that they are better
informed of God's Will than Jesus Christ? It is true. There are those among the
despicable movement called "Higher Critics" who believe that textual
analysis and archeological digs have revealed to them information that Jesus
did not have while on his earthly ministry. They obviously discredit Christ as
the Son of the Living God, and God Himself! Their new bibles attempt to alter
the evidence to support their intentional errors. 40 The disciple
is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
I once disputed with a local minister who claimed that speaking in tongues
(nonsensical babbling) was required for salvation. We argued the issue
endlessly. Finally, I asked, "Is Jesus Christ our perfect example in all
things?" Of course, the minister answered in the affirmative to which I
followed up, "Do we have any evidence of Jesus EVER speaking in an
ecstatic and incomprehensible tongue?" The man REFUSED to answer. If we
will have perfect religion, and undefiled, let us be as much like Christ as our
earthen vessels will afford.
How
many clergymen preach against the sins of lying, stealing, adultery, etc., and
harbor those sins in the dark chambers of their own hearts? Of course these sins
are condemned by God; however, we must not judge others by a stronger measure
than we apply to our own conduct. If we criticize the housekeeping of a
neighbor, let us first sweep the trash and filth from our own floors. 41 And
why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not
the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to
thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou
thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast
out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to
pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
If
we are to have authority as men and women of God, we must see that we follow
Christ in love and truth. We not only pronounce the truth of God's Word to
others, but we must make that truth the rule of our own lives. Owning the
Spirit of Love and Truth, we shall walk the Valleys and Mountains with our eyes
open to the presence and company of God.
