The
Sixth Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
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O
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GOD, who hast prepared
for those who love thee such good things as pass man’s understanding; Pour into
our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may
obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
As an introduction, I will quote a fellow that I am not so fond of quoting –
myself! This is taken from my Sunday Sermon opening remarks: “The Prayer of
Collect for this day stresses a very distinct and singular element of our faith
– LOVE! Love of God has a fundamental dependence upon FAITH. If we do not know
or believe that someone, or something, exists, love for that person or thing
cannot exist. Of course we could further narrow the field to a’ person’ since
we cannot truly love a ‘thing’ though we may be very fond of it. Our degree of
love for God is directly proportional to our degree of faith. The greater the
faith, the more intense the love!”
Pervasive of all Scripture is the fact that this material life is fleeting – in
fact, no more than a vapor according to St. James: “Whereas ye know not
what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that
appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14) The
prophet Isaiah compares the days of our lives on earth to grass that dries up
and withers away: “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the
spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass
withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”
(Isaiah 40:7-8) A man who is lacking the burning Spirit of God in his
heart might be dismayed by these verses, but not the Child of God who is well
aware of his future disposition in God’s Heaven. O GOD, who hast
prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man's understanding
It is true that we may be unknowing of the magnitude of joy that we shall have
with our Lord, but we can be sure that it surpasses any joy we have ever before
experienced – even the joy of a mother at the birth of a beautiful and healthy
child.
What is it that qualifies us for this joy which the Lord has prepared for us?
Is it faith only? No, it is not faith alone for devil’s, too, “believe
and tremble”. (James 2:19) Then what is it, and what kind of faith? It
is the kind of faith that binds us to God in love. Love is the cement and faith
is the essence. Our earthly life is a temporary state (as all can attest who
have lost so many of their loved ones to the last sleep). Though life is a
temporary state, LOVE is FOREVER. LOVE is one perpetual resource that we
can possess both in Heaven and on earth! Love is not subject to expiration or
death. The cement of LOVE is the very fabric of Heaven. For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come,. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) This is the strongest
witness we can bring to the subject – the Word of God. But note, that the
required response of faith is LOVE of God. He loves those who have reciprocated
His own love towards us! Does He love us because we came to love Him before His
love was manifested to us? NO! We love him, because he first
loved us. (1 John 4:19) The purpose of hymns is to teach us greater
doctrine – so long as the hymn is Scriptural. Do you remember this lovely old
hymn?
O How I Love Jesus
There
is a name I love to hear,
I love
to sing its worth;
it
sounds like music in my ear,
the
sweetest name on earth.
Refrain:
O how
I love Jesus,
O how
I love Jesus,
O how
I love Jesus,
because
he first loved
me!
It
tells me of a Savior's love,
who
died to set me free;
it
tells me of his precious blood,
the
sinner's perfect plea.
(Refrain)
It
tells of one whose loving heart
can
feel my deepest woe;
who in
each sorrow bears a part
that
none can bear below.
(Refrain)
Love is such a powerful force even when saddled with this frail flesh we
presently occupy. Mothers have been known to exhibit super human strength in
saving their babies from some threatened danger. If human love is that
powerful, what do you suppose can be the measure of Godly LOVE? Well, then,
what is the source of all Love? Isn’t it the Fountainhead of love in God? Has
He not imbued our hearts and souls with a love that we could never own without
Him? Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee
above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire.
The strength of the Collects of the Prayer Book is their absolute reliance on
Holy Scripture for the truth they profess - much like the classical hymns of
the Church.
Our love for God is not even our own – it is granted us and supplied to our
hearts by the gracious God of our Salvation. Our hearts, being filled with the
spirits of Love, become like an overflowing fountain of love but, in a more
real sense, very much like a “cup that runneth over” with love.
(see Psalms 23:5b). The Fountain Source is God, the Cup is our own hearts
being replenished moment by moment. With the eye of the heart focused in
unwavering concentration on the object of our Love, we will see the work of God
in the weakness of a hungry child, the hopeless and struggling widow, the
righteous one in prison. It is true because God’s love flows through all of
these conditions of life. If we will enjoy the benefits that God has prepared for
us, we must be destined to the dwelling place and Source of all Love – God our
Father in Jesus Christ. Loving God above all other things, we will love that
which He loves and adores. Did we not change the things we love most when we
fell in love with the darling of our hearts? Did we not turn our love toward
those things that were the object of that darling’s affections - the Princess
of our hearts, or our Knight in Shining Armor? How much more must we love
those things which are filled with the Fountain of God’s Love?
The Love of God was hidden in the folk tales and stories of our ancestors. One
such story of the Brothers Groimm – Sleeping Beauty – tells of a
beautiful princess who fell asleep never again to awaken until kissed by the
handsome young Prince. That Sleeping Beauty may represent the Church (which has
been poisoned and fallen asleep in our day), and the Prince, Jesus Christ. He
will come to awaken His Church in Love before the ruin is too advanced. So we
need not lose hope, but persevere on the line of battle. At the moment of
decision, the love of God shall be made manifest by a parting of the heavens,
and the clarion call of the Trumpet of God. Our flagging armies shall
experience a renewed vigor by the Armies that descend from Heaven led by the
Captain of our souls. Victory shall be certain. Then shall all things be made
sure for the people of God.
