The
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
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EEP, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy
Church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee
cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us
to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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E see how large a letter I have
written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in
the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer
persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are
circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may
glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the
world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule,
peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no
man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren,
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
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O man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious
for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your
body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body
than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do
they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are
not ye of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add
one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious concerning
raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not,
neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the
field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much
more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying, What
shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore
anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof.
Our Lord, in His Sermon on the Mount, teaches us a believer cannot be
divided in his faith. He cannot travel the righteous path that is Narrow, and
leads up to Heaven, and the wicked path called the Broad Way that leads down to
destruction, at the same time. There remains before us, just as in the days of
Noah’s Ark, an open door. It is an invitation to salvation. Whomsoever will may
enter in by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no place in the Church of
God for duplicity. If we so much desire to retain our old free will, than we
shall also retain the consequences of our sins; but, if we surrender our wills
to Christ, and accept His will for our lives, then shall our lives (thought,
word, and deed) be directed from on high and not from the depths of Hell.
As pointed out in the Prayer of Collect, our righteousness is not our own, but
belongs to Christ. He covers us with His righteousness else we would fall
miserably short of the mark. He sustains us moment by moment in the way that we
should go; yet, He knows our frail frames and, as the Good Samaritan, finds us,
heals us, provides us transport, and lodges us in the fair harbors of His love
as we fail and flounder on the Way. His love and care are a perpetual love and
care; and those things that we overcome by faith are profitable to our
salvation.
Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians for today, warns against any labors of
the hand to achieve salvation. It is not the good work we do by our hands that
make us worthy of the family of God, but the work that Christ did on the cross –
to satisfy the terms of the law on our behalf – that is edifying and
efficacious for our salvation. Men will attempt to convince us to do all sorts
of works, and comply with all kinds of formulas, to EARN salvation; but it
cannot be. There is only One Way – the way of the cross of Christ. He paid it
all!
Just prior to the text today from the Gospel of St. Matthew, Jesus has taught
us how to give alms – how to do, as well, our works of good – in secret so that
our reward will be in heaven and not seen upon earth for self-gratification. If
our gifts are to Heaven, they shall not be seen openly upon the earth; and if
they are made openly to be seen on earth, they shall not grace the walls of
Heaven. Our Lord also, in verses 5-15 of this same chapter, He teaches us how
to pray. He also gives us the Lord’s Prayer that is to be prayed in communal
worship (i.e. Our Father….), as well as private moments of
devotion. He gives us a rule for fasting so that we appear to the world
not to fast. Our Father in Heaven knows every secret thing, and He cherishes
those acts of righteousness that are performed for His own glory alone and not
that of any man.
So Jesus begins today by telling us that we cannot serve two masters. Since as
masters has full authority over his subject, such a prospect of having two
masters is logically impossible. 24 “No
man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other;
or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and
mammon.” God is not divided in His sovereignty – He is either
the sovereign of our souls, or the flesh is that sovereign. It cannot be both
ways. Our flesh is constantly warring to gain the ascendancy, but a firm reliance
upon the sweet blessings and leading of the Holy Spirit will give the soul
victory in the righteous Way. If we are obsessed with the false and dimming
lights of the world, the greater and eternal Light of Heaven will be obscured
just as it was to the Wise Men who were blinded to the Star of Bethlehem when
they entered the dimly-lit gates of Jerusalem. Consider the matter logically:
is it possible to go UP, and to go DOWN, at the same time? Is it possible to
love God and His great enemy at once? Can you prize righteousness above all
while harboring wicked thoughts in one’s heart? Let our master be single,
and let that Master be the sweet and loving Teacher of Galilee – the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Are we anxious of tomorrow? Who owns tomorrow? Is it not God Almighty? If He is
your Lord, you need not worry of provisions for the day. He has furnished
our abode for our comfort and shelter, He has prepared the Bread of Heaven for
our sustenance, and He has woven a white and silken Robe for our covering. What
profit is in worrying? Will simple worry change any outcome in the slightest?
Our Lord was driven into the Wilderness to suffer the trials and temptations of
the devil. He went without food that we might be fed. He went without drink
that we might have the full cup of His blessings. He vanquished the Devil in
the Wilderness of this world. Why do we linger in longing looks back to that
Wilderness of sin? 25 “Therefore I say
unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than
meat, and the body than raiment?” Is there not bread enough, and to
spare, in my Father’s House? (Prodigal Son) We have been invited
to a sumptuous dinner at the House of the King. Shall we bring with us our
stale and molding bread of the earth when He has prepared the finest cuisine of
Heaven? Shall we lug along our waters from the poison fountain when He has
provided the pure Water of Life for our health? Perish the thought!
Jesus invites our attention to the provision God has made in nature for every
creature thereof. Does He not provide for them? What is the source of
nourishment to the young calf, the baby lamb, the frail, newborn pony? He has
provided a means in nature for each of these to prosper in health and
nutrition. It is an unbroken source of plenty. 26 “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do
they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye
not much better than they?” I often wonder where the sparrow
goes when the clouds burst open in a deluge. They return in joy to the trees
after the rain. Where did they hide from the tempest? They depended upon the
protection and care of God unseen to our eyes. They do not worry about harvest
and sowing, yet they prosper according to God’s perfect plan. A sparrow is of
much less value to God than the crowning achievement of His Creation – Man. So
why do we worry so that the provision will fail, and we shall perish for want
of food, clothing, or shelter?
We are created in the image of God. Why should we mar that image by tattooing
our persons or, more importantly, our souls, with deviant marks and vulgar
signs? Can we make ourselves larger than God has made us? Perhaps so if you
consider immoderate diet and obesity to be growth. But God has made us to be
like unto our Maker. Our only growth can take place when we grow more like Him
by surrendering our free wills and taking upon ourselves the Mind and Will that
is Christ’s. 27 “Which of you by taking
thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” Rather than
enlarge ourselves by effort, we grow smaller. Only when we allow God to grow
our hearts, minds and bodies may we grow in love and grace.
Our world today is filled with stress and anxiety. Men’s hearts fail them for
looking for the things coming upon the earth. Reason teaches us that 95% of
those things that occupy our anxious minds in worry never come to pass. So the
worry was only a ruse of the devil to distract our hearts and to shorten our
lives. 28 “And why take ye thought for
raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not,
neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say
unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of
the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not
much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Lilies are
beautiful beyond measure, yet, despite our art, the only lilies we can create
are unloving ones. But God clothes them, not only with beauty, but with
exuberant life! A dead body can be decorated with silken robes to no avail for
it remains dead. But God clothes the Lily better than Solomon was able to
clothe himself, and the life God gave the Lily is an innate characteristic of
His grace to the smallest of creatures. The grass is giving raiment suitable
for its living, yet, it has only a short span to run, and is trodden under
foot, withers, and is blown away by the wind. Do you worry that the same God
who provides for the sparrow, the Lily, and the grass of the fields cannot
provide for you whose value far exceeds all these? The soul of man is eternal
whether destined for Heaven or Hell, whereas sparrows, grass, and lilies exist
only for the present as robes of beauty to cover the earth. Is our faith so
small that we cannot acknowledge the care of God sufficient for our
preservation?
So what counsel does our Lord provide for our frailty and doubts? 31 “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or,
What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for
your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”
If the Christian son or daughter goes about worrying, just as do those who do
not know God, of what advantage is there to being a son or daughter of God.
Does a prince or princess concern themselves for their basic provisions in
life? Is our Father, and King of Kings, not able to supply all things according
to His “riches in glory?” Do we believe that God is unable to see
our need? Perhaps we see only our DESIRES, but God sees our NEED!
We need not concern ourselves with any worldly concerns if we place God first
in all our thoughts, words, and deeds. If our priority in all things is God and
His will, we will have no time left for worry and vain pursuits. Our Lord gives
solution to all our problems with His concluding counsel for today’s text:
33 “But seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall
be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no
thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of
itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” To those of you who timidly subordinate
your duties to God to your perceived obligations to the state and society,
Jesus draws a clear line in the sand: We do not seek to please governments or
society in politically correct philosophies, but GOD! His will is paramount
over every earthly power be it the US Government, or any other government. We
observe a hierarchy of government from God above every other government. In
America, we have local, state and Federal laws. Does not the ultimate power
predominate in law? And even in the Federal Government, we have a separation of
powers that must be observed so that not entity has absolute power even at the
Federal head. But God is the ultimate Law-Giver. His law takes precedence above
every law of man. Too many believers today have bought into the lie of a
separation of church and state. What does that mean? Does it mean that
religious morality cannot influence the state, or even be mentioned in
reference to it; or that the state can dictate every detail of religious faith.
If the Christian faith is not the basis of government, then the government will
intrude and be the arbiter of the Christian faith…simple as that! God will
provide ALL that we need as long as we acknowledge Him above and beyond every
other consideration.
There is great evil in our present day. We must address the enemy at
hand rather than occupy ourselves with contemplated enemies that may arise
tomorrow. The world is WICKED today. The only day we are assured in this life
is TODAY. Go forth to battle that enemy of our souls that presents itself at
the leading edge of battle and worry not of the enemy’s reinforcement for
tomorrow. If we win the current battle, there will be no wickedness to
reinforce. Fight today, and take in hand the new threat as it presents itself.
God is with the valiant and true servant to fight his battles for him. Stand
with God and no lesser power can approach. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow
shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof.”
What are your
priorities for today? Are your first awakening thoughts devoted to God and in
seeking His will for you TODAY? Or do you give space in your heart to needless
worries that steal the space in your heart that should be reserved to God? Do
you seek after righteousness and let the results fall where they will? If you
place your trust in the only One who can order not only your life, but your
soul, you will be in good Hands for certain. Do not make your intentions of
righteousness dependent upon tomorrow’s events. Do what is right, and God will
see to the rest! He is the great Captain of your soul, not society, not Mammon,
and not government. When you approach the White Throne at the conclusion of all
time, will you concern yourself with rulings of the Supreme Court, or acts of
Congress? You may trust me – they shall not present themselves at that Holy
place.
