The Sunday called Quinquagesima, or the
Sunday next before before Lent.
The
Collect.
|
O
|
LORD who hast taught us that all our
doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into
our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all
virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this
for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
31 Then he
took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold,
we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets
concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be
mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the
third day he shall rise again. 34 And they understood none of these
things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which
were spoken.
35 And it
came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by
the way side begging: 36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what
it meant. 37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace:
but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 40 And
Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come
near, he asked him, 41 Saying, What wilt thou
that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my
sight. 42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy
sight: thy faith hath saved thee. 43 And immediately he received
his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw
it, gave praise unto God. (Luke 18:31-43)
Perhaps, as a Christian, you have believed that you might escape the troubles
and trials of righteous JOB and rest at ease in your faith of Christ. Has this
ever been true? No, it has not been true for, if you courageously stand upon
that Rock of your Salvation in both desert and garden, the world will hate and
trouble you. There is no escape unless you are blessed to live in a nation
whose God is, in fact, the Lord and not rhetorically so. Even then, there is
always a gravitational pull downward on the soul of man enticing him to sink to
the gutter of sensual living rather than to rise to the pinnacle of moral
living. If you are the “life of the party” wherever your feet take you, and
always well received by the world, you are not living a Christian life of
victory. The Christian shall see days of greater and greater rejection as the
whole world continues in its spiral into the abyss of darkness. It is not that
the world does not understand, but that the world does not DESIRE to
understand. Evil is multiplying at phenomenal levels in our day. Is it any
wonder that Christ asked the question: “……when
the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)
Christ KNEW of His coming suffering. He was going up to Jerusalem for His last
earthly visit. Yet He never tarried or demurred from going. Christ was intent
on a perfect obedience to His father, and He knew there could be no forgiveness
without sacrifice. He tells us that we, too, have a cross to bear. It is not a
silver, gold, or ivory cross, but rather a cross made of crude and splintered
timber. That cross has two axes – one vertical pointing from Heaven (God) to
earth (us); and the other horizontal pointing across the plane of all humanity.
In geometry we are told that an axis is a fixed reference in conjunction with
other points which define its direction. The cross has two fixed references: 1)
from a point (God) in Heaven to another point (man) on earth. It illustrates
that God, on the vertical beam, has offered a means whereby fallen man can be
redeemed from the just wrath that his sin entails by the coming down of God the
Son to sacrifice Himself in Love. The horizontal bean illustrates that sacrificial
love (as clearly described in the Epistle today from 1 Corinthians 13) that we
who are redeemed must bear for one another in obedience to God. We have a rude
cross to bear and, if it does not weigh upon our shoulders, perhaps it is
because we have not taken it up. If
any man will come after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
God sometimes brings things into our lives which we do not presently
understand. Our understanding may be deferred until such time that we can most
profitably grasp the meaning. 31. Behold,
we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets
concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be
mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the
third day he shall rise again. 34 And they understood none of
these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things
which were spoken. You will have to admit that this is reasonably
clear language, yet His disciples did not understand. They had witnessed the
great power of God at the hands of the only Begotten Son of God. They had seen
the dead restored to life simply at the sound of His Voice. They had seen sight
restored to the blind, the crippled made to walk, the adulteress forgiven, an
issue of blood arrested at the touch of His garment, the stormy sea made calm
at His command, and the wretched lepers touched by His wholesome hand and
cured! How could the Jewish rulers and Romans commit such a hateful crime on
one so full of power? The answer, of course, is that they COULD NOT!
It was God who allowed His only Begotten Son to be crucified as a willing
sacrifice for our redemption. Perhaps God has also told us things through His
Word that we have understood amiss, yet, in time, we come to a full and precise
understanding of the meaning after God has allowed His Holy Ghost to testify
thereof to our hearts.
It is often God’s intention that a temporary curtain be dropped over our eyes
as a gossamer veil so that we only see vaguely until such time as the full
picture is exposed. It is doubtful that Mary, the mother of Jesus, well
understood all that her Son represented and taught. She seemed to be absent
from most of His teachings. She failed, perhaps through remorse, to come to the
Garden Tomb with the other Mary’s. Perhaps she would have come had she believed
she would see her Risen Lord! But now, you and I know something that the
disciples did not know when Christ spoke the above words. How will we respond?
Your cross is waiting for you. If you take it up, you, too, will feel the lash
of the Roman (government) sanction against you. You, too, will be spat upon and
rejected in the public square. Do you still desire to bear the cross? Or do you
prefer to carry a pretty rosary (much lighter to bear and far more appealing)
to illustrate your piety?
Do you remember a time when you were a beggar? Has your memory faded in
remembering that you one day grew into a realization that your baptism and
covenant made for you by your parents must be confirmed in a living faith? Did
you proudly receive that faith as something you deserved, or did you plead with
your Lord for forgiveness and reception? Were you not blind from the past days
of your life until you sat, as a beggar, beside the road awaiting the approach
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you hail to Him without shame – even in a public
place? Did you disregard the nay-sayers who flocked about Him and shout your
appeal for mercy – not vision? Well, my friend, it
is very likely that you, too, were a blind beggar by the dusty roadside of
Christ. You had heard of Him perhaps on your mother’s knee. You believed it as
far as you were able, but it did not make complete sense to your youthful mind
that you were made whole through the death of a Messiah. Now you KNOW! Now you
have begun to feel a nagging emptiness in the very chambers of your
heart. How to fill the void? There is only one supply that can fill that
emptiness – the Lord Jesus Christ! And you heard of His approach. You waited
silently until His countenance could be clearly seen, then, you shouted from
the top of your voice, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Those of the modern church who were closest to Christ attempted to silence you
and prevent your coming. After all, you were only a beggar and unworthy of the
company of saints, right? And they which went before rebuked him, that he
should hold his peace. But your NEED was far greater than
their DOUBT and DISCOURAGEMENT! The world would
always prefer that you not come to Christ! But you could not hold your
peace! but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy
on me. Notice that the MERCY of God is all that we need to lift the
scales from our eyes. His Mercy always precedes His grace.
Expectantly, you stand waiting, your eyes closed to the Light of the
World! Suddenly, there was a change in the air. The discordant voices were
silent as the Voice of Heaven spoke – what was spoken, you may not have known,
but you felt in your heart that a tremendous experience was about to be had. And
Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him Did you
not know, my dear people, that your appeal for mercy will bring Christ to a
full stop before you. When a man stands still, it usually means he has quit his
journey, but when Christ stands still – whether on a dusty road leading into
Jericho or beneath a sycamore tree into which Zacchaeus climbed – something
miraculous is about to happen. Even the air is made calm and full of
electrifying expectation. If you have appealed to Christ for mercy, He has
stopped to hear your petition! Suddenly, you feel his servants (perhaps His
true ministers) pulling at your arms and bringing you into a wide place. Though
your vision is dark, there is nothing amiss with your ears for you hear the
most majestic and loving voice you have ever imagined speak to YOU! What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?
When we first appealed to Christ for mercy and begged for healing, were we not
somewhat taken aback by the power of His Voice? Perhaps the beggar had hailed
many passers-by for succor, and only a few had ever responded. None had asked
that the beggar be brought to them as did this Man. When He spoke, perhaps His
Voice overpowered you in love and power. You didn’t REALLY believe such an
important personage would stop and listen to your grievance, did you? Notice
that Jesus did not say, “What wilt thou that I do FOR you,” but, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?
If Jesus merely heals our sight, He has done something FOR us
only; but if He makes us into new creatures through His redeeming power, we
have had a change made TO us.
You eagerly search for a response to this most appealing voice. Finally, you
know that you have His full attention. He has granted mercy already, so you
press forward with a desire that has plagued you all the years that you have
sat by the roadside in the darkness of a bright day: Lord, that I may
receive my sight. Now, you anxiously wait. Have you imposed too much on
the great King to have your request granted? Do you not know that a great King
is complimented by a great request? The great request is recognition of His
great power to grant. And Jesus said unto him, Receive
thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. Notice Jesus granted the
beggars lesser request first – his sight. But the greater favor came as the
best wine came last at Cana of Galilee – SALVATION! Our greatest
miracle from the Lord will always be His forgiveness and reception of us into
His Kingdom!
Now, good friends, what did you do when Christ healed YOU? Did
your heart immediately break out in praises and joy? Did you immediately follow
Him wheresoever He led? Did your exuberance at your salvation spill over into
the crowd (world) around you? If not, perhaps you still pine away in blindness,
for look at the response of the poor blind beggar: And immediately he
received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when
they saw it, gave praise unto God. That very moment that the Lord
grants us vision to see Him, we, too, should praise God!
GO
THOU AND DO LIKEWISE!
