Today we celebrated the Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist superseding the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.
On
Point
Someone asked, where do the quotes come
from? The answer is from the
people who uttered them. But, how
did you find them? Oh, that. Some from Bishop Jerry, many from Rev
Bryan Dabney, a few from other places, some from Rev Geordie Menzies-Grierson,
but overall mostly from Bryan. He
always has some great ones to share.
On to the On Point quotes –
On
God
As a great Christian writer (George
MacDonald) pointed out, every father is pleased at the baby’s first attempt to
walk: no father would be satisfied with anything less than a firm, free, manly
walk in a grown-up son. In the same way, he said, “God is easy to please, but
hard to satisfy.”
I think every one who has some vague belief
in God, until he becomes a Christian, has the idea of an exam or of a bargain
in his mind. The first result of real Christianity is to blow that idea into
bits. When they find it blown into bits, some people think this means that
Christianity is a failure and give up. They seem to imagine that God is very
simple-minded! In fact, of course, He knows all about this. One of the very
things Christianity was designed to do was to blow this idea to bits. God has
been waiting for the moment at which you discover that there is no question of
earning a pass mark in this exam or putting Him in your debt.
Then comes another discovery. Every faculty
you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment,
is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively
to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own
already. So that when we talk of a man doing anything for God or giving
anything to God, I will tell you what it is really like. It is like a small
child going to his father and saying, “Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a
birthday present.” Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the
child’s present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think
that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction. When a man has made
these two discoveries God can really get to work. It is after this that real
life begins.
Jack
Lewis
Mere Christianity
The merciful man doeth good to his own soul:
but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
Proverbs
11:17
Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land
that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation. There is a
conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening
the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious
things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have
violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no
difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference
between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths,
and I am profaned among them.
Ezekiel
22:24-26
Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped
iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way,
in the multitude of thy mighty men.
Hosea
10:13
When it is evening ye say, It will
be fair weather; for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul
weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern
the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
St.
Matthew 16:2-3
Behold my hands and my feet, that
it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as
ye see me have.
St.
Luke 24:39
What shall we then say to these things? If
God be for us, who can be against us?
Romans
8:31
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but
let us watch and be sober.
I
Thessalonians 5:6
[T]he root cause of the crisis in the Church
of England ... has to do with authority in the Church. What is our authority?
Is it the Bible or human opinion? Do we obey revealed truth or do we follow the
customs ... and the supposed wisdom of the age? ... [The] history [of this
crisis] can be traced to two official reports ... [which] said, in effect,
[that] the Bible is a very difficult book and we cannot really understand it
... [and so] we must make up our faith as we go along; [that biblical]
revelation is neither finished nor complete; [that] we are continuing the
unfinished business of the Bible, [and thus] doctrine is evolving. Both of
these [reports] lead directly to an agnostic church, which does not know where
it is going ... has no definite message ...[and] no fixed points of doctrine
... If the Church has no fixed or cardinal points of doctrine all is lost ...”
David
N. Samuel
20th and 21st century
Presiding Bishop of the Church of England (Continuing)
(The Church In Crisis, pp. 11-12)
We have reached a point of diminishing
returns in our public life. Hardly anything actually needs doing. We may in
fact be past that point; not only does nothing much need doing, but we'd
benefit if much of what has been done were to be undone.
John
Derbyshire
20th an 21st century
British/American commentator and journalist
You can't conquer a free man; the most you
can do is kill him.
Robert
Heinlein
20th century American author.
They who voluntarily put themselves under the
power of a tyrant deserve whatever fate they receive.
Aesop
6th century BC Greek philosopher
and author
The Hawk and the Pigeons
Propers
The propers for today are found on Pages
250-251, with the Collect first:
Saint
Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.
[September 21.]
The Collect.
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ALMIGHTY God, who by thy blessed
Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle and
Evangelist; Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires, and inordinate love
of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth
with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
The Collect for the Fourteenth
Sunday is also read and is found
on Page 209:
The
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and
charity; and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love
that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle
comes from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, the Fourth Chapter
beginning at the First Verse:
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HEREFORE seeing we have this
ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the
hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word
of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to
every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid
to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is
the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ.
The Holy Gospel comes from the
Eighth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, beginning at the Ninth
Verse:
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ND as Jesus passed forth from
thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he
saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and
followed him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold,
many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And
when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master
with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are
sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Bishop Ogles’
Sermon
We are oft fortunate to get
copies of Bishop Jerry’s sermon notes.
Today is one of those Sundays.
Today’s sermon starts off with the collect, and like always, it will give
you a lot to consider in your heart.
Sermon Notes
St. Matthew the Apostle
Saint Andrew’s
Anglican
Orthodox Church
21 September
2014, Anno Domini
Saint
Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.
[September 21.]
The Collect.
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ALMIGHTY God, who by thy blessed
Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle and
Evangelist; Grant us grace to forsake all covetous de- sires, and inordinate
love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and
reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
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ND as Jesus passed forth from
thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he
saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and
followed him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold,
many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And
when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master
with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are
sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
We observe today the calling of the blessed apostle, Matthew, by the Lord Jesus
Christ. This account is given as a lesson and guide to all who are called by
Christ – either in a role of layman or as minister. Every outward evidence of
the call of the Apostle Matthew seems to have been casual and
non-circumstantial; however, a deeper examination of the account will reveal
otherwise. God does nothing by accident or without deep rivers of compassion
and meaning – so, the call of St. Matthew. Just as surely as Jesus knew whom He
would meet at the noon day hour beside the Well that Jacob dug, He also knew
whom He would find at the customs table by the shores of Galilee. There was a
reason that Matthew, a Levite, had his table there – it was to assess taxes on
those who crossed and landed in port on those shores. There was a reason that
Jesus “passed forth from thence” (Capernaum) to those shores. He
had a certain appointment there with Mattthew.
This was a day like every other day for Matthew, except what was about to
transpire. He was now minding his own business, but would very soon be minding
the business of the Lord. When God calls a man or woman, there is no time for
excuse or equivocation – one simply answers the call and follows.
This apostle is referred to as Matthew, though he is called Levi by Mark and
Luke perhaps to avoid labeling him with the lurid past as “chief of the
publicans” (tax collectors). But Matthew, in his Gospel, refers to himself as
Matthew so as to leave no doubt as to the depths from which he arose to become
a blessed apostle of the Lord.
There came a time in every Christian’s life that he or she heard that voice. It
may have been as a little girl swinging on the playground, or it may have been
an older gentleman for whom the Lord had work to do in His vineyard – but the
voice was heard as surely as Matthew heard this voice of Christ. “And as
Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the
receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow
me. And he arose, and followed him.” You will note that Jesus
did not begin a rapport with Matthew to inquire as to why an Israelite would be
doing the dirty business of the Roman government in collecting taxes. He asked
nothing of him, for He knew ALL about Matthew. He did not tell Matthew to first
straighten out his life and then come “follow
me.” The need is now in your life to follow Jesus. If you follow
Him, He will cleanse your heart and make you a useful vessel in His Temple. The
invitation was not given owing to any particular merit in Matthew, “but
notwithstanding the infamous employment he was in, as accounted by the Jews:
this was no bar in the way of his call to be a disciple of Christ; and shows,
that there was no merit and motive in him, which was the reason of this high
honor bestowed upon him; but was entirely owing to the free, sovereign, and
distinguishing grace of Christ, and which was powerful and efficacious: for
without telling him what work he must do, or how he must live, and without his
consulting with flesh and blood, at once, immediately.” (John Gill, 1765)
There were likely many men sitting around the shores of Galilee just whiling
the hours away with nothing much to do at all. If any were from Alabama, they
would have been whittling on a stick, but Jesus did not call those men – He
called a busy man named Matthew. He seeks out doers and not idlers. If our
hands are idle in profession, family, or some presumed need to retire from
life, God does not need those lazy hands. He needs the hands, heart, and mind
of men and women who will put those faculties God has given them to good use.
So, Jesus found, and called, Matthew – a man who had never before met Jesus. So
how did Matthew respond?
“And he arose, and followed him.” Matthew followed Jesus all of
the way just as Ruth followed Naomi – not part of the way as did Orpah. Matthew
was loyal to the end, and to the beginning of the glorious resurrection! He
asked no questions, nor did he make any excuses. He did not plead for time to
close out his books and deposit his tax money – he simply followed from that
very moment. Have you responded in that way when the Lord called you? Or have
you whiled away the days, the years, and the decades of your life as an
unfruitful servant? Did you begin on the way, and then turn back as a dog to
its vomit and the pig to wallowing in the mud? “But it is happened unto
them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again;
and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:22) I have
no patience for a professed Christian who is too lazy to follow the Lord all of
the way to that calling to which He has called them. But, I believe the Lord
has greater long suffering and patience than we mortals have. He will strive
for a time with that uncooperative servant, but not forever!
“And it came to
pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners
came and sat down with him and his disciples.” This reminds me of our
pickiness in finding a church full of perfect little Christians. In the halcyon
days of my early manhood, I went on crusade to find such a church to no avail.
Once I attended a country church in a little hamlet of Alabama. The minister
said something that I needed to hear badly at that time. He said, “Folks, if
you are searching for the perfect church, you had better get out of it as soon
as you can, once you have found it – because YOU will ruin it!” It is not
the Church that is perfect, but the Lord whom she worships. If the heart of the
church is fixed on Christ and His Word, that is all that matters. An old
friend counseled me to “find a Church that puts her faith in Christ, and
believes His Word, sink an anchor into the ground there, and hang on tight.”
I have found such a Church, and I have hung on tight!
Jesus knew we were sinful and imperfect when He came to us. He knew that we
could not be righteous, and no sinner can enter Heaven. So, He came to redeem
us from our sins and make a way for us to enter that Gate of Heaven which He
opened for us. Here in this verse, Jesus is sitting at a meal in Matthew’s
house with publicans (tax collectors), sinners, and His disciples. He did not
sit there among them to become like unto them, but so that they might come to
follow Him also and become more like Him. But there are some who are so self-righteous
that even Heaven cannot afford to have them.
“And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and
sinners?” These pharisaical culprits had witnessed the Lord doing
nothing amiss, but tried to judge Him by the company He was keeping. They could
care less for the sinner and downtrodden – they were ABOVE all of that in their
own minds. They were looking for grains of sand with which to make stones of
offense. Moreover, gutless as they were, they did not confront Jesus directly,
but rather asked of His disciples, there, prying and hateful little questions.
Man has not changed from that moment until now. Those who bounce from church to
church without ever saying what they found amiss to the minister, but do spread
tales among the congregation, are just as gutless. The murmerers and
back-biters are those who spread discord and discontent among the peace of the
church. These Pharisees fit the bill perfectly.
If He did not hear their aural remarks, Jesus heard the profanity of their
hearts. He responded with a comment that may have seemed a puzzle to some: “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that
are sick. But go ye and learn what that
meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The first sentence is
fairly clear and reasonable to all. Jesus is the Great Physician who can heal
every affliction of Mind, Body, and Soul. Those who are sick, and know they are
sick, should consult a physician capable of the cure. Unfortunately, some
diseases such as sinful hearts are so insidious that the afflicted are unaware
of their depravity – they seek no healing at the fountains of Mercy. The
Pharisees were too proud to see their own leprosy of sin discoloring their
souls and hearts. They were, in a word, HATEFUL. The latter part of Jesus
comment is what probably missed the heads of the Pharisees though they knew the
words well, For I desired mercy, and
not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6) Mercy is
a component of Love and the currency and coin of the Realm of the Kingdom of
Heaven. If Love and Mercy are present, sacrifice is never necessary.
Friends, if any are called of God to any particular role, or office, you can
never be of use to the Lord in it if you consider your calling a ‘sacrifice.’
It must be a labor of love and mercy for it is these two that grease the wheels
of Heaven, and calls the Holy Ghost down to your endeavor. What of you, my
friend?
When God said, “Follow me”
did you arise and follow?
Did you follow all of the
way?
Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and
Action
Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California
Today’s sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel
together and talked, as is oft the case, of the need for action, not simply
diction.
Consider the words of the Collect, “…didst call Matthew from the
receipt of custom to be an Apostle and Evangelist; Grant us grace to forsake
all covetous desires, and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy
Son Jesus Christ…”
In our prayer to God, we recollect God’s call to
Matthew to abandon his very lucrative position to follow His Son. We normally call Matthew’s previous
position a “publican”, in the terms of modern England, our mother country, one
who runs a “public house”, that is a pub, or as we would call it in the United
States, a bar. But, that is not
what the word means in this usage, this publican was a tax collector. In that time, he was the one who
collected taxes for the Roman Occupation Government. He was allowed to keep a certain percentage of what he
collected to cover his costs and provide a living. In many cases, if not almost all, publicans extorted far
more tax money than they were required to turn over to the Romans and lived
quite high on the hog, so to speak.
Matthew was a real minority, an honest publican. He scrupulously collected what was due,
took only his share. But, when the
Lord called, he answered. Not an
easy thing to abandon a lucrative job for a position that promised an early and
painful demise. His dedication to
the Lord shines through in his Gospel writings.
This brings us to Paul’s point, as Christians living
in the world, we cannot be of the world, rather we must be of God, set aside to
Him. At the same time, we must let
His light shine through us as a beacon to the world. The Prince of the World, the Devil, the Prince of Darkness,
has much to offer in short term in this world, but never delivers on the
promise of happiness. He can offer
and even deliver fun; he offers, but cannot deliver, happiness!
When we preach, that is to say tell others, of the
Gospel, it is not about us, it is about Jesus Christ; the selfsame Christ who
gave his earthly life as a sacrifice for our sin that we might have everlasting
life. It is not an eternal life
that starts when we die. Eternal
life starts the moment you accept His Promise. This is not evident to those who
are blinded by the god of this world, or Satan to put it another way. He is
only a lower case god, as he is not God. Only God can be like God. The Gospel is as St. Paul says “Hid” to
those who are serving Satan wittingly or unwittingly, as they cannot grasp the
infinite mercy and love of Our Savior Christ and do not want to know that they
have to turn to Him.
And that friends, brings us to Matthew’s story of how
he came to Jesus, so to speak. As
he sat at his tax collection station, Jesus passed by and told him to
follow. Matthew got up and
followed. This was not a gradual
acceptance of the Saving Grace.
The offer was made and accepted.
He came to dinner with Jesus and many other “sinners” much to the dismay
of the Pharisees. They would not
understand, in the words of Paul, “All fall short.” All, even, or maybe in particular Pharisees. The fact is none of us are better than
others, though it may be admitted some are worse. Let us not be worse, but
strive to be better than we are, as close to perfection as we can reach, with
His help.
Jesus came for us, the sinners. He came to lead, counsel, teach and
guide. More than that, He came to
be a one time sacrifice for all mankind for all time. A full and sufficient sacrifice and oblation for our sins.
Turn around, follow Him.
Action counts.
For by their actions ye shall know them.
Heaven is at the end of an
uphill trail. The easy downhill
trail does not lead to the summit.
The time is now, not tomorrow. The time has come, indeed. How will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
Roy Morales-Kuhn,
Bishop and Pastor - St. Paul's Anglican Church - Anglican Orthodox Church
Bishop Roy is pastor of the biggest AOC
parish West of the Mississippi and is in charge of the Diocese of the
Epiphany.
St. Matthew
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity
21 September 2014
Psalm 119:1-16
1Kings 19:15-16,19-21
• 1 Timothy 6:6-19
Preparation and Service
a calling to all believers.
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ALMIGHTY God, who by
thy blessed Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle
and Evangelist; Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires, and inordinate
love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and
reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
Please take the time to go
back over the three selections of scripture listed for today, the day set aside
to commemorate St. Matthew.
Each selection delves into the concept of service. What is service ? We ask the Lord to use us in his
kingdom at the conclusion of Holy Communion: O heavenly Father, so to assist us
with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such
good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world
without end. Amen.
Each of the
passages of scripture set aside today speak to that work or service. Let us
think of the service of St. Matthew, a man who had been all about serving
himself, as a greedy tax-collector, to a man who will eventually lose his life
in the service of Christ, his Savior. St. Matthew completely changes direction,
in a matter of only a few lines of scripture, Matthew leaves one profession to
enter another. He makes a diametrically momentous change which involves going
from a man of wealth to a man on the streets, roads, and byways of life, what a
great biography. Matthew did have
a template to follow. Let’s look
at our Old Testament lesson.
1Kings 19:15-16,19-21:
Elijah passes
the mantle of service and ministry on to Elisha. Immediately Elisha accepts the mantle, turns back to
sacrifice the oxen that were pulling his plow, fed those left behind and then
followed Elijah. Notice
something else. Elisha burns the
plows, hitches, anything to do with his former vocation, he is moving on to the
next calling. He has no intention
of going back to the fields after accepting the call. Talk about service.
In Psalm
119:1-16 the psalmist speaks to preparation, meditation, walking in the way of
the Lord. Each aspect of
what the psalmist is doing is making a way for the reader as well as the author
to do right in the sight of the Lord.
“thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against
thee.” Notice the verbs and
adjectives used to describe the actions that the psalmist is taking to make
sure he is following the commands of the Lord. “...I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, ...o let
me not wander from thy commandments,...with my lips have I declared all the
judgements of thy mouth,...I have rejoiced,..I will meditate,...have
respect,...will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.”
All this
preparation to follow the Lord.
How much time do we spend in the Word of the Lord each day ? Do we meditate on the Word, do we
rejoice, have delight, have respect, and most importantly do not forget the
Word ?
Now to the meat
of the message today. As I have
shared before, Jesus was not angry at the rich who knew what to do with their
wealth. As long as the wealth was obtained in a legal fashion, (read the
parables of the talents) and was used in a righteous fashion, Jesus did not
condemn. His anger at wealthy folk
was focused on those who did not help in the spreading of the gospel. Notice what St. Paul writes in his
second letter to his adopted son Timothy.
Paul notes
‘godliness with contentment is great gain.’ The next verse is used in the opening of the service
for the burial of the dead. ‘..for
we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing
out.’ The reality is we have a
temporal blessing, if we are rich, here on earth. Well how do we deal with that concept ?
First off, do
not become entangled in the idea that ones wealth is the end all and be all of
our life. ‘...for the love of
money is the root of all evil...’
Notice it reads LOVE of money, not money is the root of all evil. We need money to function in this
temporal world, we need money to do things for the Lord, we need money to be
part of the society we live in.
In a word, Paul is telling all believers, rich, not so rich and everyone
else, to make sure of their priorities.
Do not be come ensnared by this false dreams of wealth or fame, fortune
or what not, ‘...fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, where
unto thou art also called and hast professed a good profession (witness) before
many witnesses.
And now the best
argument against the ‘wealth bashers’; ‘...charge them that are rich in this
world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the
living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that
they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying
up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that
they may lay hold on eternal life...’
Notice several
things about these last couple of verses.
No where in them is there a call for the rich to divest themselves of
their wealth. They are to do good
works in the Lord, they are to do good, they should be ready to distribute
wealth and willing to communicate. And the most important aspect of this set of
verses, ‘... laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the
time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.’ That by far is the most important
aspect of living for Christ.
The warnings
that Paul writes about can be applied to anyone, it just happens more often,
because of how we judge our fellows, wealth or being rich lead a believer into
false hopes or trusting in something that can be gone in a matter of
moments. If you think of the great
financial disasters that have struck from time to time, you may have wealth
today and tomorrow be destitute. The great evangelical bishop, John Charles Ryle,
was born into a family of great wealth.
He had all the advantages of that great wealth. As he related in his
conversion story, his family went to bed wealthy and woke the next morning in
poverty. His father’s wealth evaporated
in a financial disaster that struck Great Britain in the 1840s. The good that came of that, Ryle went
into the ministry by way of the Church of England. He would go on to write many papers dealing with the day to
day issues of faith of the common man.
His books still resonate today some 140 years after having been first
penned.
In conclusion,
let us all inspect our lives, making sure we are using the riches God has given
us to the furtherance of the Gospel and the Kingdom. Let us remember what David wrote. “....I will not forget thy
word...” Let us reflect on the life of St. Matthew, who’s life we commemorate
this Sunday. We can learn by
example. Daily shall we
praise Him, daily shall we read his Word, daily shall we do that which pleases
our Lord and Savior.
Let us pray:
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Lord, we join our unfeigned thanks for all thy mercies;
for our being, our reason, and all other endowments and faculties of soul and
body; for our health, friends, food, and raiment, and all the other comforts
and conveniences of life. Above all, we adore thy mercy in sending thy only Son
into the world, to redeem us from sin and eternal death, and in giving us the
knowledge and sense of our duty towards thee. We bless thee for thy patience
with us, notwithstanding our many and great provo-cations; for all the
directions, assistances, and comforts of thy Holy Spirit; for thy continual
care and watchful providence over us through the whole course of our lives; and
particularly for the mercies and benefits of the past day; beseeching thee to
continue these thy blessings to us, and to give us grace to show our
thankfulness in a sincere obedience to his laws, through whose merits and
intercession we received them all, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
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LMIGHTY God, whose loving hand hath given us all that we possess;
Grant us grace that we may honour thee with our substance, and remembering the
account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of thy bounty;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Benediction:
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IRECT us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy most gracious favour,
and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued,
and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally, by thy mercy,
obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
✟
Bishop Dennis Campbell’s Sermon
Bishop Dennis is a brilliant
speaker. He is able to take
biblical precepts and make them perfectly understandable, even to me. Oft he provides the text of his sermons
and I take the utmost pleasure in passing them on:
Matthew, Follower of
Christ
Matthew 9:9-13
Feast of Saint Matthew
September 21, 2014
We know Matthew by many names.
In Hebrew it means “Gift of the Lord,” though, since he was a tax collector
for the Romans, I’m sure most of his fellow Jews believed he was
mis-named. In Luke 5:27 he is
called Levi, which probably indicates that he was of the Hebrew tribe of Levi.
Levi, then, would have been similar to our English surnames. Mark 2:14 calls
him the son of Alphaeus. Putting
these names together we would call him Matthew Aphaeus Levi.
Mathew has other names, which are much more important than his family
name or his given name. He is
sometimes called Matthew the Evangelist, as in our Prayer Book. This name refers to his great gift to
mankind we know as the Evangel, or, Gospel of Matthew. He is often called, Matthew the
Apostle. This is one of his most
important names because it means he is one of a few, very select men Christ
called to be with Him during His earthly ministry. These men were eyewitnesses to His life and work, and they
were earwitnesses to His words and teaching. Having thus been called and taught, the Apostles were sent
by Christ to establish the Messianic Kingdom on earth, which is known to us as
the Church.
Of all his names and titles I, think Matthew himself might have been
happiest with the one he acquired in the first verse of this morning’s reading
from his Gospel, “Follower of Christ.”
As Mt. 9:9 says “he arose and followed Him.”
Matthew was a tax collector, and one day he was doing his job, probably
not thinking about spiritual things, just collecting the money and keeping the
books. He wasn’t expecting God to
speak to him, but He did. Jesus
quietly came to him and said, “Follow Me.” God often comes to people unexpectedly. We are busy about the things of life, sometimes
rather heedless of God, sometimes not exactly heedless, but not exactly
following Him either, and something happens to call our attention back to Him.
It is as though He stands before us and quietly says, “Follow Me.”
I think of the example of Martha and Mary when Jesus visited their
home. Martha went into the kitchen
and began to prepare a meal for everyone.
There were a lot of people there, so preparing the meal was major task,
but Martha got right to work, until she noticed she was working alone. Everyone else, including Mary, was in
the living room listening to Christ.
So Martha went in and demanded that Jesus, make Mary go into the kitchen
and help. Was Martha wrong? Not really. Cooking is good, and if someone doesn’t do it we’ll all go
hungry. Martha’s problem was her
timing. The Messiah, Emmanuel, God
With Us, had come from Heaven to earth and was right there in her living room. He was teaching people about the
Kingdom of Heaven. He was speaking the words of eternal life and showing the
will and nature of God to them.
But Martha was missing it all.
Her mind was on the things of earth. So Jesus called her to stay and listen, like Mary.
Matthew was like Martha. Emmanuel stood before him, but his mind was on his
money and accounts. Jesus called
him away from these things. Jesus
called him to something better.
Jesus called him to God.
Maybe you are a little like Matthew today. Maybe you are a religious person, not exactly heedless of God,
but not exactly following Him either, at least not with the dedication and
fullness of devotion He is calling you to give. And who of us would say he is following Christ as closely
and fully as he should be? But
that can change. He stands before
you as surely as He stood before Matthew, and He calls you with the very same
words, “Follow Me.” Matthew “arose
and followed Him.” Will you?
The words, “Follow Me,” permeate the Gospel of Matthew. In Mt. 4:7 Christ calls Simon and
Andrew, saying, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” In 8:19 a scribe says to Christ,
“Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” In 16:24 Matthew records the words of
Christ; “if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me.” Following
Jesus is a major point of Matthew’s Gospel. He does not just want his readers
to assent to certain doctrinal statements about Christ. I do not mean to say doctrine was not
important to Matthew. It was very
important. It was central to
him. It was foundational to
him. That’s why he included the
words of Peter at Caesarea Philippi in his Gospel. You remember that Christ had asked the disciples who people
say He is. They answered, “Some
say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others Jeremiah, or one
of the prophets.” But Peter said,
“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That was a doctrinal statement. Every word of it is full of
doctrine and doctrines. And Matthew included these words because he wanted us
to know the doctrinal truth about Jesus.
Matthew wanted the Jews, and Gentiles to know Jesus of Nazareth is the
Messiah Israel has been waiting for.
That’s why Matthew began his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus. He was showing the Jewish people that
Jesus was of the house and lineage of David, as the Messiah was foretold to
be. When the wise men came to
Bethlehem they came seeking “he that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen
his star in the east, and are come to worship him” Mt. 2:2). The King of the Jews is the Messiah.
John the Baptist recognised Jesus as the Messiah, and said, “I have need to be
baptized of thee.” God the Father identified Jesus as the Messiah, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” thus fulfilling Psalm 2:7,
Thou art my Son.” In chapter 5 we
read Christ is the fulfillment of the law. In chapter 17 God identifies the Messiah again, “This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” At the foot of the cross, the Roman centurion even
says, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Matthew longed to see Israel know Jesus of Nazareth as her Messiah/King
and God. That’s why he wrote his
Gospel. Each verse I just read or
referred to is a doctrinal statement.
So Matthew was very concerned about doctrine. He wanted people to know Christ is more than an ordinary
mortal, more than a moral teacher, more than a philosopher, more than a
theologian. He wanted people to know
Him as the Christ, the promised Messiah.
He wanted people to have the right doctrines about Jesus.
But he didn’t want the doctrines to be a mere intellectual pursuit. He wanted the doctrines to lead people
to Christ as their Lord and God and Saviour. He wanted the doctrines to lead people to become followers
of Christ, just as Matthew became a follower of Christ that day in
Galilee. In Matthew’s Gospel we
still hear the words of Christ, “Follow Me.” But this time they are not addressed to Matthew; they are
addressed to you.
Rev Bryan Dabney
of Saint John’s Sunday Sermon
We are fortunate to
have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon. If you
want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak the truth, expouse the
truth and live the truth. This is really a good piece and I
commend it to your careful reading.
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity
In the epistle (Romans 12:16-21), the
apostle Paul reminded his readers to Recompense to no man evil for evil. Without a doubt this is
one of those biblical expressions which is congruent with the old saying of
“easier said than done.” We all have it in our natures to protect ourselves.
Self-defense is a perfectly legitimate activity, even biblical. But revenge or
the striking back at someone well after the fact is forbidden to us as
Christians. (For our purposes, I am refraining from any references to a just
war and am confining my remarks only to actions within a community.) Our Lord’s
command to us is quite clear in this regard for it is written: To me belongeth
vengeance , and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of
calamity is a hand... The Lord shall judge his people (Deuteronomy 32: 35; Hebrews
10: 30).
But does not our right to necessary self-defense also permit us to take
vengeance upon those who have harmed us? The short answer is, No. It is one
thing to ward off an attack, but it is quite another to set about to do in our
enemies and persecutors by laying in wait, or by other acts of subterfuge. For
it is in that latter state that we may waste much time and effort scheming as
to how we should seek our revenge. It may be that our enemies have maligned us.
It may be that we were cut out of a business deal by those whom we had
previously regarded as friends. Nevertheless, in spite of their actions, we
ought to remember that our good and gracious God will not allow us to be
permanently set back, neither will he give such persons “a pass” on their
misdeeds if they do not repent. And it is precisely because of that last point
that we are not to go out of our way to harm our enemies simply because they
took advantage of us in some one way or another. We are to commit such persons
to God and trust him to protect us from their evil and malicious designs. We
can and should avoid such persons, but we ought to pray for their reformation.
And if we see them in trouble, we should do for them as set forth in the
Parable of the Good Samaritan. Again, this is easier said than done especially
when we know that they bear no love for us in their hearts.
Some may ask, “Why would God have us help our adversaries who are in
extremis?” The response may come as a surprise to those who are unfamiliar with
Scripture: “Because God would not have us embittered by them.” A bitter person
is not a loving person. If one has to constantly remind himself of the ills
others have done unto them, it causes one to discount the joy which God would
otherwise have that person experience. It also cultivates within that person
fertile ground for demonic influence. There should be little doubt that
contemplating evil for another opens the door of your soul to infiltration by
the adversary. The Devil thrives on our bad feelings so it is of paramount
importance that we do not give him such space because we are supposed to be
vessels for the Holy Spirit of God.
Listen to the words of St. Paul (II Corinthians 2:10-11), To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive
also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave
I in the person of Christ; lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are
not ignorant of his devices. The Rev. E. M. Bounds once observed that, “An
unforgiving spirit invites satanic possession... To corrupt our spirits, to
provoke us to retaliation, revenge, or unmercifulness– that is his chosen work
and his most common and successful device... When Satan generates an
unforgiving spirit in us, then he has us, and we are on his ground. Then wicked
men and good men, all kinds of people, are likely to do us harm, sometimes at
vital and very sensitive points. Sometimes they unconsciously wrong us and
sometimes they do it knowingly and willfully. As soon as a spirit of unkindness
possesses us for the wrong done to us, Satan has the upper hand.” That is why
we are to let those offenses go and commit them to the Lord— placing them in
his capable hands. And God may call these into his service much as he called
Saul of Tarsus— an enemy of the body of Christ— to become St. Paul: the great
teacher of Christ. Your enemy today could by the grace of God become a brother
or a sister in Christ tomorrow. Would you then seek vengeance on one who has
now become a member of the Christ’s body? Would you not be striking at Christ
as well?
St. Paul reminded us in his epistle to the Ephesians that, we wrestle
not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places (6:12). Those who have wronged us are but the physical instruments of
the devil and his minions. They are more or less to be pitied rather than
hated. We cannot avenge ourselves of the forces of darkness through our anger
and any acts of retribution against their pawns. God would have us armour
ourselves with his prescription for spiritual victory and such does not include
bearing or carrying about feelings of revenge or hatred. He wants us to hand
over the particulars of our vengeance to him and he will repay them should they
not repent.
We should also keep in mind what our Lord said from the cross (St. Luke 23:34) Father, forgive them; for they know not what
they do. If he who was crucified for our sakes could in the midst of his
suffering ask God to pardon his persecutors, then we should do likewise for
those who have done unto us far less. A forgiving spirit opens the way to
blessing. A forgiving spirit keeps the devil out of our lives. A forgiving
spirit seeks after the peace of God. A forgiving spirit remembers that we were
once enemies of God, and that he forgave us our sins and trespasses which we so
enjoyed committing before we came to know him as our God.
Think on the words of the Lord’s Prayer, and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us. If we expect God to forgive us of
our sins and trespasses, then we should forgive those who have sinned against
us. God has a plan and purpose for his elect which includes being filled with
his Holy Spirit. And in being so filled, we should daily confess our sins to
him in the name of our Lord and Saviour. For it is through our daily confession
that we are made fit to experience that perfect fellowship with him via the
Holy Ghost.
Therefore rid your hearts of all hatred and malice toward others. Make
such a daily activity. Take care to spiritually clean out all that is amiss in
your life for that is what our Lord expects us to do as members of his body. We
have been commanded to let our light so shine before men, that they may see
[our] good works and glorify [our] Father which is in heaven (St. Matthew 5:16). But we will not be able to do that if we
are busy quenching the fire of the Holy Ghost with our bad feelings and our
malice. Purpose in your hearts today to be cleansed of all unrighteousness and
mean-spiritedness, so you can truly enjoy fellowship with the Godhead.
Let us pray,
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ather, drive from us all hatred, variance, malice
and every evil way, that in all things we might be more than conquerors, for
this we ask in the name of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
