 |
| Belgrade – confluence of Sava and Danube Rivers last night |
Today we celebrated the Twentieth
Sunday after Trinity and the revenge of Standard Time as we fell back an hour
and darkness fell over the earth an hour earlier!
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 –
For the Love of God
Some
writers use the word charity to describe not only Christian love between human
beings, but also God’s love for man and man’s love for God. About the second of
these two, people are often worried. They are told they ought to love God. They
cannot find any such feeling in themselves. What are they to do? The answer is
the same as before. Act as if you did. Do not sit trying to manufacture
feelings. Ask yourself, ‘If I were sure that I loved God, what would I do?’
When you have found the answer, go and do it.
On the
whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love
for Him. Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings
are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or
towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are
obeying the commandment, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.’ He will give us
feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we
must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that,
though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by
our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its
determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at
whatever cost to Him.
Jack Lewis
Mere
Christianity
Compound Interest
Though Christian charity sounds a
very cold thing to people whose heads are full of sentimentality, and though it
is quite distinct from affection, yet it leads to affection. The difference
between a Christian and a worldly man is not that the worldly man has only
affections or ‘likings’ and the Christian has only ‘charity’. The worldly man
treats certain people kindly because he ‘likes’ them: the Christian, trying to
treat every one kindly, finds himself liking more and more people as he goes
on—including people he could not even have imagined him- self liking at the
beginning.
This same spiritual law works
terribly in the opposite direction. The Germans, perhaps, at first ill-treated
the Jews because they hated them: afterwards they hated them much more because
they had ill-treated them. The more cruel you are, the more you will hate; and
the more you hate, the more cruel you will become — and so on in a vicious
circle for ever.
Good and evil both increase at
compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day
are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of
a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to
victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or
anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the
enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.
Jack Lewis
Mere Christianity
The Foundation
[In a democracy] a common passion
or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole; a
communication and concert results from the form of government itself; and there
is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party or an
obnoxious individual.
James Madison
Federalist No. 10, 1787
Fret not thyself because of evil
doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall
soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Psalm 37:1-2
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but
love covereth all sins.
Proverbs 10:12
I will deliver thee out of the hand
of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
Jeremiah 15:21
·
Even those orders of governance which have been
ordained by God can be perverted from their original purposes and transformed
into realms of wickedness and vice.
·
Few men in history have ever even attempted to
live by God’s laws.
·
God will not only judge the people of every
nation and kingdom for their bad behavior, but he will judge them for the evil
deeds of their rulers as well.
·
Godly rulers are a blessing to their people;
while their wicked counterparts are a detriment to them.
·
God’s messengers— the prophets— have supplied
mankind with warnings against bad behavior so that no person can say that they
were truly unaware that what they were doing was evil in the eyes of God.
·
God’s judgment will come. It is not a question
of IF but WHEN.
·
God’s justice demands obedience, and that all
who will live in obedience will be preserved.
Bryan Dabney
AOC Minister
Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of
the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness:
it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.
Zephaniah 2:3
Go thy way; thy faith hath made
thee whole..
St. Mark 10:52
He that is faithful in that which
is least is faithful in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust in
much.
St. Luke16:10
Stand fast therefore in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the
yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1
In vain do we pretend that God is
our God if we do not receive his law into our hearts and resign ourselves to
the government of it.
Matthew Henry
17th and 18th
century English pastor and author
The lukewarm [Laodicean]
Christian has enough of Jesus to satisfy a craving for religion, but not enough
for eternal life.
David Guzik
20th and 21st
century Christian pastor
And all the earth was of one
language and one speech (Genesis 11:1). It is impossible not to draw parallels
between the opening of the story of the Tower of Babel and the modern global
village. Once again, the entire world is of one language and one speech.
Everyone is connected to everyone, speaking to everyone and at least in the
Western world, everyone is motivated by the same ideas. Ultimately, this
uniformity leads to a war against the Creator and to the re-scattering of
humanity. We are at the threshold of a new age. It could be that we are
witnessing the waning of the modern nation state. Europe and the US are
bankrupt. After an era of swift economic growth accompanied by moral decadence,
the unavoidable stage of disintegration is upon us. And they said, Let us build
for us a city and tower and its top will be in heaven, and we will make for us
a name, lest we be scattered on the face of the earth (Genesis 11:4). The Tower
of Babel was not a temple to God. It was a temple to man. The Western nations
that have made man the focal point of existence are morally bankrupt and have
lost their founding ethos. As a result, they are also economically bankrupt.
Only a small bit of foresight is necessary to understand that the Western
economies do not have any real ability to stand on their feet again. It is
quite possible that we will also witness their political disintegration. Time
and again, entities that are not states defeat the ever-weakening nation-states.
In light of this reality, Israel must develop a long-term strategy that will
take into account a completely different world structure than the one to which
we have been accustomed in the modern era.
Moshe Feiglin
21st Israeli
statesman
“Global Tower: A Torah
Thought for Parshat Noach”, Oct-23-2014
I continue to hope and pray that
the seemingly inexorable march towards a rending of this Republic can be
resolved peaceably, but I am a student of history, and know that once the
citizenry has judged the government is a threat and not a servant, then that
government will fall, or will continue down the path of becoming monsters,
devouring the very people they are sworn to protect.
Bob Owens
21st century
American commentator
Propers
The Propers for today are found
on Page 217-218, with the Collect first:
Twentieth
Sunday after Trinity
The
Collect.
|
O
|
ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we
beseech thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in
body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou commandest;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle for
today came from Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians beginning at the Fifteenth
Verse of the Fifth Chapter. “… the days are evil. … understand… what the will of the Lord
is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the
Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all
things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; …” God
wants us to be happy, to be good and to enjoy life. The key to happiness is to do what God asks of you. No more (you can’t), no less. Though you fall short, keep trying,
that is all God asks. If you
find this no other place, listen to the words of St. Paul.
|
S
|
ee then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but
as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not
unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with
wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your
heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in
the fear of God.
Today’s Holy Gospel came from the Twenty-Second
Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew beginning at the First
Verse. Talking to the priests and
scribes, Jesus told one of the wedding parables, “The kingdom of heaven is like
unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his
servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not
come. Again, he sent forth other
servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my
dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto
the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm,
another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants, and entreated
them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth:
and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up
their city. Then” he sent “his servants … into the highways” to “gather…
together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was
furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw
there a man which had not on a wedding-garment: and he saith unto him, Friend,
how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment?[1]
And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.
|
J
|
esus said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a
certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to
call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he
sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have
prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are
ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways,
one to his farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants,
and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof,
he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and
burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but
they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and
as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into
the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and
good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to
see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding-garment: and he
saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment?
And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.
Bishop Ogles’
Sermon
Bishop Jerry is traveling to
visit the Anglican Orthodox Churches in Serbia and Macedonia. Right now, he is in Belgrade and
meeting with AOC ministers there. Today’s sermon starts off with the
collect, and like always, it will give you a lot to consider in your heart.
Sermon Notes - From Belgrade, Serbia - 2 November 2014, Anno Domini
Twentieth
Sunday after Trinity
The
Collect.
|
O
|
ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we
beseech thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in
body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou commandest;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
|
A
|
nd Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which
made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his
servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
4 Again,
he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I
have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are
ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of
it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And
the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But
when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and
destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then
saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were
not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as
many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went
out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both
bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11 And
when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a
wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest
thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then
said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and
cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For
many are called, but few are chosen.
(Matthew
22)
The heart
of a Little Boy
(I have written out for the benefit of those
who may only read these notes):
A little boy
was diagnosed with a severe heart deformity which demanded surgery, or the boy
would surely die. The surgery itself also presented a dangerous threat to the
little boy’s life. The very professional cardiologist explained, in gruesome
detail and with a measure of cold detachment, the serious nature of the
surgery. The little boy seemed unmoved by the discussion, so the doctor said
(with apparent irritation), “Don’t you know that I might find a condition that
could kill you?” The little boy responded happily, “I know what you will find,
and it makes me happy to know it.” The doctor was dumbfounded at the apparent
indifference of the boy, but scheduled the surgery anyway.
Upon entering
the chest cavity and seeing the little heart, the doctor was dismayed. The boy’s
heart would require his greatest skill to repair. He worked professional and
meticulously to undo a deadly condition that had afflicted the boy since birth.
His professional pride, and not any sense of compassion, motivated the hands
and mind of the cardiologist.
Against all
odds, the surgery was a great success and the boy was restored with a normal
heart at last.
As the doctor
later explained to the boy the serious nature of the surgery and the damage he
had found in the boy’s heart, the little boy smiled. The doctor, greatly
puzzled, asked, “Do you mock my skills as a surgeon. Do you not believe what I
have told you I found in your heart?”
The little
boy replied, “You have not told me the most important thing you found in my
heart which makes all the rest better – Jesus!” The cardiologist was shocked
and humbled by this courageous little boy’s answer. As a result, he finally did
find Jesus in his own heart.
The sermon
text today is of a great man who was planning a grand wedding feast for His
Son. He had gone to great expense and time-consuming preparation to insure that
every detail was perfect.
Let’s examine
the nature, first of all, of the nature of this invitation:
· It is extended to everyone, wide and far.
· It will be rejected by the heartless and
indifference
· Rejection provokes the justifiable ANGER of
GOD! – Each of us exists either under His kind favor or His great anger. Under
God's anger, or under God's love, we must be, whether we will or not. We cannot
flee from His presence. We cannot go from His Spirit. If we are loving, and so
rise up to heaven, God is there—in love. If we are cruel and wrathful, and so
go down to hell, God is there also—in wrath. With the clean He will be clean;
with the froward man He will be froward. On us, and us alone, it depends
whether we shall live under God's anger or live under God's love.
·
The great
King had composed a list of friends and subjects whom he had befriended with
many kindnesses in the past. He was sure that they would be honored to come to
the feast.
But these
ungrateful acquaintances would not come.
The King was
grieved that these people, whom he had helped so many ways, would not even
honor His own Son. 4 Again, he sent forth
other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my
dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto
the marriage.
He was a King
and unaccustomed to begging, but, for His Son’s sake, he besought the people to
please come and honor His Son.
How did these
vile people respond to the King’s pleadings?
5 But they made light of
it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated
them spitefully, and slew them.
The Great
Sovereign of all power was angered:
7 But when the king heard
thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those
murderers, and burned up their city.
In the year
70 AD (about 35 years after the crucifixion of Christ), the Roman commander,
Titus, erected battlements against the walls of Jerusalem. After a prolonged
siege in which the inhabitants of Jerusalem actually ate their own babies, the
walls fell and Titus butchered every male, and took the females captive as
slaves to the rough Roman guards.
8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is
ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy
All who
reject the invitation of Christ are unworthy of His Grace and Love.
God the
Father is seeking a bride for His only Begotten Son. He sent prophets and priest
to invite ancient Israel to come unto Him. But what was done to these righteous
from Abel to Zaccharias?
34 Wherefore,
behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them
ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your
synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 That
upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood
of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew
between the temple and the altar. (Matthew 24:34-35)
When the
servants (prophets) were murdered by the King’s subjects (old Israel),
the King sends forth his messengers to find others. None were to be
ignored. Every persons, regardless of race, wealth, worth, or character were to
be invited (the new Israel). All who will, COME.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as
ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
The Apostles
went forth to all nations following the death, burial, and resurrection of
Christ, inviting all to come.
10 So those servants went
out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both
bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests
Many are
found by the servants (evangelists) and are called, but simply being called to
the throne of God is not enough: one must be chosen as well. God calls great
numbers – in fact, all who will hear His voice, He calls. But hearing the voice
of God requires, also, that we respond in obedience.
We may
receive an invitation in the mail to visit with the President of the United
States, but this will never happen unless we respond to the invitation.
We must come
to Christ, not slothenly or sloppily dressed, but in our finest and most
respectful apparel. And our demeanor must reflect that respect and reverence in
His Presence as well.
11 And when the king came in
to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
We should
never be careless in our service to Christ. We must be animated by the strong
love we have for our precious souls. We must be fervent and mindful of every
detail (Commandment).
We dare not
come before Christ, under any circumstance, as His enemy. He considers all who
come His Friends unless they prove unworthy through dress (lifestyle) or
manners (behavior and appearance).
The King
rebukes the man who came unprepared to show respect for the King or His Son:
12 And he saith unto him,
Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless
This man had
not received willingly the white robe of righteousness (salvation) which the
father offers as a covering for our nakedness (sins).
On that day
when we go before the White Throne of Judgment, if we have been desperate
sinners, we will be as speechless in our defense as the woman taken in
adultery. So was this man.
Our decisions
made here on terra firma will decide our destinies in eternity – either heaven
or hell.
13 Then said the king to the
servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer
darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14 For many are called, but
few are chosen
Sermon - Rev Jack Arnold
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, “…God … keep us, … from all things that may hurt us; that we, being
ready both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou
commandest …”
The Collect asks God to keep us
from the things that are bad for us and make our hearts ready so we can do the
things He wants us to do ties perfectly with the Epistle and Gospel as almost
always it does. Thomas Cramner was one smart man is all I have to say, how he
managed to theme the collects around the unifying message of the Epistle and
the Gospel is nothing short of brilliant.
One word that intrigues me from
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is “circumspectly”; which when I looked it up
meant “wary and unwilling to take risks.”
I believe Paul meant in these troubled days, we should not be taking
risks with our faith, but walking in that which has been tried and true for
over two thousands years. We cannot risk comprising the integrity of the faith,
with newfangled modernistic New Age spirituality, as some of the liberal mega
churches are wont to do. If God has not changed over the millennia, why should
we change what we believe?
Indeed, we should not change our
position, if it is truly derived from His Holy Word, then it should never
change. Any sermon or talk from a minister or bishop must be scrutinized by how
it matches up with the concepts in Holy Scripture. If it conflicts with Scripture, then you know that minister
is not in line with His Word. We must all strive to be in congruence with His
Word, be it bishop, priest, deacon or layperson. We are all working together in
His Church to further His Cause. If we are not all on the same page, then we
are not furthering His Work.
Paul warns us against the dangers
of drunkenness, but he does not mean never to drink wine, as some, (Puritans
and certain Baptists, among others) would take, but rather have “moderation in
all things”; which is a similar idea to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things
are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” Just because you can do something, like
drinking or eating, does not mean that you should do it to excess where it can
cause you harm. Eating too much can cause you stomach problems, something we
want to avoid. Drinking too much can cause serious issues, not the least of
which is hangovers. The worst is drinking to death.
Our Lord wants us to be moderate
in our celebrations, not celebrating to the point of excess where bad things
can happen to our bodies and our minds, but celebrating to where we are
thankful to Him for all things, and for His Love.
This seems to be the unifying
theme of both the Epistle and the Gospel for today. Rather than turn to the excesses of this world, Paul says we
must turn to God and be filled with His Grace of the Holy Spirit. Making joyful
noises to the Lord, be it in prayer or in song, and giving thanks always for
all things to God.
Giving thanks always to God
should be one of our top priorities. More often than not we seem to forget who
made us, who created the world we dwell in, who created the fantastic beasts on
land and on the sea. It seems very strange we forget to thank God for all of
these things, but we do. Making a joyful noise unto the Lord is part of how we
can do this, besides prayer and thanksgiving. Be it through songs, happy
declarations to the Lord or joyful worship, these are all ways we can send our
joy unto our Lord. This is part of
the reason it is important to say prayers like the Gloria in the prayer book
with “liveliness”, we are expressing our praise and thanksgiving unto God, for
having sent His Son down to save us from our wicked selves.
In our lives, we should be
grateful to God more than we are.
At least, I know I am often not thankful to Him, when I should be. That
is the troublesome aspect of having free will, we so often exercise it, not to
the Glory of God, but for our own means.
We have to turn away from that temptation, and let the Holy Spirit in
and guide us, to thanking God for what He has done for us in our lives.
The Gospel’s story has troubled
me for many years now, wondering why the King cast out a man, whose only error
appeared to be that of the wrong clothes. When I thought about it more, and in
many discussions, I found that in days of old, wedding garments were furnished
by the host. Thus, if one did not
appear properly clothed it was because they intentionally chose not to be. This brought me to the realization that
the wrong clothes was Jesus’ metaphor for one who is not prepared for heaven,
not walking in God, not filled with the Holy Spirit, and that is why he was
cast out of the wedding (which is implied to be heaven. And the King stands in
for God in the tale.) He was not prepared to enter the great feast of heaven.
His incorrect clothing is a metaphor for many in our lifetime who are not in a
prepared state to enter heaven, as they have neither confessed nor repented of
their sins to our Lord and have not accepted Him as our saviour.
This man is very much like Esau,
when he sold his birthright to Jacob. Esau did not care enough for his
birthright, he wanted food more than the permanent status of the birthright
which seemed so far off at the time. It is the same with this man and many
others in the world. Through Christ, we have a birthright of our own, the
Kingdom of God, as God’s adopted children. However, some will gladly trade away
this birthright for a bauble or trinket in the present, not knowing what a
foolish mistake they are making.
The Collect, Epistle and Gospel
tie together, laying out, detailing and reinforcing the same message
ultimately. We have to ready and
willing to listen to God, and walk in God, and act with the Holy Spirit in us,
in order to have the right “clothes” to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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?
The time to act is NOW. Will you act? For whom will you act?
Will you count the cost before you act?
Action, not diction, is what counts. It is by your actions you are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
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:
God and Country
Twentieth
Sunday after Trinity
November 2,
2014
Several things combine to
make this day an important day.
First of course, it is the Lord’s Day. It is the Day God calls His people together to worship Him
in His Church. God meets with His
people on this Day. He comes to us
with grace and blessings which He gives to us freely through the reading and
proclamation of the Bible, through the sacraments, and through the communion of
saints we spoke about in the Apostles’ Creed. These things are meat and wine to our souls. They strengthen us in our journey of
faith. There is an old Gospel song
that says, “We’re marching upward to Zion, the beautiful City of God.” But every traveler needs rest and food. This day is rest and food to us. It is meat the world knows not of.
At the same time,we give
our love, faith, and worship to God.
Jesus said His meat is to do the will of God. We, too can eat of that meat, and we do eat of it in many
ways. One of the most important is
this gathering with our family in Christ to worship God.
Second, yesterday was All
Saints Day, when we commemorate those who have gone before us in the faith and
service of Christ. Although we did
not have a special service to commemorate the day, we can still commemorate it today. Why commemorate All Saints Day? It reminds
us we did not create the Church or the faith. They have come to us as a gift through many generations of
faithful people. Many people
devoted their lives to their preservation. Many gave their lives rather than forsake them. We are the beneficiaries of their
labors and their love. Thinking of
their faithfulness reminds me that the Faith, the Church, and the worship of
God are not toys to be played with according to our whims or the prevailing
fads of this world. They are
treasures to be cherished. They were given to us intact, and it is our duty
to preserve and deliver them
intact to the next generation. We
have what we have because of their faithfulness. What will the coming generations have because of us?
Third, many churches celebrate
the first Sunday after October 31 as Reformation Day. It was on October 31,
1517 that Martin Luther pinned his Ninety-Five Thesis to the church door in
Wittenberg, Germany, which was a major event in the restoration of Biblical
faith and worship to the Church. I
prefer the word “restoration” to “reformation” because the Faith and worship
were not re made, as in creating a new one. Rather, the old faith was restored to the Church. The old faith had been almost obscured
by additional ceremonies and doctrines that gradually crept into the Church,
like a beautiful, marble building obscured by layers of gaudy paint and paper.
The Reformers removed these layers, and the Church was able to see the real,
Biblical faith again.
Like All Saints Day,
Restoration Day also reminds me to be careful about the Faith and Worship we
have been given. The Faith is not
mine to change to make it more pleasing to myself or others. The Church is not mine to be conformed
to my tastes and ideas. The Bible
is not mine to edit according to the likes and dislikes of my sinful
inclinations. These things belong
to God and are given to us as gifts of His grace. They are to be used and preserved according to His will not
ours.
There is yet another thing
that makes this day important. This
Tuesday the American people will go to the polls and decide who they will
entrust with the service of government at various levels. This, too, is important, and warrants
our attention, and our prayers, this morning.
Naturally our vote
deserves prayerful attention. The
Bible says whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” If we plant good things in our lives we
will reap good things. If we plant
bad things, we will reap bad things.
This is especially true in the spiritual realm. If we plant Godliness in our souls, we
will reap the blessings of Godliness, in this life, and in the life to
come. If we plant sin, or even a
casual and lukewarm attitude toward God and the things of God, we will reap the
fruit of ungodliness. I often
speak with people who have been very casual about God, and find that their
casual faith cannot comfort them in the many, serious trials of life. Such people often say God has let them
down. God wasn’t there when they
needed Him. And they are angry and
bitter at God. What else should
they expect? They are reaping what
they have sown. They built their
houses on the sand instead of upon the rock of the word of God, and when the
great storms of life struck them, their houses of sand collapsed. And they have
no one to blame but themselves.
The same principle applies
to a family, community, state, or nation.
If we sow evil things we will reap evil things. If we sow good things we will reap good
things. If we elect ungodly people
to office, they will do ungodly things.
I am not just saying they will allow vice and immorality to
flourish. They will do that. But even worse, they will turn father
against son and mother against daughter, and church against church as people
contend for competing ideas and values.
And the more people compete, the more of their own real freedom they
surrender, for they give more and more power to the government to decide and
enforce what will and will not be allowed.
Even worse, they will
corrupt government, and use its power to enrich themselves and harm
others. One of the worst things to
happen in human history was when the wealthy families of Europe found they
could enrich themselves even more if they could get one of their sons elected Bishop
of Rome. To achieve personal
wealth and power, they corrupted the process by which the pope, and other
leaders in the Church, were elected.
Greedy, worldly, and Godless men became Bishops, priests, and deacons,
and led Europe into spiritual corruption and darkness. It was because of this corruption that
the Reformation/Restoration of the 16th and 17th centuries became
necessary. Even the Restoration
was not complete; that is why Christianity is splintered and fragmented to this
very day.
Long before the corruption
of the Church leaders, people in civil government learned to use their
positions to empower and enrich themselves and their supporters. We must always be alert to such
tactics.
We must never assume that
a political person, or party is the solution to America’s problems, because America’s
problems are not political.
America’s problems are spiritual, and spiritual problems can only be
solved by spiritual means.
America;s problems will only be solved when Americans stop playing
Church, and get serious about God. Our National Constitution, along with the
Constitution of our own Commonwealth, is based on the hope that “we the people”
are informed and involved in the political process, and that our ideals and
values are solidly based on the teachings of God in the Holy Bible. It presumes that we will elect people
to office who uphold and support these same values, and that we will scrutinize
every thing they say and every law they pass through the lens of Holy
Scripture. Without that lens and
without that base, we no longer have anything to unify us as a people, or to
judge the candidates and their laws.
Without it, principle and truth no longer form the basis of our
unity. We diversify according to
special interests and political expediency. The only validity of any law, and the only validity of any
politician is the fifty-one percent vote.
And the fifty-one percent vote becomes nothing more than a tyranny of
numbers.
Allow me one final
observation. The United States is
not the Kingdom of God. The Church
is the Kingdom of God on earth, and the Church always lives in Rome. Rome, as you remember, was sometimes
very friendly to the Church, and sometimes very hostile to it. The Church of Jesus Christ is scattered
among many “Romes.” We dwell in
many nations, and none is the
Kingdom of God. We must not
confuse the nation with the Kingdom, or the state with the Church. Having said that, I hasten to say we
are always willing to pray and work for the well-being of the state.
We are always willing to
be good citizens, and to obey its just laws and honor its just rulers. In that spirit, may we pray for our
country, and responsibly cast our votes.
+Dennis
Campbell
Bishop,
Anglican Orthodox Church Diocese of Virginia
Rector,
Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
Powhatan,
Virginia
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.
Twentieth Sunday after Trinity
2 November 2014
Ephesians 5.15-21 • Matthew 22.1-14
The
Collect.
|
O
|
ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we
beseech thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in
body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou commandest;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In today’s Epistle and Gospel we find some hard
sayings; sayings and precepts that have many times been taken out of
context. Why don’t we unpack
them at this time and see what is being discussed by St Paul and Jesus as
recorded by St. Matthew.
Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus, where great
commercial activity took place, a wealthy city in the eastern part of the Roman
Empire, and yet a thriving Christian enclave existed. Paul was reviewing what characteristics should be seen by
the unbelievers in the city.
A circumspect people, using time wisely, not given to
wine, that is drunk with wine, and notice how he ties that into a spiritual
sense of living. “..be not drunk
with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit...” He is saying don’t let the
spirit of wine rule you, let the Holy Spirit of God rule you instead. And how do you nourish that wisdom and
understanding of the will of the Lord?
You speak to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and here
is the neatest part of that nourishing nature.... “....singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord...”
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but
as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the
will of the Lord is.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be
filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
I remember as a young boy growing up overseas a lady
who worked for us several times a week.
Gwen would come to our house about 8 o clock in the morning, she would
gather up all the ironing {before the days of perma-press} and begin to
sprinkle water on the clothes in preparation to do the ironing. All the while Gwen would be humming or
singing gospel songs and hymns. I
remember how positive she was, didn’t matter if her bus was late, or it was
raining or if it was super hot, she was singing and making melody in her heart
to the Lord.
I know one day I will see Gwen again. She lived, breathed and exuded
her faith every day.
In her every day life she was doing what Paul was
instructing the church at Ephesus to do.
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto
God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in
the fear of God.
The parable of the wedding feast is a direct
indictment of the rejection of Messiah by the Jews. The king is God, the Son is Jesus, the wedding is the
consummation of the ages in the body of believers are finally brought to
reconciliation with their Creator.
All this is in the process of being worked out in the three and a half
years of Christ earthly ministry.
Time and again he would present himself to the
Children of Israel, time and again they would reject him. Now individuals, disciples,
followers, those healed, those forgiven, they would believer Jesus and his message. But those who thought they knew
better, they had the Scripture, they had the Law, they had Tradition; they knew
that this couldn’t be the One.
Why ? Because the god
of this world had blinded them to the prophecies, the types and shadows which
predicted the coming of the Messiah. Those who rejected God and his Son would abuse,
ridicule or even murder the messengers who were sent to call God’s chosen to
him. In light of that,
God then turned to others, he sent out the message to the rest of the world,
calling all who would come, to join the feast. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all
as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with
guests.
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw
there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Now notice that both bad and good were called, then
bad would be culled out ... “....when the king came in to see the guests, he
saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment.” The king (God) has him removed from the feast. Here is another hard saying. After the guest who wasn’t prepared was
removed and cast into outer darkness, now comes the saying: many are called but
few are chosen.
This and similar sayings from the Scripture should give warning, that
there is not a universal salvation.
Not everyone is going to heaven. Yes I know that is a hard saying. I don’t determine who is going to
heaven. If you go back to
the middle of the parable you notice that many were called, THEY rejected God’s
calling. From the human viewpoint,
they made a choice. They
told God by their actions that they did not believe or did not care that God
was calling them.
So the saying
“...Many are called but few are chosen..” can take on an entirely
different meaning. We
do not determine the mind of God.
When we read of Jesus parables we should understand
that he is teaching us both by story and by example, what we should do as
believers. I ask you to re-read
the passage from Ephesians, that is what we are to do, the passage from Matthew
is why we are to do it.
As believers we are to live our lives as an example
to the dying world. We are
to show the way, the truth and the life wherein all are to be saved. The determination is how
someone acts upon those warnings and teachings that they have heard, seen or
experienced.
Let us pray:
|
A
|
lmighty and everlasting God, who
hatest nothing that Thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who
are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily
lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of Thee, the
God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
|
A
|
lmighty and everlasting God, who
art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than
either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of Thy mercy;
forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those
good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and
mediation of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
|
O
|
God, who art the author of peace and lover of
concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is
perfect freedom; Defend us Thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies;
that we, surely trusting in Thy defence, may not fear the power of any
adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by
parables, and said,
2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto
a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
3 And sent forth his servants to call them
that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying,
Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my
fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
5 But they made light of it, and went
their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
6 And the remnant took his servants, and
entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
7 But when the king heard thereof, he was
wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned
up their city.
8 Then saith he to his servants, The
wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways,
and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
10 So those servants went out into the
highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good:
and the wedding was furnished with guests.
11 And when the king came in to see the
guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how
camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind
him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
✟
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.
Twentieth Sunday after Trinity
In our gospel today, our
Lord spoke in a parable wherein he likened the kingdom of heaven to a marriage
feast which a king put on for his son (St. Matthew 22:1-14). Part and parcel of
this message is our Lord’s invitation for all to come and be received into his
kingdom (v.9). The parable noted that the king’s servants did as they
were commanded and found a goodly number of folks both bad and good (v.10). Our Lord also spoke of
the king seeing a man there who did not have on a wedding garment (v.11). The king then enquired
of the man why he came not wearing the proper attire to which he was speechless
(v.12).
The king then ordered that he be bound hand and foot and cast into outer
darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (v.13). Then our Lord
concluded his tale with these words: For many are called, but few are chosen (v.14).
There is not a single
parable recorded in the gospel accounts which could be regarded as spurious or
for mere entertainment of the listener. Jesus was deadly serious in all his
presentations of what he considered to be bad behavior and its attendant
consequences. In this parable he was talking about the presentation of the
gospel message. For with the preaching of the gospel, the only way to salvation
will be made plain to the unregenerate as they would have not learned of God’s
saving grace otherwise.
At the front end of this
parable, our Lord warned those of his brethren who had rejected him as their
Messiah that there would be a terrible price exacted on account of such (vv.
2-7).
Historically speaking, we have the destruction of Jerusalem and the carting
away of the people from the city into faraway lands as well as the leveling of
the Temple itself as a testimony to the veracity of this parable. But our focus
today will be on the second portion of this parable.
Then saith he to his
servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go
ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the
marriage (vv.8-9). The gospel message is for all regardless of who they
are— whether they be sinners of one kind or another— as all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The servants could not perceive the spiritual
makeup of those called as they were not empowered look into their inward parts (v.10). Their job was to call
all who would come to the feast not evaluate the secret places of their hearts.
Only after those who
were bidden had come in did the king himself enter the room to find one of
those bidden without a proper garment (v.11). Why would someone come
to a wedding without dressing for the occasion? What disrespect would such a
one show to him who had called him? Matthew Henry noted we should not blame the
servants of the king as they had done what they were instructed to do. They had
called and those that heard came.
Now we get into the
fundamentals of the gospel itself. To be called of God is to be called to
repent and turn from sinful behaviors. It is a call to accept Jesus Christ as
Saviour and Lord. It is a call to be accepted into the beloved through a baptism
of the Holy Ghost. It is a call to worship and serve God in such a manner that
reveals the true state of one’s soul in relation to the Godhead. It means being
born again. It means putting off the old man and the lusts of the flesh and the
pride of life. It means being renewed in one’s mind. Matthew Henry noted
concerning this passage that, “The wedding garment is an inward thing” and that
is why the king did not rebuke his servants for letting the man into the feast.
The fault was with the man himself for presuming that no one would know his
heart. The Lord does indeed have the power to see inside the hearts of men
especially those who are false professors of the faith. He knows all too well
their deceitfulness and their chicanery.
How often do people come
to church with their hearts set on things other than the gospel? How many come
to salve their consciences by simply being seen in church? How many believe
that the Bible is factual in but a few places, rather than the truth in every
place? How many come bearing a mask of righteousness and feigning a humble
nature via a false piety? How many come to church with an inclination to
disbelieve rather than to believe the fundamentals of the Christian faith? How
many come seeking to turn the faithful away from the truth of God’s word
written so that they will be turned unto fables? How many readily accept any
contradiction to those messages which the Bible proclaims as truth? How many
have come into the body of Christ expressing their love for Christ all the
while denying God’s word written which affirms him as Saviour and Lord? How
many do not recognize that the Jesus Christ is Lord of all aspects of their
lives? How many have partaken of the sacraments without faith and without a
care as to what they were doing other than ingratiating themselves to those
within the body of Christ? How many come precisely because their particular
church body has been turned from truth to error?
The ministers of God
cannot see the false professors as they are, but our Lord does. And what does
he call for regarding such persons? Does he give them a pass? Does he overlook
their shortcomings? This parable is not about a cruel and heartless God who
harshly judges the offenses of those who did not know better upon hearing the
gospel of truth. No, this is about rooting out deception. This is about dealing
with liars and fraudsters. This is about God’s righteousness being proclaimed
and that his omniscience renders every heart an open book. Our Lord said, For
there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall
not be known (St. Luke 12:2).
And God’s just
punishment for this deception is perdition and everlasting torment. As Matthew
Henry reminded his readers concerning the errant guest, “He is condemned to be
manacled and shackled. Damned sinners are bound hand and foot by an
irreversible sentence. They can neither resist nor overrun their punishment...
Hypocrites are taken away from the king and the kingdom... the damnation of
hypocrites... is utter, extreme darkness... Hypocrites go by the light of the
gospel down to utter darkness.” Hell is a place of torment and rage. Grant
Jeffrey noted that, “We have all heard people foolishly joke that when they die
and go to Hell, they will hold a great party because all their friends will be
there as well. These careless jokes reflect the almost total absence of belief
in the reality and horror of an eternity in Hell... Consider for a moment the
companions who will share Hell with those who stubbornly resist God’s mercy to
the very end... Hell will be filled forever with untold billions of angry
sinners who will still possess bodies that can feel pain, but can never die. In
their pain and rage against God’s justice, these angry sinners will curse God
and each other...” And D. James Kennedy offered the following concerning Hell:
“When you have been in hell a hundred billion trillion eons of centuries, you
will not have one less second to be there... You will be in utter darkness,
fleeing this way and that...” How horrid! And that is reality of being
separated from God, but such a future is entirely avoidable.
Beloved in Christ, be
straight and truthful with God in your devotions and confessions. If you truly
believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord then you have nothing
to fear of perdition. A wonderful new world awaits you wherein righteousness
dwells. There will be such joys in heaven which our earthly minds cannot
fathom. The Bible tells us that eye hath not seen nor ear heard what the Lord
has in store for those that love him and keep his commandments (Isaiah
64:4 and I Corinthians 2:9). If you are truly in Christ Jesus then you already have
a proper wedding garment! God can see it on you! But while others may not see
it, they will necessarily see your fruits along with your witness. Therefore be
obedient to the will of our Lord and Saviour. Pray in the Spirit. Uphold
righteousness in your daily life and work. Proclaim God’s graciousness to those
around you as the Spirit gives you leave to do. Call upon all to come to the
feast, but warn them also to come properly attired so that they will be
accepted into the beloved as faithful members of Christ’s body. The gospel
message is timeless and is in vogue regardless of a person’s age or condition,
but it is limited to the living. Once death has overtaken a person, the offer
to come to God in Christ will have expired. Don’t be caught unawares for truly
many are called, but few are chosen.
Let us pray,
|
F
|
ather, assist us with thy
most holy Spirit to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to those who sit in
darkness and the shadow of death; that they too might turn from their sins and
trespasses and become new creatures in Christ; for this we ask in his most holy
name. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
[1]
In that day, the giver
of such a feast would have provided wedding garments for those who traveled far
and were unable to bring one. In
our case, Jesus provides the appropriate garb to those who will wear it, not
just accept it and put it to one side.
