Fourth Sunday after
Trinity.
The Collect.
O
|
GOD, the protector of all that trust in
thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply
upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through
things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O
heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle
Romans viii. 18-23
I
|
RECKON that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of
him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall
be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in
pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting
for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
The Gospel
St. Luke vi. 36-42
B
|
E ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge
not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:
forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give
into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be
measured to you again. And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the
blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his
master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. And why beholdest
thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is
in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me
pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the
beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of
thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in
thy brother’s eye.
There are men who say they believe there is a God, but God is too merciful to
punish sin. He is too full of compassion and love, and He could not punish sin.
The drunkard, the harlot, the gambler, the murderer, the thief and the
libertine would all share alike at the end. Suppose the governor of our state
was so tender-hearted that he could not bear to have a man suffer, that he
could not bear to see a man put into jail, and he should set all the prisoners
free. How long would he be our governor? You would have him impeached before
the sun set. The very people who repudiate God's justice and claim only His
mercy would be the first to demand justice from a compassionate governor for
criminals who were pardoned. (D.L.Moody).
In a world that places a very high premium upon achievement and performance, we
are often misled, even by our clergy, to believe that our works are the means
by which we are saved. The modern church emphasizes giving almost to the
exclusion of all other considerations. The rich man, or woman, will be rewarded
with honors and positions of responsibility even if their daily lives do not
reflect that Spirit of which Christ spoke. Perhaps the poor widow that spends
all of her available time in cooking for the sick and homeless will be
forgotten in the perishable minds of men, but shall be more highly remembered
and favored in the Infinite Mind of God. God gives us many hints of His Will to
be fulfilled in Christ in the midst of the Old Testament. The people of Israel
were living as they pleased and believing that all their sins were remitted by
the sacrifices of the wealthy. But God counseled: For I desired mercy,
and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6) The money-changers of the modern temple
would have us persist in believing that we can BUY God’s favor while living as
we please, but it was NEVER so. Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (Psalms 85:10) Mercy and truth are husband and wife –
inseparable! If we will have mercy, we must accept truth with it. As Jesus told
the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well, . . . the
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit
and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (John 4:23) ‘Spirit’ is not emotionalism, but love of
God and our fellow man. But our love must be directed in truth, for false
worship is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord.
As we read in our biblically-oriented prayer of Collect, God is the protector
of all who trust in Him. We can claim none of God’s protection apart from the
measure of trust we place wholly in Him. Without God, we have no strength at
all, and our righteousness is as filthy rags. Apart from God, there is no
holiness to be had. We lean upon God for His increasing mercies in His
Sovereign Rule over us, and to Guide us through the Wilderness of Sin of this
present world. Only God can show us the safe and righteous way – we cannot find
it alone. In avoiding those things that worldly, we are amassing to ourselves
those treasures that are heavenly. These are the Godly petitions we repeated
from today’s prayer of Collect.
In our Epistle for today, taken from Romans 8, we discover there is groaning of
the mortal soul inclined to the Holiness of God. Such a struggle and groaning
is forever present with us until the curtain of time is lifted and time shall
be no more. It is not a sorrowful groaning, but an intense desire to see God’s
will worked out on earth as it is in Heaven according to that prayer the Lord
taught us to say. When sorrow and misery befalls the stranger to God,
hope is forlorn and there is no brilliant Light upon which he may fix his eyes
from the darkness that engulfs his wretched soul. But the child of God embraces
the Light even more earnestly as the dark circle surrounds him, or a loved one.
He knows, innately, that the Light is his destination and not the dark fires of
Hell that seem to presently surround him. . . . . weeping may endure for
a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalms 30:5b)
Our Gospel text calls us to a higher standard of life and Spirit than a rigid
adherence to the law can afford. If perfect obedience were possible, there
would be no need of mercy; but we can never be perfect keepers of the Law of
God, therefore, we must have mercy if we are to be accounted blameless and
righteous in entering the Kingdom of Heaven.
Consider the great pardon and mercy shown to us through the substitutionary
death of Christ! He suffered that we might forego the eternity of Hell. We
should rightfully be punished for our life of sin, yet Christ died in our stead
that we, accepting His Lordship, might be pardoned and forgiven. Be ye
therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. This is
a mighty admonition to us, for we can never be as merciful as God has been
toward us. But God would have us to take on the very nature of mercy in our
dealings with others. Though a child can seldom match the understanding of his
father or mother, he will nonetheless mimic the nature he sees in his parents.
That is what God desires of His children today.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:
condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven So many good Christians misunderstand this
to mean that Christian judgment is forbidden. Nothing could be further from the
truth. The meaning to us is this: We should not judge with our personal
judgments, but with the righteous judgment of God as evidenced in His Word.
Jesus Christ gives us commandment that is clear: Judge
not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24) We are not only to judge from the heart, but
also judge only by the measure of God’s judgment and not our own. If God has
declared a certain behavior sin, that is not OUR judgment, but God’s. Simply
declaring God’s condemnation of a sin is not our PERSONAL judgment, but HIS!
Remember the debtor to the king whose great debt was forgiven by the king and,
who, after went out and took a man by the throat who owed him a small sum,
threatening to sell his wife and family into slavery? He was forgiven a
fortune, but refused to forgive his own servant a small debt. How merciless was
he! Are we not the same? The King of Glory has forgiven us an enormous debt,
and a multitude of debts, yet we refuse to forgive those who offend us in the
slightest measure.
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give
into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be
measured to you again. It is not possible
to give more than God has given, for He immediately replenishes our bottles of
oil the moment we pour out our blessings to others. There are blessings that
cannot be measured in simple terms of a piece of bread for a piece of bread.
Our giving of bread to the poor is multiplied in return value a thousand times.
Our souls have rest and a good conscience thereby. Peace of mind is a
possession not enjoyed by the greedy.
Can the blind lead the blind? Of course they can! It is happening in 90% of
America’s churches today. Ministers, blind to the love and Spirit of God, are
leading their blind disciples ever nearer the gaping abyss that awaits all who
do not hear with clarity the voice of God. 39 And he spake a
parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into
the ditch? This is a parable of Jesus that has profoundly present
implications. Our seminaries have been turned from a concentrated focus on the
Word of God to an obsession with church growth, conflict resolution, seeker
friendly programs, and, yes, MONEY schemes! If the lay Christian is NOTR blind
(informed deeply by the Word of God) it is not likely that he can be led by the
nose by a blind guide.
Do you know that there are theologians today who believe that they are better
informed of God’s Will than Jesus Christ? It is true. There are those among the
despicable movement called “Higher Critics” who believe that textual analysis
and archeological digs have revealed to them information that Jesus did not
have while on his earthly ministry. They obviously discredit Christ as the Son
of the Living God, and God Himself! Their new bibles attempt to alter the
evidence to support their intentional errors. 40 The disciple is not above his master: but
every one that is perfect shall be as his master. I once disputed with a local minister who claimed that speaking in
tongues (nonsensical babbling) was required for salvation. We argued the issue
endlessly. Finally, I asked, “Is Jesus Christ our perfect example in all
things?” Of course, the minister answered in the affirmative to which I
followed up, “Do we have any evidence of Jesus EVER speaking in an ecstatic and
incomprehensible tongue?” The man REFUSED to answer. If we will have perfect
religion, and undefiled, let us be as much like Christ as our earthen vessels
will afford.
How many clergymen preach against the sins of lying, stealing, adultery, etc.,
and harbor those sins in the dark chambers of their own hearts? Of course these
sins are condemned by God; however, we must not judge others by a stronger
measure than we apply to our own conduct. If we criticize the housekeeping of a
neighbor, let us first sweep the trash and filth from our own floors. 41 And
why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not
the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to
thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou
thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast
out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to
pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
If
we are to have authority as men and women of God, we must see that we follow
Christ in love and truth. We not only pronounce the truth of God’s Word to others,
but we must make that truth the rule of our own lives. Owning the Spirit of
Love and Truth, we shall walk the Valleys and Mountains with our eyes open to
the presence and company of God.
