Lay Reader Sermon, 4TH SUNDAY IN TRINITY 13 July 2025 Anno Domini, Church of the Redeemer, Fairbanks, Alaska
Prayer of Collect for 4th Sunday in Trinity
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.
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. Amen”
Our prayer of collect begins as every prayer should – a praise and recognition of God as holy and our protector from all hurts. We ask for nothing except the mercy of God to be multiplied to us in our shortcomings. We need not ask for more since, being endowed with the mercy of God, all things needful for our good pleasure will be supplied. Like the pilgrim crossing the desert, we need to carry only the essentials of life – food, light shelter, raiment, and water. But much of those things may be discarded along the way to facilitate our survival, except water! We pray that we can come through this desert of life unstained by the penalties that sin and greed may bring and preserve, for ourselves, the essential resource of the Water of Life. One of the greatest rules of life is this: to “keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.” (Bishop Garth Neel of Canada) Our focus on Christ is our Main Thing.
Our Old Testament passage is one of the stellar beauties of all Old Testament readings. We are born stained with the blood disease of sin coursing through our souls. We deserve death because we are sinners – and the penalty of even one sin (as Adam and Eve learned) is death. But it is the mercy of God that saves His elect people from the consuming fires of Hell. There is no limit on the mercies and compassions of God.
Each morning, God gives the believer an immaculately clean sheet of paper upon which to record our day’s living. Throughout the day, we may do some good work for a poor soul, orphan child, or widow; but we also make some terrible smudges on the paper by doing those things that are not in favor of our Lord. Even though our good deeds are neatly recorded on the paper, our smudges and blurs make the whole unacceptable. We return to the One who gave us that clean sheet and express our grave sorrow and repentence, and beg for another clean sheet of paper upon which we declare to do better by making fewer smudges and blemishes. That clean sheet of paper is renewed at every occasion of prayerful repentance. “They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Christ makes all things new to those who believe – even those things which we have sometimes ruined by careless living.
The kings of old did not go out into the common fields seeking to whom they could grant favors. They reposed on the thrones of their authority and admitted the appellants to state their cases. The same is true of our God. He desires to test our sincerity in seeking Him out and appealing to His Mercy. It is the agency of the Holy Spirit whereby we are drawn to seek Him. When the storms and billows of life overwhelm, it is a test of our faithful patience to await His intercession and delivery from our troubles.
The prophet points out the importance of learning self-discipline and obedience from the early days of childhood so that when he is grown, the habit of good character and neighborly compassion will be soundly established. “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.”
It is not the will of the Lord to unnecessarily inflict the sinner with pains and shortcomings, but those are often the means by which the sinner is made aware of his need for the Lord’s mercies. “31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.”
In our Second Lesson from the Gospel of St Matthew, we learn the law of the hierarchy of authority. In the military, we called that hierarchy the ‘Chain of Command.” It is no different in the professional fields, the factories, or the institutions of government – there is always a higher authority to which we must be subject. “The disciple is not above his Master.” How true that principle is in human government! We have municipal governments that are subject to the county or parish governments; county governments subject to the state government; and state governments subject to the federal authorities. But does the chain of authority end at the national executive or judicial powers? Certainly not – we too often forget that all governments are subject to the authority of God Almighty. All of our rights descend, not from human authority, but from God alone.
If we can be no greater that our master, should we not at least strive to be like him in following his example? Is that not true of the disciples of Christ? If the master of a great house is slandered and mercifully treated by rascals, do the servants of the house not suffer as well? Certainly, they do. Christ was called Beelzebub (Lord of the Flies) by the Pharisees. They did so to deny His power and divinity. The last resort of the rascal is to call names. If we are the subjects of Christ, we must expect a similar treatment from the same sources of cruelty, hate, and unbelief. If all our social contact is going swimmingly well in our lives, something must be amiss, for the world hates those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We must not dwell upon the slander of the enemy else we will cede power to them. Every deceit and every lie will be revealed in due time by God our Father. Nothing has ever been hidden from the Lord, and He will reveal all at His future discretion. The righteous will be justified, and the unrighteous exposed. We must boldly declare the Gospel truth regardless the ire it provokes from those who deny truth.
Of whom should be bear the greatest fear of offending – those who can only slay this mortal body, or the One that can destroy both body and soul in the fires of Hell?
As the children of God in Christ, we are worth more than every distant star or galaxy. These are inanimate creatures of God, but His children are His living stones that He treasures above every material being. The One who numbers the very hairs of your head is not oblivious to your trials and troubles in this world. If the sea begins to swamp our vessels, go to the Lord in prayer who will awaken to our distress and calm the seas.
What terrible agony did Peter feel when he denied Christ three times outside the court of Caiaphas! On his third denial, the Lord turned and looked at Peter face to face. (Luke 22:61) Peter went out and wept bitterly as he remembered the counsel of Jesus that he (Peter) would deny Him thrice before the cock’s crow. How would we feel if we denied our best friend who had been willing to sacrifice his life for us. How much more for Someone who had willingly taken our guilt and sin upon His own sinless soul to save us the same death? If we deny such a great Savior, He will likewise deny knowing us before the Father.
Never forget: we have been bought with the greatest price ever paid, or ever will be paid, to save us. We are valuable in the eyes of the Lord.
There has arisen a new form of theology that departs from that which was preached by Christ and the great Reformers termed ‘Irenic theology’ in which all views of religion are treated with equal validity. Under such an approach, it is considered impolite to question any false view of religion. We all must get along together and feel good about it. That kind of theology will not gain you the entry into Heaven desired. That is the Broad Way that leads to destruction. Irenic preaching is that which has sadly come into vogue in the modern church. The Word of God is an offense to those who do not believe – PERIOD!
If we go into the nether parts of the earth preaching the Gospel, do you believe we will be well-received in North Korea, Communist China, Islamic Iran, etc. No, you may lose your head. “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” The True Church and the world will forever be at enmity until the Lord comes in great power and glory to judge all things.
“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” When I was in elementary school, I stumbled on these words of Christ. I loved my mother and father dearly. As I matured, I learned the simple mystery of this verse. There can never be cause to love the gift more than the Giver. My mother and father were God’s gift to me. How could I love them more than Him! They would not have existed had He not made them for the purpose of being my parents.
“And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” If we truly believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, should we not understand that we follow Him, not only during the happy days at Bethany, along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, to the Well of Jacob; but also along the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Suffering and the Cross). We have a cross to bear if we are following hard on the steps of our Lord. The glory of that cross is followed by a borrowed tomb which all who believe shall have. He tells us, “Take up thy cross daily and follow me.” So be it, friends.
AMEN
