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Twentieth Sunday after
Trinity
The Collect.
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.
Matthew 19
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying
unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4 And
he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at
the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For
this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife:
and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore
they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together,
let not man put asunder. 7 They say unto him, Why
did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8 He
saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put
away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say
unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for
fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth
her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Then we skip to the next event – totally related to first:
13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he
should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked
them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little
children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of
heaven. 15 And he laid his hands on them,
and departed thence.
Our first text deals with the very foundation of our society and
how it relates to the Kingdom of Heaven – that of marriage. Marriage was
ordained of God as the first institution among men – the foundation of
communities, nations and societies – MARRIAGE.
Genesis 2: 21 And the LORD God caused a
deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and
closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which
the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And
Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:
she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:
and they shall be one flesh
Please note in both cases that marriage is between a man and a
woman – this signals God’s creative plan for the world, but also for a
foreshadowing of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Passover Lamb was a foreshadowing of the Lamb of God, slain
before the foundation of the world, for our sins.
The marriage ceremony is provided in the English Book of Common
Prayer – a book which was derived from the Ancient Fathers and restored by the
Anglican Reformers; however, the ceremony is the traditional one used by most
churches today:
Read first paragraph of Matrimony from the Book of Common Prayer –
At the day and time appointed for Solemnization
of Matrimony, the Persons to be married shall come into the body of the Church,
or shall be ready in some proper house, with their friends and neighbours; and
there standing together, the Man on the right hand, and the Woman on the left,
the Minister shall say,
EARLY beloved, we are
gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to
join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable
estate, instituted of God, signifying unto us the mystical union that is
betwixt Christ and his Church: which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified
with his presence and first miracle that he wrought in Cana of Galilee, and is
commended of Saint Paul to be honour-able among all men: and therefore is not
by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, dis-creetly,
advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God. Into this holy estate these two
persons present come now to be joined. If any man can show just cause, why they
may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter
for ever hold his peace.
Look at the three conditions of marriage given in a sermon by Dr.
J Vaughan:
I. Consider how this union, of which all marriage is the intended
allegory, actually takes place between Him and us. The first mover is,
as it ought to be, the Lord Jesus Christ. The wife does not seek her
husband, but the husband seeks his wife. Gradually, by His own sweet
constraints, and the outgoings of His Spirit to Us, we begin to love Him. And
then come the early betrothals of a heart made willing—the moving of holy
desires and of sacred yearnings. And then the contract—that indissoluble
contract which is between Christ and the believer, strong as adamant.
II. Note the conditions of the union. In the presence of witnesses
the covenant of marriage must be ratified. And so here angels and the Church
look on when Christ, before the whole universe, confesses you, and will confess
you, to be His for ever. And you, on your part, must confess Him before
Christians, before the world, before angels, before all men. The mutual
confession is the basis of the stipulation.
III. And with common consent it must be. Free as the wind was His
choice of you; absolute and explicit must be your surrender to Him. No
compulsion, no outside circumstances, no secondary motive will avail. It must
be your own independent, unbiassed will, the full accord of your whole heart.
It is a compact of perfect affection, absolute duty, untiring allegiance. The
soul of all attachment to you is Christ. It is a relation of the most exquisite
fondness, but it is a relation of the most unqualified obedience. —Sermon Bible
Note the ancient custom of marriage among the Hebrews (which,
incidentally is very similar to the Korean custom):
Father, Son, Girl, Family, Girl.
The Father makes inquiry on behalf of his son, for a decent and
well-favored young lady to betroth to his son. First, the family must be of
well-repute. We, too, must be from the family of God – the Church.
When found, the family must consent to the meeting. The father
arranges a meeting at the young lady’s home. A cup of wine is provided on a
table dividing the son and young lady. The son and young lady talk a bit. If
the young man approves of the young lady as his future wife, he will drink from
the cup.
1 Cor 10 16 The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we
break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when
he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do
ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 1 COR 11:25
If the young lady also agrees to the betrothal, she, too, will
then drink from the Cup. In doing so, she pledges her undying devotion and
faithfulness to this one young man for life. She can never drink from another
such Cup. It is the same as our Communion Cup – (1 Cor 10)
1 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils:
ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. 22 Do
we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
The intentions of God are that marriage is not entered into
lightly, but with full knowledge and consent aforehand. It is forever.
In our sermon text, we read again the Words of Christ-
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away
his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another,
committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit
adultery.
What is the purpose of marriage? Of the Church?
To REPRODUCE children to the glory of God!
Read again the next event from our sermon texts today:
13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should
put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But
Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of
such is the kingdom of heaven. 15 And he laid his hands
on them, and departed thence.
Christ was a man of rugged physical strength and rough hands that
had been accustomed to the art of carpentry. But, as is the case with many
strong and simple laborers, He had a heart of love and gentleness which
children found attractive – so they came to Him simply and trusting in His
love.
He took the children into His Arms and Loved them. He pointed out
to the sophisticated preachers and others that, should they enter into the
Kingdom of God, they must become as little children – innocent in heart and
trusting in the love of God.
The church is to love and foster the baby Christians.
What is a baby Christian?
A child who comes to Christ trusting in His love and power to
forgive, save, and preserve.
A child of four years of age, or a child of eighty years of age.
No matter our age, we are always children in the eyes of God 9or in the eyes of
our parents).
Children, you need Christ to save you. Come as you are, and He
will cleanse your sins and place your feet on solid ground. AMEN
