Sermon Notes for 4th Sunday after Trinity, 23 June 2024 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? Luke 6 36
Luke 6:39
The Lectionary texts for the 4th Sunday after Trinity is all about the mercy, not of man, but of God.
The Epistle reading from Romans 8:18 informs us of some degree of suffering for all of us. But that suffering is limited to only a small segment of time in the present that cannot compare with the scope of eternity that awaits. We are told of the transient nature of suffering which should ease the pain of our present turmoil. The epistle tells us of the purpose of suffering in this present world. We can be assured that the suffering of this present time shall pass as the morning fog from the fields as the as the Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in His Wings. Happily, we are also told of the end of all suffering In that day, every eye shall behold Him and all tears wiped away.
The Gospel lesson, discussed in greater detail hereafter, sets an example of mercy for us reflected in that boundless mercy of God toward us. Mercy is a function of wisdom. It is always better to give than receive since the giver has been blessed with the resources to give. The opposing characteristic of mercy is judgment, and I am sure none of us wants to be judged for our deeds and not granted mercy instead.
As the Collect reveals, we pray for mercy in it largest measure for that is exactly the amount in which we stand in need. Another reason we pray for mercy, that may escape many, if for the mercy that will guide and r=ule us in our living and future home. Mercy helps us avoid the pits and snares of this world in walking the Straight and Narrow Way to the Gates of Splendor.
We plea, as blind Bartimaeus, for mercy since we have no merit worthy of salvation in our own right.
One of God’s greatest gifts to mankind is the gift of sight. He has created our ability to see by His first act of Creation – the blessing of LIGHT. “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:2-3 But the gift of vision is not limited to physical vision – there is a greater vision, by far, that is spiritual. This latter vision is often enhanced when a believer is deprived of his physical sight. We all remember Fanny Crosby who wrote thousands of hymns many of which alluded to seeing her Savior ‘face to face.’
In developing my expositional sermons, I often attempt to extrude the fullness of each verse of the text in question; however, this text today from the Gospel of St. Luke 6:36-42 is so packed with truth and beauty that I have elected to expound upon the single verse that forms the text for this sermon.
Just as the physical eye can reveal marvelous beauty in God’s Creation, so can the spiritual reveal even greater beauty in that which exists beyond the physical Creation in the realms of our Triune God beyond the Gates of Splendor. In as attempt to explain this beauty, John the Revelator falls short of adequate human vocabulary to describe it.
There are often threats and dangers in life that actually reveal a hidden beauty that results by the passing of such threats:
Through the darkness of the midnight the observer often catches the radiance of a stream of light. It is a meteor. And what is a meteor? From the vast depths of space, flying with tremendous force, come fragments, perhaps of exploded planets, hurtling through space, and ready to strike with tremendous force, as sometimes they have done, destroying anything that stood in their way, and burying themselves deeply in the soil. These meteorites, coming within the limits of the atmosphere, and driven with such terrific speed, are ignited by friction, flash out their brightness amid the gloom of night, and in most instances, unless they are very large, they are entirely consumed before they reach the earth. So, the meteorite becomes a meteor; and the stone flying through the atmosphere, instead of smiting the earth illuminates the sky. And there are troubles, and trials, and dangers which seem sometimes to threaten to crush us, and destroy us, which only light up the heavens with new glory and flash brightness on our pilgrim way.
The blind eyes of the spirit, however, are far more egregious than those of the physical body. The Light of God is an invisible beam to such blind eyes. “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23 In the case cited above by our Lord Jesus Christ, it is that ‘spiritual blindness to which He makes reference.
Now we consider the audience to whom Christ addresses our selected verse today: in its most profound application, He was addressing the religious leaders of the day whose pretentions of righteousness were based on false and judgmental claims. In a broader application, His counsel applies to us all. We have all been blind to truth. The more we learn and study the dark mysteries of biblical truth, the greater becomes our vision to distinguish truth from the false. In the reverent study of God’s Word, we are assuming a greater garment of the Mind of God and His Will for our lives. Knowing truth, we can readily discern error and falsehood – a decidedly critical characteristic in a day in which evil is called good, and good is called evil. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” We see examples of this ‘Woe’ at every turn – in society, in politics, in education, and, regrettable, even in the churches of America. In mainline churches of America, the very abominable sins to which the Scriptures make certain reference are being embraced from the pulpits as being Holy.
“14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judæa flee to the mountains.” Mark 13:14 May I suggest that we already see that abomination of Leviticus 18:22 standing in the pulpits and Holy places of American churches – ‘Blind leaders of the blind!’ Have we completely disregarded Holy Scripture as our rule and compass of life? I am afraid that American churches have already fallen into the ditch along with their congregations who blindly follow.
When we encounter Christians who have been deceived by their false prophets and phony churches, what should be our reaction? If we have studied the word of God in love and reverence, and understood His clear will to expose error wherever it raises its ugly tentacles, we must let the blind use our spiritual eyes to expose the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Each day of our lives is composed of alternating periods of light and darkness. This is a natural blessing in the physical world that allows daily light for labor, and nocturnal shadows for rest and sleep. But the spiritual world in which we, as believers, must fervently desire to abide is forever illuminated by the Light of Christ. We may, from time to time, experience moments of spiritual darkness, however, we must no linger in such periods. If we do, our spiritual eyes will slowly lose their appreciation for the light and we will become as dwellers of the dark world of the lost.
While a young boy, my father took me to a very special natural wonder near Sweetwater, Tennessee - the Lost Sea. After a descent of two or three hundred feet beneath the surface, we arrived at a very large underground body of water. This was the Lost Sea which had been kept in smothering darkness for centuries, and perhaps, millennia.
The Lost Sea is America’s largest underground lake and Registered National Landmark. Upon boarding a small glass-bottomed vessel, we were escorted out over the deep of the Sea whose depth has never been able of fathoming. The Sea is teeming with fish that follow the vessel as it navigates the waters. But these fish are quite strange. They are snow white in color and are all blind – not because they have no eyes, but because their scales have grown over the globes of their eyes. The position of the eyes are clearly observed from the bulge the scales form over the eyes. Trout and bass are easily identified in this condition.
Since there has been no sunlight on those waters for eons of time, the fish have lost their color and luster. The scales have grown over their eyes because they have lived too long in darkness. They have no need of vision in a dark place.
I believe those blind fish illustrate the condition of a nation that has known God but, owing to an extended period of darkness, have lost their ability to see. I am afraid our beloved America is thus illustrated. We have allowed the darkness of false teaching and wicked indoctrination to blind our eyes so that we can not longer discern light = we are blinded to truth and reason.
If those fish could be removed from the Lost Sea and taken to the surface, I do not know if they could ever again be made to see by the skills of the surgeon; however, spiritual blindness is capable of restoration to sight by the resplendent light of the Holy Spirit.
