Sermon Summary, 3rd Sunday after Trinity, 6 July 2025 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion - Jerry Ogles
The Prayer of Collect.
O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom though hast given an hearty desire to pray, may be comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10
Our Gospel text from Luke 15:1-10 stresses the value of the lost – the sheep, the coin and the son. But the matter is larger than these three entities – it involves all those who belong to God but are lost. Ownership of anything lost remains the property of the one to whom it is lost. So it is with God. The clearest example of the three given in our text is the Lost Son. At no point in time during which he deserted his father, wasted his father’s inheritance in riotous living, or his suffering the depravity of the pig sty, did the son cease to be his father’s son. His lostness was temporary. It is the same for us today of the household of God – we may go out of the will of the Father, but His Holy Spirit will re-awaken us to our great need to return and be received with love and grace. Never does God renounce His ownership of that which was lost. He will seek them, recover them to His fold, and rejoice at their return as the Father of the Lost Son.
Those who are “the called according to His purpose” will forever belong to Him and they shall return to the fold if they go astray at some point along life’s journey. “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.” John 17:6 and “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24
The lost are lost for different reasons – through their own carelessness as the lost sheep, through the carelessness of someone else as the lost coin, or through a rebellious spirit as in the case of the Lost Son. Though they belong to Him, they are lost for a time in the clutches of the Accuser. But the power of the Accuser is of little force compared to the power of the Holy Spirit to seek and find that which is lost. In the case of the lost lamb, it does not intend to get lost. It is lost owing to a lack of attention to the most important aspect of life – following the Shepherd and not being distracted by mistakenly being seduced by the ‘greener grass’ by the wayside.
The lost coin has no awareness of its lost condition. It belongs to the woman but has not know it. It is as dead as the lost sinner before the Holy Spirit quickens it. It belong to the woman all along, but once found, it is doubly cherished by its owner. Unlike the sheep and the son, it never before knew its owner until found and made alive. “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (v 10)
IN aqll three cases, the lost is the most valuable to its Owner simply because it is lost and must be recovered. However, in the case of the lost son, he has full awareness of his lostness from the beginning. His cause is rebellion to his father’s rule. He knew he was in error when he went into a far country and wasted his inheritance. The father did not need to seek him for he knew at all points where his son had gone. It was necessary for the Holy Spirit to remind him of his depraved circumstance and to repent of his rebellion agfter which, the father received him, too, with great joy and celebration.
I have preached so often on these parables but with each return, my heart is opened to the fuller beauty of the depth and meaning.
In the Epistle of 1 Peter 5, the elders of the church are admonished to “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.” Unfortunately, feeding the flock in the modern church has become more like “slopping the pigs” according to the analysis of Rev Thomas Brooks former minister in Pensacola. This is not to compare the congregants to pigs, but the food they are often fed is more like that which the prodigal fed the swine in a far country.
In what spirit and demeanor do the elders of the Church feed the flock of God? They do so in humility of the great calling to which they have been ordained – “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. (v 2-3) If one is your elder in the Church, his life must be an example for you to follow else you may find yourself in the same ditch to which he has led you. The result? God will not only reward the under shepherd, but his hearers.
Much of my younger years were served in the military service. One of the most important aspects of an effective military force is respect for those placed over us in leadership. I have heard the reprimand of my father at least two-thousand times, “Son, respect your elders!” That is a Godly principle that is also required by god in the Church. Of course, it the elder is not worthy of respect, he is not a fitting elder and you must find another. Good order is essential in life – social, political, religious, or military service.
Humility discourages strife and inspires the grace of God. God has promised to raise those up who put themselves down, and to put down those who raise themselves up. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" Proverbs 16:18
We live in a wilderness in which the predator lion (or Satan) walks about seeking his victims. So his cubs also inhabit the dark shadows. He attacks ferociously without mercy. He seeks only the death of his victims to devour them. But, empowered by the Spirit of God, we are vigilant to know his lair and remain apart from it. As the writer, Lydia Sigourney cautions the youth:
To evil habit’s earliest wile
Lend neither ear, nor glance, nor smile,
Choke the dark fountain ere it flows,
Nor even admit the Camel’s Nose.
The fever of life is double-faceted. We are blessed with the Holy Spirit to distinguish right and wrong by the Word of God on one side, and on the other, we are burdened with the vile desires of the flesh to do things that are out of favor of our Lord. So how shall we overcome the latter and live in the former? We walk circumspectly as did Christ. We walk on that Narrow Way on which He walked. How did He treat the wiles and temptations of the devil - by quoting scripture to him at every turn in the Wilderness.
Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
