The Propers for today are found on Page 263-264, with the Collect first:
Independence Day. [July 4.]
The Collect.
O |
ETERNAL God, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the Epistle.
Deuteronomy x. 17.
T |
HE Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regard- eth not persons, nor taketh reward: he doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
The Gospel.
Matthew v. 43.
J |
ESUS said, Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action
Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California
Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.
Consider these words from the Collect:
… through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace…
In the Collect, we acknowledge God’s role in the struggle for our independence and founding of our country and ask His favor in maintaining the liberties so dearly purchased while living according to His Will in peace and tranquility.
The collect acknowledges that we need God’s help to maintain our liberties and to live in righteousness and peace. Without God’s help and influence we will see a lot of turmoil and strife, which is what is happening in our country right now. As we have turned our back on God, instead of living together in harmony and peace, we are divided against each other and in turmoil and confusion. Turmoil and confusion are not of God but of Satan. We can see how through the influence of Satan, the liberals and the communists have infiltrated all of our important institutions, the schools, the churches and now the military. They have embraced the debauchery that is the transgenderism and homosexuality and abortions. These are all behaviors that have brought down every single country or empire in the past and ours is no exception.
If we as a country would repent of these behaviors and turn back to God, then our fall might be stopped or at least suspended. The Epistle reading from the book of Deuteronomy reminds us that our God is a just God, mighty and terrible. It is wise to not provoke Him. Unfortunately a large portion of our country are set on tempting Him. Our founding fathers knew His Wisdom and founded our Country on His Wisdom. They sought his counsel frequently. George Washington prayed fervently to Him and did his very best to follow His counsel and examples. He was not perfect, neither are we, but he knew he was not and sought the advice of the One who is, the great I am. Our founding fathers relied on His wisdom as they created the framework of the Constitution which is the bedrock of our country’s founding principles.
How are we to deal with our country men in today’s uncivil environment? The Gospel provides us with the convenient answer. Love our enemies, bless them that curse us, and do good to them that hate you. This is essence killing them with kindness. Two evils do not make a right, so do not repay evil deed for evil deed, but do your best to follow Christ’s example and choose do good. Also following the words of Saint Paul, live as peaceably with your neighbor for as long as you are able to. Jesus is counseling us in all things we need to follow the Father’s example and try to work on getting as close to perfection as we can in our imperfect bodies and souls.
However not all of those who we will try and reach out to will listen to His Message.
There are none so deaf as those who will not hear.
Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail. The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.
The time is now, not tomorrow. The time has come, indeed. How will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
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