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Monday, August 30, 2021

Seeing through the wrong perspective – 28 August 2021, Anno Domini



I

 WILL bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears(Psalm 34:1-4)

 

            I love all sorts of gadgets, among them are old cameras, fountain pens, telescopes, magnifying glasses and microscopes. The latter objects are to afford me the ability to see things that nature tends to hide either by size of distance.

 

            When playing outside following World War II, I saw many military planes traverse the heavens. I was stunned at their apparent size. How could grownup men manage to get into such tiny quarters as the planes appeared to be? Sometime in the late forties, my father gave me a telescope – a very primitive model compared to those of the modern day. I was then able to see the planes in much larger image and even see the men sitting in the cockpits on occasion. The telescope shortened the visual distance between my eyes and the object being viewed. That is what faith does for the Christian. It brings the God of Heaven closer to us and makes Him known to us. 

 

            The purpose of the teaching of the Church is to magnify the Lord so that we can know Him intimately. But there are churches that may have the wrong perspective by viewing God and His son the Lord Jesus Christ, through the wrong end of the telescope – or the wrong focus on man instead of God. When our worship is man-centered, instead of God-centered, man becomes the center of focus and God appears very small in comparison. What a shame, but it is true.

 

            In our introductory Psalm, David urges us to magnify the Lord with him. That is the proper function of the preacher, and it is the role of the Holy Ghost to magnify Christ and not Himself. How do we ‘magnify’ the Lord? The first two verses of our Psalm tell us a manner in which we can magnify the Lord: I will bless the LORD at all timeshis praise shall continually be in my mouthMy soul shall make her boast in the LORDthe humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. Notice the humility required to magnify the Lord. We are on the close end of the telescope and the Lord is on the far end which brings Him closer and larger to our sight. We do not praise men, but God, in worship – no applause, please, for entertainers. Our every success we attribute to the Lord and not to ourselves. If we put ourselves down in humility, God will raise us up.

 

            In the traditional form of Anglican worship which our Church practices, we recite the Magnificat of Mary the Mother of Jesus from Luke 1:46-55 at Evening Worship:

 

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ND Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.  (Luke 1:46-55)

 

            Just as with Mary, the Lord regards our ‘low estate’ (and we are all of low estate) when we magnify him and ‘miniaturize’ ourselves. We have songs in the night that cannot be comprehended by the ungodly. One point we should never omit to confess – God is Holy! A Holy God has no favor for thrills and flamboyant worship styles that magnify man and reduce God to a bystander. It is the strong arm of God that does battle for the humble in heart, and He topples empires and mighty armies by His lightnings from on high. He hath filled the hungry with good things. When you hunger in the flesh, your body informs you of the kind of food you most desire. When you hunger in the Spirit, the Spirit informs you of things of unsurpassing beauty in Christ. The primitive diets of the poor have proven largely to be the healthier than the banquet table of kings. Be pleased in the Lord. He sits upon the Throne of the Temple of your Heart. He occupies the upper seat no matter where He resides.  We magnify Him by our faith, praise and reverence in worship.

Sunday, August 29, 2021

AOC Sunday Report - Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity


Happy Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity!

The AOC Sunday Report can be downloaded RIGHT HERE!

There are excellent sermons from Bishops Jerry and Roy, as well as Revs Jack and Bryan.  Each is quite different, though Jerry and Jack cover the same Scripture.  You can also view Rev Jack on video RIGHT HERE.

There are always a lot of people who need your prayer, today is no exception. Please start with Jim, Laurie, Shamu, Mrs. Kay and Lori, work out from there.  Also, please pray for the families of our service members who lost their lives this week for reasons that are clear to no one. Yet they died in the honorable service of our country,

There is an EPIC week ahead, find it with the help of that Third God Guy, the Holy Ghost.

Godspeed,

Hap
Church of the Faithful Centurion
Descanso, California
United States of America

Sermon Notes - Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity - Saint Andrew’s Anglican Orthodox Church - 29 August 2021, Anno Domini


The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.

 

The Collect.

 

A

LMIGHTY and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

L

ABOUR not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent(John 6:27-29)

 

B

LESSED is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him(James 1:12)

 

This powerful and lovely Collect was altered only in one respect by Archbishop Cranmer from its original form offered in the Sacramentary of Leo. He added the word ‘ONLY’ before gift for he knew that even our tithes and offerings are not truly gifts we have gotten, but merely returning a portion of our increase that came from God in the first place. 

 

Review

Do you remember the parts of Collects as given in our first lesson on the Collects: 

 

1.     the Address

2.     the Acknowledgement

3.     the Petition

4.     the Aspiration

5.     the Pleading

 

As you read through this Collect again, can you separate the Collect into its constituent parts?

 

            ALMIGHTY and merciful God Every Collect opens with the invocation addressed to the Father. (John 16:23) God is both Almighty, and He is merciful – else we would have no hope of salvation. He has the POWER to grant forgiveness and salvation; and He is inclined, by His great mercy, to do so. That is His nature. We are nothing apart from God – our very being is given by Him. I heard a minister tell the story years ago of a debate that took place between God and Satan: “I can do ANYTHING you can do, God, or at least make it very similar.” “Is that so?” responded God. “Can you make a man?” “Sure,” responded Satan, as he reached down to get a handful of dirt. “Not so fast, you old Deceiver,” said God, “you’ve got to use your own dirt!” Even the dirt that comprise our bodies was made by God. So what can you give One who owns every atomic particle in Creation and even your own body?

 

             “…whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service”  If you are feeling generous one day, what will you give to God with which you have not been blessed by Him? Your tithe and free will offerings are no gift, for He provided you the means of getting all of your wealth. Your labors and services of good works are no gift for He can accomplish every good thing without your anemic efforts.  Your preaching and testimonies are not gifts for these are your bounden duties.  In the very last instance, what can you give to God that He has not given? So what good thing can you do that will be of favor in the eyes of God? This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sentActually, there is NOTHING that you can do for God since your good works are His own. This is the WORK of God! What could the thief on the cross return to God that would be pleasing – he had not a penny to his name, not a single free hand to perform any good work? He gave His HEART. That is ALL that He could give. In a sense, the Holy Ghost even drew that heart to Christ. Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do(Luke 17:9-10) Obedience is the duty we Owe God and it pleases Him as a father who is pleased with an obedient child; but the obedience is expected.

 

            “….Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life” You will observe that even our faithful obedience is a grant from God. We plead for that grace from God to be obedient in our lives. It becomes more and more obvious that all of our good works and faith are not ours, but those of God working in and through us. We dare not boast of anything in Christ.

 

            What is the measure of faith and belief? “…that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises” God never reneges on a promise, so how could we fail of those promises if we have faith and believe? Our Christian lives and testimonies are ample proof that we have believed unto saving faith from the beginning. A woman taken in adultery does not believe, repent, and turn to God only to return to her wicked ways afterwards. Heed the words of the Savior, “Go and sin no more!” But we all do sin more, don’t we – even after we have believed Christ? So what remedy is there for our sins after baptism? My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked(1 John 2:1-6)

 

            “….through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord” Do you see that all we have asked, we have not asked on behalf of our own merits, but those of Jesus Christ. Christ is the only One upon whose claims and merits we are justified in basing our hopes, our prayers, and our faith. He does ALL things well, and we fail more often than succeed.  He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. (Mark 7:37) You may not realize it, but you, too, were as deaf and dumb to God’s voice as Lazarus as he lay in the stone-cold tomb of Bethany. The Holy Spirit of God penetrated those dead tissues of the heart, the ears, the tongue, and the mind called you forth into newness of life. Walk in that newness. Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.  For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (Romans 6:3-10)  

 

Do you?

 

A

ND he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.  (Luke 10:23-37)

 

In order to fully understand the situation confronting Christ, we must observe that which the Lectionary failed to include – the preceding two verses that reveal the setting. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.  (Luke 10:21-22) Those whose high-minded thoughts are infatuated with the Self of the Ivory Tower will not understand the Words given by Christ here. Those men are much too good to get a handle on such simplicity as the Gospel represents. They must add to it their own complicated and sophisticated interpretations and render those in words which they can barely understand themselves and, certainly, not understood of those who are so simple as to know only Christ. And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 18:2-4) I am not so proud of my title as to be very happy to become a simple, little child for Christ. All of the lawyers, Scribes, and Pharisees gathered about not only would not believe, but refused to believe, the simple Gospel that had been given to the simple disciples of Christ. Note the grace of God evidenced in the last verse of the quote: "…and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." Has Jesus revealed His Father to you, Friend?

 

"And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." What standing and privilege we have to have come into the knowledge of the Gospel. We have been given greater privilege than many prophets and kings. Have we treasured the privilege above all others?

 

Jesus is speaking in a public place and gathered around were those who would have enjoyed presenting a question that would have undermined His wisdom and knowledge. I am amazed that they continued so to do for they were constantly made fools by the attempt. There is a "certain lawyer" present who felt able to place Christ on the spot with a question which it was the Lord's very specialty to answer: "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Is this a very good question? No, it is not. The premise of the question is wrong for there is nothing that we can DO to inherit eternal life – it is a gift of God. Jesus, being the most able of all teachers, gives the inquirer another question in response to fathom the depths of the inquirer's knowledge as well as cause for deeper thought on the matter: "What is written in the law? how readest thou?" Should not all of us determine our answers to questions of eternity on God's Law? Should we not all have read it and meditated thereon? How does the lawyer, very apt at deciphering law, read the question? This is an excellent technique to determine – not the depth of the lawyer's knowledge, but the want of knowledge. 

 

The lawyer answered very ably for he knew the `words' of the law, but perhaps not the spirit of it: "And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." The lawyer may recognize the technical qualities of a diamond, but he cannot know the source of its beauty.

 

Note how respectfully Christ treats the question and answer of the lawyer who seeks to `tempt' him. "And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." If credit is due, you may always expect it from Christ.

 

The lawyer realizes that he has failed to reveal any indiscretion in the answer of Christ and seeks to justify his inquiry and standing by pressing further. By asking this next question, he hopes to weaken the credibility of Christ in whatever He claims as a neighbor. "But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? We can clearly see by the motive and attitude that the lawyer is less in earnest to understand truth, than to place his witness off balance. His interest is not truth, but justification of himself which he is incapable of doing. 

 

These next beautiful lines of a Parable of Christ are among the most beloved and noteworthy of the Gospels and repeated almost daily in general conversation: "Come on, be a good Samaritan and loan me some money!" or "The life of a victim of an automobile accident this morning was saved by a good Samaritan who just happen on the scene of the accident shortly after it happened." Do we not hear such accounts daily?

 

"And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

 

Here we see unsurpassing grace and a full figure of our Lord Himself described. In what way, you ask?  Because we were that man who went DOWN the road of life and were beaten by the devil and his friends. We were left to die until a good Samaritan (Christ) came along – going UP to the Holy City – and treated our hurts and sores with His own riches and Being. He did so after even those who were considered `holy' passed us by. He cared for our wounds, and placed us on His own beast, and took us to a place of security, and continued to treat our hurts, and purchased our continued treatment and security until He returns for us. This is part of the spiritual meaning, but there is also a general application that presents in our own lives and those of other Christians.

 

This `certain man' that went down (the wrong direction) the road from Jerusalem, the Holy City, to Jericho, a worldly city, was a Jew. He it was who, it was suspected, would have a bag of money hidden on his person for commerce. Being a Jew, he had every right to expect help from his religious leaders of the same race. He would have found the gentile Samaritans (half-blooded Jews) to have been unworthy of his friendship and beneath his class.  He would never have lifted a finger to help the `unclean' Samaritans.

 

Alas, he falls among thieves who are waiting along the path in ambush. The devil sets many ambushes for us to destroy both our faith and our persons. The thieves took all that the man had, even including his raiment (clothes) and left him half-dead. Do you know that all who know not Christ have been left half-dead along life's road? Satan would prefer to leave us half-dead than fully dead so that we may cause others to follow our folly. This is true of combat. The enemy would prefer to seriously wound our soldier than to kill him. Why? Because many support personnel are required to treat a wounded warrior, but far less to bury one such soldier.

 

Note that a priest and a Levite comes along, going DOWN (the wrong direction) as well, to Jericho. It may be presumed that they had just completed Temple duties and were cleansed. But these two had yet to learn the meaning of the Lord's words: "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6) Temple worship, or indeed any worship, will not suffice apart from a love of God and our fellow men. The priest clearly sees the man, we are told, but decides not to help the man or to touch blood which would have made him `unclean.' The Levite sees the man and, at least comes to where he is and looks on him. But then goes the way of the priest. Both are guilty of lack of mercy and compassion – ingredients of character that cannot coexist in evil hearts. 

 

Now comes a Samaritan UP the Road to Jerusalem. Unlike the priest, the Jew, and the Levite, this man is traveling in the RIGHT direction. (Psalms 1) Note the actions of the Good Samaritan: 

 

1.     "came where he was" As Christians, we must GO to where the need is greatest, not relax in opulence in our parlors.

2.     "he saw him" How many needs go unseen every day though our eyes cannot avoid the observance of that need?

3.     "he had compassion on him" Just as our Savior, Christ, this Samaritan, though hated by this Jew, felt the man's hurt so keenly that he took measures to help the man of his hurt (just as Christ has done for those of us who have come to Him).

4.     "And went to him" His first coming to where the man was at the time was, to us, happenstance, but surely to God, our steps were ordered. After coming to a person in need we do not simply stand and watch. We GO to the victim so that we may render assistance.

5.     "and bound up his wounds" Just as Jesus practice the triage of treating the most critical need first, so does this Samaritan by binding up the man's wounds to stop the bleeding. Has Christ not found us with our own blood flowing from our souls and given us life? "And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.' (Ezek 16:6) When we see our neighbor strangers perishing for grave want, have we forgotten the great mercies granted to us?

6.     "pouring in oil and wine." The only resources the Samaritan had to treat the man was the expensive oil and wine which he not only `applied' but `poured' into the man's wounds. He spared no personal treasures in helping his charge. Do you not love this Good Samaritan?"

7.     "set him on his own beast" The Samaritan would rather walk in order that the wounded man might ride. This is `mercy' combined with `sacrifice' – the kind of combination that the Lord loves.

8.     "and brought him to an inn" The Samaritan is not concerned about his tight schedule. He takes time to take the best care of the wounded man. This is an expense as well, but he does not even consider it an expense. It is an obligation before God.

9.     "and took care of him" I wish I had many friends as kind as this Samaritan Stranger. Actually, I do have ONE, and perhaps others of my friends who love that ONE. He continued, even at the end, to take time and trouble to treat the man.

10.  "And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him" Apparently being convinced that the man would be well after rest and gentle treatment, the Samaritan departs to care for his pressing business in Jerusalem. But he does not forget the responsibility he has shouldered for the Jew. He PAYs even the innkeeper to continue caring for the Jew. "He doeth all things well!"

11.  "and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee." Had you ever considered ALL that the Good Samaritan did for this wounded Jew, or for that wounded soul that resides in your own heart? "Even if it costs me more, I will pay. I will pay to the uttermost." Says the Good Samaritan. 

 

Jesus has told the story which will fully answer the question of the lawyer, but the lawyer remains stiff-necked in his pride. Jesus asks: "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?" Three men were involved. Two were not only religious leaders from whom one might expect greater degrees of compassion, but also men of the same blood. They, of all people, should have considered a fellow Jew a neighbor. They passed by without lifting a finger to help the poor wounded fellow. The third, a lowly Samaritan, spent his own wealth, took his own time, and delayed his own business to help a man whose race hated him. Which one of these three would any sane person believe was neighbor to the wounded man? You, or I, would answer the Samaritan; but the lawyer, being a Jew who loathed even the name of a Samaritan, answered only: "He that shewed mercy on him." The lawyer would prefer a pronoun to a real name. Even so, he answered correctly even if in the wrong spirit. 

 

Jesus responded to the lawyer in the same way He responds to you and me: "Go, and do thou likewise." What have you been this week: a priest, a Levite, or a Good Samaritan?

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity


Rev Jack's sermon is available on video RIGHT HERE!

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action
Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Today’s sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and talked, as is oft the case, of the need for action, not simply diction.


Consider the words of the Collect:  “…whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises…”

 

In our prayer to God, we acknowledge that His greatest gift is that we are, through Him, able to give Him true service.  For, it must be understood the only way we can really be happy is when we align our being with His Being.  We must be truly aligned, not trying to get around by using loopholes.  There is a big difference.  We are trying to live by the Big Picture and not worry about little things. Sometimes that is easier said than done, but we must get it done all the same. How are we to get the monumental strength and inspiration to tackle this? It is simple, we are to call on the Holy Ghost to enter into our hearts and ask for His Advice. The harder part is once we receive the advice to act upon it and do it for Him. Once we do this we will have the strength and inspiration we  need to live by the Big Picture and not worry.

 

If we are to follow Him truly, we have to truly love Him with all our hearts, souls and minds and to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”  This is the first step to following Him. This is a follow on to last week’s message. This is because the Bible echoes itself at various points, especially in the New Testament. There are many repeating themes in the New Testament; this is one of them. And the gift that the collect speaks of is the Holy Ghost. We need His help if we are to truly love Him with all of our hearts souls and minds. Then, you have to act upon your trust in Him. If you trust Him as a spiritual parent, then just like with your earthly parents, you will take His advice into consideration when acting. 

 

If we do what we should do, we will follow the little rules as a matter of course.  If we get the important things, the little things will follow soon after. The only rules that are important really come from:

 

1.     Love thy God with all thy heart and soul and mind;

2.     Love they neighbor as thyself. 

 

As Jesus says, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” He means all of the moral laws and preaching of prophets past can be traced back to these laws, which comprise the basis for all of the laws that would follow thereafter, especially the Ten Commandments.  The 613 Mosaic Laws can call be traced back to these two commandments. They are the basics of the Christian faith; there is no way to get around these two and be within the spirit or the intent of the Law.

 

The Law failed not because of God but because of the frailty of man. The people spent their time thinking about how to get around technicalities which is different than doing what is right.  In fact people still try to do this with laws of man to this very day. It is inherent in our fallen  nature. Complying with the Law is a different matter than finding loopholes around the Law. The Pharisees did the latter, and we should do the former.

 

In the Epistle, we are reminded God chose Abraham not because he complied with The Law, for the Law was far into the future.  God chose Abraham because he had faith, put his trust in God and desired to follow Him. If we do the same and put our trust in God, we will be able to perform the laudable service He so desires for the rest of our days. The Law is a small part of the large picture, when we see how it ties into the New Testament, we have a far better understanding of what God wants in our lives, as individuals. It is not just enough to follow the letter of the the law, we need to follow the Spirit of the Law as Jesus embodied in His Summary of the Law. Love God and Love your neighbor and things will work out as a result. We will naturally follow the 10 commandments by following the Summary of the Law

 

However, not everyone on the globe will follow Him, and they will not be truly happy as a result. An example of this are the Pharisees; religious lawyers who specialized in the 613 Mosaic Laws, which brought them death, not life.  Their job was to help people not break The Law without unduly interfering with their lives by forcing them to embrace the intent of The Law.

 

When the Pharisee of the Gospel asked Jesus what he should do to gain eternal life, the Pharisee correctly summarized The Law: Love God; Love your neighbor.  He would have been fine had he stopped there.  But, he had to show the Son how smart he was.  In doing so, the lawyer was about to learn the first lesson of lawyering, ‘Never ask a question to which you don’t know the answer.’  So, he asked, ‘Who is my neighbor?’  The answer, of course, is everyone but you; the rest of humanity.  But, as was often the case, Jesus presented the story of the injured man helped by the Samaritan, then asked, Who was neighbor to the injured man?

 

The priest and the Levite would not see the injured man; there are none so blind as those who will not see.  They could or would not follow the second commandment of the Summary of the Law, of loving they neighbor as thyself. Whatever the reason it ended in the same result, they turned their heads away and walked by not even thinking of the injured man and his suffering. They were too prideful to see the truth of loving they neighbor. They were too wrapped up in the riches and cares of this world. Alas there are too many people that are like the Priest and the Levite today in our country. They are caught up in their riches and cares and cannot see their fellow countryman suffering, or will not see them suffering more likely. They think of the suffering people as an inconvenience to their lavish lifestyle.

 

The material things of this world are temporary and they have blinded and ensnared many. Many of churches (like the Roman Church for example) today have fallen into this trap, caring about their position on Earth more than following God’s clearly stated will.  Focusing on this world, which is only a temporary state, is a foolish and fleeting thing. Things on this earth will corrupt and rust and pass away; but things in Heaven and life in Heaven will never corrupt and pass away. We should focus on things eternal, not on things temporary.  What they should focus on is their eternal life. While they claim to know the concept of Heaven, they truly do not know it or believe in it per se.  For it is action that demonstrates and validates claimed belief.

 

Those Jews cared only about not breaking The Law on Earth and hoping that flawed concept would bring them salvation. No matter how they followed it, they could not obtain salvation on their own. The missing link to their solution was one that has been here since The Creation: Jesus Christ. They are searching for Him, but they cannot find Him, as He is right under their noses. He is right in front of them, but they will not see Him as their Messiah. So, they are doomed to always looking for Him, but never being able to find Him until they open up their spiritual senses. This is the problem with the World as well. They search for the answers He provides, but they will not acknowledge Him or His solutions.

 

The world would be better off if they learned the lesson the lawyer learned in today’s Gospel. You will also note the Samaritan, one of those separated from the chosen mass of Judaism, did his duty.  When he left the injured man at the inn, having given the innkeeper roughly two days wages, he said, “Do what need be done, if I owe more I will pay when I pass by next.”  You will note, he put no limit on his duty, he just committed to doing what needed to be done, regardless of cost.  

 

The lawyer to his credit answered honestly, “He that shewed mercy on him.”  Jesus told him, Go, and do thou likewise.

 

Right is not a matter of quantum; it is not a matter of majority rules or public opinion; actions speak louder than words. 

 

Action counts.  For by their actions ye shall know them.  

 

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



[1] Samaritan - Of or pertaining to Samaria, in Palestine. -- n. A native or inhabitant of Samaria; also, the language of Samaria. [1913 Webster]

 

Samaritans were descendants of those who had stayed behind during the Captivity and had been separated for many years from the body of Judaism.  They had not developed, nor did they subscribe to them, all the rules the Jews managed to invent during their separation.  The main body of Jews viewed them as lesser peoples, not really Jews. 

[2] Good Samaritan n : a person who voluntarily offers help or sympathy in times of trouble [syn: {Samaritan}]

Saturday, August 28, 2021

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity- Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon


The Propers for today are found on Page 207-209, with the Collect first:

 

The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.

 

The Collect.

 

A

LMIGHTY and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

The Epistle came from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, the Third  Chapter beginning at the Sixteenth Verse. Paul reminds us, “To Abraham and his seed were the promises made.  He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”  The Law, which came 430 years after this covenant, did not supersede the covenant.  The Law was “added because of transgressions, til the seed (Jesus) should come to whom the promise was made … Is the law then against the promises of God?”  No.  “… for is there had been a law given which could have given life, … righteousness should have been by the law.”  For the wages of sin are death, all sin and only those whose sins are set aside by the sacrifice of Jesus are freed from their debt.

 

T

Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

 

Today’s Holy Gospel started in the Tenth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, beginning at the Twenty-Third Verse.  Jesus tells one of the New Testament’s most widely spread stories, that of the Good Samaritan[1],[2].

 

Jesus was talking to the people, “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  The lawyer was about to learn the first lesson of lawyering, ‘Never ask a question you don’t to which know the answer.’  As was often the case, Jesus let the man answer his own question in response to a question from Him, “What is written in the law?  How readest thou?”  

 

The man answered well, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”

 

Jesus confirmed his answer, “Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”

 

But, the man wanted more and asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

 

Among the Jews, it was clear they were to “Love thy neighbor as thy self;” but their view of their neighborhood was not too wide.  From Jesus’ story and question come a clear answer as to how big our neighborhood might be.

 

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? 

 

To this question, the man answered, “He that shewed mercy on him.” 

 

Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

 

B

LESSED are the eyes which see the things that ye see: for I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.


Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Today’s sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and talked, as is oft the case, of the need for action, not simply diction.


 

Consider the words of the Collect:  “…whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises…”

 

In our prayer to God, we acknowledge that His greatest gift is that we are, through Him, able to give Him true service.  For, it must be understood the only way we can really be happy is when we align our being with His Being.  We must be truly aligned, not trying to get around by using loopholes.  There is a big difference.  We are trying to live by the Big Picture and not worry about little things. Sometimes that is easier said than done, but we must get it done all the same. How are we to get the monumental strength and inspiration to tackle this? It is simple, we are to call on the Holy Ghost to enter into our hearts and ask for His Advice. The harder part is once we receive the advice to act upon it and do it for Him. Once we do this we will have the strength and inspiration we  need to live by the Big Picture and not worry.

 

If we are to follow Him truly, we have to truly love Him with all our hearts, souls and minds and to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”  This is the first step to following Him. This is a follow on to last week’s message. This is because the Bible echoes itself at various points, especially in the New Testament. There are many repeating themes in the New Testament; this is one of them. And the gift that the collect speaks of is the Holy Ghost. We need His help if we are to truly love Him with all of our hearts souls and minds. Then, you have to act upon your trust in Him. If you trust Him as a spiritual parent, then just like with your earthly parents, you will take His advice into consideration when acting. 

 

If we do what we should do, we will follow the little rules as a matter of course.  If we get the important things, the little things will follow soon after. The only rules that are important really come from:

 

1.     Love thy God with all thy heart and soul and mind;

2.     Love they neighbor as thyself. 

 

As Jesus says, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” He means all of the moral laws and preaching of prophets past can be traced back to these laws, which comprise the basis for all of the laws that would follow thereafter, especially the Ten Commandments.  The 613 Mosaic Laws can call be traced back to these two commandments. They are the basics of the Christian faith; there is no way to get around these two and be within the spirit or the intent of the Law.

 

The Law failed not because of God but because of the frailty of man. The people spent their time thinking about how to get around technicalities which is different than doing what is right.  In fact people still try to do this with laws of man to this very day. It is inherent in our fallen  nature. Complying with the Law is a different matter than finding loopholes around the Law. The Pharisees did the latter, and we should do the former.

 

In the Epistle, we are reminded God chose Abraham not because he complied with The Law, for the Law was far into the future.  God chose Abraham because he had faith, put his trust in God and desired to follow Him. If we do the same and put our trust in God, we will be able to perform the laudable service He so desires for the rest of our days. The Law is a small part of the large picture, when we see how it ties into the New Testament, we have a far better understanding of what God wants in our lives, as individuals. It is not just enough to follow the letter of the the law, we need to follow the Spirit of the Law as Jesus embodied in His Summary of the Law. Love God and Love your neighbor and things will work out as a result. We will naturally follow the 10 commandments by following the Summary of the Law

 

However, not everyone on the globe will follow Him, and they will not be truly happy as a result. An example of this are the Pharisees; religious lawyers who specialized in the 613 Mosaic Laws, which brought them death, not life.  Their job was to help people not break The Law without unduly interfering with their lives by forcing them to embrace the intent of The Law.

 

When the Pharisee of the Gospel asked Jesus what he should do to gain eternal life, the Pharisee correctly summarized The Law: Love God; Love your neighbor.  He would have been fine had he stopped there.  But, he had to show the Son how smart he was.  In doing so, the lawyer was about to learn the first lesson of lawyering, ‘Never ask a question to which you don’t know the answer.’  So, he asked, ‘Who is my neighbor?’  The answer, of course, is everyone but you; the rest of humanity.  But, as was often the case, Jesus presented the story of the injured man helped by the Samaritan, then asked, Who was neighbor to the injured man?

 

The priest and the Levite would not see the injured man; there are none so blind as those who will not see.  They could or would not follow the second commandment of the Summary of the Law, of loving they neighbor as thyself. Whatever the reason it ended in the same result, they turned their heads away and walked by not even thinking of the injured man and his suffering. They were too prideful to see the truth of loving they neighbor. They were too wrapped up in the riches and cares of this world. Alas there are too many people that are like the Priest and the Levite today in our country. They are caught up in their riches and cares and cannot see their fellow countryman suffering, or will not see them suffering more likely. They think of the suffering people as an inconvenience to their lavish lifestyle.

 

The material things of this world are temporary and they have blinded and ensnared many. Many of churches (like the Roman Church for example) today have fallen into this trap, caring about their position on Earth more than following God’s clearly stated will.  Focusing on this world, which is only a temporary state, is a foolish and fleeting thing. Things on this earth will corrupt and rust and pass away; but things in Heaven and life in Heaven will never corrupt and pass away. We should focus on things eternal, not on things temporary.  What they should focus on is their eternal life. While they claim to know the concept of Heaven, they truly do not know it or believe in it per se.  For it is action that demonstrates and validates claimed belief.

 

Those Jews cared only about not breaking The Law on Earth and hoping that flawed concept would bring them salvation. No matter how they followed it, they could not obtain salvation on their own. The missing link to their solution was one that has been here since The Creation: Jesus Christ. They are searching for Him, but they cannot find Him, as He is right under their noses. He is right in front of them, but they will not see Him as their Messiah. So, they are doomed to always looking for Him, but never being able to find Him until they open up their spiritual senses. This is the problem with the World as well. They search for the answers He provides, but they will not acknowledge Him or His solutions.

 

The world would be better off if they learned the lesson the lawyer learned in today’s Gospel. You will also note the Samaritan, one of those separated from the chosen mass of Judaism, did his duty.  When he left the injured man at the inn, having given the innkeeper roughly two days wages, he said, “Do what need be done, if I owe more I will pay when I pass by next.”  You will note, he put no limit on his duty, he just committed to doing what needed to be done, regardless of cost.  

 

The lawyer to his credit answered honestly, “He that shewed mercy on him.”  Jesus told him, Go, and do thou likewise.

 

Right is not a matter of quantum; it is not a matter of majority rules or public opinion; actions speak louder than words. 

 

Action counts.  For by their actions ye shall know them.  

 

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



[1] Samaritan - Of or pertaining to Samaria, in Palestine. -- n. A native or inhabitant of Samaria; also, the language of Samaria. [1913 Webster]

 

Samaritans were descendants of those who had stayed behind during the Captivity and had been separated for many years from the body of Judaism.  They had not developed, nor did they subscribe to them, all the rules the Jews managed to invent during their separation.  The main body of Jews viewed them as lesser peoples, not really Jews. 

[2] Good Samaritan n : a person who voluntarily offers help or sympathy in times of trouble [syn: {Samaritan}]