Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

The Propers for today are found on Page 210-211, with the Collect first:

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.

The Collect.

K

EEP, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Ryan Hopkins read the Epistle, which came from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, the Sixth Chapter, beginning at the Eleventh Verse. Paul continues to warn us of the conflict in our lives between the things valued here on earth and those valued by the forces of heaven (God).  Writing to the Gentiles in Galatia, using to the rite of circumcision as a symbol for all of The Law, he warns, “As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.”  Those who are every eager to have you follow “The Law” themselves fail to follow it.  He goes on to say that Jesus’ new covenant transcends The Law and The Law no longer has hold over man.  For in Jesus there is salvation, may “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”

Y

E see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Deacon Striker Jack Arnold read today’s Holy Gospel which was written in the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, beginning at the Twenty-Fourth Verse. Jesus tells us, “No man can serve two masters …Ye cannot serve God and mammon[1].”  There is only one first place, only one can be in that place.  We either place God in first place or we put something else there.  If we wish riches in this world as the most important thing in our life, we place the things of this world in first place.  If we follow our Lord Jesus and His instruction, we place God in that first place.  But, what of this world?  “Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they?”  Jesus tells us not to worry, for worry is of no positive value.  When faced with a problem, we must do our best, not merely claim to do our best, and trust in God.  For, “which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life?” God knows we have need of the things of this world while we are in it, he knows we worry about, “What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?”  If we first seek “His kingdom, and His righteousness” He will take care of all our necessities.  But we must do as He asks, not merely say we are doing so.  If you follow God’s directions, you will be wealthy beyond description.  While you will never be “Bill Gates” rich, you will never lack what you need on this earth or in the world to come.

Jesus tells us, “Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”  We are not to worry, but to our best and let the morrow come as it will.  We are to do our best, not merely say we are doing our best.  For if we truly do our best, then that is all that can be done and there is no point in worrying.

Using an earlier phrase, Trust in God and Dread Naught.

N

O man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Sermon – Time and Action

Today’s sermon tied the Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.   

Just like the Jewish based Christians of Paul’s time, it often seems like everyone has secret rituals, handshakes or hoops they want you to jump through to be IN.  Paul reminds us that all fall short, all who will find that real salvation comes only by the Grace of God through our Lord Jesus.  Our salvation is not based on the ritual, the handshake or even the slice of the circumcision scalpel.

Our salvation comes one way, by the Grace of God through our Lord Jesus.  Yet one cannot serve two masters.  We must choose who we will serve, God or the world.  If we chose God, that does not mean that we turn our back on the world around us, but rather that we interface with the world using the Rules of Engagement given to us by our Lord.  We prioritize our actions with Him first.  Our family motto; God • Honor • Country • Family is an example of this prioritization.  First things first.  Build from the inside out and the bottom up.  Do not mistake this motto for perfection, we have erred and strayed from our ways like every lost sheep, probably farther than most.  But we know which way is The Way and keep correcting back on course. 

Prioritization can be as a simple as coming home early on Saturday night so that you get a good night’s sleep and are ready for the Sunday church service.  It can be as complex as leaving a job that interferes with your honoring God, Country or Family.  First things first.

Through out the Bible we are exhorted to respect God, be honorable, work hard and take care of our families.  If we do these things, following God’s Will, our fiscal standing here on earth will be sound.  Follow these precepts, you will never be lacking, but you will never be inordinately wealthy, “Bill Gates rich” so to speak.  For to do that requires reprioritization to wealth in the first place.  Replacing allegiance to God with allegiance to wealth is a one way ticket to a destination you don’t want.

God wants you to be happy, He knows what will make you happy.  God does not mind if you have fun along the way, but never pursue fun confusing it with happiness.  In the end, you won’t find either.

Bishop Dennis Campbell’s Sermon

Bishop Dennis is a brilliant speaker.  He is able to take biblical precepts and make them perfectly understandable, even to me.  Oft he provides the text of his sermons and I take the utmost pleasure in passing them on:

Profitable Things

Matthew 6:24-34

Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

2 October 2011

Those who preach from Matthew 6:24-34 often go straight to verse 33, "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  There is good reason for this, for the verse is the heart of this passage.  It is the conclusion towards which our Lord has been leading us in this part of the Sermon on the Mount.  The logic of the passage goes like this; you cannot serve two gods, God, and mammon.  Therefore, seek first the Kingdom of God, and trust Him so supply mammon as He sees fit.  But I am going to do something a little different today.  We have prayed in this morning's Collect that God will keep us in His perpetual mercy and lead us into all things profitable.  Then we read in Galatians 6 that our glory is in Christ, "by whom the world is crucified to me, and I unto the world," and we read in Matthew 6 that we cannot serve both God and mammon.  "Mammon is often thought to mean "money," but it really includes the whole range of the world's goods. So, it is easy to grasp what it means to become the servant of mammon.  It is easy to grasp, but, I'm going to talk about it anyway.

Serving Mammon

To serve mammon is to find your meaning in life in things rather than God. What identifies you to yourself?  Is it your car, your house, your clothes your job your hobbies?  What defines who and what you are?  What says to you, "this is who I am?"

To serve mammon is to find your comfort in life in the things of this world, rather than in God.  Where do you turn in time of trouble?  What comforts your soul in time of stress and trial?  Some turn to the television set.  Some turn to drugs and alcohol. Some turn to the refrigerator (that's one of my own personal favourites). Some turn to the mall.  Some turn to sports and amusements.  And some turn to God.

To serve mammon is to devote your life to gaining things.  It is important to know that the Bible does not teach us to expect God to drop money out of the sky like manna in the wilderness.  The Bible teaches us to work for a living.  So, we should expect to labour for our wages.  Labour isn't always fun.  In our industrial society, most of us work for someone else, and bosses aren't always nice and jobs aren't always fun.  The Bible addresses this in other places, such as Ephesians 6:5-9.  The point today is not our relations with people on the job, but that God expects us to work.  The Bible even says those who are able to work, and have jobs available to them, but won't work, don't have a right to the goods and property of those who do work.

Seeking God First

As I said, I think we all know what it means to serve mammon, so I want to turn to the other side of this which is seeking God first.  And seeking God first means to trust God rather than be overly concerned about the things of the world.  When our Lord said in Matthew 6:31, "take no thought saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?"  He didn't mean we should not work or try to improve our situation in life. He didn't mean we should not plan and work and prepare for the future.  All of these things are commended in other parts of Scripture, and they are just as much the word of God as these words of Christ.  Our Lord meant we are not to spend our time and energy worrying about the future.  He meant we are to do our best, and trust God with the rest.  Trust the One who feeds the birds and cares for the lilies.   You are more valuable to God than the birds, and if He cares for the flowers, "shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"  So we make it a priority to trust Him to provide for us as He deems best.  Today He may deem it best that we enjoy prosperity and health.  Tomorrow He may give us poverty and sickness.  In either and all situations we will strive to trust in Him and be content.

To seek God first is to see the world's goods, "mammon," as tools by which we do good and serve God rather than as toys for our amusement. I think this is part of what St. Paul was teaching in the eighth and ninth chapters of Second Corinthians, which we have been reading together over the past couple of days. The Corinthians' abundance can supply the needs of the people in Jerusalem, according to 2 Corinthians 8:14. Their gift will cause many to give thanks unto God according to 2 Corinthians 9:12. In so doing, mammon becomes a tool for serving God.  But giving also helps the giver.  Giving develops Godliness in the giver.  That is part of what St Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 8:12 when he wrote, "their abundance" meaning, the faith and steadfast Godliness of the Church in Jerusalem, "also may be a supply for your want."  In giving the gift, the Corinthians supplied a need in the Church in Jerusalem, and they supplied a need in their own lives, the need to grow in their faith and obedience to Christ. This is one way that mammon can become a tool in our hands.  Robert Crouse, preaching on this passage expressed this well when he said:

"We are so easily seduced into regarding [the world's goods] as ends in themselves.  That is what it means to serve Mammon.  Today's Gospel would remind us that the things of this world, however good, are not ends--but means:  means towards an end which is spiritual and eternal--the knowledge and love of God, God's kingdom and his righteousness."                                                                    

Finally, to seek God first is to... seek God first.  The things of earth are not our first priority.  We realise that life is more than meat and raiment.  Therefore, we go first for the higher things of life.  We go first for God.  He is our priority.  Pleasing Him is our first goal.  Knowing that our souls are safe and clean in Christ is more important to us than gold. His will is more valuable to us than silver. Living quiet holy lives is more valuable to us than riches, and sweeter to us than honey.  In short, we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and we trust that perpetual mercy we prayed for a while ago to lead us into all things profitable.

Let us pray.

K

eep, we beseech thee O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us into all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

--

+R. Dennis Campbell

Bishop of Diocese of Virginia

Rector, Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church

Powhatan, Virginia

www.HolyTrinityAnglicanOrthodoxChurch.org

www.lifeinthescriptures.blogspot.com

Bishop Ogles’ message for today

Bishop Jerry provided his very interesting devotion notes for yestday.  I am certain you will find them very enjoyable.  As always, I cannot commend it to you enough.

Saturday 1 October 2011 Anno Domini in 14th Week after Trinity Sunday

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 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! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matt 6:19-34)

We continue with that most sublime of all sermons, the Sermon on the Mount.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Some men place their cherished friends and families in their hearts alongside every abominable and sinful thought, for the heart is the repository of a man's treasure. We may find lust stored them alongside pride and prejudice. Even among these gods of vanity we may find a sacrificial love for a wife of child, but such love cannot attain the same degree of blessing as that which is stored in a pure heart. Our thoughts, too, are the treasures of our hearts and if we allow our minds to wander in sinful pleasures or imaginations, there will be no place found for the Holy Spirit. Even the associations we keep may share their heart treasures with us and cause them to be stored in our own hearts: "Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he ………." (Prov 23:6-7)

The following illustration by Richard Chenevix Trench,  should give us clear knowledge of how our treasures will benefit if placed in the right depository: In his book, "The Banished Kings, 1882" he tells the ancient story of a king who, learning that at some future point in time, he would be banished to a distant island over the sea, sent over to that land treasures, prepared houses and gardens for his future life,  until he looked with greater joy to that land where his treasures were than to the kingdom which he then enjoyed. So may we lay up treasures in heaven.

How blessed we would be if we had all of our treasures safely deposited in the First Bank of Heaven instead of the bankrupt banks of earth!

"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." This counsels against a wondering eye, but one fixed on the straight and narrow Way that leads up and not down.

"Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil." (Prov 4:25-27) and the wicked: "He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor." (Psalms 10:8) If our focus is solely on the Lord, our steps will be straight in the paths wherein He has chosen for us to walk. If we have double vision, we will not stay on that path. Since God is Light and the Father of Lights, if our vision is single toward Him and His Word, our whole being will be permeated by, and full of, Light! (James 1:17)

"But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness." If we are blind to God's Word and Commandments, we are altogether blind. If we have light from the Dark Side, it is indeed a dark ray which will not benefit us in our walk. If either walk in the Light, or we walk in the darkness – there is no twilight with God for He is all of Light.

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." There is an old axiom in Korea that one cannot have two close friends – that three people cannot remain close friends because each will always prefer one or the other and jealousy will eventually cause enmity toward one of the friends. I have observed this to be true in Asia. A garden of inviting flowers or vegetables must be constantly labored at to keep the weeds from choking out the good plants. The weeds, on the other hand, need no cultivation at all. They grow unobserved. If we attempt to grow weeds and flowers together, the weeds will always predominate. If we try to serve God, with a back door open to sin, the sin will proliferate and take over our unguarded hearts. We read of Mammon in Milton's "Paradise Lost":

                    "Mammon led them on:

Mammon, the least erected spirit that fell

From heaven: for e'en in heaven his looks and thoughts

Were always downward bent, admiring more

The riches of heaven's pavement, trodden gold,

Than aught divine or holy, else enjoyed

In vision beatific."

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on." John Newton once said that if Nebuchadnezzar's image was of solid gold, and every worshipper was to have a piece of it, he feared that his own nation, as well as the great kings, would be ready to fall down before it. Wealth and social prominence can become a hard and cruel master. Far more suicides occur among the rich and famous than among the poor of the world. When the want of fashion and social prestige take the upper hand in life, we are made to serve with greed and hate the master who owns us. This master has an insatiable appetite which can never be satisfied until it consumes its servant.

"Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? None of these considerations are of any worth without life. Why do we allow worries of fashion and feast to dominate our minds and render our lives of less value? But the question rises to an even higher level when faced with the prospects of an eternal life with God.

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" God feeds the fowl of the air – "Not in idleness, not by putting food in their mouths while they sit still in the trees and sing and wait; but by providing the food which they can obtain, and providing them with the means of seeing and obtaining food. Not idleness, but industry, is taught us by God's care of the birds. They build nests, they migrate to warmer climes when food fails them in the North, and they are up early seeking food." (Suggestive Illustrations from the Gospel of St Matthew, Peloubet, 1894)

"Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." An old legend says:  The corn once criticized the Lily, saying, "One cannot earn a living just being sweet;" but the Lily only returned a smile, and waited until Jesus passed; then they both heard Him say to His disciples, "Children, the life is more than meat, consider the Lilies, how beautiful they grow." God has a place for vessels and flowers of every variety and each are especially fashioned for their purpose. Man cannot make a Lily or a butterfly in spite of all of his scientific knowledge and presumed prowess. Only God can make a tree! If the richest and wisest man who ever lived cannot have apparel as beautiful as a simple Lily, then man must admit that only God can create beauty and life.

"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." Imagine the Mighty God that flung the stars and planets, moon and Sun, into orbit at the beginning of Creation, and who created the tiny squirrel and the elephant, the horse and the eagle, and the flowers and fruits of every variety. He created these for our benefit and pleasure and He made us to have a loving dominion over these resources. All for His Children! How special is man that God created him to have dominion over sky and sea, land and mountain, and all the creatures that had life in them. God loves the little sparrow and His eye is always on the sparrow. How much more does He watch after man!

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." If the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is the sole object of our seeking, we cannot fail of joy and success in the search. Truly, all the joys of life are made available to him who seeks God in all things. Even the great Reformers died in the fires of martyrdom with an inner joy unseen by the dark spirits who built the fires.

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." When a child knows that his father is at home, he has no worries of insecurity. Why should we have when we know that our Father rules the heavens? There is enough evil today to occupy our thoughts without worrying about a hypothetical tomorrow! If we lack total control of the moment, how do we expect to alter the future months or years? Do you worry, or do you allow your Father to do so?

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[1] Mammon - a Chaldee or Syriac word meaning "wealth" or "riches" (Luke 16:9-11); also, by personification, the god of riches (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:9-11).

1: wealth regarded as an evil influence

2: (New Testament) a personification of wealth and avarice as an evil spirit.