The Nineteenth Sunday
after Trinity.
The Collect.
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GOD, forasmuch as without
thee we are not able to please thee; Mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may
in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Ryan Hopkins read the Epistle for today, which came from Saint
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians beginning
at the Seventeenth Verse of the Fourth Chapter. Typical of Paul, he uses a spiral argument with a seemingly
confusing structure to further instruct the people on how to become the New
Man. Our nature is not good, but
rather straying from good. We have
to work at good, by ourselves good is not attainable, but through Christ, we
can attain good. Paul asks us to
lie no more, particularly to ourselves, but rather to “speak every man truth
with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” If we are angry, we must “let not the
sun go down upon our wrath.” We
should not live off others, but rather, “labour, working with our hands the thing which is good, that we may have to give to him that
needeth.” Speak good, speak that
others might learn. Put away ill
feeling, give in to God and be “kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” God wants us to be happy, to be good
and to enjoy life. If you find
this no other place, listen to the words of St. Paul.
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HIS I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye
henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having
the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the
ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: who being
past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that
ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that
ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and
true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his
neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not
the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil. Let him that
stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the
thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no
corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the
use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not
the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let
all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Deacon Striker Jack Arnold read today’s Holy Gospel
came from the Fourth Chapter of the
Gospel according to St. Matthew beginning at the First Verse. Jesus came upon “a man sick of the
palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the
palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” Present were scribes of the
temple. They thought to themselves.,
“This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye
evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee;
or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power
on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy) Arise, take
up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his
house. Sometimes we are tempted to
view the troubles of this world as the only issues we have to confront. Surely the trouble we have here pales
to that we have if we make the wrong choices here and end up in the pit. Many can heal the palsy; only through
Jesus can our sins be forgiven. In
this case, the sins were forgiven and the problems of this earth resolved. The power of Jesus was again made
manifest.
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esus entered into a ship, and
passed over, and came into his own city. And, behold, they brought to him a man
sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the
sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And,
behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and
walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive
sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go
unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the
multitudes saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, which had given such power
unto men.
Sermon
– Time and Action
Today’s sermon tied the Epistle and Gospel together
and is partly contained in the forewords above.
Bishop
Ogles’ Sermon
Bishop Jerry provided his sermon notes for
yesterday. I thought them
incredibly interesting, I always enjoy them, but there was something about this
one that was more than usual. I am
certain you will find them very enjoyable. As always, I cannot commend it to you enough.
19th Sunday after Trinity 30
October 2011 Anno Domini
"1 After this there was a feast of the
Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the
sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five
porches. 3In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt,
withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 4For an angel went down at a
certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first
after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever
disease he had.5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity
thirty and eight years.6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been
now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 7 The impotent man
answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into
the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.8 Jesus
saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.9 And immediately the
man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was
the sabbath. 10The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the
sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.11 He answered
them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.12 Then asked they him,
What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?13 And he
that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a
multitude being in that place.14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the
temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing
come unto thee.15 The
man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him
whole.16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay
him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day." (John 5:1-16)
Jesus has gone up to Jerusalem at the feast of the
Jews. This feast is considered, by most traditional Bible scholars, to have
been the Passover. I concur in the view of these. That feast must surely
have been the Passover. It is very appropriate that He be present at
EVERY Passover, for He has become our Great Passover and the Lamb Without
Blemish slain on the Eve of His last Passover on earth. The sheep market
was just outside the gate of the Sheep Gate referred to in Nehemiah 3:1. It is
altogether appropriate that Christ should come to that Gate on the eastern
walls of Jerusalem for He is our Lamb of Sacrifice and the Sun of righteousness
which shall arise (from the East) with "Healing in His wings."
(Malachi 4:2) Moreover, it is a lovely place to which He has come (the
Pool of Bethesda) which, interpreted, means House of Mercy. Christ, thanks be
to God, is our Bethesda – our House and Ark of Mercy. When we come to this pool
for the healing of our souls, the moment of our visitation and healing is
altogether dependent on the discretion of Heaven and not our own. We patiently
await the movement of God in the things we need for His timing will always be
the perfect moment to answer our prayers.
"After this there was a feast of the Jews;
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." Christ "went up to
Jerusalem" to this Passover. If we will go up to the Passover of our
souls, we must arise from our common labors and be about – not our own devices
and pleasures – but the work of our Father in Heaven. The direction to
the Narrow Gate is always upward.
"Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep
market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five
porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt,
withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a
certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first
after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever
disease he had." The Lamb of God comes to this sheep market
place. You and I were these sheep without a shepherd until that Lamb came to
us, knowing our hurts and needs as One like unto us, and became the Great
Shepherd of His sheep. We waited alone in the market place, being bought and
sold by men, until Christ came and laid claim to His sheep. There at the Sheep
Gate, though a place of barter of souls, yet there is also a House of Mercy
(Bethesda) into which we may run as shelter from having our souls sold out by
the world. But we enter that House on the terms of God and not on those of our
own making. "…whosoever then first after the troubling of the
water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had."
Do you not find great consolation in the term "whosoever.?" We know
immediately that `whosoever' can mean you and me as well. All we need do is
come to the House of Mercy and wait upon the provision of God to heal all our
wounds.
Now comes another term that is different from that of
`whosoever' for it points to a definite identity: the word here that I love is
`certain.' "And a certain man was there, which had an
infirmity thirty and eight years." This is no `certain man'
by accident, but a certain man whom Christ has come to visit by His own choice
– just like you and me who have been blessed to encounter Christ as His
`certain men and women, boys and girls.' We laid our souls by the House of
Mercy and at our Time of visitation, He came to us. Now, to know this beautiful
truth beautiful truth fills my heart with a burning love and gratitude to that
Dispenser of Pure Grace called My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Though our souls feel to be at the very center of the
Wilderness as was poor Hagar, the Lord sees us. She called the Fountain where
the Angel of the Lord found her, The Well Of The Living One Who Sees Me
(Beerlahairoi).
(Gen 16:13-14) What beautiful strokes of vivid color does the Master
paint upon the canvas of our lives? "When Jesus saw him lie"
yes, and not just at this moment, but for all the years of the man's misery!
"When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that
he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?" Is this not a very
simple question, and does it need an answer? Yes, even though it is the
greatest desire of the afflicted man, he MUST answer this question just as you
and I must answer it for the healing of our souls. Being made whole is much more
than a healing of our physical ailments, but a wholeness in body, soul, and
spirit. Our most grievous affliction is our sin before God. It is this
affliction that will bring not only physical death, but eternal death without
the Grace ad Mercy of God.
Of course the man desires to be made whole, but there
is help forthcoming from none other than Christ. The healing of the leprosy of
sin cannot be healed by man. "The impotent man answered him, Sir,
I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I
am coming, another steppeth down before me." Many times
even the disciples tried to step in between Christ and those wanting mercy, but
Christ would not allow it. He suffered the little children to come unto Him,
the blind Bartemeus, and the woman from the coast of Tyre and Sidon over the
objections of those closest to Him. No man can prevent our access to Christ!
"Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." Why wallow in our misery while Christ is near? Why
slumber on the water's edge when the Water of Life stands at the ready to lift
us in? It is not a request that we rise up and walk, but a command! If we
possess the sure mercies of David, why linger fasting in the Wilderness. We
should not only walk where we were unable in times past, but carry our beds as
well in doing good and serving others. And to what result? "And
immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the
same day was the Sabbath." Don't we see that this poor
man, though carrying his bed, had complete rest on this Sabbath Day? His
Eternal Sabbath was realized in Christ!
Guess who is watching and burning in wrath and malice?
"The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the
sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He
answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk." These men were more
concerned about prying particulars than they were about life and healing and
truth – as always. This man answers that he cares not about the violation of
one of their onerous mandates, but he does care that the Lord has healed him.
"Then asked they him, What man is that
which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed
wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that
place." Jesus may not choose to reveal Himself to us in
the crowds, but in a place apart. It is not the influence of the multitudes
that bring us to Christ, but Christ Himself. "Afterward Jesus
findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole:
sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." After finding our
wounded persons on the Road to Jericho, and healing us to wholeness, the Lord
next finds us in His holy Temple which is the heart in which He resides. He
will most often reveal Himself to us behind those closed chambers of our
hearts. His counsel to the man to "sin no more" is ample evidence
that the man was forgiven his sins as well as healed physically.
The man now understands the depth of his healing
because he has come to know the greatness of his Redeemer. "The
man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him
whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him,
because he had done these things on the sabbath day." Please
note that it was the crippled man who carried his bed on the Sabbath – not
Christ. It is for the goodness of His healing the desperate cripple alone that
prompt these murderous vultures to desire to kill Christ.
My friend, if you have been found by the wayside of
the traffic of life by the loving Savior, have you heard His voice and
responded to His invitation. "Wilt thou be made whole?" If so, why linger
beside the pool at Bethesda without getting up? Why not take up your former
prison (bed), and walk as a new creature in Him who has made you whole? Do so
today!
