Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and
Action
Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California
Today’s sermon tied the
Epistle and Gospel together talked, as is oft the case, of the need for action,
Consider the words from the Collect, wherein we ask
God to give us … the spirit to think and do always such things as are right;
that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be
enabled to live according to thy will …
This is kind of a follow-on to last week’s
Collect. We are asking God to give
us direction that we might know right from wrong and follow the right way. If we listen to our hearts and minds,
like the aviator, mariner or adventurer without a compass, we will soon be
hopelessly lost. With the compass
that God gives us, we can find the One True Way, much like the compass always
points North.
This is nothing new. As Paul reminds us we have a common
spiritual past, regardless of our actual lineage. Spiritually, we are descended from the Jews of the
Exodus. Their God is our God;
their actions were directed by our God, the same God. He was a Trinity then as He is today. Their reality it our reality, whether
we choose to understand or accept it. Our forefathers drank of “the same
spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and
that Rock was Christ.” Those who
have gone before provide examples, both good and bad. We should aspire to
follow the good examples of those who have gone before and not the bad examples
that they have left behind. In this letter Paul addresses the bad and suggest
we should see what their ill behavior gained them before we set our course and
not after. And, let we think
ourselves ever so special, he reminds us that we are subjected to no special
temptations, only those “as is common to man.” Which is to say, common to everybody within the human race
that is not Christ, which is also to say 100% of the human race. This is
another example of the adage, “Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to
repeat it.” It is an old saw, but
one that is as valid today as the first time it was used.
Speaking of lessons, when Saint Luke recounts the
story of the prodigal son we oft think ourselves at that prodigal one returning
to God so late in life. Yet there
is far more to be learned than this, the titular one.
Consider the two sons. The older is a wonderful young man who strives to please his
father in everything he does. The
younger son asks for his inheritance, now rather than later, and sets off to
spend it wastefully in a far off land.
In dire straits, he decides to go home to his father and beg to be
allowed to live as one of his servants.
He decides to tell his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven,
and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son…” Before he can get the words out of his
mouth, his father welcomes him, gives him new clothing and calls the servants
to prepare a fatted calf for a big party.
The elder son is very angry and hurt. He asks his father what he did wrong; he followed his
instructions every day to the best of his ability, worked hard, and yet his
father had never even given a small party for him. The father answered, saying, “Son, thou are ever with me,
and all that I have is thine.” It was meet that we should make merry,
and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost
and is found.”
This story, like that of the workers in the vineyard
has a number of meanings. Like the
father in the story, God wants us to be His faithful child, but rejoices when
we return to Him. Like the
prodigal son, we should be grateful to live long enough to return to Him. We should recognize when we have erred
and as soon as we recognize that, we should immediately return to Our Lord in
prayer, asking for His forgiveness. Like the father in the story, Our Lord will
warmly welcome us back with open arms. The moral of the younger son’s story is
that God is always waiting for us, and if we are not late, we can always return
to Him. Today preferably rather
than tomorrow! He will always accept us with opening arms, but we must make
sure it is not too late. Don’t wait until you die! If you feel you have erred
and strayed, repent now! Do not let the sun go down on your sins and wrath, you
may not live to see another day! On the other hand, consider the oldest son,
let us learn from his mistake and be joyful when our brothers and sisters come
home to our family. Let us join in
the celebration and not begrudge the fatted calf. We should not be jealous or angry when our long lost
brethren return to the flock of Christ! We should be merry and joyful that they
have returned to us! Do not let you anger and pride cloud your emotions like it
does so many of us. But rather see a sinner coming back into His flock and
rejoice in that he is no longer headed towards the Pit!
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
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