The Sunday next before Advent

Rev Jack Arnold’s Sermon

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

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

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The Sunday next before Advent

The Collect.

S

TIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

As is oft the case, today’s propers are all tied together.  As is usual, they call for action not just thoughts.  In fact the collect is among the most direct, asking God to stir our hearts that we might ACT in a manner which will result in good things!  Jeremiah prophesies the coming of Jesus out of the branch of David that He might unite God’s people as one under a New Covenant.  Christ is the key piece to the puzzle of the Old Testament Prophecies. John tells us Jesus not only comes to fill our hunger, literal in that if we follow Him we will do much better here on earth than if we do not, and figurative only He can fill the hunger in our hearts for God.  We are spiritually starving creatures who need His love, and our spiritual hunger can only be sated by seeking His love, by acting upon His Words and filling our hearts with His Word.  This is the only possible way we can truly be satisfied, everything else is a shadow of true happiness and satisfaction. God is the only way we in which we can truly be happy, for everything else is worthless to our well being, except for the joy of following Him.

If we follow our own heart and guidance, we will seek the things of this world.  There can be no true happiness or satisfaction.   Seeking material superiority results in coveting, that is the insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to others.  Notice both the insatiable part and the part about what rightfully belongs to others.  The word can also be described as "ruthless self-seeking," the kind of attitude the arrogant and callous person has, assuming that others and their things exist for his own benefit.  It has also been described as finding morally acceptable the taking of things from others rather than earning or purchasing them. These are all things that if you look at the Ten  Commandments, violate God’s laws. Thou shalt not covet, thou shalt not steal and thou shalt not bear false witness, are just a few of laws that this type of individual breaks.

Look back on history and see how much evil action can be laid to coveting by not only persons, but nations. We can look at the examples of the early wars in Europe, and of late, of the wars started by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan for examples. We can also look to the religion of Islam as a key reason for conquest in the Middle East, a religion built on deceitful lies and covetousness.

This shows that we cannot satisfy us our own desires, but rather only God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit can fill the hole. Without them, it is a gap that will cause us all sorts of problems, as I mentioned above. We desperately need the influence that the Trinity provides in our life. Our life will be so much more rewarding and happier, if we have them involved in our lives, versus those who do not have them in their life.

As we come on Advent, think ahead to the joy of Christmas, the birth of Christ, His entry into this world, the joy of Epiphany, His revealing to the world.  Then, think ahead to the horror, pain and sadness of Good Friday.  So you must understand everything has a price that must be paid.  There is no free lunch, as it were. Salvation is not free, it was paid with the price of Jesus dying on the Cross and going down into hell to battle with the devil. From our eternal life which was paid for by Jesus’ one time sacrifice made for all mankind for all time to a simple meal.  It has been said there is no free lunch.  That is true, it is better said that everything has a price.  Some things are worth paying for, some are not.  Not one thing is worth coveting in the Ten Commandments sense.  Take nothing that has not been paid for.  If you don’t want to pay the price, don’t take it. You can accept gifts, but take nothing that has not been purchased. Do not partake or acquire stolen goods.

The inordinate desire for more money can lead to theft; the desire for more prestige, to evil ambition; the desire for more power, to tyranny; the desire for a person's body, to fornication and adultery. Paul identifies covetousness as idolatry because it puts things in the place of God.  When we put things over God’s Will, we no longer worship Him, but avoid Him.

When people serve idols, they place things above God.  When you covet, you are willing to set aside God for things.  In the end, that never works.  And, near the end it gets pretty unpleasant.  We find idols easier to deal with than God.  You can make an idol; God made you.  If you don’t like the idol’s rules, you change the rules.  Big differences there.

We shall never be satisfied with the riches and the cares of this world.  If we let the Holy Ghost into our hearts, we will find happiness and satisfaction in His Word. It will be more satisfying than the riches of this world could ever be.

If we keep on learning the Word and acting upon it everyday, something that everybody in some way needs to work on, not least myself, we will become more like Him and that is what He asks of us. He asks of us nothing special, but to do our very best and not just say it. It is a hard concept for many of us to follow, including myself, but we must all strive more and more every day to do our very best. If we study the Scriptures diligently and work hard to follow them to the best of our abilities, then we will, with the Holy Spirit’s help, be charted on an excellent course.

Interestingly, He tells the disciples to “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.”  It seems He is talking about the sheep that He tends to, He wishes to “gather up the fragments that remain”, meaning the people apart from His flock, that “nothing be lost”, meaning that their souls may not be lost for eternity. Think about that and take what it is offered before it is no longer on the menu! And be thankful for All His Blessings in our lives, for our friends and our family that He has placed in our lives.  

We are blessed and should be grateful we are in a spiritually rich group (The Anglican Orthodox Church) and in communion with some very good men and women across the Earth in the AOC Worldwide Church, who hold true to the principles of Scripture. God has blessed us all by bringing us together. I am thankful for each and every person in the AOC Church and my family and friends. As we near Thanksgiving, we should be thankful most of all for God sending His Son to die for us, that we might have eternal life and happiness instead of the eternal misery that comes from the separation from God.

Actions speak louder than words, but when we couple well thought out words with actions, we can do many marvelous things in the lives of people around us, through His Spirit and Word and we will help to fill people’s spiritual hunger, through acting through His Word, in thought, word and deed.

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